'13 Reasons Why': Justin Prentice on Bryce's Final Moments and What His Death Means for Season 4 (Exclusive)

Justin Prentice is spilling all on Bryce Walker's death on '13 Reasons Why.'

Warning: Spoiler alert! Do not proceed if you have not watched season 3 of Netflix's 13 Reasons Why. If you have, it is safe to continue...

13 Reasons Why season three is now streaming on Netflix and in a lot of ways it feels like a completely different show than seasons one and two.  This time, the story is primarily centered on the murder of antagonist Bryce Walker (Justin Prentice)

Bryce, of course, assaulted several women throughout the series, including Hannah Baker, who ultimately died by suicide. At the end of season two, the character hardly receives any punishment after he’s arrested for sexually assaulting Jessica Davis (Alisha Boe). Instead, because he's a minor, he’s given only three months probation. 

During the new season, viewers will see how Bryce attempts to change and redeem himself for the hurt he's caused and the wrong he's done -- before he's killed.

In fact, he even records a cassette tape (yeah, those are still a thing this season) apology to Jess... but in his final moments, viewers see him spewing hate once again.  

"F**king Zach (Ross Butler), I'm gonna wreck his life," he screams out before lashing out at Jess. (More on this to come on Monday!)

"I think that is still even in character for Bryce, I don't think it means that he has not learned anything on his journey," Prentice tells ET about Bryce's final moments. "I think he was trying to seek out amends in his own way and kind of what that meant to him and how he could go about it."

"Obviously he was -- with reaching out to Jess -- he was met with walls, rightfully so, and did not know where to go," he continues. "I don't think his response nullifies what he had learned up until that point -- emotionally, how much he had grown -- I just think that Bryce is pushed to default back on his own behavior in certain circumstances and you see that with different characters."

"Even though he can be loving and empathetic towards one character perhaps, you know, that does not mean that he won't default back to his years of being the alpha aggressor and provoked," he adds. "I think this is a moment where he is provoked and he just got his a** handed to him... Yeah, it was really interesting and I thought it was done really well. I think it was an interesting way to end it." 

Prentice says he also got the courtesy heads up from showrunner Brian Yorkey that Bryce would be dying before the season started filming.  

"Our showrunner took me out to lunch before we came out here to start filming season three, so I knew ahead of time," he explains. 

"He was like, 'Oh hey! Sit down, sit down... you're dead,' but yeah, then he kind of explained the arc of the season and I was all on board with it, I was looking forward to showing a different side of Bryce," Prentice recalls. 

As for what this means for season four. it's possible we will see Bryce in flashbacks -- but for the most part, this story is done.  

"I feel like we have told a good bit of Bryce's story," Prentice shares. "I feel like there is a nice bow on his storyline and the audience doesn't probably want to see much more of it. We've seen enough of Bryce. I think we laid it all out there. We got to see the a**hole side of him the first few seasons, and now we get to see the other facet of Bryce -- or at least him trying to at least hone another facet. I think he was been pretty well explored and as an actor, I feel relief in moving forward with my life, and put everything out there with the character." 

Season three of 13 Reasons Why is streaming on Netflix. 

RELATED CONTENT:

Latest News