*Spoiler Alert*
The third season of 13 Reasons Why, released Aug. 23, started with an intriguing question, but left audiences searching for reasons why the show’s creators should continue producing it.
After two successful seasons, the series by Jay Asher was renewed for a third season covering a new set of characters. However, they faced one big dilemma – there was no more source material. This made the writing significantly sloppier.
Avid supporters of the original book 13 Reasons Why, also by Jay Asher, were pleasantly surprised by how true Netflix stayed to the source material in season one. With season two, there was no more source material and the scriptwriters took their own creative liberties. Season three was also filled with these creative liberties. Season two did not disappoint, so everyone was excited for season three, that is, until they watched the first episode.
There are many major themes explored in the new season of 13 Reasons Why. One in particular that stood out was change. Do people deserve to be forgiven and should they get second chances? Two of the main characters, Bryce and Jessica, wrestle with this concept. Bryce tries to distance himself from his past, while Jessica tries to deal with her grief from season two.
The new season dedicates the vast majority of its time depicting the mental struggle of Bryce trying to be a better person. Questions arise on how the justice system privileges white males after Bryce was only given minor charges in the first place for his accusations. Bryce spends the rest of the season trying to find some kind of peace. Before his untimely death, he leaves a tape for Jessica asking for forgiveness and telling her to live a great life.
Constance Grady of Vox provided good insight when she wrote, “Everyone in the main cast does have good reason to hate Bryce and want him to be dead. It’s a murder mystery where maybe you could root for the murderer, Murder on the Orient Express-style.”
Laura Bradley of Vanity Fair has a different perspective. “By season three, the series seems to believe that a young man like Bryce could conceivably see the error of his ways,” Bradley said. “But it seems no accident that Bryce dies before we ultimately find out whether or not he would have really changed.”
Ultimately, the season drags on and spends too much time exploring too many different themes. The main thing keeping the watcher was the curiosity of who killed Bryce.
“It was difficult to see Bryce try hard to change and have people constantly pushing him back down. He was trying to get better by seeing a therapist and apologizing to everyone he hurt,” said Kiara Martinez, a junior sociology major. “I think people should have been easier with him by hearing him out.”
Season three was led by Ani, a new character who takes the place of the tapes and Hannah Baker’s narration. Just nine episodes in, I could already tell that Ani’s character would be a make or break in terms of likeability. Ani finds herself in the center of everyone’s business and at the epicenter of everyone’s crisis.
“Clearly she’s been added into the mix as a Hannah Baker surrogate: the narrator who knows everybody and is teed up to frame the show’s narrative,” Grady said.
By episode seven, many things are confirmed about Ani, including her history of sleeping with Bryce and making out with Clay. Her snooping is another prevalent theme and annoyance throughout the season. Jen Chaney, of Vulture, even went as far as calling Ani’s character “Lurkapalooza 2019.”
While Ani could have been a strong central character, her innumerable annoying interactions proved to be a detriment. However, her irritating personality saved the show by revealing the true complications of the main cast and keeping the viewer in disbelief.
As a whole, the show seems to have taken on too many serious subject matters without enough time to truly shed light on them. The better narrative would have been a season where the main focus was on serious issues such as rape and suicide, without conflating them with other serious problems.
Chaney went on to say, “In season three, those battles affect multiple characters and involve almost every social issue that currently may affect the youth (and non-youth) of America: bullying, sexual assault, suicide, abortion, steroid abuse, the opioid crisis, gun violence, marginalization based on sexual identity, and the crackdown on illegal immigration.”
This season of 13 Reasons Why felt like a more serious version of the first season of Riverdale. By examining every character’s motives and actions in their respective episodes, the season tries to cover too much ground too quickly. The show would have been better off by simply having half the amount of episodes with the same plotline. Their attempt to keep the same season one feeling and make the show a murder mystery was to no avail.
If you are looking for similar plots to season three of 13 Reasons Why I recommend Mystic River, Primal Fear, Riverdale, Big Little Lies, and Rear Window.