Rambling TV: Thirteen Reasons Why
It's been a hot minute since I've talked about TV on my blog. With Game of Thrones being on a long hiatus and The Walking Dead turning into a trash fire, I've mostly stuck to Twitter with my TV thoughts. But I've still been watching a ton of TV and I just need to talk about it.
More specifically, I really need to bitch about 13 Reasons Why...
I know, I know, I'm making my TV comeback all about negativity but I can't help it. Aside from some pacing issues, I adored season one. It was well acted, the story was good, and it was there for me in a time when I really needed to binge a show and cry my eyes out. So to be served a second season that managed to be even more unnecessary that I ever imagined, I can't help but be massively disappointed.
So here are thirteen reasons I hated season two. These things range from petty to unforgivable in no particular order.
1) The plot should follow the actual cliffhanger
Remember that school shooting that was teased? Doesn't happen.
2) Hannah and Zach's relationship retcon
Remember when Zach told Clay he knew Hannah better than anyone else? Apparently not because in an effort to show Hannah in a happy place, they invented a relationship with Zach that for some reason was never mentioned in her tapes, and therefore impossible to believe.
3) Jessica/Justin/Alex love triangle
This didn't do any of the characters justice and I'm still struggling with what Jessica sees in Justin in the first place.
4) Showing visions of Bryce/Hannah making out was a poor choice cinematically.
For a show that is so careful about trigger warnings I'm not sure what they were thinking having Clay imagine Hannah making out with her rapist.
5) Skye and Clay's dinner date/fight
Sometimes shows ask you to suspend your disbelief and you do so willingly. Other times you cannot wrap your head around what is happening. That's Skye and Clay's date where she attempts to jack him off under the dinner table with his parents sitting right there. Then after obviously leaving the table to go fuck, they proceed to have the loudest fight ever and not once do either of the parents intervene. I'm sorry, I can't accept this. When they try to brush it off a few episodes later as bipolar disorder it almost makes it worse.
6) These kids are old enough to teach at this school.
Here's the petty one. I'm sorry, but some of these actors are my age. It's distracting. I'm sorry.
7) Hannah's bullying past.
Hannah being a former bully didn't add layers to her character, it felt like a cheap way to get the defense attorney some points. Speaking of which..
8) Ghost Hannah
I understand why they would want Katherine Langford to have as many scenes as possible. She's a tremendous actress, but her appearing as a Ghost to Clay only worked in one scene. ( her memorial, which was heartbreakingly beautiful. I give the show that. It was one of two amazing scenes in this season) but the rest of the time it was forced.
9) The world's cattiest defense attorney.
I felt like I was watching a teenage girl cross examine these people. I'm no lawyer but the way she was acting didn't feel believable at all.
10) I'm not sure this will help rape victims come forward.
I know what the show was doing with Hannah's trial. They were going for what is the most realistic outcome, that the rapist goes free. But I felt like the show had an opportunity here to give their viewers some hope. Bryce should've gotten his comeuppance. They had a chance to give viewers the justice they likely don't think they can achieve themselves and they didn't. They used just about ever rape cliche possible. As a sexual assault survivor, had I been contemplating telling someone, then watched this, I don't think I'd say anything.
11) Don't forget Clay is the privileged white male.
Clay is the epitome of white privilege but the show went to great lengths to stretch out the amount of time it took him to learn a lesson. It got extremely unbelievable.
12) Tyler's rape.
This is my biggest problem by far. They didn't need to use rape as yet another tipping point. Tyler already had demons. He already had motive to want to shoot up his school. Having a bunch of boys rape him in the bathroom with a mop handle was not only unnecessary but it was shot in the most gratuitous manner possible. Kyle Patrick Alvarez directed this episode. I loved his film The Stanford Prison Experiment. But he shot this scene like he shot that film and it didn't work. Gregg Araki directed a few episodes this season and probably would've been better suited to handle this particular scene. It still wouldn't make up for how useless it is.
13) Why did we need a season two to begin with?
Why though? and WHY did they greenlight season three?
Thanks for sticking with me. Did you watch season two? What are your thoughts?
More specifically, I really need to bitch about 13 Reasons Why...
I know, I know, I'm making my TV comeback all about negativity but I can't help it. Aside from some pacing issues, I adored season one. It was well acted, the story was good, and it was there for me in a time when I really needed to binge a show and cry my eyes out. So to be served a second season that managed to be even more unnecessary that I ever imagined, I can't help but be massively disappointed.
