Just when I thought I’ve ran out of Netflix series’ to binge watch, Netflix released a TV adaptation of Jay Asher’s young adult fiction novel, Thirteen Reasons Why.
A few years ago, I briefly heard chatter of people talking about the novel. But, it wasn’t until winter break of my junior year that I decided to give it a read. Immediately, I became fascinated with the story and the characters.
After turning the last page of the novel, I hoped for months that a movie would be released. Fortunately, 2 years later Netflix decided to turn the novel into a TV series, but unfortunately I forgot a lot of the details, and didn’t have time to re-read the novel.
However, the series is done so well that it jogged my memory. The story itself is powerful, and the Netflix series visually captures this.
It sticks to the book, for the most part.
Oftentimes, you hear people saying “the book was better,” and that’s because usually book-to-film adaptations never truly capture the essence of the novel. However, 13 Reasons Why does. Both the book and the series begin when the tapes reach Clay Jensen, but in the book, Clay listens to the tapes all in one sitting, and in the series he does not. This drags out the story a little, but is also necessary for its development. The series sticks to the main premise of the novel, but the changes it does make are very successful.
The characters are very well developed.
The series does a great job of developing the characters, more so than the book did. In the show there are 13 episodes--one for each tape. Even though each tape is for a specific character, each character remains a part of the series, even after Clay listens to their tape. 13 Reasons Why expands, not only on Clay and Hannah’s story, but also on the stories of the other characters, and why they made the mistakes that they did. Justin, who was made out to be a villain in the first few tapes, becomes a source of sympathy for the audience when he is abused by his mother’s boyfriend. Unlike the novel, most of the characters are depicted as good people who made mistakes rather than cruel people who drove Hannah to commit suicide. The book successfully turns flat characters into dynamic characters, making them relatable, while keeping Bryce, the clear villain of the show, static.
The flashbacks are filmed perfectly.
The filmmakers seamlessly blended the past and the present to successfully capture Clay’s point of view in the present, and Hannah’s point of view in the past. There are multiple moments throughout the series, that Clay is listening to the tapes in the present while “watching” what happened to Hannah in the past. This is done so well, that sometimes I forget Hannah isn’t actually alive.
Overall, everyone should watch this series.
If you were a fan of the book or not, you should watch this series. The premise of the novel and the Netflix series, is very grim, but the story it tells is important. The series shows how it isn’t only the cruel actions of others that drive one to kill themselves, but it’s also the mistakes and failures of good people, that unknowingly affect others in a negative way. I think the series was even better than the book, because it successfully captured this message.