Aside from being an intense study on the harrowing effects of high school, the new Netflix series 13 Reasons Why has been fertile ground for fan theories and speculation. The latest theory, brought to us courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, regards Alex Standall (Miles Heizer) and Zach (played by Ross Butler.) Alex's outcome at the end of the series is one of the show's biggest cliffhangers. It was implied that the son of a police officer had taken his own life at the end of the show — although a theory suggests that Tyler (Devin Druid) in fact killed Alex. The truth is, we don't know if Alex died at all. The finale gave us this simple image: a teenage body being loaded into an ambulance. Then, the school's lawyer informs the guidance counselor in the final moments, "Alex Standall shot himself in the head last night." The show doesn't ever explicitly state that Alex is dead.
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Just prior to the news that Alex shot himself, though, Zach is shown texting Alex. The message history demonstrates that Zach has been texting his friend repeatedly to no response.
"What's your plan today?" one text reads. Later, he says twice, "Call me." And then, "Dude, call me." Finally, a grey text arrives that says, "Please call." Zach makes the call, and someone picks up the phone. Was it Alex? Ross Butler, who played Zach, doesn't think so.
"I imagine it was his dad," he told EW. "Or maybe some police investigator on the scene, because Zach had been sending texts."
Butler then added, "I don't think about it too much." That won't stop us from thinking about it, though. Yes, it could have been a police investigator on the other line. But what if it were Alex himself? The show has left more than a few unanswered questions in its wake, which seems to indicate that there might be another season. Could the second season see Alex Standall's return and recovery? We'll just have to wait and see. (To be clear: Netflix has yet to announce if 13 Reasons Why will see another season. But we're pretty sure the streaming site will deliver one.)