On May 18, the second season of "13 Reasons Why" dropped on Netflix. Like any other good TV-obsessed, Netflix-loyal consumer of media, I binged the first season within a matter of days of its premiere. When I finished, I couldn't wait for the second season, but one year later, I'm seriously considering whether or not to watch the second season. In the past year, I've learned a lot, experienced a lot, and grown a lot.
After doing an in-depth research project on the portrayal of mental illness on television, what I learned leaves me seriously considering whether or not to watch the second season of this show. Here are 13 reasons why:
1. Season 1 treated suicide like a murder mystery.
The structure of the first season was basically your classic murder-mystery plot, with Clay chasing down clues to the whodunit that drove Hannah to suicide. Not only does this imply that a culprit(s) exists behind every suicide, but it trivializes the issue by turning it into a popular entertainment trope.
2. It never mentioned mental health.
Yeah. Those two words are never said. Neither are "mental illness." Or, you know, "depression" or "PTSD." For an entire season revolving around these issues, it's almost as if the writers went out of their way to make sure that mental illness was never discussed.
3. It depicted suicide graphically.
This goes against, oh, every health guideline out there. Not to mention, (according to several studies), explicitly showing the method of suicide onscreen causes suicide contagion, a phenomena in which real-life suicides spike in correlation to fictional depictions, as these depictions basically give viewers a step-by-step manual on how to harm or even kill themselves, a horrific result which outweighs any “artistic vision” held by producers.
4. The show's cast uses "artistic license" as an excuse to be irresponsible and unethical.
Listen, I'm an artist and filmmaker, too, but let's not use it as a get out of jail free card—which is basically what creator Brian Yorkey is doing when he stated, "We feel the responsibility to tell these stories honestly," when responding to the backlash. Wow, it's wild he feels a responsibility to tell a fictional story, but not a responsibility to tell this fictional story in a responsible way.
Here, Yorkey is claiming that because it's art, he can show whatever he wants on screen. I don't think we should sugarcoat reality either, but we have to think about who our art is impacting and how it's impacting them. Because in the year since the first season premiered, I've come across countless articles talking about how "13 Reasons Why" was harmful to their mental health, but I haven't come across a single article detailing how seeing the exact method Hannah used to kill herself was beneficial.
Guess what, Yorkey? You can tell a story honestly without graphically depicting suicide onscreen. Why don't you take a cue from Degrassi, a long-running (and now Netflix original) show which has handled every topic your show has, albeit in a more responsible and realistic manner.
5. Season 1 glamorized suicide, presenting it as the ultimate revenge fantasy.
Hannah is portrayed as beautifully broken, even after her death. Clay continues to pine after her, and suicide is validated as a legitimate choice. Not only that, but it's Hannah's (successful) means of getting revenge on those who hurt her. There's a reason the phrase "welcome to your tape" has been memed and became a common response to any petty annoyance.
6. Getting help was never presented as an option.
Even after Hannah's suicide, Clay still refused his parents' offers of help, and no other students onscreen enlisted their parents' help or sought out the help of mental health professionals—or even each other!
As well, the one time Hannah sought the help of the school counselor, he dismissed her, providing the catalyst for her suicide and confirming that no one cares if you're suffering. Not only does this convey a message of hopelessness and aloneness to the viewers, it exposes a flaw in the show's logic, leading me to my next point.
7. The show and its creators contradict themselves.
It simply doesn't add up: the creators of the show claim that touting a mental health hotline number is sufficient enough to save triggered kids, yet within their "realistic" and "honest" show, no character even acknowledges the very existence of mental health hotlines, let alone other mental health professionals or mental health at all. So if the show, which is supposed to depict reality, has no faith in the readiness of teens to reach out for help, then why do they claim that instructing teens to reach out for help is sufficient? Why don't its creators alter the content instead?
8. Season 2 premiered despite intense criticism and pleas for stricter censorship.
In response to the controversy and criticism that the first season garnered, Netflix implemented more overt trigger warnings as the beginning of each episode and an aftershow, "Beyond the Reasons."
Yet when it comes to such volatile and impactful subject matter, trigger warnings are not adequate enough to truly address the subject in a responsible manner. Much as under-17-year-olds ignore R movie ratings, people of all sorts will ignore the trigger warnings before each episode of the second season. The issue is not with the trigger warnings, it's with taking a show about suicide and marketing it as something "binge-worthy" to the "millions of teens who drive the show"—a uniquely vulnerable population in terms of mental health.
Media advocacy groups called for Netflix to delay the release of season 2 and work more closely with mental health professionals. Yet Netflix and—more directly—the producers and directors of the show felt that trigger warnings and hotline numbers were a sufficient enough band-aid to mitigate any harm the actual content of the show will do, despite numerous health professionals telling them otherwise.
9. And despite the backlash and subsequent opportunity to alter the content of the show, its creators only double down on graphic content in Season 2
Yep, Season 2 "doubles down" on graphic and triggering content in a way that feels "irresponsible at best given the uproar over Season 1, and opportunistic and unnecessarily cruel at worst," according to Bustle's advance review of the season.
10. Season 2 is just getting panned in general.
TV is my jam. My thing. And so maybe, if the second season of "13 Reasons Why" was receiving amazing critical reviews, I would be more likely to watch it. But the fact is, even with ethical concerns aside, critics aren't treating the show so kindly. As Popbuzz's headline puts it, "'13 Reasons Why' Season Two Is Getting Some Seriously Savage Reviews." The Hollywood Reporter calls it a "frustratingly unnecessary mess," while Entertainment Weekly deems it "a show you don’t so much enjoy as endure." Even CNN says there are fewer reasons to watch the second season. Yeah, no thanks.
11. Season 1 triggered me.
I'm not easily triggered in general, but the first season of "13 Reasons Why" hit a little too close to home, and the fact remains that no show has triggered me as much as this one. In fact, no show has ever triggered me in general besides this one, period. I do appreciate the fact that in the new, videotaped trigger warnings before the show, cast member Alisha Boe warns that this series is not for everyone. It's likely I'm simply just one of those people.
12. There are better alternatives in terms of TV shows that tackle this topic.
Remember when I mentioned Degrassi, another show on Netflix which covers topics of suicide, self-harm, and mental illness, albeit in a (mostly) responsible and ethical manner? Of course, no show is perfect, and Degrassi does have its stumbles, but it does a much better job than "13 Reasons Why" overall.
13. I value my time.
With each season containing 13 episodes at almost an hour each, watching season 2 of the show will ultimately steal 26 hours of my life. Do I really want to waste 26 hours watching a season that's been critically panned and I know has the potential to trigger me? The real answer is, I don't know. I may cave and watch the show if only to stay up to date on current media (and because I have multiple longs flights in my near future, where watching the show wouldn't be so much of a waste a possible welcome distraction).
Despite the overall tone of this article, I don't think "13 Reasons Why" fails to be a good series on every account. I appreciate the diversity of its characters and its intention to start conversations about topics that are often marginalized by a lack of discussion.
That being said, I try to prioritize both my time and my mental health, and at the moment, it doesn't look like the second season of "13 Reasons Why" will be doing any favors to either. I urge you to seriously weigh the pros and cons of watching this season before you go ahead and make a decision, as well.
