In the first season, Zach had a complicated storyline. Or tape, if you will. In season 1, episode 7 , Hannah (Katherine Langford) outlines his crime: He emotionally sabotaged her in class by removing "compliments" from her "compliments" bag. (Ah, high school.) This was Zach's way of getting back at Hannah for refusing to go out with him. Then, Hannah writes Zach a letter about her emotional struggles, and he, according to Hannah, throws it away. His crime, though seemingly petty, was a small-scale versions of the violence she would face later in the season.