Here's Everything We Know About Charlie, The '13 Reasons Why' Season 3 Newbie

This post contains spoilers for Season 3 of 13 Reasons Why. By now, the students of Liberty High are familiar faces for viewers, but along with introducing new girl Ani, Season 3 welcomed another jock into its clique of student athletes. A little younger than the main characters, the new football player gained importance as Bryce Walker's murder case progressed. So, who is Charlie in 13 Reasons Why? He eventually played a part in Ani's framing of Monty in Bryce's killing.

Like most jocks at Liberty High, Charlie (Tyler Barnhardt) proceeded through school with the reputation of being as controversial and destructive as most of the other athletes were. But he was on the quieter side, working alongside Jessica (Alisha Boe) at the local movie theater and acting a little timid around her. As her rapist Bryce (Justin Prentice) was by that point a student at Hillcrest, Charlie wasn't quite caught up with Jessica's history and the football team's shady past.

After Bryce was killed, Charlie looked toward older football players such as Monty (Timothy Granaderos) for guidance on how to act. This turned out to be a key detail in Monty's story, as he used Charlie's adoration of him to his advantage, claiming he was hanging out at Charlie's house the night Bryce died. In actuality, Monty was secretly hooking up with Winston (Deaken Bluman). Clearly a little uncomfortable with the lie, Charlie initially went along with Monty's story, but as the investigation surrounding Bryce deepened, he started growing suspicious of the controversial jock.

After Tyler (Devin Druid) came forward as a sexual assault survivor at the explosive Liberty-Hillcrest assembly, Charlie approached him about going to police in support of Tyler's experience with Monty. Once in the know about Monty's bullying past, Charlie joined Ani's plan to frame him for Bryce's murder. As Ani painted a picture to police of Monty unleashing his rage on Bryce to Deputy Standall (Mark Pellegrino), Charlie hid Bryce's bloody confession tape he gave to Jessica in Monty's football locker, leaving the evidence police needed to link Monty to the murder.

While Charlie's contribution helped police and Liberty High move on from Bryce Walker's death, he could receive an even bigger storyline in Season 4. The Season 3 finale already hinted at secrets being uncovered when it showed a fisherman discovering Tyler's discarded stash of guns. The kids also succeeded in protecting Alex (Miles Heizer), Bryce's actual killer, but his deputy dad definitely suspected that Alex was linked to the crime. With these hints at danger resurfacing, will Charlie find himself intertwined in new scandals in Season 4?

Becoming part of the core group by the end of Season 3 bodes well for Charlie's future on the show, but fans are still wary about the character soon disappearing. While 13 Reasons Why viewers have enjoyed the wholesome addition of Charlie, others have worried he could easily disappear as other characters, such as Sheri and Scott, previously have. Charlie learning right from wrong at Liberty High proves he knows a thing or two about making it through the drama, so here's hoping he returns in support of the others in Season 4.

Season 3 of 13 Reasons Why is currently streaming on Netflix.