13 Reasons Why - Season 1 (2017)
(I need to open this review with something a little different than usual: a disclaimer.
Typically, the reviews on my blog and the ratings I give should be some kind of indication as to whether or not you should watch or listen to something. This time, that is not the case. 13 Reasons Why depicts sexual assault and suicide in quite graphic manners that could bring emotional and/or mental instability to those who have either gone through these traumatic acts (either as a first or third party), as well as those considering suicide. Therefore, despite the fact that I will give a positive verdict at the end of this review, if the things that the show depicts could be too much for you, then I urge you to not even risk watching this show. Your emotional and mental health is not worth it.)
I remember when I read Jay Asher's novel 13 Reasons Why. That thing was one heck of a way to tell the story of a dead girl in a fresh way, and that made me want to see how it could be depicted on film. A few months ago, I heard Netflix would be releasing a new original series based on the novel, and I realized why it had taken so long to work this book into an adaptation: the filmmakers realized that it worked better as an episodic series rather than a singular two-hour film. I was pretty excited to see how things had been worked out, so I immediately added it to my list, waiting until I had a free weekend to binge the whole thing.
Now, after having seen this whole thing, I am emotionally drained.
You see, 13 Reasons Why is a really good show. It's well-made and well-acted, in addition to feeling really grounded in reality. However, it has one enormous strength that makes it work so well: it makes me feel. It makes me feel for the character of Hannah and all the pain she had to deal with before taking her own life. It makes me feel for her parents and all the regret they must feel for not having noticed something. It makes me feel for Clay and all the blame he places on both himself and others. It makes me feel so much for everyone in this show, even to the point of tears towards the end of the season.
Part of this is due to all of the factors I've just mentioned — production values, acting, and the like (which I'll discuss more in a bit) — but part of it is just because 13 Reasons Why has the unique structure of seeing two timelines at once. Through Clay's eyes, we get to see into Hannah's life through her tapes and into what Clay is actually hearing through her words. Part of this can be chalked up to production values — the show does a great job at transitioning between the two timelines and sometimes does so nearly seamlessly, adding to the audience's perception of Clay merging his world and Hannah's — but the dual timelines also add so much to the story's richness. The novel has Clay listening to all of the tapes in one night, but the show has a lot of extra material, stretching Clay's listening session out to well over a week. This actually shows how much the events in Hannah's tapes are in some ways playing out in Clay's reality (even if it is just in his head), providing an extra emotional punch.
As for the production values and acting, they are both incredibly solid. Part of that is because of the seamless editing and transitions that I just mentioned, and part of it is because the show absolutely nails the high school feel. That being said, the performances carry 13 Reasons Why. Katherine Langford and Dylan Minnette are fantastic in their roles as Hannah and Clay, respectively, and they really sell their characters because they don't try to act too much, electing instead to stay somewhat reserved. This can be said for almost all of the cast, for that matter, and especially considering that most of them are younger this is a real win for the show.
The one problem I have with 13 Reasons Why is the writing of its characters. Out of a main cast of twelve, really only five can be considered dynamic (meaning they change over the course of the series); and out of those, three only change after the season's ninth episode. This makes for a very unevenly paced story arc for the show, and it also makes the first eight episodes seem somewhat stale. Yes, Hannah's tapes and Clay's reactions to them are compelling material on their own; however, everyone else seems very one-dimensional for quite a bit of the season, making the show a bit of a chore early on (even though the cast does give admittedly good performances).
That being said, the first season's end (yes, there's going to be a second; I don't know how to feel about that yet) makes it well worth watching: 13 Reasons Why is an emotional juggernaut that, despite some of its flaws with character development, does make the audience feel a lot of different emotions through its thirteen episodes. There are some changes made to the novel (such as updates to be in current times), but they mostly pay off dramatically and set the show up for a second season that could be very interesting. In short, if you can deal with the heavy content of 13 Reasons Why, go for it. It's not the greatest thing ever made, but it sure will make you feel.
My recommendation: See it if you can, but know both the emotional toll this will take and whether or not you can handle the content first.
My rating: 74
Typically, the reviews on my blog and the ratings I give should be some kind of indication as to whether or not you should watch or listen to something. This time, that is not the case. 13 Reasons Why depicts sexual assault and suicide in quite graphic manners that could bring emotional and/or mental instability to those who have either gone through these traumatic acts (either as a first or third party), as well as those considering suicide. Therefore, despite the fact that I will give a positive verdict at the end of this review, if the things that the show depicts could be too much for you, then I urge you to not even risk watching this show. Your emotional and mental health is not worth it.)
Now, after having seen this whole thing, I am emotionally drained.
You see, 13 Reasons Why is a really good show. It's well-made and well-acted, in addition to feeling really grounded in reality. However, it has one enormous strength that makes it work so well: it makes me feel. It makes me feel for the character of Hannah and all the pain she had to deal with before taking her own life. It makes me feel for her parents and all the regret they must feel for not having noticed something. It makes me feel for Clay and all the blame he places on both himself and others. It makes me feel so much for everyone in this show, even to the point of tears towards the end of the season.
Part of this is due to all of the factors I've just mentioned — production values, acting, and the like (which I'll discuss more in a bit) — but part of it is just because 13 Reasons Why has the unique structure of seeing two timelines at once. Through Clay's eyes, we get to see into Hannah's life through her tapes and into what Clay is actually hearing through her words. Part of this can be chalked up to production values — the show does a great job at transitioning between the two timelines and sometimes does so nearly seamlessly, adding to the audience's perception of Clay merging his world and Hannah's — but the dual timelines also add so much to the story's richness. The novel has Clay listening to all of the tapes in one night, but the show has a lot of extra material, stretching Clay's listening session out to well over a week. This actually shows how much the events in Hannah's tapes are in some ways playing out in Clay's reality (even if it is just in his head), providing an extra emotional punch.
As for the production values and acting, they are both incredibly solid. Part of that is because of the seamless editing and transitions that I just mentioned, and part of it is because the show absolutely nails the high school feel. That being said, the performances carry 13 Reasons Why. Katherine Langford and Dylan Minnette are fantastic in their roles as Hannah and Clay, respectively, and they really sell their characters because they don't try to act too much, electing instead to stay somewhat reserved. This can be said for almost all of the cast, for that matter, and especially considering that most of them are younger this is a real win for the show.
The one problem I have with 13 Reasons Why is the writing of its characters. Out of a main cast of twelve, really only five can be considered dynamic (meaning they change over the course of the series); and out of those, three only change after the season's ninth episode. This makes for a very unevenly paced story arc for the show, and it also makes the first eight episodes seem somewhat stale. Yes, Hannah's tapes and Clay's reactions to them are compelling material on their own; however, everyone else seems very one-dimensional for quite a bit of the season, making the show a bit of a chore early on (even though the cast does give admittedly good performances).
That being said, the first season's end (yes, there's going to be a second; I don't know how to feel about that yet) makes it well worth watching: 13 Reasons Why is an emotional juggernaut that, despite some of its flaws with character development, does make the audience feel a lot of different emotions through its thirteen episodes. There are some changes made to the novel (such as updates to be in current times), but they mostly pay off dramatically and set the show up for a second season that could be very interesting. In short, if you can deal with the heavy content of 13 Reasons Why, go for it. It's not the greatest thing ever made, but it sure will make you feel.
My recommendation: See it if you can, but know both the emotional toll this will take and whether or not you can handle the content first.
My rating: 74
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