When Netflix announced the series 13 Reasons Why, based on a New York Times best-seller written by Jay Asher, we admit we were skeptical. Developing Hannah Baker’s story, revolving around her suicide and the people and events that lead to it, into a television series isn’t an easy feat. After a second viewing we can confidently say they not only did the book justice, but expanded upon the elements and the characters involved in Hannah’s story. Thanks to creator Brian Yorkey and a truly gifted ensemble cast, this series is an astounding success and required viewing for all. Below we talk about the thirteen reasons you should add this astonishing series to the top of your Netflix queue. *Spoilers ahead*
1. Exceptionally talented, diverse cast
The series so heavily relies on each of its characters to bring Hannah’s story to life, not to mention Hannah herself, so casting had to be spot on. And boy did they nail it. Katherine Langford beautifully brings the complexities of Hannah Baker to life and makes you feel like you’re apart of her story. You laugh with her, you cry with her, and part of you feels like your name might come up on one of these tapes. No one could have portrayed Hannah any better. You listen to these tapes along with Clay, and Dylan Minnette was the perfect person to go on this journey with. He hits all the right notes with his performance, revealing the many layers to Clay Jensen. Through Minnette, you feel everything Clay is feeling from unrequited love to soul crushing heartbreak to enlightenment. Dylan Minnette is the leading man this series needed and the one we all deserved. Each of the remaining cast members are incredibly gifted and wonderfully diverse, proudly representing different sexualities and ethnicities. Christian Navarro is unassuming and captivating as Tony Padilla. Alisha Boe is intriguing and layered as Jessica Davis. Ross Butler is contemplative and unbashful as Zach Dempsey. Miles Heizer is reflective and nuanced as Alex Standall. Ajiona Alexus is endearing and has an understated elegance as Sheri. We could go on and on about this extraordinary cast, most being relative newcomers, and 13 Reasons Why thrives because of them.
2. Careful and truthful handling of sensitive subjects
Telling a story about a teenage girl who committed suicide isn’t an easy task, along with various sensitive subjects that makeup her story like bullying, rape, mental illness, depression and self-harm. Most shows based on and written for teenagers gloss over these subjects or romanticize them, but not this series. Complete with much needed trigger warnings, 13 Reasons Why honestly and unapologetically depicts each strong subject manner with rawness and realism. While this is considerably difficult to watch, it’s one of the many reasons this series is so important and sets itself apart from other YA shows on air today. We all know how cruel high schoolers can be and many of us can relate to feeling alone at one point or another. By tackling these topics head on and not shying away from the brutality of them, 13 Reasons Why cements itself as being leaps and bounds ahead of other series written for teens and one of the best shows Netflix has to offer.
3. Well written three-dimensional characters
Often times with a large ensemble cast, characters can be glossed over and one-dimensional. 13 Reasons Why does an phenomenal job of giving every character on its series the care and attention they deserve. Each character is well-rounded and is handled with due diligence, allowing the audience to understand their motives behind what drives them to do the things that they do. One of the greatest changes the show makes in comparison to the book is that Clay Jensen has more depth and isn’t reduced to just “the good guy”. Not to mention the series finely crafts a new character in Jeff Atkins, who quickly becomes a fan-favorite and has a heartbreaking arc of his own. With a cast this abundant in size it would be easy to lose its characters among the crowd, but the creators and writers make sure screen time is allotted for each individual that influences this story.
4. Realistically depicts what it’s like to be a high schooler
While teen shows are no doubt entertaining and delightful to watch, most completely miss the mark when depicting the high school experience. Not to mention the actors in certain series look far too old to be considered high schoolers, so it’s nice to see actors who look and are young enough to represent high schoolers. As mentioned earlier, the characters are wonderfully diverse which is much more accurate to real life as opposed to what’s reflected in the media regularly. The dialogue between characters feels youthful and real without being too edgy or full of cliche, especially in the more intense scenes where the things being said are hurtful and harmful. Whether the media wants to address it or not, bullying is real and effects us all and 13 Reasons Why dives head first into this topic. Furthermore, it displays the hierarchy of high school without romanticizing or diminishing it, allowing these characters to feel more relatable to the audience it’s trying to reach.
5. Effortlessly moves back and forth between the past and the present
The series gracefully bounces back and forth between events that happened before and after Hannah’s death, which is vital to telling her story. As Clay makes his way through the tapes – at a much slower pace than his book counterpart which is a welcome change – you never lose track between the past and the present. 13 Reasons Why has great pacing and never gets ahead of itself, allowing each of Hannah’s tapes to resonate with the audience before moving onto the next. As past events directly effect present ones and the people involved, we gain perspective and slowly learn how each person played a part in Hannah’s decision to end her life. It was a smart move to give each side of Hannah’s tapes its own episode, accumulating in a series made up of 13 well-written episodes.
6. Forces you to reflect on your own choices
Throughout our viewing and subsequent second viewing of the series, we found ourselves reflecting on the choices we’ve made or would have made if we were in those character’s shoes. We think it’s fair to say most of us have been a victim of bullying at one point or another, and some have even been the bully. Whether it was a way to fit in or impress those who you want to fit in with, we’ve all said and done regrettable things, especially in high school. 13 Reasons Why forces us to contemplate on our choices and how they might’ve effected the people surrounding us, good or bad. This series illustrates how our words and actions can create a ripple effect and deeply impact others, whether we meant to or not. If you learn anything after binge-watching this series, it’s that the things we say and do matter, and we have the power to effect the world around us.
