13 Reasons Why just launched its third season on Netflix. Now that Hannah Baker is officially dead, the tapes have been released, and the trial taken place, the story shifted gears. It’s all about Tyler’s school shooting attempt and troubled school life, and the big reveal of the death of Bryce Walker. Who killed him?
With many core characters returning, one such figure is Justin, the young man who battled with drug addiction, and the guilt he felt over letting Bryce rape his girlfriend Jessica.
A complex character, Justin had a terrible upbringing from his drug addicted mother and a countless stream of her boyfriends who came in and out of his life, many of whom were abusive. By the end of season 2, he was living with Clay and his family, and they were undergoing the process of officially adopting the 17-year-old.
While you might want to hate Justin for many of the things he did, there are also some reasons to love him. Note: don’t read on unless you’ve finished season 3, as there are some spoilers ahead.
Love: He Is One Of The Most Loyal Friends
Justin is probably one of the most loyal friends you could have, willing to do anything for anyone he cares about. Much of this might stem from his upbringing, and his feelings of abandonment by his mother, who officially did end up abandoning him.
Whether it’s to lie to the cops, get rid of a gun, or help you through a crisis, Justin never thought twice about being there for his friends. Even if it sometimes meant breaking the law.
Don’t Love: He Let Bryce Rape Jessica
Of course we can’t forget the fact that Justin let his best friend Bryce rape his girlfriend Jessica. Justin did initially try to stop Bryce, but he eventually relented, knowing full well what Bryce was about to do.
Justin’s relationship was complicated with the rich kid Bryce, who took him under his wing at a young age and provided for Justin like a brother or even, in some cases, like a parent. Still, we can’t forgive him for what he did.
Love: He Wanted to Try to Get Off Drugs
We give kudos to Justin for trying to get himself off drugs, especially after not knowing a life without them from a young age. He was doing heroin and more, but when others finally found out what he was up to, he promised to get clean.
He entered the Jensen household, where Clay’s parents welcomed him with open arms, and he seemed to have turned his life around. Kicking a drug addiction isn’t easy, especially for someone as young as Justin who has been through as much as he has.
Don’t Love: He Didn’t Actually Get Off Drugs
Sadly, as we discovered partway through season 3, Justin didn’t actually get off the drugs, he just learned to hide it better. He was continuing to smoke and shoot up heroin, and even dealt drugs through Monet’s, the coffee shop where he worked, in order to pay off an old debt to his mother’s boyfriend Seth.
Bryce discovered this when he was called to bail Justin out of jail and, in his efforts to become a better person and feelings of obligation to take care of Justin, he oddly offered him pills to take instead in hopes this would get him off the hard stuff. Justin took them, but it seems he continued to do heroin anyway.
Love: He Put Himself On The Line To Protect Many People
Justin vigorously defended Clay when he was being interrogated by Dr. Porter, and even offered to lie to the police and say he was with Clay when he realized his friend could be placed at the crime scene based on cell tower pings. He put himself on the line more than once for his friend, roommate, and pretty much brother.
He even tried to arrange a deal with his mother’s drug dealing boyfriend Seth whereby Seth would get rid of the dealer who sold Justin drugs the night of Homecoming in exchange for Justin selling drugs for him indefinitely. Why? Because Justin wanted to be able to give Clay a solid alibi and say he was with him that night.
Don’t Love: He Continued To Stay In Contact With Bad People From His Past
Sure, Seth seemed to pop up out of nowhere to intimidate Justin and ask for his money back. But Justin also reached out to Seth on a few occasions, as well as made contact with old drug dealers and those from a darker time in his life that he should have stayed clear of.
If Justin truly wanted to turn his life around and clean up his act, he needed to cut those people from his life entirely. But he didn’t do that. And he continued to liaise with people who were simply bad news.
Love: He Accepted the Jensens As His Family
Watching Justin interact with Mr. and Mrs. Jensen was sweet, as he obviously felt comfortable in the home and was thankful for their generosity in taking him in. In the Thanksgiving scene in the final episode, Justin expresses his thanks to them, and his happiness for feeling like he finally has a family.
He also used that opportunity to come clean about his drug use, which further proves that he wants to make things work with his potentially soon-to-be officially adoptive parents.
Don’t Love: He Continued to Hurt Jessica
While Justin tried to steer clear of Jessica to avoid hurting her, he relented when she pursued him. But he kept his drug use a secret from her, then tried to break up with her by saying he cheated in a failed effort to avoid hurting her by telling her the truth.
While Jessica seems on board for whatever comes with Justin, it’s clear that he’s right and he might not be the best thing for her, unless he can clean his act up and straighten out his life.
Love: He Bonded With Clay
At the beginning of the series, Justin and Clay couldn’t have been more different, with Justin the pompous, womanizing football jock and Clay the nerdy bookworm. But brought together by tragedy, they realized they might not be all that different from one another.
Now living together and sharing a room, the two boys act like real brothers, and Justin showed a real affection for Clay. He even started reading Clay’s favourite Aliens Vs. Robots comics, and realized he actually likes them.
Don’t Love: He Hurt Hannah
Going way back to the beginning, Justin’s story was one of the first Hannah told, about how she had a crush on him, went on a date, and then he lied about her and shared a photo of under her skirt as she innocently went down a slide at a park, implying it was much more.
Justin might be a changed man since then. Still, we don’t love that he did this since it was one of many initial incidents that began a downward spiral for Hannah right after entering a new school.
