13 Reasons Why – Season 2 [REVIEW]

Guns, Lies, Contrived plot lines, and G-G-G-G-G-GHooOOoOosStTTTts!!!

Trigger Warning: This article once again covers 1) Mental illness 2) Suicide 3) Sexual Assault

(aka – the show’s initial pitch meeting)

– Dirk Hortensius – Editor @ Crude-Mirror.com

If you have seen our previous article for season 1 of 13 Reasons Why, then you know that I entered the show with mixed feelings. The show started was a real and genuine attempt to dive into serious topics not often delved into in other “high school” YA films. In reality… it was just bad execution. Still, it had a very unique storytelling device and was very well shot, a few weird close-ups aside.

Sidenote: did I say “high school”? Most of the characters look like they’re in their 20’s… because they are!!!

– Peter Hortensius – Still unable to watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Given that it was based on a book by Jay Asher the 1st season basically covered its entire story leaving it very open-ended but still had a contained story. However, Netflix took the Game of Thrones route and renewed a 2^nd season that picks up where the book ends.

This presents a somewhat significant challenge for the creative team – as there now is no material to work with. Also, much like Game of Thrones, the nuance-laden writing has been replaced by new material that tries to emulate the style of season 1, but once again the show misses the mark when it tackles suicide. In some cases, it gets much worse.

The Structure Change

Set about 5 months after the 1st season, the main plot line is Baker’s lawsuit against the school accusing the faculty of fostering an environment that led to Hannah’s suicide. Meanwhile, Clay Jensen has tried to put Hannah’s passing behind him, but events at school and at home caused him to look back again and again. As all this is happening the people mentioned on Hanna’s tapes are called to testify either for the prosecution or the defense, each given their view if Liberty High failed Hannah.

Like the 1^st season, Season 2 consists of 13 episodes. However, instead of tapes, each episode is about each person testifying about their experience with Hannah and the school. In these testimonies we see more flashbacks of characters and plots that were covered before and given a different perspective.

COURT DRAMA, DRUG ABUSE, AND A SCHOOL SHOOTING! (Oh, My!)

Compared to the previous season (where I was at least intrigued but what each tape was about) season 2 seems to just retread territory we’ve already seen. I found this season more boring and unfocused than its predecessor. Something that the later seasons suffer from is that they try to talk about every commentary in your face. The 1st season mainly focused on online bullying, suicide, and sexual assault. Very dark stuff but its focus was still narrow enough that I can follow. S2 includes all that plus COURT DRAMA, DRUG ABUSE, AND A SCHOOL SHOOTING, (oh my!) plotlines that stray too far from the themes of season 1. 

Hint there’s more wacky commentary in the later seasons.

Subplots within too many subplots

It’s just too much

Another major problem with season 2 is that there are so many subplots that had little to do with the main story. The focus should be On Hannah’s friends and family seeking justice, but they are watered down because of the extra padding. There’s so much filler for the sake of filling in the 13-episode runtime that this show could be told in just 10 maybe 8. I can understand the last season having each episode based on a tape and how it affected the characters. But testimonies don’t have the same amount of mystery the tapes held and all they do is retread stuff we’ve already seen, nothing new is really added, and the stuff that is new really messes with continuity. 

Such plotlines include (but are certainly not limited to):

• Alex recovering from suicide attempt and memory loss
• Clay and Ghost Hanna (more on that soon) investigating a secret sex ring in the school
• Justin’s disappearance and drug problems
• Tony’s relationship with his boyfriend and anger issues
• School counselor Mr. Porter, the only good adult in this series and tensions with school faculty
• The witness gang being intimidated by a secret bad guy
• Jessica suffering from PTSD

Subplots are fine if they add character or connect with the overall story. A few of them do work; most others don’t.

Even the Backer parents that were my favorite parts in the last season are not as good engaging this time around. It’s not because the parents have split, in fact, I felt it was inevitable given how Hannah’s passing divided them. Instead in this season, 1^st half Mrs. Backer is accompanied by this random character that I think is supposed to be some women’s rights advocate or PR person to help support the case. But this show never makes clear what her purpose is. It’s like an insert character where the director loves this person so much that they shoehorn her into the story whether it makes sense to or not. She’s either emotionally supporting Mrs. Baker (in the don’t worry us woman stick together sort of way) like a family friend, secretly digging up school files like a secret agent, asking questions to Bryce’s parents like a firebrand journalist? Exactly what role is she supposed to be?  By episode 7 she just disappears from the show entirely making her inclusion completely pointless.

