Warning: Spoilers ahead. Well guys, after a seriously heartbreaking final season, 13 Reasons Why star Brandon Flynn has finally opened up about his character’s emotional death, and we’re shedding some serious tears! As fans know, the fan-favorite Netflix series came to an end after four seasons on June 5, and after a battle with AIDS, Justin Foley took his final breaths.

Now, the actor himself has recalled the moment when he found out that he was going to be the one to die as the show came to a close.

“We read that first script and we saw that there was the funeral. I think I literally raced to [showrunner] Brian [Yorkey] right after the first table read and was like, ‘It’s Justin isn’t it?,'” Brandon told EW. “Then it was in the middle of shooting that Brian and I went to dinner. I kind of knew when he texted me about dinner, and sure enough, we sat at the table and he’s like, ‘We’re gonna put Justin to rest.’ We both sat there somberly for a second and then we just delved into the storyline and what they had devised and what I could bring to the table.”

For those who missed it, in the finale, it was explained to fans that Justin had contracted HIV when living on the streets, and from using dirty needles because of his drug addiction.

“We all collaborated and it evolved into this sort of packet of information,” the 26-year-old said about researching the illness before filming. “I watched a bunch of movies and read a couple different books that highlighted the stigma behind the disease and different people’s experiences. There’s an Instagram page actually called The AIDS Memorial that I found and I kept pulling from all the stories.”

He continued, “Frailty was a really big physical element that I wanted to hit, feeling really tiny in this already small bed. And then it was about, what would it be like to have all these people who have meant the world to you, who have changed your life, to be sitting in the room with you? This whole season, Justin was trying to be so strong for people. Then when he asks Clay, ‘Will you hold my hand bro?’ Justin really doesn’t know what the f**k is going to happen.”

Finally, Brandon shared what he learned from playing Justin for four seasons.

“Justin was a mirror for me in a lot of ways, in a lot of things that I needed to heal and recover from personally. It never seemed to fail that I would get to set, dealing with something personal, and it would be the scene that I needed to do to get out or process something within myself,” he explained. “I think Justin was this massive gift…I’ll never ever ever forget Justin Foley.”

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