15 Things You Didn't Know About '13 Reasons Why' Character Clay Jensen

At this point, 13 Reasons Why needs no introduction. It's Netflix's most popular show yet (yes, really) and everyone is tweeting about it and watching it and obsessing over it. Clay Jensen is the main character in 13 Reasons Why, the young adult novel by Jay Asher and the Netflix television adaptation that started streaming on March 31st. At first glance, he's your typical boy-next-door. He's cute, he's sweet, and he's harmless. As you get to know him, you become an even bigger fan, and you realize that he's a really fascinating character. Clay is played by 20-year-old Dylan Minnette in the show, and Dylan definitely does an amazing job bringing this teenage boy to life. Since you definitely raced through the 13 episodes as fast as you possibly could and are now an expert on this show, it's time to think about the protagonist. Here are 15 things you didn't know about 13 Reasons Why character Clay Jensen.

15 He's Different In The Book And Netflix Show

In the YA book, Clay is a really sweet kid. He's still the same in the show, but in the novel, he's more of a passive character. He walks around town all night listening to Hannah's tapes and visiting all of the locations that are on the map that she put in the shoebox along with the tapes. He listens… and listens… and listens. He thinks about what's going on, he processes his emotions, and he tries his best to understand. In the TV show, he's less passive and more active. He tries to get revenge on the other kids at school (aka the popular kids) because he finds it really difficult to just sit back and watch what's going on. He wants to make a difference and do right by Hannah. In the book, Clay seems pretty close with his mom and lets her know his whereabouts, but in the TV show, he stays out all night or sneaks out and would rather not let his mom know what's happening.

14 He's Your POV Into The Story

Since the novel is written in first person, your POV into the story is with Clay. You don't have another way in. You can't figure out what the other characters are thinking because you're literally in Clay's head and are learning about everything through his eyes and from his perspective. That's the joy and the pain of a first person narrative, right? Sometimes you would love to know what the other people are thinking, but unfortunately, you can't do that. At the same time, you really get to know the main character and feel like you know them. Clay is still your main way of understanding the story in the Netflix television show since he's on screen the majority of the time and he's still the protagonist of the story. He's really the best person to play that role since he was close with Hannah and he's a really good guy.

13 He Blames Himself For Hannah's Death

If you thought that Clay would listen to all of the tapes and refuse to believe that he had anything to do with Hannah's death, you would be totally wrong. In both the book and the TV show, Clay really hates that he is on the tapes and that he had something to do with Hannah's death. He blames himself, too, and he feels a huge amount of guilt. He wishes that he could have done something to help her, that he could have recognized the signs, and that he had talked to her more. After he's done listening to his tape, he realizes that he didn't really DO anything -- it's just that Hannah wanted him to know how she was feeling and what she was thinking. In a way, though, he didn't know that she was hurting, and so that's enough of a reason for him to feel such crushing guilt. You feel terrible watching him hurting, too.

12 He's Not Perfect

What's interesting about Clay and what makes him so real and so relatable is that he's not perfect. And that's the best thing about him. He's not the most popular guy at school. He's not a jock. He doesn't have a six-pack. He doesn't always know the right thing to say (okay, most of the time he doesn't know the right thing to say). He didn't figure out that something was seriously wrong with Hannah and that she was thinking of taking her own life. He annoys the popular crowd and his parents and it's like he just can't help it. It's just how he is. So if you're thinking about that he's a totally and completely flawless person, then you have to think again. Because he's a much more normal person than that. The most boring people in the world are the people who think that they have to be perfect 100 percent of the time, and that goes for fictional characters, too.

11 He Walked Away From A Good Friend

No, not Hannah. But Skye. Skye is a character in both the book and the television show who it's relieved used to be good friends with Clay… except that he stopped talking to her. He figures that they just drifted apart, but she feels super hurt about being left behind. You can relate to this because you've probably had a falling out with a friend (or two… or more, unfortunately). Sometime this does just happen and it's just life, but other times, it's a really sad thing and you miss your old friend. You're not sure what happened and you wish that you could take it back. At the end of the book, Clay realizes that he can recognize some signs of depression in Skye and he reaches out to her. He has learned a lot from the experience of listening to the tapes and learning about Hannah's life and death, and he wants to use that to help Skye. This also happens in the show.

10 He Believed The Rumors About Hannah

If you think that Clay never thought anything negative about Hannah, you would be wrong. And he feels terribly about this. He really does. Because even though he wondered if the rumors about Hannah being easy and promiscuous were true, he believed them (at least to some extent). It seems like this is what stopped him from truly becoming involved with Hannah and admitting to her that he really liked her and wanted to be her boyfriend. It's also possible to interpret this as him totally freaking out and getting nervous about his lack of experience with girls. It would make sense that he wouldn't want to hook up with her because he would feel like he was going to make a joke of himself. You want to yell at your TV screen (or the book) when you realize this because Clay is such a good guy and you would have loved if Hannah could have survived and the two of them could have ended up together.

9 He Has No Chill

The cool thing about Clay is that he really has no chill. You know, as all the cool kids say. He liked Hannah so much and he didn't know how to act around her or what to say. When he was tutoring Jeff, he got some tutoring in return: in girls. Since Jeff knew that Clay liked Hannah and that he literally had no idea how to prove it to her, he figured that he should teach Clay a thing or two. Clay and Jeff's scenes on the Netflix show are seriously sweet and adorable and definitely make you wish that Jeff was still alive. Ugh. It's tough to think about. He's not even a real person and you miss him (okay, okay, he's real to you). Clay really has no chill, though, and even though he gets a lot of encouragement and advice, he still finds it tough to tell Hannah how he really feels. They have a lot of missed romantic moments.

