13 Reasons Why Season 2

"Follow the story of how Hannah's tapes affected everyone, told throughout the trials about her death cause."

Title: 13 Reasons Why (Season 2)

Year: 2018 Season: 2 Developed By: Brian Yorkey Duration per Episode: about 60 minutes Genre: Drama Starring: Katherine Langford, Dylan Minnette, Christian Navaro, Alisha Boe, Brandon Flynn Broadcasted By: Netflix Language: English Score: 5.5/10

Watching a season 2 of a series is so not me, but I eventually make an exception for 13 Reasons Why because I'm wondering how they're going to evolve the story. Clearly, the novel is no longer the main source material to create the story. That kind of move can either ruin the story or make it better. I was ready to be amazed like how the first season did, and also ready to be disappointed like many series have done to me. So what do I think about it? Let's break it down to 13 points again. 

Very sorry to say this, but this post CONTAINS SPOILER. 

1. NEW CHARACTERS

This season introduces a few new characters which I actually like. Not because all of them are nice but because they're placed perfectly. I've watched series who include new characters in new seasons and those characters seem unnecessary and does no better to the plot. But 13 Reasons Why include them because they are needed and makes the story a lot better. They make the story more interesting and allow original characters from the first season to be explored. Another first time that I like this kind of move in a series. 

2. ABANDONED CHARACTERS

But, here comes the sad part. Some original characters don't get enough screen time. I suppose that's okay because to tell everyone's story is too much and might not be interesting. But, I'm just quite disappointed that some characters only get so little screen time despite them testifying in court and what they say there. Eventually, some has to be cut so the story won't get too far from the center. 

3. CHARACTERS PORTION

Clay was clearly the main guy in the first season, because it was his journey while listening to the tapes. But this time, he's kind of just the side dish. Being subjective, I'm a little sad about that because he is my favorite character. Being objective, that's not so bad because other characters like Jessica, Justin, Bryce, Tyler, and more can be explored. They are interesting characters after all. But sometimes I feel the portion isn't very balanced considering sometimes I even forget Clay, Tony, Sherri, Skye, or Mr. Porter actually have their own share to the story.

4. CHARACTERS ENHANCEMENT

I talk a lot about the characters, don't I? Sorry about that. And sorry that I'm doing it again now. Promise it's the last one. Okay, so character enhancements. This doesn't mean they become supernatural or something, but a lot more of them are shown. How everyone turns out to be a little worse and a little nicer than how we've seen them last season. Some characters are a lot more explored but I say they picked the right characters. So, after we part from Hannah, these characters still "entertain" us to keep us interested. For example, Bryce is definitely made into an even worse person and I think it's a good move.

And then, there are some reveals that are told by the other characters that Hannah never mentioned. I honestly don't think it made Hannah look worse or a target to be blamed, but the stories give us a new perception of the other characters. They still did what they did to hurt her but at least now they also have good sides we didn't get to see before.

5. THE STORY

Sadly, for me, the story isn't as interesting as the first one. It's quite flat and not building enough for the climax, even when they put unrevealed stories about Hannah. For me, it doesn't always make me want to know more to what happens next. The only thing that kept me going was to find out who have been giving Clay the polaroids and who have been threatening them. Instead of following the story because it's interesting, I'm just desperate for a few answers. The narration also doesn't help. In the first season, Hannah's narration is from the tapes. Plus, she's dead. All we get to hear from her is her narration. So I don't mind listening to her voice. In this one, I don't feel the narration helps me to concentrate and be interested to the story even more. It's kind of a habit that makes it even boring after so many times.

6. HANNAH ISN'T THE CENTER ANYMORE

After I've watched it all, the conclusion is this season isn't about Hannah anymore. She even has a lot less portion in the series compared to the first season. Not just "it's the trial for Hannah but not about Hannah", but it's "everyone else but Hannah". She's kind of just the small topping to the whole dessert. I think the story evolves well when it comes to exploring the other characters, though not always the opposite of boring. But for those who are waiting to see Hannah more by any chance, you won't be satisfied. Not illogical, though, considering she's dead.

