In March of 2017, Netflix released the show “13 Reasons Why” based on a novel of the same name by Jay Ashner. The television show followed the mystery of a high school student, Hannah Baker, and why she took her own life.
The story, though narrated by Hannah, is told through her friend Clay Jensen and shows how he deals with her death. Clay is given a box of cassette tapes where Hannah goes through the 13 reasons why she ended her life. The show is told through each episode belonging to one of the tapes and how Clay reacts to each confession that is given.
The show received much of praise when it first aired. Critics and audiences applauded the discussion of the controversial subject matter throughout the series. There are conversations about many issues that teens deal with on a daily bases but aren’t usually brought up in the same capacity, such as suicide, bullying, sexual harassment, abuse, rape and many more mature themes.
As the series followed the novel that came before it, most viewers were not expecting a second season. Though the series ended on a cliffhanger with a few character’s lives in the balance, many viewers thought that “13 Reasons Why” may just end the way the first season left off and leave everyone with millions of unanswered questions.
When only a couple of months after the initial airing of the first season and an announcement of a second came, it only left viewers with even more questions. What was left of Hannah’s story to tell? Did Clay miss something in the tapes?
On May 18, 2018, all those questions will (hopefully) be answered when Netflix uploads the entire second season of the show to their site so viewers can binge-watch it in one sitting or stream it over a couple of days. Though do keep in mind, this is a long awaited sequel and there’s bound to be a few spoilers roaming the internet just hours after the show airs.
So, the big question is what are we going to see in the second season of “13 Reasons Why,” and what does the trailer mean when it says “Hannah wasn’t the only one”?
According to the trailer, all of the main cast from the last season are back even though the first season left a few of their futures up in the air. Alex was in the hospital with a serious gunshot wound in the last episode of Season 1 and Justin had fled town out of guilt, so why did they get dragged back into the story?
It looks like the deposition over Hannah’s death is going to play a major role this season. It began during the last episode of the first season when all the kids were taken in and questioned by the police. Tyler then spilled the beans on the tapes and that’s where they left off.
There are a couple scenes from a courtroom in the trailer as well as a couple scenes of what could be people protesting outside. The Bakers are looking for justice for Hannah and now that the world knows about the tapes, where does that leave everyone?
Of course, the Bakers aren’t the only ones looking for justice. Clay is still there fighting for her and maybe losing his nerve a bit. It also looks like he’s still being haunted by the memory of Hannah like he was in the first season.
The main difference this season looks to be is a shift in focus. Last season of “13 Reasons Why” really hammered in on the issue of teen suicide and how different issues like bullying could lead to a teen wanting to take their own life. In Season 2, the focus is now on sexual assault and starting a discussion about how important this topic is.
Season 1 showed that both Hannah and her friend Jessica had experienced being raped, that it lead to a depression and maybe the final straw that made Hannah want to end her life. In the Season 2 trailer, Clay is given a series of Polaroid pictures that may depict other possible sexual assault victims, aka “Hannah wasn’t the only one” coming into play.
There’s also Bryce, the one who raped Jessica and Hannah in the first season, in a courtroom and possibly being found guilty as there are scenes of the character getting some backlash from fellow students.
Hannah mentions the rape in her tapes and that Jessica finally told her parents what happened to her so that may be what leads to Bryce’s downfall and possibly, with the photos, there may be a few more stories to tell.
Season 2 looks to be as action packed and intense as the first one: the characters are being blackmailed by whoever is sending the photos, Clay is wielding a gun, Jessica and others are being bullied by their classmates, and so much more. Hopefully there will be some of the answers to the questions that were left after the first season, or maybe they will leave viewers even more lost after Season 2 airs.
Either way, the season is going to be another full-blown rollercoaster ride and something to definitely make time for. So, clear some time this weekend and binge-watch those episodes to find out how Hannah’s story continues.
