She did seem to remember bits and pieces of what happened (which is why I believe she self-medicated with booze) but, she was constantly being told by people she loved and trusted that it wasn't a rape but consensual sex between her and her boyfriend Justin so she let herself believe that despite what she was starting to remember. I think though near the end she was getting fairly certain that Hannah was telling the truth about Bryce (especially when confirmed by Clay and the numerous times he brought it up). This can be seen when she takes Bryce into her dad's study and retrieves that gun and then begins to interact in a dangerous way with him...kinda trying to get Justin to finally tell her the truth. It worked but, she still was not ready to hear it.

I don't think that Jessica remembered what happened the night of the rape until her boyfriend confirmed it that night he caught her with Bryce. So Hannah was an eye witness to the rape and it was her tapes along with Justin's outburst that corraborated Hannah's story of what happened to Jessica that night.

I thought that it was interesting the way the story unfolded. We weren't sure who was telling the truth because the victim didn't remember and only three other people knew. We saw Justin's flashback of what happened that night but didn't fully understand why he would keep such a secret until Justin admitted being grateful to Bryce for having helped Justin through the situation with his mother. Justin's love for Jessica superceded his loyalty to Bryce. What a messed up situation for a teenager to deal with. Justin wasn't that bad of a kid. He was a kid stuck in a really bad situation. Bryce was the bad guy all along.

During one of the episodes we see Jessica having flashbacks to that night and she sees it's not Justin or at least has a sense someone else is on top of her. We also see her telling the person to stop and get off all from Jessica's memories. This is why I said she kinda remembered the attack. I also believe it's what led her to really turn to hard liquor so she didn't have to remember it. These scenes for/with her came prior to her taking Bryce to her Dad's office and toying with the gun and when I initially saw this, I thought for sure she had finally realized the truth and was about to shoot him but, that wasn't the case.

Sooooo if she "kinda" remembered it... why would she hang out with him alone?

what ever it wasn't a major impact on my life. I'm over it.

I honestly believe it was because she was trying to get Justin to tell her what really happened. He seemed to react most when she and Bryce were together. He kept telling her to "stay away from him" and she could see there was something there but he just wouldn't say anything. So she continued to push his limits until she finally broke him down and he spilled the beans.

@Daijahv said:

I honestly believe it was because she was trying to get Justin to tell her what really happened. He seemed to react most when she and Bryce were together. He kept telling her to "stay away from him" and she could see there was something there but he just wouldn't say anything. So she continued to push his limits until she finally broke him down and he spilled the beans.

Honestly that entire situation was difficult to interpret because before Clay listened to that tape, Jessica was calling Hannah a liar. But after Clay listened to the tape, there were a bunch of flashback scenes and then later on to build to the climax, Jessica went over to Bryce's house. There should have been a scene beforehand where Jessica confronts Justin about what happened that night if she suspected at all that Hannah might have been telling the truth. That would have made the situation easier to understand. I think that if Jessica had any recollection of the rape, she wouldn't want to be alone with Bryce at all. So I'm thinking that Jessica was so inebriated that she didn't remember what Bryce did to her that night and was only going by Justin's story.

You're right. The scene was pretty vague and hard to interpret as we both came away with completely different understandings but, I see what you're getting at. Those images and the scene with Jessica did come after Clay kept hounding her and may have messed with her recollection of that night. It's kinda like he was subliminally suggesting this was how it all went down until she was on his side of things.

@Daijahv said:

You're right. The scene was pretty vague and hard to interpret as we both came away with completely different understandings but, I see what you're getting at. Those images and the scene with Jessica did come after Clay kept hounding her and may have messed with her recollection of that night. It's kinda like he was subliminally suggesting this was how it all went down until she was on his side of things.

And factor in Hannah's pstd, at first I was wondering if Hannah might have embellished the story a little because why would she just sit there secretly while a rape was taking place? Especially after having been a victim of Bryce's meaness when he shared that photo of Hannah on the slide to everyone in school. Jessica and Hannah were still friendly so why wouldn't Hannah tell someone about the rape as soon as it happened? That entire rape subplot makes little sense.

@rarebreed said:

And factor in Hannah's pstd, at first I was wondering if Hannah might have embellished the story a little because why would she just sit there secretly while a rape was taking place? Especially after having been a victim of Bryce's meaness when he shared that photo of Hannah on the slide to everyone in school. **Jessica and Hannah were still friendly so why wouldn't Hannah tell someone about the rape as soon as it happened? **That entire rape subplot makes little sense.

