13 Reasons Why is, in some ways, a murder mystery — but if you came here looking for Netflix’s answer to Pretty Little Liars or Riverdale, turn back. The series shares more DNA with My So-Called Life (both series are set at “Liberty High School”) in that both offer a quiet analysis of teen life. Yet to really compare 13 Reasons Why to anything would be doing a disservice to what is one of the most special series to ever grace Netflix.
At its core, 13 Reasons Why is a study in how we treat one another. It examines the “small” aggressions we commit that cause unthinkable pain, and the larger ones that become even more painful when we are told we must “move on” from them. It’s also an unflinching, realistic look on particularly challenging topics, including rape, suicide, and depression.
And, I will warn you now: it’s not an easy show to watch. 13 Reasons Why makes poignant points about what we owe one another as humans, but this is not The Breakfast Club or even Perks Of Being A Wallflower. This show is not kind — even if it implores its characters to be.
It is, however, very, very important — especially for teens, their parents, and any authority figure who deals with either. You haven’t seen teen television like this before, and it’s about time it existed.
Episode 1
High school can be heaven or hell — depending on your perspective and social standing, of course. It’s not hard to know which one it was for Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford). When 13 Reasons Why opens, we learn that pretty, smart, vivacious Hannah killed herself weeks earlier, and Clay (Dylan Minnette) — her co-worker at the movie theater and longtime admirer — still can’t wrap his mind around it.
But he’s going to — if the late Hannah has anything to say about it. Shortly after Hannah’s strung-out ex Justin (Brandon Flynn) accuses a confused Clay of being “not so innocent,” Clay receives a package in the mail from Hannah herself. Inside the package are tapes — tapes that tell the story of Hannah’s life, or, more importantly, why she felt it had to end. 13 sides for each person responsible for her suicide. Listen to everything and pass it on, Hannah warns, or else a “trusted individual” will make the tapes go public. And that — well, that would be bad for everyone.
Clay is immediately freaked out — he can’t figure out why he’s on the tapes at all, and is terrified to find out. He steals a tape player from Tony (Christian Navarro) — one of quiet Clay’s only friends — and lets Hannah’s voice guide him around San Francisco… and her psyche. Never mind that Clay’s own parents are worried about what’s going on in his head — though he would never dream of telling them about the tapes, Clay only has thoughts for Hannah.
The first person up on Hannah’s shit list is Justin — the boy who was very freaked about what Clay heard on the tapes. In flashbacks narrated by Hannah, we get the story of Justin and Hannah — a story of young romance gone terribly awry. Hannah describes how Justin, the boyfriend du jour of her best friend Kat (Giorgia Whigham) who has since moved away, became the object of her infatuation. Hannah plays cat and mouse with Justin until he’s just as smitten with her as she is him.
Eventually, Hannah sneaks out of her house (despite being under the watchful eye of her mother Olivia, played by Kate Walsh) and meets up with Justin in the park. The two have a lovely, sweet night on the playground that culminates in a kiss. Hannah thanks Justin for that kiss — just not what comes after.
Justin proves he’s less-than-noble when he shows an upskirt picture of Hannah from their playground date to his friends. Football captain and resident asshat Bryce (Justin Prentice), forwards the photo to the entire school, humiliating Hannah. And that’s the reason why Hannah has listed Justin on the tapes: he took a beautiful moment and made it ugly.
Clay isn’t so innocent either. He remembers a moment just after Hannah’s photo went viral, when Hannah came to sit with him at lunch. Clay — jealous of her hookup with Justin — snapped at Hannah. Hannah left the lunch table in tears.
While listening to Hannah’s tape at the playground, Clay sees Tony’s red convertible pull up. Clay is confused — until Tony reveals the truth. Tony is the friend that Hannah has put in charge of the tapes. The next day, Clay asks him why — why can’t Tony just tell him what’s on the tapes? It’s too hard for Clay to listen to her voice… he already sees Hannah in every corner of his mind. Tony can’t answer that — and advises Clay to just “keep listening.” Everything will be explained… but that doesn’t mean the journey won’t be a painful one.
Episode 2
It’s time for side two of Hannah’s tapes, and Clay is still terrified that he’s about to be called out for something that Hannah has declared as cruel. Alas, Clay isn’t side two of the tapes: instead, that honor goes to Jessica (Alisha Boe).
What’s Jessica’s story? It’s all about betrayal. Hannah and Jessica became friends when their guidance counselor earnestly introduced them. As much as they hated that their overly-peppy guidance counselor was right about their need for friends, the two clicked immediately, and soon they were sharing hot chocolate dates at local coffee shop Monet’s. After a few weeks of sipping hot cocoa, the two meet Alex (Miles Heizer), another newbie with a shock bleach blonde hair and a nose ring. Things are initially great between the trio: they share their biggest “FML” moments and help one another cope. Alas, as Hannah puts it “one plus one plus one is not an easy equation.” Eventually, Alex and Jessica start dating and all but ditch Hannah.
