Bryce and Chloe
Bryce is given his time in court. His backstory is fleshed out and we see that he doesn't just enjoy the attention from being a star athlete, but also the sense of belonging and family that he never really felt at home. We see Bryce taking the team to various celebrations but when he looks up to the stands, his parents are never there. It's then that he meets Hannah Baker.
Bryce begins to paint a picture that completely contradicts the one Hannah tells on her tapes. He tells the court that he and Hannah had a 'friends with benefits' kind of relationship and the polaroid photo taken was from before he and Hannah had concensual sex. Olivia's lawyer, Dennis begins firing questions about the night with Hannah in the hot tub but Bryce is cool and calm, answering everything.
Clay then questions Hannah's ghost about that night. After all, if everything Zach said on the stand is true, then maybe Hannah was sleeping with Bryce?
Jessica meets up with Chloe and shows her the photo of her unconscious in the clubhouse. Chloe appears disturbed by the image of her boyfriend standing naked over her as she's passed out. She agrees to testify. When Chloe gets the chance to confirm her rapist is Bryce, she backtracks on everything. She explains that she did remember giving her consent to Bryce but forgot. Although disappointed, Jessica understands why Chloe lied in court. Justin tells Jessica that he wants to testify against Bryce but wants her permission to speak about her ordeal in court. Jessica agrees, ready to share her story if it means saving another girl from a vicious predator.
The baseball team (minus Zach who quit) support Bryce fully. His mother, Nora however seems disgusted by him and asks him bluntly what happened with Hannah. After insisting everything was consensual, he gets into his mother's face and cruelly describes raping Hannah until she cried. Nora tells her son that he's a stranger in the house before slapping him. Bryce insists that he always was. We are shown flashbacks of what really happened. Bryce and Hannah did to go to the bridge but it was Bryce who talked about death. They didn't kiss; Hannah politely and quietly rejected it, saying she did like him but as just a friend.
Feeling more frustrated and angry than before, Clay goes to the woods with Tyler to shoot at cans. It's hinted that Clay may be experiencing psychosis as the hallucinations of Hannah get more regular. She appears next to him as he shoots the gun, whispering "Bryce Walker". When the police are called, Clay runs for it, taking the gun with him. He makes it all the way to Bryce's house with Hannah reciting tapes and the details of her rape as he goes. Fortunately, Justin arrives just as it gets too much for Clay and stops him from shooting himself.
Bryce walks out of his house to find Clay standing on his porch with a gun.