There was a brief bit of dialogue between Mrs. Backer and her husband and lawyer arguing that blonde’s inclusion in the team hurts their case because she’s a wealthy woman who could afford to lose this case and move to the next hinting she might be just a grifter, whose only promoting her cause and not Baker’s, But the show never indicated the Blonde as such.

Still, there were some strong scenes with Mrs. Backer when she’s interacting with the other kids. I especially liked one Scene where Mrs. Baker Hugs Jessica who’s undergone the same trauma Hannah did and comforts her the same way she felt she would have comforted her deceased daughter.

Expanding on the Villain

I do give this show credit for expanding things that were sorely needed. For an instant the show’s antagonist Brice Walker is a much more 3-dimensional character than in the last season. He’s more than just a stereotypical Jock rapist, he’s shown to be manipulative, charismatic and even when being told people has got dirt on him, he just shrugs it off knowing how protected by the system. Bryce is keeping a cool head even when he knows people are coming for him. 

Season 2 also shows more of what kind of a family he lives in. Largely absent in his life and giving him complete freedom with his parent’s trust fund. Pretty much a life that’s built on white privilege for lack of a better allegory. Being raised by absent Parents with no responsibilities’ highly patriarchal society is a toxic combination. These elements do make Bryce a more interesting character, and when I say interesting, I don’t mean likable. He’s absolutely a terrible person, but we at least have more context as to why people like Bryce exist.

Missed Opportunities

There were however also some lost opportunities I felt could have been exploited. Back in season 1, Clay’s mother was representing the school when The baker’s lawsuit was underway. Before the trial, however, upon finding out Clay’s close relationship with Hannah Mrs. Jensen dropped from the case citing conflict of interest. This took away a golden opportunity, instead, we got stereotypical hardball nasty woman lawyers as a replacement. Imagine how much more interesting it would be if Mrs. Jenson was for the defense of the school during the trial. She’s forced to do her job that would have to depict Hannah as troubled attention seeking girl and that the school is not responsible. Imagine, having tarnished Hannah in the eyes of her own son. Yeah, it would be more melodrama, yes, but at least it’s relatable drama.

Ghost Hannah

Let’s talk about the part that truly undermines the good intentions of this series. Hanna returning to Clay as a Ghost. Back in the 1st season, Clay does see images of Hannah, but it was very clear to us that those scenes were projections of Clay’s memories. Therefore, it makes sense that Clay would see Hannah if it was at an important place like her locker or in the park. They worked because we know these were moments Hannah and Clay shared a strong connection with. Despite my criticism of season 1 it did do a good job depicting Clay’s grief at the loss of his friend. We’ve all had moments when people are gone, and we like to see them at a place where we shared an emotional bond.

But this ghost is literally stalking Clay’s life in private moments like making out with his new girlfriend Skye. On top of that Ghost Hannah actually helps Clay to solve mysteries about the schools negligence. And this is the bigger problem, for all 13RW’s attempts to be “Grounded and realistic” they throw this contrived stuff at you.

There’s a big difference between when having the ghost trope 

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It also doesn’t help that Clay talks to Hannah in open public and no one notices. This is another annoying cliché where the character sees visions of someone no one else sees and tells no one. It’s that same cliché in Battlestar Galactica where Gaius Baltar keeps seeing Six in a ship. But you know what, at least people look at him weirdly. No one seems to pay attention to Clay at all, even when shouting at ghost Hannah no one takes notice. It actually makes these supposedly serious scenes unintentionally hilarious.

The only time the Ghost Hanna worked was when where Clay, after getting a gun, starts walking to Bryce’s house with the intention of killing him. The entire scene we see Hannah reciting her 12^th tape Clay listened too which was the tape reciting how Bryce raped her. In a scene like this you can easily argue that the tape is visually manifesting Hanna in Clay’s head.

I honestly wouldn’t be so critical on this if it weren’t trying so hard to be the 2010’s American high school experience and fails. For every improvement they try to make from the first season they make another decision that undermines its core message. When people talk about 13RW Romanticizing suicide, this is what they are talking about. To give the ugly truth, to quote one episode of sesame street. “When people die, they don’t come back, ever” yet Hannah is constantly coming back to Clay and it’s not anxiety flashbacks this time. This is a person Clay is interacting and talking with that’s dead. It removes the sense of permanence that death is supposed to bring. There are many other TV shows that convey death much more than this PSA disguised as Oscar bait.

Sidenote: I’m aware that in the series finale Clay admits in a casual way that he doesn’t see ghosts, that he imagines dead people, and that he visualized talking to them. That is not an excuse because it’s clear the story makers didn’t indicate any of that to us. This was just an excuse to cover their own failings.

