It's not just another dramatic Netflix series built around a plot in a book. When I started watching the show, I had never even heard of the book- I actually saw an ad on Facebook for the series. I figured it was one of the shows that I'd binge watch in a week, and crave the airing of the next seasons for months at a time, waiting to find out what happened. That's not how this show goes. At all.
You meet Hannah Baker, who's story is heart-achingly relatable to all of us. Most of our parents are clueless when we're in high school, either we are the bully, the bystander or we're the one who cries our self to sleep. Sometimes we're all three, and no one really knows. Teenagers are ruthless, no one actually cares about one another, and rumors are spread like the flu. Hannah's story is more than just bullying in high school, it is the cold hard truth about what's whispered in the hallways of high school, and what's sent in chain mail. Her story touches so many topics that adolescent and adult heads turn to.
Rape, lies, betrayal, rumors, suicide.. I know you've heard of these. We hear about them everyday, but "he didn't rape her," "she's just lying." Yeah, you've either heard it or you've said it. What possibly could be the thirteen reasons that this series is about?
Hannah moved to a new school, she made new friends, met new boys, new house and new job. It's a fresh start, anything that happened at her old school was over- it was going to be okay. She was a new student at Liberty High; fresh meat. The series consists of flashbacks that are brought to its viewers through tapes made by Hannah before her suicide. The 13 reasons she killed herself were her former friends, and tormentors at school. Each tape has two sides, one side for each person who contributed to her death- they all knew their part, but someone was going to find out all of it.
Other than Hannah, the character most focused on is Clay Jensen, Hannah's admirer, coworker, and peer. Clay learns he is one of the 13 people responsible for what happened to Hannah. Listening to each side of each tape, Clay does not know which one is his and is tortured by the thought of having responsibility for what happened.
Early on in the series, Hannah is labeled a slut, something many girls get named thanks to the rumor mill. A slut is a slut, right? Wrong. Hannah's only girl friends betray her, in more ways than one, making her experience at her new school even more excruciating. Girls are evil. Photos are circulated around school of Hannah, by her crush Justin who is one of the thirteen- the boy who got Hannah her new name. Justin's tape talks about how everyone heard he and Hannah had sex, like he had said- but that didn't happen, not even close.
Each character, except for Hannah's devastated mother, becomes three-dimensional in this story, there are sides you don't see until the tables are turned by the tapes. Name calling, rumors, crushes, lies, sex, rape.. the "Hot List." It talks about the hottest girls in school, and their best attributes, a list where you can find Hannah who was put there by her 'friend.'
This series is important because it shines a light on the things that happen in school, the lies that get covered up, the seriousness of bullying, and the lack of responsibility teenagers are willing to take for the demise of their peers. I think everyone should watch this show, it's not like other shows- it sucks you into Hannah's life, and draws you to naive Clay who is unaware and afraid to find out what he did to ruin Hannah.
Everyone of the 13 former friends of Hannah, except for Clay, want to cover up the things they did that caused the end of an innocent persons life. Something that happens all too often, but these tapes refute the possibility of covering anything up.
Watch this show, watch it and think about anything you've done that could've ended someones life. Words cut deep.
