Ross Butler Said His Opinion of Zach Changed During "13 Reasons Why" Season 2

13 Reasons Why season 2 dropped on Friday (May 18), and one of the bigger surprises of the season — spoilers ahead — was the Hannah Baker/Zach Dempsey plot line. In episode 6, it's revealed that the summer after Zach stole compliment notes from Hannah, the two became romantically involved.

Apparently, the revelation changed the way Ross Butler thought about his character. The actor told Elle that finding out that Hannah and Zach effectively dated, and that Zach was afraid to tell his friends, "did kind of change my opinion on Zach — I’m a bit more disappointed in him now." But, he added, "I get where he’s coming from. I think teenagers can relate to the pressure of being someone they want everyone to think they are. And it is nice to finally get to see a relationship that’s somewhat healthy, even though it ends for pretty bad reasons."

Ross also said that the storyline felt very natural; for his part, he understood why the show put Hannah and Zach together. "I had lunch with Brian Yorkey a couple of months before production, and he gave me the full lowdown. It was a surprise, but it made sense to me, and it felt organic. It was a lot of what I was playing in the first season anyway — I always felt Zach truly cared about Hannah, and was just afraid to tell his friends about her."

The Zach/Hannah scenes are a rare bright spot in a series that has been continually criticized for the way it handles difficult subject matter. Already, critics have called out the second season for its treatment of a near school shooting; the first season was criticized for its lack of mental health resources, which it added in the form of trigger warnings for season 2.

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text Crisis Text Line at 741-741.

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