So here are thirteen reasons I hated season two. These things range from petty to unforgivable in no particular order.
1) The plot should follow the actual cliffhanger
Remember that school shooting that was teased? Doesn't happen.
2) Hannah and Zach's relationship retcon
Remember when Zach told Clay he knew Hannah better than anyone else? Apparently not because in an effort to show Hannah in a happy place, they invented a relationship with Zach that for some reason was never mentioned in her tapes, and therefore impossible to believe.
3) Jessica/Justin/Alex love triangle
This didn't do any of the characters justice and I'm still struggling with what Jessica sees in Justin in the first place.
4) Showing visions of Bryce/Hannah making out was a poor choice cinematically.
For a show that is so careful about trigger warnings I'm not sure what they were thinking having Clay imagine Hannah making out with her rapist.
5) Skye and Clay's dinner date/fight
Sometimes shows ask you to suspend your disbelief and you do so willingly. Other times you cannot wrap your head around what is happening. That's Skye and Clay's date where she attempts to jack him off under the dinner table with his parents sitting right there. Then after obviously leaving the table to go fuck, they proceed to have the loudest fight ever and not once do either of the parents intervene. I'm sorry, I can't accept this. When they try to brush it off a few episodes later as bipolar disorder it almost makes it worse.
6) These kids are old enough to teach at this school.
Here's the petty one. I'm sorry, but some of these actors are my age. It's distracting. I'm sorry.
7) Hannah's bullying past.
Hannah being a former bully didn't add layers to her character, it felt like a cheap way to get the defense attorney some points. Speaking of which..
8) Ghost Hannah
I understand why they would want Katherine Langford to have as many scenes as possible. She's a tremendous actress, but her appearing as a Ghost to Clay only worked in one scene. ( her memorial, which was heartbreakingly beautiful. I give the show that. It was one of two amazing scenes in this season) but the rest of the time it was forced.
9) The world's cattiest defense attorney.
I felt like I was watching a teenage girl cross examine these people. I'm no lawyer but the way she was acting didn't feel believable at all.
10) I'm not sure this will help rape victims come forward.
I know what the show was doing with Hannah's trial. They were going for what is the most realistic outcome, that the rapist goes free. But I felt like the show had an opportunity here to give their viewers some hope. Bryce should've gotten his comeuppance. They had a chance to give viewers the justice they likely don't think they can achieve themselves and they didn't. They used just about ever rape cliche possible. As a sexual assault survivor, had I been contemplating telling someone, then watched this, I don't think I'd say anything.
11) Don't forget Clay is the privileged white male.
Clay is the epitome of white privilege but the show went to great lengths to stretch out the amount of time it took him to learn a lesson. It got extremely unbelievable.
12) Tyler's rape.
This is my biggest problem by far. They didn't need to use rape as yet another tipping point. Tyler already had demons. He already had motive to want to shoot up his school. Having a bunch of boys rape him in the bathroom with a mop handle was not only unnecessary but it was shot in the most gratuitous manner possible. Kyle Patrick Alvarez directed this episode. I loved his film The Stanford Prison Experiment. But he shot this scene like he shot that film and it didn't work. Gregg Araki directed a few episodes this season and probably would've been better suited to handle this particular scene. It still wouldn't make up for how useless it is.
13) Why did we need a season two to begin with?
Why though? and WHY did they greenlight season three?
Thanks for sticking with me. Did you watch season two? What are your thoughts?
I love that you chose 13 reasons! I'm so with you though, I thought Season 1 was amazing but never saw it being a show that needed to continue. And now we've got a third coming...sigh.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what they could possibly do with season 3. None at all.
DeleteI had never seen the show though I have learned that a few of them were directed by Gregg Araki who I do like. I'm still not interested and probably never will thanks to your rants.
ReplyDeleteI really liked season one, but this was just so unnecessary.
DeleteI binged season 1 and 2 back to back. I didn't have as many qualms with season 2 that you had, but I can definitely appreciate your 13 reasons.
ReplyDelete7) Hannah's bullying past.
Seriously. How am I supposed to feel for this girl when I find out she's a bully herself? It didn't really fit with her character at all either.
12) Tyler's rape
I wish I could unsee that. I knew something like that was coming, because I accidentally read spoilers, but I didn't realize how graphic it was going to be. Do. Not. Approve.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around how making Hannah a bully helped anything? Like, it didn't add layers to her character. It just felt SO cheap.
DeleteI wish I could unsee that too.