I just finished watching Netflix's new hit, 13 Reasons Why. I knew getting through it would difficult, I knew there were some tough scenes and serious content, but that's why this show is so important and relevant. Life, especially high school, is full of so many problems and I have so much respect for people who address those issues directly instead of ignoring them.
So here are 13 reasons why I liked this show.
Hannah is incredibly relatable and fearless. She starts off fearlessly pursuing her crush, not worrying about what other people think of her. Her best friend just moved and she just wants to get through high school unscathed. But that doesn't happen, not after her harmless crush takes a picture of her accidentally flashing her underwear and starts a viscous rumor. The problems are realistic. Nothing is overdramatized or sugarcoated. This show deals with real issues and repercussions. Kids make mistakes and do stupid things and start cruel rumors. They are actual teenagers, not adults parading as teenagers. They have a bad sense of fashion, hygiene, and vocabulary. They're real kids.
The ending isn't forced. Hannah reaches the absolute bottom of her ability to get through life. There is no last minute save the day. She doesn't suddenly realize her love for her parents or Clay or anyone will give her a reason to live. It's not fake and it's not easy, it's just true.
Nothing is glamorized. Parties aren't disguised with pretty lights and glitter in order to hide the gross games and idiotic antics of teenagers. Sex, drugs, rape, suicide, it's all real and gruesome.
Hannah isn't portrayed as a martyr. Just because she's dead doesn't mean she's perfect. She made mistakes, she was on the receiving end of other peoples' mistakes. She lashed out at people who cared about her, but she also asked for help.
Just like Hannah, the rest of the characters are flawed. We watch the show, essentially, from Clay and Hannah's point of view. And Clay is a nice guy who cares about Hannah, but even he messes up and says stupid things. Everyone contributes to the problem in some way or another.
There's a nice balance between past and present. As Clay listens to Hannah tell her story, we also see how he and the rest of the "reasons" deal with her death. The transition between the two is really well done, and keeps the plot/subplot format that we are used to seeing.
There are a lot of characters, but everyone feels real and complicated. Every character has motivation, a reason to feel guilty and embarrassed. Every character deals with Hannah's suicide in their own way. There are not stereotypes, they are just people.
No one is perfectly good or evil. You can feel sorry for Hannah, but you can also feel sorry for everyone she left behind. You can see the things her classmates did wrong, but also how they are trying to cope with it and do better.
The show is suspenseful. We already know the ending, right from the first moment of the first episode. Yet Hannah reveals some truly shocking things about her high school career. She gets into some of her classmate's secrets that really show you can't know anyone just by looking at them.
We aren't given all the answers. The ending was an ending, everything was wrapped up, but it wasn't spoon fed and wrapped with a bow. That's not how life works.
The final and 13th reason why I loved this show was Hannah Baker. Hannah, you broke my heart. You showed me how a pretty girl who seems fine and confident and smart can actually be falling apart. The moment when she imagined how her life could be with Clay, carefree and happy in love, if so many terrible things hadn't happened to her... that was devastating. No one person could have helped her, it had to have been multiple people like say 13 people.
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