Characters / 13 Reasons Why: Adults

Parents

Lainie & Matt Jensen

Lainie & Matthew "Matt" Jensen

Portrayed By: Amy Hargreaves (Lainie), Josh Hamilton (Matt)

• Anger Born of Worry: Both Lainie and Matt get angry with Clay when he mysteriously disappears suddenly from school or home for no apparent reason, but it is implied that the anger is born out a worry of Clay getting more reckless and depressed after Hannah's suicide, who was already suffering from grief and sadness. Matt is especially concerned when Clay comes home with blood coming out of his nose and mouth and suffering bruises everywhere, and quickly gets suspicious of Clay saying he visited his friend (which in reality he visited Bryce to make him confess to the rape and Bryce beat Clay up in return).
• Armour-Piercing Question: Olivia Baker asks Lainie, "How much is Clay's life worth to you?", calling out Lainie's hypocrisy in suggesting the Bakers take a cash settlement for Hannah's death.
• Broken Bird: Lainie is this by the end of the series – after everything Clay goes through and then Justin's death, she is a far cry from the good-humored My Beloved Smother she comes across as at the beginning of the series.
• Bumbling Dad: Clay seems to view his father as being this, but Matt is actually more of a Reasonable Authority Figure, and a lot more in touch with what Clay is going through than Lainie.
• Catch-22 Dilemma: Lainie, as the lawyer representing the school, is stuck in this when she realizes that she would have to tear down Hannah, especially when she finds out that her son and Hannah were more than just work colleagues and classmates.
• Generation Xerox: Both Clay and Matt are soft spoken, intelligent, humorous guys trying their best to deal with the craziness that surrounds them.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Although not a jerkass by any means, Lainie has a point when she chews out Clay for not opening up about his issues to her or his dad, arguably making his mental state worse by stewing.
• My Beloved Smother: Played With. Lainie establishes a "no closed door" policy in the house; not when Clay has girls over, but all the time. She's very concerned about Clay's well-being, and her attempts with him vary from reasonable (such as suggesting he should start seeing his former therapist again after two of his friends die) to overbearing (refusing to let him do his own laundry and getting ready to call the cops because he cut class). She's well intentioned but very intense.
• Parental Obliviousness: Clay rarely talks about his problems with them. For most of season 1, they didn't even know that Clay was friends with Hannah.
• Parents as People: They don't struggle financially like the Bakers, but they are by no means perfect. Lainie and Matt butt heads on how to deal with Clay, sometimes getting heated, but always in his best interest. Neither of them have the right idea most of the time, can lose their tempers or show a lack of understanding, but they're generally not as bumbling as you might expect.

Olivia & Andrew Baker

Olivia & Andrew "Andy" Baker

"Those kids hurt our daughter."

Portrayed By: Kate Walsh (Olivia), Brian D Arcy James (Andy)

"We never got a note."

• Adults Are Useless: Averted, like with Clay's parents.
• Determinator: By the time the tapes reach Clay and both of them find out what happened at school, both become this in their mission to get justice for their daughter. Olivia in particular as she strives to put the school responsible for Hannah's death.
• The Bus Came Back: After moving to New York at the end of the second season. She comes back in town in the third season to help with the Bryce Walker murder investigation.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Mrs. Baker has one of these. Before Hannah's death, she usually wears her hair long with no ties. After the latter's suicide, she always tied her hair up in a pony tail. By Season 2 after finding out about the tapes, she has cut it short. After the Time Skip in the Season 2 finale, it's grown a little longer.
• Five Stages of Grief: Definitely this trope, considering their daughter just killed herself and they never new a thing. By the time Clay gets the tapes, one week after Hannah killed herself, Olivia and Andy were both in the fifth stage, acceptance.
• Good Parents: Every flashback that includes one or both of them with Hannah shows that they had a very close, loving relationship with their daughter. This makes her suicide hit them especially hard; not only because they were so close to her, but also because they agonize and grieve over how they didn't notice all the warning signs that Hannah displayed.
• High-School Sweethearts: According to Hannah, her parents fell in love in high school.
• Outliving One's Offspring: The basic premise of the series is the suicide of their daughter.
• Parental Obliviousness: Both were oblivious about Hannah's depression before her suicide. And before the end of season 1, they didn't know about Hannah's tapes.
• Parents as People: They're preoccupied at work and don't always notice what's going on with Hannah, but it's also clear that they love their daughter and want her to be happy. Needless to say, they are devastated by Hannah's suicide. Towards the end of her life, when she knew their flaws and had believed herself a burden, Hannah knew how much her parents cared for her and loved them both, each being sizeable factors in her "Reasons Why Not" list.

