This article contains spoilers. If you have not watched the scene in question already, please be aware that the scene is highly graphic.
"13 Reasons Why" Season Two has induced many conversations across the U.S. regarding a scene in its final episode where Tyler, a boy who has just returned from a reform program, is sexually assaulted in the school bathroom by high school athletes.
Many viewers were enraged by the scene and were discouraging others to avoid watching it on social media.
Series creator Brian Yorkey made a statement regarding the scene with Vulture.
“As intense as that scene is, and as strong as our reactions to it may be, it doesn’t even come close to the pain experienced by the people who actually go through these things. When we talk about something being ‘disgusting’ or hard to watch, often that means we are attaching shame to the experience. We would rather not be confronted with it. We would rather it stay out of our consciousness. This is why these kinds of assaults are underreported. This is why victims have a hard time seeking help. We believe that talking is so much better than silence.”
The scene has definitely led fans to feel highly controversial about the series after the scene was viewed.
I have a different opinion.
The whole basis for "13 Reasons Why" is to bring to light topics that people are too afraid to talk about. Topics like suicide, rape, drugs, etc...
They clearly displayed those issues in a strong way during the first season after viewers watched the main character, Hannah Baker, get sexually assaulted in a hot tub and then watched her take her own life in a bathtub.
How is what happened in season two any different than what happened in season one?
Girls being sexually assaulted seems to be almost a cliche. When people think of rape, it’s always assumed that the victim was a female.
But, this really isn’t reality.
1 in 6 men have either been sexually abused or assaulted.
In the Netflix Documentary, "Beyond The Reasons," Yorkey also discussed how the particular scene in "13 Reasons Why" was, in fact, a reality in high schools across America, specifically with student-athletes violating other students with mop handles and pool cues all while almost never going reported.
So, was it really necessary to put the scene in the series?
Absolutely. Not only was male sexual assault brought to light in this season, but the graphic scene helped to lead into displaying the issue of gun violence that’s plagued across the United States.
When it comes to school shootings and the gunman’s reasoning behind the shooting, we almost never know what caused the shooter to take such dramatic action. Whether it be mental health, home life issues, or even bullying.
With the sexual assault scene, we get a peek into a potential shooter's life and what lead him to think that the only way to solve his issues was with a gun.
I mean, seriously. The kid literally went to a reform camp to fix his mistakes and better himself, and that was what he got after.
Some say the scene was dark and some say it was unnecessary.
But it's based in reality.
And we can do everything we can to bash the scene in the final episode, to deny its reality, to say it was overdramatized, to say it wasn’t necessary.
But you can’t say that when it happens to someone in real life, now can you?
