Why Didn’t Zach Pick Up Justin’s Call In ‘13 Reasons Why’?

“13 Reasons Why” star Ross Butler recently explained why he thinks his character, Zach, did not pick up Justin’s (Brandon Flynn) call.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Butler said that Zach ignored Justin’s call primarily because he was spending time with his family. In the series, it was revealed that Zach’s mom was putting a lot of pressure on him, especially since she thinks that he’s perfect. But in the end, Zach and Justin also lost their strong bond. This led to Zach realizing that he only has his family to rely on in the end.

Read: Ross Butler opens up about Zach, Alex cliffhanger in “13 Reasons Why”

“That’s so revealing of what’s going through Zach’s head, because he’s questioning his friendships and who’s going to stand up for him, and when he’s at the table with his sister and his mom, he knows that those are the people who really care about him. He takes a moment to just step away from his friends’ influence and step away from what they’re saying, and he takes time for himself, to really discover who he is and what he cares about,” he said.

Butler also talked about how he thinks Zach felt when he first approached Hannah (Katherine Langford) at the diner. In the scene, Marcus (Steven Silver) tried to touch Hannah, and Zach came to give her comfort. Butler believes that Zach was genuinely interested in getting to know Hannah, but he wasn’t courageous enough to make a move because of his friends.

“It’s just the moment where I had to stand up and do something because I believe that Zach is a good and decent person. His heart was pulling him too much in that direction not to do anything,” he said.

“13 Reasons Why” is currently streaming on Netflix.