Barry & Nora Walker

Barry & Nora Walker

Portrayed By: Jake Weber (Barry), Brenda Strong (Nora)

• Abusive Parents: Not physically, but Bryce mentions in Season 2 that his parents are neglectful and didn't really raise him, leading to him becoming a sociopath. Nora slaps and reprimands Bryce after he admits to having raped Hannah, which leads him to indirectly call them out for the way they raised him.
  • In Season 3, this is shown more clearly. Bryce's father abandons him and Nora, seemingly to avoid Bryce's reputation affecting him personally, and attempts to hit him after Bryce retaliates for this, telling him he will regret his actions.
  • Nora is also shown to have been raised by an abusive father, who she mentions beat her, and in his old age is still verbally abusive to her.
• Casting Gag: Brenda Strong's most famous role would be that of Mary-Alice Young on Desperate Housewives, in which her character, who seemingly had the perfect life and served as the beloved matriarch of her neighborhood, commits suicide in the very first episode to cover up a dark family secret, leading her distraught friends to try uncover the reason why she killed herself. Seems somewhat familiar, doesn't it.
• My God, What Have I Done?: During Season 3 Nora Walker admits during her counseling sessions with Mr. Porter that she was raised a spoiled, rich girl who didn't know how to be a mother and was afraid, so she neglected Bryce, and with no parental guidance, he grew up a sociopath.
• Right Forthe Wrong Reasons: Nora Walker is convinced that Clay Jensen either murdered her son, or knows who did, despite being told repeatedly that Bryce had many enemies because of his horrible actions. She is correct that one of the people Bryce hurt killed him, but it was Alex, not Clay who ended his life.
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: How Barry Walker reacted after Bryce's arrest and him being outed as a rapist in Season 3. He divorces his wife, and keeps his distance from Bryce.
• Warts and All: Despite being angry at, disappointed in, and ashamed of him, Nora Walker still loves her son Bryce unconditionally, and is the only one standing by him until he is murdered, and the main one pushing to find his killer.

Mr. de la Cruz

Mr. de la Cruz

Portrayed By: Marcus De Anda

• Abusive Parents: He was a truly nasty piece of work to Monty, beating and insulting his son at his worst.
• The Alcoholic: At one point, he attempted to beat Monty with a hammer while drunk.

Liberty High Faculty and Staff

Kevin Porter

Kevin Porter

Portrayed By: Derek Luke

• The Atoner: In the second season, he is much more focused on cracking down HARD on the students and teachers he feels wronged Hannah... although not without consequences.
• Batman Gambit: In Season 3, when the police and Nora Walker bring him back to Liberty High to question students in order to build a murder case against Clay, he only chooses the studets he knows will defend Clay, given the history they have together and especially after he pushes their buttons, which he does. He later admits this to Clay who feels betrayed and Justin vouches for him, saying he knew that's what Porter was doing.
• The Bus Came Back: After being fired toward the end of the second season. He comes back when he is hired as Bryce's therapist by Nora Walker. After Bryce's death, Liberty High temporarily hires him back to interview students for the investigation.
• Fish out of Water: Formerly worked at an inner-city school where "kids shot kids". It's implied that because of this, he considers social issues among the students less important in comparison.
• Ignored Expert: Upon his firing, warns Principal Bolan that things won't change unless they make an effort and gives him a stack of files belonging to kids he sees as "at risk" in some way. Bolan casually drops the pile back on his desk after Porter leaves and ignores it, as the camera pans to show the top file on the stack belongs to Tyler.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • While he was less than understanding in how he handled his talk with Hannah, he has a point in that Hannah's refusal to name her attacker or consider police intervention limits his capacity to help.
  • His point to Clay that "you can't love someone back to life", highlighting the complexity of mental health issues.
• My Greatest Failure: He clearly regrets the way he treated Hannah, it only gets worse when he finds out his negligence was the final straw for Hannah. In season 2, this motivates him to do better.
• Non-Answer: Unfortunately, at the beginning, he gives out a lot of these answers, but averts it at the end as he realises he couldn't justify what he said to Hannah anymore.
• The Shrink: Type 1 due to not actually being a real therapist. Just a regular old guidance counselor.
• The Stoic: Doesn't react much to the drama around him.
• Took a Level in Badass: In season 2, he knows the school board won't be keeping him at Liberty for much longer, so he resolves to do as much good as he can with the time he has. The very first thing he does in the season is follow Bryce into the bathroom, grab him by the neck, and slam him against the wall while warning him that he's got his eye on him. Later he also gets into a fist fight with Justin's mom's drug dealer boyfriend, "Meth Seth", after visiting her to see if she knew her son's whereabouts.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Is probably the best example out of all the other characters; besides Clay, he's the only person on the tapes who doesn't try to hurt Hannah or throw her under the bus, however, his pitiful, distracted attempt to counsel her is what ultimately drives her to kill herself.
• Your Days Are Numbered: A non-fatal version. In season 2, now that the school knows how he failed to help Hannah, he won't be staying at Liberty High for much longer, and he knows it.

