'13 Reasons Why' Season Two Is Getting Some Seriously Savage Reviews

16 May 2018, 11:52

13 Reasons Why Season 2. Picture: Netflix

By Woodrow Whyte

Warning: contains MAJOR spoilers.

The first reviews for 13 Reasons Why season two have made their way on to the internet and things are looking...interesting.

While EW had reservations about one particular storyline involving Hannah Baker, and another storyline in which 13RW seek to addresses criticism about the show head on, they were generally supportive of the performances of the cast and the show as a whole.

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USA Today were not so kind. In fact, they completely eviscerated it. "Watching is a chore, but there's no benefit at the end", they wrote. "There are zero reasons to put yourself through it." Ouch!

We're going to wait until we've seen it to make up our own mind. But, both of the reviews mentioned above contain several spoilers about the events in season two, which we're going share here for those that simply can't wait to find out what happens (or can't be arsed to watch). Not all the storylines have revealed but there are some pretty huge spoilers in there, so consider this your warning...

via GIPHY

1. Each episode this season revolves around testimony from one of Hannah's classmates.

Each student takes it in turns in the hot seat in court, including Bryce, to go over the events that Hannah spoke about on the tapes and to discuss their involvement in Hannah's death. It's not certain whether any new information comes out in these scenes. As one reviewer put it, "it is, quite literally, a rehash of all the events we saw in Season 1" so, erm, maybe not?

2. Hannah appears as a ghost.

We been knew because of the trailer but it's now finally confirmed. Hannah will appear in flashbacks, like in season one, but also as a ghost in scenes with Clay. Hannah essentially appears as hallucinations in Clay's mind as he continues to be 'haunted' by Hannah's passing. Clay did experience hallucinations in one episode of the first season (remember Hannah's bloodied corpse on the basketball court during a game?) so this isn't anything new, more a continuation of a theme from S1.

3. Clay and Skye will get it on.

No more details on this yet but they definitely begin a relationship, as almost everyone expected.

4. The polaroids which featured in the season promo are mostly aimed at Clay.

The polaroids appear in Clay's locker, informing Clay that Bryce and his friends may have assaulted other girls. At present, we don't know who is sending them but there are several names in contention. Our bets are on new girl Nina or Tyler.

5. New character Nina helps Jessica come to terms with her sexual assault.

Nina is a rape survivor (played by Samantha Logan) and her friendship with Jessica helps that latter to confront the anger and shame she feels about the assault. Interestingly, Bryce’s enters a relationship with a girl, named Chloe (Ann Winters), who apparently is a "conduit for a subtle yet effective subplot about consent and partner rape." Can't wait to see how that one turns out.

6. Officials at Liberty High BAN students from talking about Alex or Hannah.

In an effort to avoid copycat suicides, the school decides to ban the other students from talking about Hannah and Alex (which is ridiculous, even for 13RW). This leads to a conversation between Clay and Principal Bolan about how to approach the issue of teen suicide, which people are interpreting as a rebuttal to criticisms of the show's first season. At one point Clay even says to Bolan, "How does silence protect us?...Maybe they just wanted to start a conversation.”