Spoilers for "13 Reasons Why" season one ahead!
The controversial Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" was just renewed for a second season. With "13 Reasons Why" being the most talked about series in all of 2017, it only makes sense why Netflix would give it a second season. Despite it receiving some backlash for its graphic portrayals of suicide, rape, and bullying, the second season is something that everybody needs, because "their story isn't over yet."
At the end of the first season we get a sense that everything will be okay, but in reality, everything would not be okay. We think that Hannah's parents receive justice, the guidance counselor would do the right thing, and Bryce would go to jail. Unfortunately, that is not how it would go. The series is going to take a look further into Hannah's parents trial, Vanessa's recovery, as well as other loose story lines. According to the series creator during his interview with the Los Angeles Times, Brian Yorkey stated, "Part of the problem with our culture is that we say, ‘Oh, the story’s done. Rapes are treated, at best, as a multi-episode arc within a season, when anyone who’s experienced rape knows it’s a lifelong story."
Yes, the first season left a strand of cliffhangers that need to be answered, like if Alex survived and why does Tyler have so many guns? But this series needs to continue for one more important aspect which Yorkey hit right on the head; the victim's story is never over. Rape is something that cannot be easily healed or handled. It is extremely serious, and the viewers need to see the parts that we don't usually see. 13 Reasons has already displayed Hannah's rape in that way, but the viewers need to see the aftermath of the assault too. The viewers need to know that rapists do not always receive the punishment they deserve right away. It takes trials, on trials, and sometimes the rapist does not receive the punishment at all. Remember Brock Turner? Yeah, he is the perfect example of this injustice. The trials are not as quick and easy as people think. As a culture, we tend to believe that if someone is raped, the rapist goes to jail and everything is fine after that. People do not think about the traumatic aftermath for the victim, and this is why "13 Reasons Why" needed a second season. We need to see Hannah and Vanessa's whole story, not just their beginnings.
