Was Hannah Baker pregnant on 13 Reasons Why? The story of Hannah’s suicide may seem over, but could the biggest secret still exist?
The big twist at the end of 13 Reasons Why Season 2 was not Tyler’s almost attack on the school or Clay Jensen being left holding the bag. It was the fact that Chloe, Bryce Walker’s girlfriend, who suddenly backed out of testifying against her abusive boyfriend, was pregnant. This brought a shocking high school fear to the show, but also raises the question of if Netflix’s controversial teen drama had actually glanced with it before.
Hannah Baker actress Katherine Langford has already hinted that she won’t be around for 13 Reasons Why Season 3 should the series be renewed. But does that mean Hannah’s story has been fully told? There may have been several clues throughout the season hinting that she, too, was pregnant with Bryce’s child.
The Evidence Hannah Baker May Be Pregnant
Early in 13 Reasons Why Season 2, we learn that Hannah had a secret that has yet to come out, one she entrusted this to Tony knowing he would not reveal it to the world. What could that secret have been? It was never actually revealed during the course of the show, but perhaps there are enough clues to point in this devastating direction.
During his deposition in the case of the Bakers versus Liberty High, Bryce was heavily interrogated about the night he physically assaulted Hannah. The prosecutor dug into the fact that Bryce had not used protection. Bryce was asked repeatedly if he had used protection with Hannah and if he had a habit of not using it. Bryce seemed confused about the relevance of this question, but it certainly opens the door for the possibility of an accidental pregnancy.
There’s also Hannah’s bittersweet list of “Reasons Why Not” list against her suicide. Family made up the majority of her reasons in some fairly surprising ways; both Hannah’s parents were listed on multiple occasions, as was her love interest and best friend in Season 1, Clay. Hannah mentioned that perhaps she and Clay were meant to be together. But the allusions to family and relationships don’t stop there. The troubled teenager considered her future, thinking that she may be an important factor in someone’s life someday. She then considered the fact that she may become a mother herself, and that her child could be the person whose life she alters in a positive way. The revelation of this goal - to become a mother and impact that child’s life - is bookended by her feelings for Clay and the hope that things will “get better”.
Individually, all of this is circumstantial evidence, and so no strong conclusions can be drawn. However, it can be argued that in Season 2, 13 Reasons Why is drawing attention to familial aspects of Hannah’s life, which could indicate at least some grounding for this theory. What makes it interesting, though, is the long-term impact.
How Does This Change 13 Reasons Why’s Story?
If family, and more specifically motherhood, were beacons of hope for Hannah, it could have been utterly heartbreaking for her to have become pregnant through sexual assault. When handing Clay Hannah’s list, her mother tells him that Hannah found more reasons to end her life than not to. This could have taken away at least a couple more reasons on that list. Hannah was already suffering from the loss of agency, she couldn’t comfortably become close with Clay, she was labeled at school; this would have been another instance where she had no control over her own life.
Of course, it’s unlikely that this theory would have any bearing on 13 Reasons Why Season 3 (and that’s making the big leap that it’s accurate). Katherine Langford has already made it clear that she intends to leave the series even if it is picked up for a third season. She also expressed her belief that Hannah’s story had been fully told in Season 1. Netflix doesn’t shy away from controversial topics, with this show especially. But there isn’t any reason to make the storyline even darker by revealing this possible bit of truth. It may, however, provide a painful new context for future rewatches of the past two seasons of 13 Reasons Why.
