13 Reasons Why I Watched
May 31, 2017
“Hey, it’s Hannah. Hannah Baker. Don’t adjust, your, whatever device you’re hearing this on. It’s me, live and in stereo. No return engagements, no encore, and this time absolutely no requests. Get a snack, settle in. Because I’m about to tell you the story of my life, more specifically why my life ended. And If you’re listening to this tape, you’re one of the reasons why. I’m not saying which tape brings you into the story. But, fear not if you receive this lov
-ely little box, your name will pop up. I promise. The rules here are pretty simple, there are only 2. Rule #1 you listen, #2 you pass it on. Hopefully neither one will be easy, it’s not supposed to be easy. Or I would’ve emailed you an mp3. When you’re done listening to all 13 sides, because, there are 13 sides to every story. Rewind the tapes, put them back in the box, and pass them on to the next person.”
“13 Reasons Why” is a best-selling book by Jay Asher that was turned into a mini-series by Netflix. It was released on March 31st, 2017, and has 13 episodes in total. The show is about a girl named Hannah Baker who commits suicide. Before she kills herself, she leaves 7 tapes with 2 sides each. Each tape talks about the 13 reasons why she killed herself and the people that contributed to it. Hannah leaves the box of tapes on a trustworthy friend’s (Tony Padilla) door step with some specific instructions.
He is to make sure everyone on the tapes receives them and listens to them. He also is left with an extra set of tapes in case any of the people try to get rid of them.
The First Episode
The show kicks off in flashback when Hannah moves into a new town and starts at a new high school. Hannah immediately becomes a target for one of the jocks, Justin Foley. Justin and Hannah officially meet when he follows her into the bus and asks for her number. Prior to their meeting, Hannah already starts having a crush on Justin.
That same day he calls her and asks her to meet him at the park, where they share an innocent kiss. He takes a risqué picture of her while she’s going down a slide, and Hannah doesn’t think anything of it. The next day at school Justin is by the lockers surrounded by his team mates and shows them the picture he took of Hannah.
Justin begins to lead them on by making it seem like he shared more than just a kiss with her. Then, one of his team mates takes his phone and sends the picture to everyone on Justin’s contact list. The photo gets passed around the whole school, and Hannah becomes the laughing stock. Justin Foley is ultimately the one who starts the downfall of Hannah Baker. He is also the first one to receive the tapes.
The Main Characters
The show’s main characters end up having a tape made about them because their actions had a negative impact on Hannah’s life.
Jessica Davis (former best friend) broke her friendship with Hannah for mistakenly believing that Hannah was the reason for her break up with Alex (another former best friend).
Alex Standall made a list of ‘superlatives’ for everyone in their class. He gave Hannah the title of “Best Butt” to get his ex-girlfriend Jessica jealous, and so he could be accepted by the jocks.
Tyler Down (school’s nerd) was stalking Hannah. Hannah invites Courtney, who is a closeted gay, to her house to catch her stalker. They get drunk and play truth or dare, and Courtney kisses Hannah. Tyler takes a picture of that moment and sends the picture around the school.
Courtney Crimsen throws Hannah under the bus by telling everyone that Hannah was the lesbian who forced her to kiss her. Courtney does that to protect her secret.
Justin Foley has a 2nd tape made about him. This is because one night, Jessica (who is, at this point Justin’s girlfriend) throws a party at her house. Hannah witnesses Justin’s friend Bryce rape Jessica. Justin get his 2nd
tape because he never told Jessica that Bryce raped her.
Clay Jensen has a crush on Hannah from the moment he meets her. She starts working at his job (movie theatre) and they develop a friendship. He has a tape made about him because he left her alone the night of the party–after she asked him to leave her–which led her to witness Jessica’s rape. Hannah then goes on to say that Clay doesn’t deserve to be on the tapes because he was someone she liked and admired. However, she decides it was necessary because she wanted him to know the whole story.
Bryce Walker has a tape made about him because not only did he rape Jessica, he also rapes Hannah in his hot tub.
After Hannah gets raped by Bryce, she stops by guidance counselor Mr. Porter’s office and tells him about it. He asks her if she wants to report it, but she doesn’t want to say who did it. He then goes on to tell her that if she doesn’t want to say anything, then she should just forget about it. Because he is the only person that could’ve reached out to her and stopped her from killing herself, he is the last person to get a tape.
