How ’13 Reasons Why’ Ends

After four seasons, 13 Reasons Why finally came to an end when Netflix dropped the 10-episode long fourth season on Friday. Keeping pace with the previous 39 episodes, Season 4 proved to be just as emotional and topical, not shying away from hot-button topics, including school shootings and mental health, as it worked to provide closure to the core group of characters. Warning: This post contains spoilers for 13 Reasons Why Season 4.

After opening the season with a monologue from Clay and flash-forwards to a funeral, Season 4 primarily dealt with the guilt many characters experienced after framing Monty for Bryce’s murder as well as the lingering trauma the characters had following Hannah Baker’s suicide, numerous sexual assault storylines, and a thwarted school shooting. In the emotional final episode of the season, fans were forced to say goodbye to one more character as the others prepared to leave the past behind them and embark on their college journeys.

After collapsing while dancing with Jessica at prom in Episode 9, the series finale opens with the death of Justin. Having spent a portion of his life addicted to drugs and having to turn to sex work to pay for drugs and support himself, Justin contracted HIV-1, which had progressed to AIDS. Given his weakened immune system, he was able to recover after also contracting pneumonia and fungal meningitis. He dies in a hospital surrounded by the Jensens after saying emotional goodbyes to his friends and football team.

As emotional as Justin’s death was, the finale also offered happier moments. Shortly after Justin’s death, the surviving characters came together to graduate. During the ceremony, both Clay and Jessica gave moving speeches, in which they reflected on the struggles they have endured and the number of students who were no longer among them.

Ultimately, the series ended in much the same way it had begun: Hannah’s 13 tapes. In one of the final scenes of the series, the characters that had become the central group, including Ryan Shaver and Courtney Crimsen, buried the tapes, effectively putting them, and the pain they have endured, to rest, promising that they are always just a text or phone call away. The season ends with the characters heading off to college, with Clay accepted to Brown University, both Jessica and Alex accepted to Berkeley University, Tony taking a boxing scholarship at a college in Nevada, Tyler heading off to photography school, Zach being accepted into a music school to study guitar and voice, and Ani headed to Stanford.

All four seasons of 13 Reasons Why are available for streaming on Netflix. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for the latest information.