13 Thoughts About 13 Reasons Why

Originally posted here.

Hello everyone and welcome back! Today's post is going to be 13 thoughts about the new Netflix TV show, 13 Reasons Why. I used to love this book back in high school, it really resonated with me as a lonely teenager who dabbled in depression and could relate to the troubles of the characters in the story. Once the show came out on Netflix I wasted no time in marathoning the series, sometimes with commentary by my boyfriend and others alone in my dark living room, completely drawn into the story. Check out 13 of my thoughts about the new series below!

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1: The portrayal of the high school setting is pretty much spot on. I loved how the show depicted an accurate version of the modern day high school, rather than going for something outlandish or overdramatic. Though I do have to admit, there were a whole lot of tattoos on high school students - something I don't think is really that realistic.

2: While I haven't read the book in quite some time, I felt like from what I remembered of the series, the show was somewhat different. While the main plot was still the same, I believe they added in more of a friendship between Hannah and Clay, as well as some other changes. While it wasn't bad to change some bits up, per se, it did make the show kind of confusing for me since I was going off of an old memory of the book itself.

3: The soundtrack was amazing! I loved how hipster/indie it was, it added to the ambiance of the show and really added to the scenes were they played music - except for one exception I'll get to later.

4: I am not going to lie, the acting was not fantastic. Throughout the show some scenes just felt so awkward and forced for certain characters, and it really took me out of the show at times. Standout actors for me, however, were Hannah and Clay who really made me care about their characters themselves and added to any scene they were in. Especially in the scenes they had together, those really shone in there series and are what I want to rewatch.

5: Speaking of favorite characters, I absolutely loved Hannah's quick wit and unreliable narration, Clay's completely social awkwardness, Justin as an anti-hero of sorts who manages to redeem himself - in my eyes at least - by the end of the series. I also liked Zach as someone who regrets their actions and is kind of lovable at times, Jeff's caring nature and friendship with Clay, and just all of Tony. He was fantastic!

6: Least favorite characters for me are obviously Bryce, who is just an absolute despicable human being, Tyler, who gave me the creeps (what about that ending though!), and Courtney, who I found irritating and fake for the entire show.

7: The parents of the teenagers, for literally the whole part, are the most annoying characters I have ever witnessed on a tv series. Every time a parent was on screen I was mostly likely picking up my phone to check Twitter or rolling my eyes. Clay's mother especially bored me to tears. While I understood that the parents were concerned about their children, Clay's mother took it to a whole new level I couldn't fathom. Maybe I'm just still an angsty, emojified teen at heart.

8: The way the show included LBGTQ characters was really well done, in my opinion. I especially loved how they introduced Tony's sexuality to the story without making it an huge deal or even a defining character trait for him. He was so much more than his sexuality and they never felt the need to say it straight out, or at least until that hilarious scene with an oblivious Clay.

9: While my memory from the book was hazy, once I figured out where Jeff's character was going I was really disappointed, not because I disliked the change in plot, but because I had really grown to love his character and didn't want the story to progress towards his involvement in Hannah's 13 reasons.

10: The scene in which Hannah commits suicide was incredibly hard to watch for me. A lot has been said on the internet about the rape scenes depicted in the show and how they are necessary for making people face an uncomfortable truth, but I feel the same can be said for the suicide scene. Watching Hannah slowly bleed out in the bath made me hide behind my pillow, but also made me think about the low points in my life when I considered a similar scenario, and this scene completely turned off any thought in my head about how difficult it truly is. This was important to de-romanticize the image of suicide people have and show just how horrific and tragic it is. It's not easy and it's painful.

11: Now, I know Selena Some was involved in the behind the scenes of the show as an Executive Producer, but the inclusion of her song in the final episode honestly made my entire body cringe. Like I said, I've been following the news of the show's production and I knew Selena was involved, so hearing one of her songs just completely took me out of the final episode and made it feel more like a commercial for Selena rather than watching an emotional scene.

12: The last 20 minutes or so of the series was absolutely atrocious and ruined an otherwise good show. I hated what they did with Tyler's character and the implications for another season, as well as how they left off with Alex's story. I also thought the final drive off into the sunset was super cheesy and kind of goes against everything the show was trying to say previously.

13: While there were some obvious faults with the show, I really enjoyed in and binged watched the entire series within 2 days. I don't really know if it was good enough to warrant a rewatch, at least not for a few months, but for better or worse I really liked it and enjoyed not having the book super fresh in my mind.

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Well there you have it, my 13 thoughts about the Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why. Have you seen the show yet? What are some of your thoughts about the series? Let me know in the comments below!