It was recently announced that the Netflix
teen drama, 13 REASONS WHY would return for a third season next year. Some
think of it as completely unnecessary or don’t care at all, while others
believe that its hard-hitting reflection of the evils of America’s high school culture
needs to go on. I’m somewhere between those two, just as this show is always
just somewhere in between being about thought-provoking storytelling and simply
being a guilty pleasure.
The reason for this started with the tapes.
The basic problem with 13 REASONS WHY for me has always been the gimmick
that its title is, and by unfortunate extension, the ultimate attention-seeking
stunt that Hannah Baker’s suicide is portrayed as. Now I never read the book, but
through the first season, it became clear to me that this was just a high
school drama, albeit a little more hard-hitting and complex than something seen
on The CW or FreeForm. None of the reasons seemed like they were strong enough
for Hannah to kill herself. Yes, the rape could have been reason alone, but the
problem was generally in the depiction of the reasons. As the gimmicky title
and premise became the narrative’s worst enemy, the season failed to convince
me of the depth of the impact that the 13 reasons had. Some of the reasons unfortunately
came across as completely shallow and trivial even. If the reasons brought out
some angst or unresolved depression from the past or anything of significance
that was relevant, it needed to be shown. For instance, I don’t recall the
bullying that Hannah did in her previous school being a part of season one. It
came out of the blue in season two, when Olivia tries to convince some girl not
to testify about Hannah being a bully.
Anyway, she killed herself, we got to know the people in the school, we
liked some characters, we hated some, and we were invested in their lives, to
some degree. The story could go on, even after the gimmicky reasons were revealed
and done with. The second season unfortunately decided to continue to dwell in
the past. Even if we could live with that, what could have been told in ten
40-minute episodes was dragged on for thirteen 50-to-70-minute episodes. The
most annoying was Clay’s interaction with Hannah, and the only thing good to come
out of it was him telling her that she did an evil thing. Yes, she was a
selfish bitch to kill herself leaving behind such pain and devastation, and
someone needed to say it. To make it worse was that she had in fact made a list
of reasons why not to. Considering how good her parents were to her (a complete
opposite of Justin’s mother) ‘mom and dad’ should have been reason enough. The
fact that she did think about them and decided to kill herself anyway convinces
me that no one should forgive her what she did. And no, none of the reasons
convinced me that they were strong enough to make her too blind to see what her
death would do to those who cared.
Anyway, moving on, it’s a relief that Hannah Baker’s story is finally over.
Katherine Langford’s exit from the show, and Olivia Baker’s decision to move to
New York more than indicate that. Maybe now we can finally just have this show
for what it is—a high school drama—not about why someone killed herself and who
was responsible. That being said, certain people were responsible for certain
things.
[SPOILER ALERT: Read on only after finishing season two of 13 REASONS
WHY]
Bryce Walker, painted as a complete asshole—almost unrealistic in this
day and age when there are at least some grey areas shown—is allowed to go scot-free.
I’ll admit I didn’t think that the Bakers would win the case, because if I was
in that jury, I would vote in favor of the defendants too. In all fairness, the
school could not be held entirely responsible for what Hannah went through, and
she could have become a target and a victim even with stronger intervention on the
school’s part. However, I was convinced that the justice the Bakers would get—as
well as Jessica, and Bryce’s other victims—would be to see him pay for what he
did in a bigger way than being watched more closely by the cops for just three
months. He seemed to be done with his ways, when he tells Monty he doesn’t want
to do anything to make Tyler and the others pay for the baseball season getting
canceled, but I really don’t think there’s any redemption for that character.
While season two disappointed in that area, maybe they’ll find a way to take
him down in season three. Another extreme evil, Monty should, of course, be
destroyed completely for the brutal and worse-than-beastly rape of Tyler. That
was the most gruesome scene of the show yet, and one of the most difficult
things to watch, from among any content I’ve ever seen.
Then there’s Tyler, who’s probably broken beyond repair. There’s Clay,
who we last saw holding Tyler’s gun. There’s Jessica, torn between Alex and
Justin, who’s still using heroin. There’s Tony, Zach, and there are others.
There’s a lot to go on with. If we could all just move past Hannah, and let
them tell us these characters’ stories without the Hannah factor, I could still
find reasons to watch. And we’ll get to see if the annoying Clay has anything at
all to offer as a character, without the Hannah factor in his life.
However, I really would like to see more restraint in the narrative. The
over-indulgent subplots, extended scenes and conversations, and other downright
dumb plot choices—such as having a crutch-using Alex as the only
one to go with the villainous Monty to retrieve the lost Polaroids—could easily be done away with.