Hannah’s Parents
Hannah’s parents file a lawsuit against the school because they find the superlatives list that Alex made. Her parents feel completely hopeless because they don’t know what could have possibly driven Hannah to take her own life. They try to find clues, but they come up with nothing.
Her parents are completely oblivious to the fact that Hannah made tapes listing the reasons for her suicide.
Hannah’s Friend Clay
Another big issue in the show is that everyone who’s on the tapes wants to stop Clay from leaking them. Alex, Zach, and Ryan want to just tell the truth while Courtney, Marcus, and Tyler don’t.
Clay wants them to own up to their actions, while they deny it at every chance throughout the whole series. After Hannah’s mom finds the list of names of the people on the tapes, she gets the court to subpoena everyone on the list.
The Final Episode
Clay wants Bryce to be put away for raping Jessica and Hannah. Clay’s plan is to go to Bryce’s house and pretend that he wants to buy weed from him.
Clay starts recording their conversation, and starts accusing Bryce about the rape. Bryce denies everything and beats up Clay badly. Bryce, still being completely oblivious to the fact that Clay is recording him, confesses about the rape.
Clay then gives the recording to Tony; the recording ends up being an additional tape which becomes the 14th reason. (Tape 8, side A) The show ends with a flashback of Hannah’s suicide, and the depositions continue with the students confessing to their actions.
An ambulance appears rushing to the hospital. The paramedics determine that it’s a male with a gunshot to his head, and he’s in critical condition. (Many believe that it’s Alex and that he committed suicide).
Justin ends his friendship with Bryce and tells Jessica he’s sorry. He also has suicidal thoughts because of the guilt he feels. She tells him she doesn’t want to see him ever again.
This last episode leaves everyone in a cliff hanger, with Jessica preparing to tell her dad about the rape and Clay reaching out to Skye (a former friend who shows signs of suicidal attempts). It shows Tyler opening his box of guns and ammunition before going to his deposition. Also, Tony gives Hannah’s parents a USB with all the recordings Hannah left.
Then it shows Tyler in his dark room, where he has a picture of every one on the list. He takes down Alex’s photo which leads everyone to think that Alex didn’t kill himself and that Tyler was the one who did it. People believe that Tyler is planning a school shooting because of the rejection he feels from everyone.
How did the show come about?
On February 8th, 2011, Universal studios purchased the film rights to the novel. Selena Gomez was initially cast to play the role of Hannah Baker. On October 29, 2015, it was announced that Netflix would be making a T.V. adaptation of the book.
The role of Hannah Baker was not going to be played by Selena Gomez; instead she was going to take the role of an executive producer for the show. It was announced on May 7th that “13 Reasons Why” will be renewed for a second season.
My Opinions
The show has received a lot of backlash because it speaks on controversial topics that not many people are comfortable speaking about. Many people believe that the show glorifies suicide, which is completely not the case. Personally, I feel that a show like “13 Reasons Why” is something that needs to be talked about.
I feel that many adults fear talking about controversial topics such as the ones in the show. They almost act like it’s taboo, when it reality not speaking about topics like rape, bullying, suicide, and sexual harassment only ignores the reality that it does happen every day. “13 Reasons Why” shows teens that it’s better to get help and reach out to the people in your life, whether it’s your mom, dad, friend, counselor, etc.
The fact that many adults try to act like bad things like these don’t exist only makes people feel uncomfortable because we know the person we’re reaching out to doesn’t know how to handle a situation like that. The reason they don’t know how to handle it is because it’s not talked about enough. I believe that because these situations aren’t talked about, people with suicidal thoughts feel like they have no one to help them.
My one criticism of the show is that I think that Jeff Atkins character didn’t deserve the fate the writers chose for him. Jeff Atkins was a supporting role but still was a character who warmed his way into people’s heart. Jeff wasn’t your typical jock. Although Jeff was cute and on the baseball team, he never let that get to his head. He was basically Clay’s best friend, Clay tutored him, and in return Jeff would try to make Clay become more outgoing. He was deep down the nicest person in the entire show.