This^{^} that is what made me less on Hannah's side. The fact that she sat there listening to this girl get raped and did absolutely nothing. She claims she was drunk, well so was Jessica but, unlike Jessica, Hannah wasn't so out of her mind she didn't know her up from her down while she clearly realized Jessica was a lot more inebriated. The idea that she could just sit there and not do anything to someone she considered a friend at any point in time and then play the victim was just beyond insane to me. I know it was explained that: "You can say you'd have the strength to stand up against violence when you're an observer but if you're in the heat of the moment would you really do something?" This bystander effect that's infecting the world is sickening.

But I digress, considering Jessica may not have been having any kind of recollection, her decision to hang out with someone like Bryce who had the best weed and access to booze may have been her sole motivation as she was in her self-medicating phase. Plus, unlike many others in her life (Justin included) Bryce never told her "no" or "stop" or tried to keep her from "having fun."

@Daijahv said:

@rarebreed said:

And factor in Hannah's pstd, at first I was wondering if Hannah might have embellished the story a little because why would she just sit there secretly while a rape was taking place? Especially after having been a victim of Bryce's meaness when he shared that photo of Hannah on the slide to everyone in school. **Jessica and Hannah were still friendly so why wouldn't Hannah tell someone about the rape as soon as it happened? **That entire rape subplot makes little sense.

This^{^} that is what made me less on Hannah's side. The fact that she sat there listening to this girl get raped and did absolutely nothing. She claims she was drunk, well so was Jessica but, unlike Jessica, Hannah wasn't so out of her mind she didn't know her up from her down while she clearly realized Jessica was a lot more inebriated. The idea that she could just sit there and not do anything to someone she considered a friend at any point in time and then play the victim was just beyond insane to me. I know it was explained that: "You can say you'd have the strength to stand up against violence when you're an observer but if you're in the heat of the moment would you really do something?" This bystander effect that's infecting the world is sickening.

But I digress, considering Jessica may not have been having any kind of recollection, her decision to hang out with someone like Bryce who had the best weed and access to booze may have been her sole motivation as she was in her self-medicating phase. Plus, unlike many others in her life (Justin included) Bryce never told her "no" or "stop" or tried to keep her from "having fun."

See, I never got the impression that Jessica was self medicating herself because of a possible repressed memory about the rape. It shows Jessica turning to booze right after Justin started neglecting her. He wouldn't answer her texts or calls. He wasn't in the mood for sex either. All of which upset her. It looked to me as if she internalized his rejection as something wrong with her. I figured she started drinking more because she was depressed about Justin not wanting her anymore. She was an incredibly selfish girl. She acted like everything was about her and what she was going through. She knew Justin had problems at home yet she never once tried to help him with that situation. She seemed only concerned with the status of being a cheerleader dating a football player. I doubt Jessica loved Justin but I'm sure Justin loved Jessica.

But yeah I agree with you about Jessica using Bryce to gain access to weed and alcohol to support her addiction. And Hannah really dropped the ball for not reporting the rape whenever it occurred. She waited until right before her suicide, as if doing it that way would absolve her of any guilt. Hannah never seemed to have a problem calling any of the others out on their transgressions towards her. Yet she keeps Jessica's rape a secret. Then she goes to Bryce's house for that party where he raped her too. Makes no sense. I liked Hannah and all, but I really questioned some of her motives. She seemed to make a lot of bad decisions and when the consequences had a negative impact on her, she would play victim.

I think Justin was also in a difficult position, him and Hannah were the only people that knew what happened. I'm surprised no one in this forum has mentioned Justin's actions during the rape. I know Bryce gave him an escape from his own horrible life, but he was just as guilty has Hannah for not doing enough that night. It made it worse that he kept quiet about it as long as he did.

@rarebreed said: I liked Hannah and all, but I really questioned some of her motives. She seemed to make a lot of bad decisions and when the consequences had a negative impact on her, she would play victim.

Yeah, Hannah turned out to be quite the basket case. She blamed everybody but herself for her problems. She made one bad decision after another. I get that she was immature but I think this show sends a bad message to girls. We Millennials already have a victim stigma associated with us. Shows like this only make it worse.

@Kewl_Kat said:

@rarebreed said: I liked Hannah and all, but I really questioned some of her motives. She seemed to make a lot of bad decisions and when the consequences had a negative impact on her, she would play victim.

Yeah, Hannah turned out to be quite the basket case. She blamed everybody but herself for her problems. She made one bad decision after another. I get that she was immature but I think this show sends a bad message to girls. We Millennials already have a victim stigma associated with us. Shows like this only make it worse.

It's the same way I felt after watching this series. Why didn't you help the victim while she is being assaulted? You can't really feel much sympathy for Hannah after that, in my opinion. She just blames everyone else, and talks about what they could have done. It's sad that people irl don't look at themselves in the mirror prior to blaming others.