7. Well-written story arc for Hannah’s parents
The series takes a more in depth look at Hannah’s parents in comparison to the book, giving them their own story arc. We watch as they grieve over losing their daughter and try to piece together why Hannah made the decision to end her own life. Kate Walsh and Brian d’Arcy James eloquently and heartbreakingly portray Mrs. and Mr. Baker, respectively. Mrs. Baker’s desperation to understand what happened to her daughter and her relentlessness to seek out the truth gives us insight into what it’s like to lose a child. Through Mr. Baker we see how the community reacts around them, always unsure of what to say and visibly uncomfortable. We also get to see Mr. and Mrs. Baker trying to get justice for their daughter by filing a lawsuit against the school, believing they could have done more to prevent her suicide. Her parents are also unintentionally a factor in Hannah’s decision, neglecting her when they put their main focus on their failing family-owned drug store. 13 Reasons Why gives us the opportunity to learn more about the Bakers, thus making their loss even greater and allowing us to sympathize for them.
8. The bond between Clay and Hannah
The unique bond between Clay and Hannah is the heart and soul of this series, and their relationship is one you inevitably root for despite knowing the outcome. Through flashbacks we see how their relationship grows, and all the missed opportunities for Clay to reach out to Hannah. We often see the other characters who are on the tapes mention that Clay isn’t like them, and after listening to his tape we learn it’s because he loved Hannah. Sadly, Clay will never get the chance to tell her and never knew how she felt about him until he listened to her tapes. Hannah left this world believing she was never worthy of Clay’s affections and that she would ultimately ruin him, only putting him on her tapes to fully tell her story. Unlike his book counterpart, this didn’t give Clay validation that he was a good person, but instead was a devastating blow to his soul knowing he would never have the opportunity to tell Hannah how he truly felt. Knowing what they could’ve had and would never be. Katherine Langford and Dylan Minnette perfectly depict Clay and Hannah’s complicated relationship, making it one of the strongest aspects of 13 Reasons Why.
9. Teaches valuable lessons
While the glaringly obvious lesson from 13 Reasons Why is suicide is never the answer, the series teaches us all so many other powerful lessons. Through each character’s story we learn an important and valuable lesson. Through Justin, we learn that one picture can tarnish someone’s image and there’s more to life than being popular. Through Jessica, we learn that friendship is a two-way street and jumping to conclusions can ruin a good thing. Through Alex, we learn that words can deeply hurt others and we need to choose them wisely. Through Tyler, we learn how dangerous stalking is and how it’s important to not make light of this. Through Courtney, we learn that self-acceptance is vital and lashing out at others can hurt you just as much as them. Through Marcus, we learn that using degrading terms and shaming others for your own personal gain is wrong and can backfire. Through Zach, we learn that we should reach out to those who are struggling and we are held accountable for our own actions. Through Ryan, we learn that being trustworthy and honest is more important that revealing secrets for the betterment of ones self. Through Sheri, we learn that past actions can come back to haunt us. Through Clay, we learn that letting someone know we care can make all the difference in the world. While this series is without a doubt well-written and well-acted, one of the main reasons to watch is for the meaningful lessons it teaches us all.
10. Two words: Tony Padilla
While every character on the show is well-rounded and accurately portrayed, we feel Tony is the unsung hero of the series. We wholeheartedly understand why Hannah trusted Tony with her tapes and knew he would follow her instructions, making sure her story was heard by everyone involved. Time and time again he was a true friend to Clay and continuously looked out for his well being. He is wise beyond his years and offered up insightful antidotes, leading Clay to compare him to Yoda at one point. Tony is kind, honest, intuitive, whip-smart, and cares deeply for others. He is also a non-stereotyped latino LGBTQ+ character, an extremely rare representation in media today.
11. Nostalgia factors
Not only does the series have a nice throwback with Hannah’s decision to record her story via cassette tapes, the music throughout the episodes are full of classics. Clay and Hannah continuously reference older films and work at an old fashioned movie theatre The Cresmont. Many of the high school scenes feel reminiscent of classic 80’s teen films and even some of the attire the characters wear feel a bit vintage. Not to mention Tony’s red ’66 mustang makes us all feel a bit nostalgic – and jealous!
12. A truly binge-worthy series
It may be a trivial reason to watch a show, but 13 Reasons Why is the definition of a binge-worthy show. It’s impossible to watch just one episode, imagine this series on broadcast television where we would only get one episode a week! Being able to watch the series as a whole allows the audience to remain immersed in Hannah’s story and hearing each tape back to back makes you feel apart of her story. Having the ability to watch it all in one sitting makes the story more impactful and sets itself up for repeat viewing(s).
13. Leaves you wanting more
With the series’ carefully crafted cliffhangers in the final episode, 13 Reasons Why leaves you wanting more. It also leaves you without at lot of questions. Did Alex really try to take his own life or did Tyler play a role in it? What happened after Jessica told her dad about how she was raped? Did Mr. Porter listen to the tapes? Will Mr. and Mrs. Baker listen to all the tapes? Will Bryce ever be convicted of rape? What happens now that more people have learned about the tapes? So many, many questions. While we’re unsure of how a season 2 would happen now that Hannah’s story has been told in it’s entirety, we have to admit we wouldn’t be opposed to revisiting Liberty High and it’s inhabitants. With it’s captivating storyline, intriguing characters and distressing loose ends, we can think of more than 13 reasons why we’re not ready to say goodbye. Maybe we won’t have to?
Photo Credit: Beth Dubber/Netflix
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