Netflix original series “13 Reasons Why” released its third season on Aug. 23 that has yet again caused controversy among viewers.
The season starts with a new character, Ani, who is excessively nosy about Clay Jensen’s life, the drama surrounding Hannah’s trial and around the school. She is the narrator throughout the season, following each character’s backstory. This took me aback because Ani was never seen in any previous episodes but somehow knew a lot of loose ends in the gossip.
For whatever reason, this season focuses on the most hated character in the show, Bryce Walker. He went missing and now everyone is being questioned by the police because, let’s face it, he made a lot of enemies while at Liberty High School. His enemies included, but are not limited to, Clay Jensen, Jessica Davis, Tony Padilla and Tyler Down. Viewers of the show dislike Bryce because he has been established as a rude, pretentious jock and a rapist.
Some of the viewers took to Twitter and other social media platforms to express their displeasure with the sympathy this season shows Bryce Walker as he has raped many characters throughout the storyline, filling anyone with a moral compass with disgust.
“Season three and Bryce Walker and Monty should be in jail,” Twitter user @Riya_you tweeted.
Along with the confusion of why they’re focusing on the wrong characters, many viewers are also a bit confused as to why this show is still going on after Hannah died in the first season and went through all of her tapes. It seems like they are dragging the plot along into as many seasons as they can, making less sense and becoming more triggering than the last.
I will say, I think it’s great that more people are talking about these sensitive topics because of the show and creating more open communication. In all honesty, the show isn’t terrible; I just think they probably should’ve capped it off as a one or two season series because Hannah is almost not even a talking point in Season 3.
The show has touched on suicide, rape and the recovery that comes along with all of those traumatic things. The discussion this has sparked is important; even if it’s not portrayed quite how one would experience depression and suicidal thoughts in real life, it’s got people talking about the problems they’ve found with the show and these topics as a whole. Before Netflix began releasing shows like “13 Reasons Why,” rape and suicide were very taboo subjects and people would not talk about them as openly as they do now.
Overall, the show’s plot is getting out of hand because it simply has taken away so much from the original storyline involving Hannah Baker. The show should end at Season 3. However, despite the show’s problematic content, I think the show could spark some important conversations.
Rating: 3/5
Madison Appleby is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at madison.appleby@uconn.edu.