Later, though, things turn sour between Alex and Jessica — and Hannah gets caught in the crossfire. Jessica confronts Hannah with a “hot list” made by Alex… one in which Hannah is labeled “best ass” and Jessica “worst.” Jessica slaps Hannah, accusing Hannah of seducing Alex behind Jessica’s back — all at Monet’s, the place that was once so sacred to them.
Things are different in present day. Jessica, now a cheerleader, is dating Justin — yep, that Justin. Yet this week, Justin is MIA — Clay, who has questions following the first tape, can’t find him anywhere, and Jessica seems even more anxious to track him down. It soon becomes evident that both Jessica and Justin have listened to the tapes — and that there’s something even more incriminating on them than side one or side two suggests.
Jessica eventually learns that Justin has been hiding out at Bryce’s pool house, where he’s playing video games in between ripping his bong. Jessica confronts Justin and tells him that she’s worried about Clay: he’s not like the rest of them. He might talk. And besides: “If Hannah was lying,” Jessica asks Justin, “Why are you here?”
Yet Clay has nothing to talk about — at least not yet. Tony remarks that he’s one of the slowest people to listen to the tapes yet. Clay says it’s just too hard. His parents know something is up: Clay’s mother has filled an old prescription for antidepressants, “just in case” Clay wanted to start taking them again.
Hannah’s mother finds Alex’s list in one of Hannah’s old notebooks, and declares that it’s another example of her daughter being bullied. Hannah’s parents have been collecting evidence for the police for a lawsuit — one that Justin may possibly be involved in — and Olivia is convinced this is their key to the case. Hannah’s father Andy (Brian d'Arcy James) isn’t so sure that court will see it the same way (Andy remarks that some would call Hannah’s placement on the list a compliment, a.k.a. men), but Olivia needs something to cling to. Some explanation for Hannah’s suicide, no matter how thin, is better than nothing.
And so, she calls Tony — a person clearly close to the family. What is Tony’s true tie to the Bakers, and, specifically, Hannah’s death? Guess we’ll have to keep listening.
Episode 3
This episode opens with chaos theory: the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings could potentially cause a hurricane in another part of the world. It’s not hard to see why Hannah would be interested in the theory: she’s been stuck in the hurricane before.
Clay’s tape assignment brings him to the third side of the story of Jessica and Hannah’s disintegrated friendship: Alex. Alex is having a particularly tough time coping with Hannah’s death, and he’s already listened to the tapes twice, just in case the first time was a dream.
Meanwhile, Olivia is still hellbent on finding a reason for Hannah’s suicide. She didn’t get tapes: she needs to find evidence herself. She goes to see the Principal of the school, and begs for answers about Hannah’s behavior. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get them: the Principal says he shouldn’t be talking to her at all, given the lawsuit she’s brought against them. Instead, Olivia finds answers — or is it more questions? — when she finds graffiti mocking Hannah in the girl’s bathroom. Is this what she’s talking to Tony at Monet’s about? Why would Tony know anything about Hannah’s history in the first place?
One person who is taking on all the blame for Hannah’s suicide — or, at least, a large portion of the blame, since he declares that everyone on the tapes is also guilty — is Alex. It all comes back to that list, he says, but Clay can’t understand why Hannah would be so devastated by Alex’s “compliment.” It clearly took some time, but Alex has already listened to the tapes: he knows he messed up, and badly. As Hannah explains, if you don’t get it, you don’t understand what it’s like to be a girl: to have your body sexualized without your consent, to have to deal with the whispers in the hall. Not only did Alex placing Hannah on the list — which he admits he did out of spite because Jessica wouldn’t have sex with him — ruin Hannah and Jessica’s friendship, it also “declared open season” on Hannah’s body. The rumors are bad enough, but it’s more than that. Guys start grabbing her in the hallway, making comments, taking photos — a “joke” to them, but a total violation to Hannah.
And then there’s the Bryce thing. It’s a testament to actor Justin Prentice’s performance that the very sight of football captain, resident douchebag, and casual misogynist Bryce makes my skin crawl. While out purchasing candy at a local liquor store, Bryce comes up behind Hannah and buys her candy bar. However, the gesture isn’t exactly generous: after handing Hannah the candy bar, he grabs her ass, and tells her that Alex definitely got at least one part of the list right. With that, Bryce walks off, leaving Hannah frozen in place. It’s only after he’s gone that Hannah leaves the store, tears streaming down her face.
