TAPE 1 SIDE AClay Jensen is introduced as the main character of the show. A mysterious box of audio cassette tapes are left on his front doorstep. Clay listens to the tapes and soon realizes the tapes are recently recorded by the deceased Hannah Baker, who recently killed herself. He is surprised by his mother and breaks the device and now has no way to listen to the tapes. Clay steals his friend Tony’s walkman and listens to Hannah’s voice explaining her story in why she killed herself. The first tape exposes Justin Foley, who kissed her and sent around a scandalous photo that was one of the causes to her eventual suicide as a rumour about her spread around the school. Clay reveals that he liked Hannah and their friendship when she worked at the movie theater with him. |
TAPE 1 SIDE BThe next tape is about her ex-friend, Jessica Davis, who mistakenly blamed Hannah for her breakup with another one of Hannah’s ex-friend, Alex. Hannah talks about how the three of them were very close and met up at the coffee shop almost everyday after school until Jessica and Alex started dating, and stopped hanging out with Hannah. Jessica blaming Hannah for Jessica and Alex’s eventual breakup which is another cause leading to Hannah’s suicide. Dealing with the plot of the show, Hannah’s mother finds a note in her room making her mother believe that Hannah was bullied to the extent of taking her life. People start getting concerned that Clay is listening to the tapes and begin plotting against him. |
TAPE 2 SIDE AAlex Standall is exposed for having released a “best/worst” list about girls in the school, which jeopardizes Hannah’s relationships. In present day, Hannah’s mother seeks out the school’s principal to talk about the bullying and her daughter’s fate. Clay approaches Alex about the tapes and Alex warns him not to trust anyone, especially not Tony. Bryce, a character who attends the same high school and is the “jerk/jock” character, forces Clay into a drinking game. |
TAPE 2 SIDE BHannah explains that she has a stalker and tells one of her friends, Courtney Crimsen, about it. Courtney offers to help to catch the stalker and the two engage in a alcohol driven truth or dare game. The two end up kissing and the stalker, who is identified to be Tyler Down, takes a picture and passes it around the school. Courtney distances herself because she doesn’t want people to find out about her sexuality. In the present, Clay visits Hannah’s mother’s house but is not able to admit that he was close with Hannah. To avenge Hannah, Clay takes a naked picture of Tyler and sends it around the school. |
TAPE 3 SIDE ACourtney is afraid that people will find out about her sexuality so she spreads the rumor that the girls in the picture were Hannah Baker and a girl named Laura, who is openly a lesbian. Courtney also adds a rumour about Justin and Hannah which worsens Hannah’s reputation. In present time, Clay takes Courtney to Hannah’s grave, but is unable to get her to admit doing anything wrong or anything about her sexuality. Justin’s gang “kidnaps” Clay and force him to stay silent about the tapes by going over the speed limit and almost crashing. The gang is pulled over but the police officer lets them go as he is Alex’s father. |
TAPE 3 SIDE BHannah discusses Valentine’s Day and her date with Marcus who has heard rumours about Hannah and tries to sexuality assault her. This offends Hannah as she is not “that type of girl.” Alex Standall gets in a fight with Montgomery and they both go to the principal’s office. Also, Clay hangs out with Sheri and almost hooks up with her but Sheri reveals she is on the tapes and just wanted to be on Clay’s good side. |
TAPE 4 SIDE AHannah reveals that Zach emotionally attacked her after rejecting to go out with him. She claims that he affected her self confidence. Clay avenges Hannah and keys Zach’s car. Clay also begins to have hallucinations of seeing Hannah’s dead body in the gym and hearing her tapes over the intercom speakers. He is unable to finish the tapes so he returns them to Tony. |
TAPE 4 SIDE BHannah talks about her experience with poetry after being introduced to Ryan Shaver and joins Evergreen Poetry Club. Hannah presents a really emotional and personal poem and Ryan says she should show the world her talents, but she doesn’t feel comfortable sharing such a personal thing with everyone. Ryan betrays her and publishes the poem anyways. Everyone mocks the poem while Clay is intrigued by it, knowing the true meaning. No one knows Hannah wrote it but their reactions are enough to hurt Hannah. Clay takes the tapes back and later gives a poem to Hannah’s mother, inspired by Hannah herself. |
TAPE 5 SIDE AHannah recalls the night that Jessica got raped by Bryce. Jessica was unconscious and intoxicated and Justin, her boyfriend, did nothing to stop it. In present day, Marcus plants drugs in Clay’s backpack which gets him suspended. This is in order to scare Clay and to silence him about the tapes. Clay confronts Justin about the rape and Justin admits what happened but tells him not to tell Jessica and that it’s for the best. |
TAPE 5 SIDE BHannah tells her audience how she got a ride from Sherri Holland after the party. They get into a minor accident where a stop sign is broken. Hannah tells Sherri that they should call the police to report it but Sherri abandons her. The broken stop sign causes a death of another student, Clay’s friend Jeff Atkins who is blamed for drunk driving which was not the case. Hannah had tried to call Clay to tell him what happened, but Clay is too shocked at the death to even listen. In present day, Jessica becomes more loose and wild and Clay tells Jeff’s parents that the death was not due to drunk driving. |
TAPE 6 SIDE AClay finally gets to his tape and is overcome with emotion and even contemplates killing himself. He feels as if he did not do anything to stop Hannah’s suicide. He left her alone at the party even though she was upset and distraught. In present day, Justin finds Jessica at Bryce’s house, where he admits that Bryce raped her and she breaks up with him. Hannah’s mom finds a list of people who are on the tapes but she does not know what it means. |
TAPE 6 SIDE BHannah recalls the time that she lost her parent’s store’s earning after forgetting them on top of her car. After this incident, her parents get very mad at her and she is very depressed. She takes a walk late at night and stumbles upon a party that Bryce is throwing at his house. The night ends with Hannah being raped by Bryce in the hot tub. In present time, the people on the list are being questioned by lawyers, and all of the students conspire on who to blame it on. Clay ends up at Bryce’s house to try and buy marijuana but gets a confession out of Bryce of raping Hannah. Clay recorded the conversation and now has evidence against Bryce. The episode ends with an unknown teenager reported with a gunshot wound to the head. The identity of the person is unknown. |