Top 10 Most Heartbreaking 13 Reasons Why Moments (Season 1)

We thought one box of tissues was going to be enough. We were wrong. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the "Top 10 Heartbreaking Moments in 13 Reasons Why."

For this list, we’ll be looking back at the first season of the show, and at all the moments that left us in tears and/or filled with emotion. Whether the moment has us angry, hurt, frustrated, or crying our eyes out, it’s eligible.

Clay knows deep down that if he’d done or said something differently, Hannah might still be alive. It’s a painful truth that had been tearing him apart for the whole duration of the show, as he tries desperately to understand all the reasons that Hannah chose to kill herself. In the 11th episode, guilt and sadness overwhelm him, and he has a flashback to a time with Hannah. Rather than just reliving the moment, he takes it as an opportunity to do what he failed to do when she was alive. Unfortunately, there’s no going back, as Hannah reminds him when she delivers a line that causes both Clay and the viewers to crumble.

This moment is not only beautiful and touching, but also a taste of what could have been. It’s a hard scene to watch as well, as we know it will never be. Mistakes caused by a lot of people result in the loss of an innocent girl’s life, and in the wake of this tragedy, the life of everyone involved was changed forever. At the dance, Clay and Hannah talk and laugh and have a good time, finding out a bit more about each other in the process. Sadly, their moment together quickly gets derailed. In hindsight, all Clay can do is imagine the kiss that could have been.

Jeff, you left us too soon! Towards the end of the show, more and more pieces of the puzzle get revealed, and thus, Jeff’s parents find out what really happened the night of the crash. Jeff was a fan favorite, one of the truly good ones in the show, and it’s heartbreaking to watch his parents realize that his son wasn’t the one at fault in the accident that took his life. They’re able to hold onto the fact that their son was always trying to do the right thing, and take some measure of comfort knowing that extenuating circumstances contributed to the crash. Rest in peace, Jeff. You’ll be missed.

Being put on the list was terrible enough, but dealing with the repercussions of it was worse. All Hannah wanted to do was get some chocolate, but it seems like wherever she goes, assault follows her. Bryce, easily one of the worst people in the show, decides to take advantage of her in the store, sexually assaulting her before he leaves. The horror and disbelief on Hannah’s face matched our own. Seeing Hannah try to process the emotions that accompanied this violation as she leaves the store is not only heartbreaking, but also enough to make your blood boil.

We go from an exhilarating and exciting moment to one of sadness and despair. Tony finally decides to share some information with Clay, and the bombshell he drops is a doozy. For the first time, we get some insight into the night Hannah died, and how Tony played into it. He knows he made a mistake by not opening the door for Hannah, and, adding to his pain, he acted just late enough to witness her body being taken away. One can’t begin to fathom the guilt he must have been living with since her death, or the weight of having been so close to stopping her.

It’s the moment he’d been dreading. Who would want to listen to their own tape, anyway? Well, he does, and in that moment, all Clay’s feelings of guilt, anger, sadness, and confusion peak simultaneously. His breakdown is like a release for the audience, too, bringing us all to tears right alongside Clay. It was a relief to hear that he was unlike the others on the tape, but it was still heartbreaking to watch him come to terms with the fact that, in his case, action rather than inaction could have prevented Hannah’s death.

School counselors hold a tremendous responsibility for their students’ wellbeing. They're relied upon when a student is going through a time of hurt, and their inability to act accordingly can have grave consequences. In a twist, we find out that Mr. Porter is the 13th reason why. He had a lot of chances to turn things around—the signs were there from the start—but never did. As Clay tells him of this, we can't help but feel bad for him. He was a guy who made mistakes, and now he has to live with them for the rest of his life.

Acknowledging something as painful as sexual assault can be excruciating, but it’s also essential to processing the trauma. As we’ve been learning throughout the series, Bryce is not a good person, and an atrocious act at a party cements his monster status. Jessica refuses to believe it, even though she knows deep down it's the truth. Finally, she breaks down to her father after he notices she hasn't been the same recently. Seeing her do this not only makes it real for her, but for the audience, too. Suffice it to say, we eagerly await for Bryce's comeuppance.

Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, this happens. Bryce has been a bully, nuisance, confirmed rapist, and overall evil guy from the start, and this moment just makes the audience’s blood collectively boil even more. With Hannah suffering from crippling depression at this point, she just didn't care where she walked and where she ended up. She ended up at Bryce's, and sadly, he took advantage of her and the situation, as he's been known to do. Upon learning of this, Clay confronts Bryce, just like the whole audience of the show would if they could.

No matter what we may see of it in media or hear about it on the news, we will never even begin to understand the pain of what it feels like for a parent to lose their child. The actors portraying Hannah's parents do a remarkable job in conveying the complex emotions associated with Hannah's death. We knew the moment was coming, and yet we wished that it would somehow end differently. Watching the culmination of all the pain Hannah endured until she felt like suicide was the only choice... tore us to pieces, and left a lasting impression on viewers everywhere.