Spoilers ahead. Read at own risk or do not.
I just finished all the 13 episodes of 13 Reasons Why and while I loved the show and how wonderful written all the characters were, I had an issue with episode 12.
Through 11 episodes, the show did a wonderful job of showcasing how Hannah Baker’s life spiralled out of her control. How she went into a downward journey as one thing after another went against her. This was great depiction of how teenagers can often feel lost. While this is not the only way one could end up depressed, this small things combined are often what can contribute to it and the show was making a great point of letting it be known.
And then came episode 12 as a counter to all that. Suddenly the show decided to make rape a soft target for her death. It became the focal point and while the makers kept reiterating the point that “we all are responsible for Hannah Baker’s death”, it lost itself a little in the episode 12. It made it the trigger point for her suicide. In most cases, there is no actual trigger point or something tragic that needs to happen for teens to commit suicide. The wonderful point the show had conveyed until then about bullying, rumors, gossips, lack of care from friends etc all just got hit by one big rape episode which was not needed in the overall narrative.
The show could have done away with it and still had a lot more bigger influence.