8 He's An Introvert

Clay is definitely an introvert, which is what also makes him the best choice for the main character of this story. Since the book and TV show are about such an important topic, you have to have a main character that really understands the weight of that. They can't be more concerned with superficial things than the topic at hand. They have to understand what's going on, and Clay really does. It doesn't seem like he has a ton of friends, and yet at the same time, he's pretty popular. Everyone knows and loves him, even though he doesn't have a huge friend circle. He spends a lot of time alone, especially once he receives the shoebox of tapes from Hannah and starts listening to them over a period of several days. If you consider yourself an introvert, then you can probably really relate to Clay (at least on this level).

7 He Was The Subject Of Rumors

After a while of watching the show, you learn that there were some rumors about Clay at school: since he does not have much experience with girls, people start saying that he is probably gay (even though he is not). He is just shy and does not have any experience. This makes him a sympathetic character (even though you already thought that he was) since he knows what it is like to be the subject of a conversation that is not true. That helps him understand Hannah more and relate to her more. It also makes you realize that the high school in this story is a really gossip-heavy place. Everyone talks about everyone and does not want to know the truth. Actually, they go one step further and do not even care about the truth. They would rather believe what they want to believe and get on with their shallow lives.

6 He's Had Tough Times

You learn that Clay used to be on medication for depression and anxiety and that his mom thinks that he should still be taking those pills. She feels that he's acting the way that he used to -- all withdrawn and sad -- and that she can see this cycle happening all over again. This makes Clay an even more relatable character since it proves that he doesn't live a totally charmed, perfect life. Even though he's from a really lovely family and has had a few nice friends (like Jeff -- SOB -- and Tony), he has still had some struggles and some hard times. He's no stranger to feeling different from everyone else and to feeling like he just couldn't get a handle on happiness. It makes sense that Clay never told Hannah about this since he doesn't seem to have shared his mental health history with anyone, let alone the girl that he was crushing on.

5 He Has More Friends Than He Thinks

When you read the book, you feel like Clay is definitely an introvert/a loner/whatever else you want to call him. Since he's not part of the popular crowd of jocks and he doesn't have a massive social circle that he hangs out with all the time, he doesn't really think that he has any friends. But when you watch the Netflix show, you realize that he more friends than he thinks. He definitely does. He's got Tony, who really cares about him and is kind of like an older brother kind of figure. He looks after Clay and always wants to make sure that he's okay, especially when Clay starts listening to the tapes. He also has Skye, who he used to be friends with and who it seems like has been waiting for him to realize that they should start hanging out again. You think this way because when he reaches out to her, she's cool with hanging out. And, of course, he had Jeff, but that's too sad to think about.

4 Hannah Called Him "Helmet"

Hannah says this about Clay on his tape: "Clay -- Helmet? Your name does not belong on this list. You're good and kind and decent and I didn't deserve to be with someone like you. I never would." While this is seriously sad and breaks your heart, it's also adorable since it proves that she had the best nickname ever for clay. She called him "Helmet" and you wish that you could give someone in your own life this nickname. Yes, even if they never ever wear a helmet. And don't own a bike. No, you don't think that would be weird. You would just reference 13 Reasons Why and they would understand since they obviously love this story as much as you do. Now that you think about it, you wish that Clay would have gotten the hint that Hannah was definitely crushing on him too. Maybe things would have worked out differently. Or maybe not. You don't know. You just know that they would have made a great couple.

3 He Doesn't Care About What Other People Think

Another thing that you should know about Clay Jensen? He really doesn't care what other people think. Since he's a bit on the nerdy side, you might think that he does care, but he doesn't. That's because he tells people about the tapes and talks about them when the popular kids don't think that he should. He tries to rebel against what Tony is telling him and he listens to the tapes much slower than everyone wants him to. Seriously, every single character on this show keeps asking what's taking Clay so long and why he didn't listen to the tapes in one evening like everyone else. Clay doesn't care. He knows that he can't handle listening to them all in one go. He's super emotional about the whole thing and he needs to do this in his own way, and that means taking his time and going slower than people think he should.

2 The Actor Playing Him Really Connected

Did you know that Dylan Minnette seriously connected to Clay and really enjoyed the experience of playing him? In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Dylan discussed how he could relate to Clay and sometimes he felt like he was playing himself. He found the whole thing really emotional and important and he's glad that he got the chance to be a big part of this project. In the interview he said, "the scene where Clay thinks back to what he could've said to Hannah to save her life I think is such an impactful scene and meant so much to me when I read it. I don't know if a scene has ever hit me as much as that. Sitting there reading it, knowing what it means, I've never quite felt so attached to a character or scene in anything I've ever done." You are definitely happy with all of the casting choices for the show, but particularly when it comes to Clay because you definitely think that Dylan has done an amazing job.

1 He's A Huge Source Of Change

As the Netflix show nears its final episodes, you learn that Clay isn't content to give the tapes to the next person and just sit back. He wants to help change things at his high school and beyond. He decides to get a confession out of Bryce and record it, and he gives that to the teachers at school. He ends up being a huge source of change since he's the one that knew that was the right thing to do. And it's really, really awesome. It's inspiring. It's motivating. And it makes you wish that Clay was a real person because you want to be BFFs with him. He's just the best. You love that he got it together enough to stand up for what he believes in and what he knows is wrong. He's not afraid of what the popular kids are going to say or do. He just wants to do the right thing. A lot of people could stand to do that too.