Thirteen Reasons Why: Cassette 5: Side B Summary & Analysis

Clay suspects Tony has driven them down the same stretch of road several times since they left Rosie’s. It seems like he’s stalling. Tony asks Clay whether he’ll be all right. Clay whispers, “No one blames me.” He asks Tony again why Hannah gave Tony the second set of tapes. Tony says he’ll tell Justin once they arrive at the party house.

Hannah begins the next tape, picking up with Clay leaving the room after kissing her at the party. Clay wanders around the party, unsure what to do next: he thought that his connection with Hannah was the start of something good. Soon after Clay leaves, the couple from the couch (Justin and Jessica, though Hannah doesn’t name them on the tape) come in, the girl so drunk she can’t really walk. Hannah doesn’t see them come in—it’s dark in there—but she can tell that the girl keeps falling off the bed and needs the boy to help her back onto it. Hannah expects the boy to tuck her in and leave her there, but instead, he starts kissing her.

Hannah stays crouched on the floor. She thinks Justin will stop soon, given that Jessica is so drunk she’s unresponsive. He keeps asking her if she’s awake or needs to throw up, but she barely responds. Eventually, he tucks her in and leaves. On the tape, Hannah tells the listener that no, she hasn’t forgotten these people’s names, even though she hasn’t revealed them yet. She wants the boy to dwell on what he did that night before she reveals his name. She tells him there’s no excuse for what he did.

Hannah’s story continues. That night, after Justin leaves Jessica in bed, Hannah sees his shoes outside the door and can tell he’s standing guard. Hannah starts walking toward the door toward him, but then she sees another pair of shoes. She hears Justin tell the other boy to let Jessica rest, but he keeps trying to open the door. He convinces Justin to let him in by saying he’s working the night shift and would leave after he had a few minutes with Jessica. When the boy finally opens the door and comes in, Hannah hides in a closet. She hears him getting onto the bed next to Jessica. On the tape, she admits she could have stopped it—her mental distress is no excuse for staying silent. Clay knows that the boy in the room has to be Bryce Walker: he recognizes the way Bryce told Justin to “relax” and let him in.

Hannah’s story continues. She kneels in the closet, burying her head in a pile of jackets. After the basslines of a few songs pass, she feels footsteps leaving the room. Hannah runs out too and sees Justin in a dark room by himself, staring blankly. She holds his gaze. As Clay listens to this part of the story, Tony’s car pulls over at the party house. Clay throws the car door open and vomits into the gutter. On the tape, Hannah says she’s not blaming Justin completely: she and he had one chance each to protect Jessica, and they both failed her. But she’s addressing Justin on this tape, not the boy who raped Jessica, because she knows that boy would never pass the tapes along.

Clay pauses the tape and takes a series of deep breaths. Once again, he asks Tony why he has the second set of tapes. Tony looks at Clay and insists he didn’t do anything. Clay sees tears in Tony’s eyes. Tony tells him to finish the tape, and then he’ll explain. Clay plays the tape. On it, Hannah addresses Justin by name, asking him whether he hates his friend who raped Jessica (who she still doesn’t name). She expects they’re still friends: Justin is probably in denial that his friend did anything wrong. She wishes she felt the same way, so she could stop feeling bad about leaving Jessica in danger. The tape ends.