There are conspiracies, multiple sexual assaults, guns a plenty, at least one new drug addiction, and so. But how?' And this is the best they could come up with, when they'd have been better off just ditching the device all together.Īs Yorkey and his writers attempted the build the world out a bit this season, making the focus a bit more on Liberty High and the nefarious behavior going on within its halls-a necessary move if Netflix wants to keep this train rolling into season three and beyond-the show begins to buckle under the weight. It all feels very much like Yorkey and his writers sat together and thought, 'Well, we had narration in season one, so we need it in season two.

We've watched a lot of legal dramas in our day. Where Hannah's narration made sense and allowed for her to say whatever she felt, given that she was creating the tapes we were listening to on her own, the flowery prose, full of ruminations on friendship and secrets and whatever the hell else, we hear each episode pushes the limits of what we're willing to accept as believable. With a list of grievances about this season of television so long that we're not exactly sure to start, let's take it back to the premiere and Yorkey's decision to replace Langford's powerful narration from season one, representing the diatribe she recorded on each of her 13 cassette tapes, with testimony from the trial.īeginning with Devin Druid's Tyler, each episode is narrated by the student who happens to be testifying at that time and immediately, the flaws in this design are clear. Sure, the end of season one left a few threads dangling when it came to the Liberty High School students we'd met throughout, but the story of Hannah Baker and what happened to her that led her to believe her only way out was suicide? That story was powerfully and effectively and thoroughly told to completion over the course of those 13 hours. It was inventive with its narrative structure, framing each of its 13 episodes around one of Hannah's tapes revealing her another one of her 'reasons why.' And it told a complete story. It was compelling, anchored by standout performances from Dylan Minnette, Kate Walsh, and breakout star Katherine Langford, especially. But Netflix's adaptation of Jay Asher's 2007 novel was also rewarding in its own way.

Going in to a show that's set out to tell the story of a teenage girl's decision to take her own life, that's sort of a given. Season one of 13 Reasons Why was a difficult watch. If you haven't finished season two yet, you may want to bookmark this page and return once you have. Warning: The following contains spoilers for both seasons of 13 Reasons Why.

13 reasons why 2 episodes