Gary Bolan

Gary Bolan

Portrayed By: Steven Weber

• Adults Are Useless: Takes more interest in the school's reputation and sports history rather than its students; and by doing so, he indirectly feeds the toxic student culture at Liberty High, even if he probably didn't mean to. He's called out directly by Kat in her testimony.
• Beleaguered Bureaucrat: Not only he has to deal with the lawsuit brought on by the Baker family, he also has to deal with a whole host of other problems at Liberty High, which include bullying, fights and the general school culture. Also Alex attempting suicide by shooting himself in the head by the end of the season.
• What the Hell, Hero?: For all his postering on wanting to keep the kids safe, and this does seem to be genuinely true to some degree, his holding a code red gun drill, complete with sounds of gunfire on the campus, was a really disastrous idea, leaving many of the students traumatized. In particular, the already fragile Clay, that after having a massive breakdown, had to be restrained and committed to a psychiatric facility for some time. Jessica, the parents, particualrly Mr. Jensen call him out, as does the entire student body, that stages a walkout and eventually riot over the excessive security measures, after a racist security guard tries to arrest and assaults Diego.

Rick Wlodimierz

Portrayed By: Ben Lawson

• Cool Teacher: The baseball team sees him as this, as he's their coach. The truth, however, is much darker.
• Corrupt Bureaucrat: As a teacher who actually knows what goes on behind closed doors where the baseball team is concerned, he's definitely this.
• False Friend: To Mr. Porter. He tries to get Mr. Porter to back off from investigating the baseball team, and after that, gets charges against him dropped just so he'll owe him a favor. Mr. Porter sees through him, refuses both times, and after being fired, calls him a "fucker".
• A Father to His Men: Tries to be this for the team. Some see him as this. Zach, however, calls him out for trying to be this to him, saying if he was, he would have put a stop to their behavior a long time ago. It's presumed he does this so they will support him despite his actions, and even join in.
• Greater-Scope Villain: To the baseball team. He mentions showing Bryce the Clubhouse, where many of the rapes take place, making him, to an extent, responsible for their reprehensible actions. It's clear he's very aware of what's going on and actively encourages it.
• Karma Houdini: What's his punishment for enabling the rape culture at the school? Nothing. He's still working there at the end of season 2, and after that, is never seen again.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Tries to get on people's good sides so they'll support him, and when that doesn't work, doesn't antagonize them any further than necessary, so they won't see a reason to investigate him further. As an adult who is encouraging many rapists on his team, he's probably been off the radar for years, so he's had time to practice staying safe. When he finds out Bryce took photos of the rapes which have gone missing, he's visibly unnerved.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: He's never seen again after season 2, though to be fair, the baseball team isn't shown practicing after that either.

Evergreen County Sheriff's Department

Deputy Bill Standall

Deputy Bill Standall

• Dirty Cop: Downplayed, as it's strongly implied he's figured out his son killed Bryce, but he doesn't dig too deep into the matter and lets Alex's friends frame Monty to protect Alex; he also burns the clothes Alex was wearing the night Bryce was murdered.
• Jock Dad, Nerd Son: Alex's dad is a hyper-masculine, gun-toting cop who applauds him for getting into a fight with Monty. Alex is a skinny, music loving hipster who gets curb-stomped in said fight and largely only did it due to his poor mental state at the time.
• Good Parents: To Alex, after his attempted suicide.
• Papa Wolf: For Alex after his attempted suicide. He puts extreme pressure on Alex to recover, and Exaggerated in season 3 when he aids in the cover-up to pin Bryce's murder on Monty to keep Alex safe.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Downplayed. He wasn’t too bad in the first season, but he did seem to have a “boys will be boys” mentality, and even complimented Alex on getting in a fight. In the next two seasons? (After Alex’s attempted suicide) He’s a complete Papa Wolf. He’s noticeably more gentle and affectionate, and tells Alex he loves him several times. Justified.

Other

Dennis Vasquez

Dennis Vasquez

Portrayed By: Wilson Cruz

• Ascended Extra: Plays a much larger role in the second season.
• Brutal Honesty: Very blunt, even for a lawyer, and has the guts to call the schools arguments about the case utter lies in front of the lawyers defending the school.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Helps reveal the truth about what happened by subpoenaing the kids involved in Hannah's suicide, and making several reveal the truth on what happened.
• Crusading Lawyer: From what we seen of him, he is very driven about this case in particular, especially seen during the preliminary hearing.
• The Ghost: Played straight at first, as for most of the first season he is mentioned by the Baker's but never seen in person. Subverted when he appears at the preliminary hearing then the depositions.
• Good Lawyers, Good Clients: Seems to be this, as he also believes, alongside his clients, the school was also responsible for Hannah's death and the school wants to cover it up by a settlement.