13の理由 (2017)

tmdb18104390によって2022年06月15日に書き込まれました

The rollercoaster that started with Hannah Baker and her titular motivations that drove her to suicide has finally come to a full stop. Everyone involved in the infamous tapes are damaged beyond repair, regardless what happinesses they find, and no one more than our protagonist Clay Jensen, whose conflict takes on the most phantasmagorical in the final ten episodes.

For a show that's gone on as long as 13 Reasons Why (and, let's be real, it really didn't need to surpass one season), the melodrama keeps piling on. The first season is not without its faults but it's superior to everything that follows. Season 2 was one long, dragged out snoozer that hit no bumps until the finale, which brought us what is singlehandedly the most uncomfortable scene in the entire series (perhaps even Netflix overall). Yes, even more than the (now removed) bathtub suicide at the end of season 1.

While season 3 was a marked improvement over 2, ignoring the question of "why the hell is this still on?", at least new character Ani came in with something resembling a backstory, because that can't be said for any other new characters, although her use becomes extremely problematic (I'll give you a hint, it involves redeeming a rapist). A number of supporting players come into play in the second and third seasons, and then vanish with next to no explanation.

The writers room seem to have little idea how contemporary teenagers act, peppering every other word with an F bomb and their lives is one giant soap opera. This may be how some Gen Z'ers see their existence but 13RW is next level. Bullying that leads to suicide is all too unfortunately common, yet has anyone (prior to the show's release) actually gone out of their way to record who they blame for the ultimate decision?

One thing I will credit the series as a whole is the committed performances of its young actors (young is a strong word, considering the actor behind sociopathic school bully Montgomery is in his early thirties). With the material they're given, Katherine Langford (Hannah), Miles Heizer (Alex), Alisha Boe (Jessica), Brandon Flynn (Justin), Timothy Granaderos (Monty)--especially come season 4--really play out their strengths. But the most notable performance has to go to Devin Druid as the ambiguously disordered yearbook photographer Tyler.

Tyler's journey is, without a doubt, the most harrowing and heartbreaking arc, because he may as well be one of the realest depictions of a teenager--regardless of generation--on TV. He's a nice enough kid but he's singled out by everyone around him as weird and--in the case of the aforementioned tapes--seen as one of the worst subjects (his offense being a stalker), despite said tapes including a serial rapist, a pathological liar, a cowardly educator, a backstabbing friend and a slut-shamer.

The character development award goes to Brandon Flynn, who brings Justin Foley, a troubled boy from a broken and abusive home life, to life. The book that the series is based on doesn't go into that much detail but Flynn's downtrodden demeanor plays perfect to Justin's addiction storyline. He goes from gaslighting his girlfriend about being raped and solving problems with vague threats of violence to someone the audience really roots for, a protective and caring adopted brother to Clay. That is, until his life on the streets catches up to him and he's revealed to have contracted AIDS somewhere down the line. This is given a passing comment somewhere mid-season 4 and brought up in the extended length series finale.

Not sure who to pin that on, I guess the showrunners wanted to go out on something big. And nothing says big like offing a major and well-developed character (who's played by a gay man) with outdated representations of a controversially depicted disease in the final 90 minutes of your show.

Season 1: 86% | Season 2: 22% | Season 3: 42% | Season 4: 36% | Average: 46.5%