***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD***
Netflix Originals have been known to confront less than joyful topics on more than one occasion: stalking in You, racism in Dear White People, murder in Mindhunter and suicide in 13 Reasons Why, the 2017 drama that left viewers shocked and in tears at Netflix’s disregard for censorship.
13 Reasons Why has now returned for a third season with more cringeworthy scenes, which make the show all the more binge-worthy.
More than a year after Hannah Baker took her own life, leaving behind 13 cassette tapes, each explaining one reason that led to her suicide, her friends are faced to deal with another youthful death.
Only this time, it is the result of murder, and the victim is not only the recipient of Hannah’s 12th tape but also her rapist: Bryce Walker.
Confused on how to feel about the untimely death of Hannah’s rapist, Clay Jensen, Jessica Davis, Alex Standall, Justin Foley, Tony Padilla, Tyler Down, Zach Dempsey and the newest character, Ani Achola, are confronted with 13 new reasons, the reasons each one of them—and others—have to have killed Bryce.
The 13-episode-long season explores each character’s motives, diving deeper into the secrets they hold.
What did Clay and Bryce fight about? Did Jessica confront her rapist? Why is Alex full of rage? What is in Justin’s shaving cream? What happened to Tony’s family? Has Tyler recovered from Spring Fling? How did Zach hurt his leg? And what kind of relationship did Ani and Bryce really have?
With Hannah’s storyline being completed in the first two seasons, a new female narrator emerges in Ani, the daughter of the Walker family’s live-in nurse.
There has been much controversy among viewers about the necessity of the character to the plot. Despite the initial reaction that this person does not belong, Ani is essential to telling Bryce’s story.
Anne Winters, who plays Bryce’s ex-girlfriend Chloe Rice, told People, “You need someone that has the other side of Bryce, and we wouldn’t have really gotten to see that unless there was some sort of new character that was living with him.”
As the story progresses, so does Bryce, becoming the most dynamic character the series has seen. He works to make amends, face his demons and take responsibility for his actions.
One cannot help but to feel sorry for him, and Ani helps the audience see why with the juxtaposition of her relationships with both Bryce and Clay, whose psyche is further revealed through his jealousy.
Historically, the series has not shied away from explicit themes with scenes of assault and suicide, which Netflix has since removed from the season one finale, and now murder. Many have criticized the gruesomeness of the content, but it is what makes the show honest.
It confronts sexual assault and bullying with a powerful story that today’s generation needs to see. From support groups to therapy to mental health, 13 Reasons Why goes beyond traditional methods of raising awareness.
The show tells the importance of taking care of one another, not only through the secret the group keeps for Tyler but also through the help they give him following the events of season two, which commented on the violence of school shootings.
Bound together by lies, eight high school students have yet another secret to keep after the closing of Bryce’s murder investigation.
So, what happens next? 13 Reasons Why will return to Netflix with one final season to answer this question as the Liberty High survivors graduate.
