The second season of "13 Reasons Why" recently started streaming on Netflix and it has once again sparked some controversy. Since the first season was based on the book, the creation of a second season surprised me. I forgot that the first season ended differently than the book, with Hannah's mom filing a lawsuit against the school, stating that they allowed Hannah to be bullied and did nothing to stop it.

Within a few days, my brother and I binged the entire season. The second season focuses on the lawsuit, mainly taking place in court with flashbacks to moments in Hannah's life as the students from her tapes reveal new information and introduce more questions. Although her mom only wants justice for her daughter, the case quickly spins out of control as the defense attacks the Baker's witnesses.

Of course, the Baker's lost. The sad truth is that most cases dealing with suicide get dismissed because there isn't enough evidence to prove that the school had anything to do with it. The rough part in Hannah's case is that if the witnesses hadn't lied then maybe Hannah would've got the justice she deserved. Many of the witnesses had reputations to uphold and worried about getting bullied themselves so they stayed quiet.

Hannah did not blatantly tell anyone her plans to kill herself but she hinted at it, just like Alex did. Would you be able to tell someone that you had thoughts about hurting yourself? Would you be able to make them understand why? It's not that simple. If someone had taken the time to understand her and acknowledge the pain she was in, suicide might have been prevented.

Although some people find the show to be in bad taste with intense scenes, I find those scenes to be some of the most imperative. The fact that they showed Hannah's suicide and rather than taking pills as the book suggested, slitting her wrists made it gorier and unpleasant. But suicide isn't meant to be pleasant. It's supposed to be hard to watch but it shouldn't be hard to talk about. Suicide is a part of society so many people ignore and this show speaks out against it. It shouldn't be overlooked or hidden as if it were dirty laundry.

The same goes for rape. Another focus of season two is confronting Bryce as a rapist. He raped Jessica and Hannah in season one. Clay confronted him and got his confession which obviously couldn't be used in court due to the way it was obtained. But when Clay released the tapes to the public, many people found out yet many people continued to cover it up or failed to believe it could possibly be true. The one person who tried to uncover the truth was Zach who shared the photos from the clubhouse with Clay.

By the end, Jessica takes the stand and confronts Bryce. Sadly, Bryce gets off with a slap on the wrist. That's one of the reasons why so many people struggle to come forward. They speak up just to get let down by the justice system. Since Bryce was a prominent young man with a future to look forward to, the judge didn't want to make matters worse for him. But what about the damage he did to Jessica? Some of the most prestigious and respected people could have skeletons in their closet that nobody knows because they have money to bury it. That is truly terrifying about society nowadays.

Tyler's sexual assault scene is hard to watch but it might be the most essential scene in the season. While we focus on girls being raped, we shy away from the fact that it can happen to boys too. Throughout both seasons, Tyler was tormented and harassed by many individuals. During the second season, he decided to stand up for himself which was necessary to an extent. The moment he decided to take matters further, his friend turned him in. By the time he got back from his disciplinary trip, he had changed for the better but the school remained the same. Once the assault happened, he aimed to shoot up the school.

While the school continued to fight the Baker's accusations, they went on to fire the one person who actually started looking out for the students. Mr. Porter actively tried to protect his students during season two. He noticed a change in Tyler throughout the season and even told the principal before he left that he, along with other students, needed to be helped. All the principal did was throw the files on the desk and walk away. Ignoring the problems children have doesn't simply make them go away. If anything, it makes them worse.

One thing that I don't like about this show is that the kids always try to take matters into their own hands. They don't reach out for help. At the end when Tyler decides to shoot up the school, Clay simply walks towards the guns rather than letting the police take care of it. Yes, he wants to save his "friend" but when things escalate to that extent, it's time to let adults handle it. Even though it's a bad idea, it's not an impossible one.

This show truly shows the nature of teenagers nowadays. Drugs, sex, lies. It's all mentioned and should lead to various conversations on how to change it in ways that will help our kids.