There is so much more media than tackle this much more thought. This one clip from BoJack Horsemen covey’s death supports it’s anti-suicide message so much better in just a few minutes compared to the 26 episodes I had to endure, so far.

Inconsistencies

Another major problem with this season is there are some major inconsistencies compared to the first season. The biggest among them was Zack who humiliated Hanna who was on one of those tapes, was apparently sleeping with each other the summer before her death. Why wasn’t Zach’s affair with Hannah mentioned in the tapes summer before her death, When Clay asked him that very question Zack simply responded “did she put everything on your tape” that seems to be a lazy way around. I think these extra details like sleeping with one of the guys you blamed on one of the tapes would have been mentioned somewhere. It’s obvious the writers didn’t have continuity in mind. 

The Ending: Bittersweet – Then Bitter Again

So, by the end of this season everything is basically wrapped up, it’s a bitter, but real sort of way. The Beaker’s Lawsuit fail, and Bryce only got Probation for his crimes which is sadly realistic. Other elements reach their conclusion, Clay’s parents adopt his drug addicted best friend Justin. Furthermore Clay’s central story seems at an end with an eulogy of Hannah’s friends and family coming together to properly morn her passing. Clay looks on as he sees Ghost Hannah one last time walking out the door, seemingly putting Clay’s visions to rest. While I do not believe a second should have been made, I do understand its purpose of giving resolution to Hannah’s story. Theirs even a great scene where clay is at his junior prom and is completely alone then all the people affected by Hannah’s passing come together and embrace.

If the series ended on this scene, I believe it would have been a satisfying conclusion.

So… About “That” Scene…

Then as everything is just ready to wrap up, show gets all rape-y again….

As I mentioned in our season 1 article, I was troubled by the fact that the show’s creators chose to foreshadow a school shooting subplot involving Tyler as the gunmen despite showing no homicidal tendencies.

To season 2’s credit this time they gave Tyler more of a transition this time as he joins a group of outcast goth/emo anti-society kids and befriends their leader Cyrus who share the idea that the school needs to be taken down. From planting an explosive dye pack on the student body president burning the words “Rapists” on the baseball field the night before the big game. At one point they were even able to recruit Clay into their scheme and leaked Hannah’s tapes online. Tyler finally starts getting a taste for killing when he shoots a crow and he shares a reaction showing that he is both stunned and exhilarated.

Sidenote: I have to ask though where the hell did Tyler get those guns, his parents seem very polite so I don’t see them possessing any. Also this show is set in California which has some of the strictest (and wackiest) gun laws in the US. How the hell did Tyler acquire assault arms? Did I miss something?

Eventually, Tyler and Cyrus had a big falling out and Tyler is left completely isolated. Later, Tyler’s put into a rehabilitation program that seemingly cured his impulses. I feel that would be a much more subtle way to transition for Tyler to turn into a Columbine wannabe. But because this does everything in its power to shove extreme risky stuff in your face, they have Monty (a generic bully character we barely know) sodomizes Tyler with a broom handle, and this was the breaking point for Tyler deciding to shoot up the school.

I’m not sure if that scene was necessary.

This scene reminds me somewhat of the Sansa rape in Game of Thrones, in that it only fills the role of “shock value” and that’s mostly it. Personally, I think it would be much scarier if Tyler acted like everything was fine when in reality it was all a ruse to let everyone’s guard down, that way it’s more shocking when Tyler walks out of his car with his AR with the intention to kill. They didn’t need to use rape as another plot device again.

What really irks me the most about that scene is that its only purpose was just to tease a 3rd season that in my opinion is unnecessary. Everything seemed all wrapped up with Hannah and Clay’s story that was supposed to be its overall plot. The story has run its course.

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Strangely enough, despite the show having the balls to depict so much disturbing material they backed off with depicting Tyler shooting up the school. In fact, he doesn’t shoot the school at all. Tyler for some reason contacts his ex, telling him of his plans, and alerts Clay and “the gang”.

Clay makes no effort to call the police or barricade the doors. Clay, “the hero”, tries to talk Tyler out of it. Surprisingly enough, it worked. Tyler gives up his rifle and just flees. Yeah, all that buildup and disturbing imagery for nothing. I think it’s safe to say that in real life Clay would be dead on the spot if something like this were to have happened in real life. Even the behind-the-scenes experts say, “you do not approach an active shooter in any situation”.

Conclusion

I do give season 2 credit for expanding on elements that were missing from its predecessor, but for every good part they keep involving more ideas that bloat the story. I understand that this series wants to promote a strong message that’s aimed toward young Americans, especially in the times we live in, but you don’t need to tell every relevant commentary in your face to have a good story.

Still… there are two seasons to go and I’ve been told things get even more nuts.