In present day, Clay visits the same liquor store where Bryce assaulted Hannah. Low and behold, Bryce is there picking up some malt liquor for his pals. He corners Clay, then demands that he engage in a chugging contest with Alex. It’s not a “fun” moment — it’s a bizarre intimidation tactic, and it works. Clay loses the contest, and then loses his lunch all over his mother’s home cooked meal.
It’s not just the alcohol that has made Clay sick: before heading home, he witnesses Tony — whom Alex previously told Clay “was only out for Tony” — brutally beating a guy. Is everyone right? Should Clay be wary of trusting what was once his only real friend?
As for Alex, hanging with the “cool crowd” has only made him more miserable. He jumps into the pool with his clothes on, and for a second we think he won’t come back for air.
Hannah’s final message of episode 3 is an ominous one. She warns Clay that her next task for him won’t be easy — and that he’ll have to be very, very quiet.
Episode 4
The meaning of Hannah’s final message of last episode is revealed. The tapes send Clay to Tyler the yearbook photographer’s house. Tyler was Hannah’s very own personal stalker: he used to stand outside her house, waiting for her to come home, and take her picture. Naturally, this terrified Hannah — but when Clay confronts Tyler about the pictures, Tyler reveals that he was actually in love with Hannah — she didn’t wear a mask like the rest of the world. Clay demands he destroys the photos he took of Hannah, and Tyler shows him one that he took of Clay walking with Hannah. Does he really want Tyler to destroy every picture?
Masks are an appropriate theme for this episode, considering it’s Halloween. Marcus, one of Bryce and Justin’s friends, finds Clay outside of Tyler’s bedroom — per Hannah’s request — and invites him to a party they’re having later. Of course, Clay will have to bring a party favor: Hannah’s tapes. Marcus wants Clay to forget about what’s on them and “move on” with the rest of the people featured in Hannah’s final thoughts. Tony warns Clay: whatever promises this group is making him, they’re lying.
Meanwhile, Hannah’s parents are dealing with their own loss. When Clay drives by Hannah’s house and finds it decorated with toilet paper thanks to a Halloween prank, he tries to clean up the mess. Olivia comes outside and threatens to call the police, but when Clay tells her that he was trying to take the toilet paper down, she invites him inside to talk about Hannah. But Clay doesn’t stay: he can’t bear a conversation with Hannah’s mom knowing that, should he give her the tapes, she’ll believe he’s responsible for her daughter’s death.
Andy, a pharmacist, is dealing with both the loss of his daughter and his life in the community: with a Wal-Mart like store opening up down the street, he’s losing customers left and right. But Olivia reminds him it’s not Walplex’s grand opening that is keeping them from coming into the Baker Pharmacy… people are now afraid of the Bakers. They don’t want to say the wrong thing. Well, screw that, says Andy: it’s time they fight and reminded them that their daughter’s death wasn’t a senseless tragedy. It could have been prevented.
Perhaps it could have — had it not been for people like Tyler and Courtney. In flashbacks, we learn that Courtney, the school’s classic overachiever, offered to help Hannah find the identity of her stalker. They hatch a plan to bait the photographer at their sleepover, but the plan gets tossed to the side when Hannah and Courtney get into Hannah’s parents’ liquor cabinet. Instead of catching Tyler, the girls play truth or dare on Hannah’s bed. Things escalate quickly: soon, Courtney is daring Hannah to kiss her. While they’re making out (Courtney is far more into it than Hannah is) Hannah sees a flash go off. Courtney and Hannah run to the window and catch Tyler in the act. Courtney is pissed — she thought Hannah’s stalker was some creepy old man, not a classmate. But really, she’s afraid that the photo will out her to the entire school.
It doesn’t: but not for lack of trying on Tyler’s part. The next day, Hannah confronts Tyler, and he agrees to delete all the evidence of that night. He then asks Hannah — the object of his affection — to “hang out,” which Hannah laughs off, considering he’s just confessed to being her secret stalker. That pisses Tyler off: he forwards half the school a blurry photo of Courtney and Hannah’s make out session, and Courtney confronts Hannah, sobbing. “Never talk to me again,” says Courtney. And just like that, Hannah has lost another friend.
No one ever finds out the identity of the two girls in the photo, but enough people have the picture on their computers for… well, not-so-innocent reasons. That includes Clay, who deletes the pics. But he’s not content with letting Tyler get away with his stalking: Clay decides it’s about time Tyler really knows what it feels like to be afraid, so he takes a photo of Tyler, naked, and passes it around to those who have heard the tapes. When Tony texts Clay “What the hell?” Clay just replies that he’s “Making [his] own justice.” Tyler, who also got a copy of the photo sent to his phone, sits down on his bed and cries.
If you are thinking about suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Suicide Crisis Line at 1-800-784-2433.
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