7. GRAPHIC VIOLENCE 

This is probably the most-talked-about topic in the media when it comes to 13 Reasons Why Season 2. And yes, there is a scene that is extremely disturbing for me, which is the bullying Tyler scene. I can't even watch it and decided to cover my eyes until the scene has passed. Oh, how I wished I didn't witness that. To be honest, I don't know what to say about this because I think I'm not in position to make comments about it. What I just wrote is my personal feeling after witnessing that scene. But I understand both sides. Even though I'd be a lot more peaceful if I didn't see that scene, the creators has said that those scenes are to show people that these terrible kinds of bullying are actually happening and there's not sugar-coating it. Well, I do agree it's not wrong at all. So, for those who are going to watch, read their warning about the mature contents and consider whether you're ready to watch it or not. 

8. CLIMAX 

I guess in every series, the climax is the most awaited. It doesn't always have to be the finale though. Well, in this one, to be honest, I'm not completely satisfied. At least, not like how I was with season 1. Maybe it's because the whole story doesn't build a good enough foundation. In season 1, we all want to know what everyone did, who else is mentioned, and most importantly, what Clay really did. And we were given the amazing climax. In this one, there's not much that I really want to know. There's not much to disappoint me or satisfy me. There are some moments that piss me off so much because I feel like justice isn't there. But again, they're not enough to keep me interested to follow the story. And in the end, the climax doesn't satisfy at all. Even though Bryce finally got caught in Episode 12 despite The Bakers losing the case, the 13th Episode brought it all down. Seeing how Bryce is not punished enough piss me off. After everything, he still gets away. And seeing that all the effort only gives a moderate climax isn't enough. There are some new stories that could be explored in Season 3 (if they decide to make it), but cliffhangers are definitely not the climax I expect after all the tiredness in trying to win Hannah's case. 

9. VERY HATE-ABLE "VILLAINS"

Oh yes, yes, yes! I think they put enough portion of the "villains" in the series. Not too much, but realistically powerful enough to make everyone hate them. You can totally understand why one powerful "villain" can have everyone's hands tied. Bryce is the ultimate bad guy. A bit of me say that it's not right to only expose his bad sides, but a bigger part of me say that it's not a wrong move at all. He is meant to be hated. To many characters are meant to be loved already. 

A slight out of topic, but I really don't like the defendant's lawyer. She's really good at being the bad guy. So good that I want to at least yell at her or poke her eyes for being so annoyingly evil. 

10. TOO MUCH PEOPLE BEING CRANKY

There is way too much of this. In every episode, there is always someone being angry at the other person then tell the other person to "f*** off". And the other person who was nice, helping the yelling person, confronting a serious problem, or admitted his/her mistake ends up leaving for being yelled at. And then, couple of days later, they reconcile and are besties again. Well, not 100% always, but so much of that happens that I can already see the pattern, and yeah, bored of it. 

11. SO, THE POINT OF THE POLAROIDS IS? 

The answer to that question is, I don't know for sure. In the end, it turns out Nina was the one who stole the polaroids from Clay's car. She then decided to burn the photos. Before the ending, I've already thought the polaroids don't seem to be extremely important to the plot. Still important but not extremely important. So, another disappointment finding that out. And after she burns it, the photos seem even more unimportant and pointless. Nina's action is very understandable though. 

12. IS THIS STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL?

Obviously, I don't go to an American high school so I don't know how the teenagers are there, but from my general point of view, these "kids" act a lot older than they are. Well, they are potrayed by actors on their 20s, so it's not very weird. But every now and then, I have to keep on reminding myself that they're high school kids, considering how heavy the theme is, how a lot of them acts like they're older than 17, how they never seem to be in class and how easy it is to skip school. 

13. THE REVEAL

I'm not talking about all the reveals, but specifically the one about the threats they received. To be fair, I might just be plain stupid to figure this part out. Whenever there are unanswered questions in a movie, I try to guess but I always tell myself my guess isn't right. That way, I will be more surprised if the reveal is so different than my guess. Thing is, the characters already guessed that it's Bryce threatening them. Turns out, it's not him, but one of his friends. A friend who's already shown as (kind of) beastly dangerous and annoying and mean. They don't show any good side of this friend either so it's quite obvious why he did it. I think it would be more interesting if some other character is doing this, maybe someone who's not associated with Bryce. But I understand it's a very tough job. And because it's a logical thing to be done by a person like Montgomery, I think it's not entirely a disappointing reveal, but just not satisfying at all for me. 

13 Reasons Why season 2 is something that I'm kind of waiting because of how good the season 1 is. But my conclusion is, it doesn't live up to my expectations :(