Why Is 13 Reasons Why Season 2 Even A Thing?

There’s nothing wrong with contained stories, those that don’t need countless sequels and spin-offs to force a franchise where it doesn’t belong. In fact, continuing to grow and develop on lore can do more harm than good to the original product, sometimes even taking away from what made it so special.

While 13 Reasons Why‘s first season wasn’t what you would call spectacular or visionary, it served a purpose. It told the story of a young girl, Hannah, who took her life after cumulative stresses and disappointments with the tapes she left behind filling in the blanks for the viewer and Clay: the male protagonist who is also her unrequited love.

Consisting of thirteen episodes (get it?) with each episode serving to tell the tale of the tapes, the first season of the show comprised of Clay trying to piece everything together and why he himself is on the tapes. It’s an emotional ride and one that constantly leaves the viewer in a state of limbo. Is Clay a bad guy? Why did she take her life? Just how short is Christian Navarro?

13 Reasons Why did a mostly good job of filling in these blanks and subverting expectations of the characters at it center. The most reprehensible “friends” of Hannah were far deeper than they first feared and Clay became one of the most sympathetic characters on TV by the end. Everything was wrapping up in a bow, and then it took a very cheap shot in its finale.

Alex is a tertiary character who briefly dated Hannah. Serving as the catalyst for Hannah’s downward spiral after writing a mean list that is then passed around in school, he tries to takes his own life in the finale. It’s a conflicted, bizarre message — Hannah’s tapes were supposed to serve as a reason for people to improve themselves, but Alex’s suicide attempt makes it come across as if she was seeking vengeance. It feels as cynically motivated as the ending to Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, which I still cannot forgive.

Adding to that, Tyler, the school creep, is seen staring lovingly at his rifle as the season comes to a close. He’s bullied throughout the first season of the show for being different and, well, a pervert, but mass murderer? Quite the stretch. Considering the current climate in America right now, the show depicting a school massacre is not going to go down well, as well as it being the focal point for a string of episodes where he will supposedly be cast in a sympathetic light.

13 Reasons Why had some flaws, one of them being that it sagged at the midway point as the premise was becoming more stretched. It’s a unique idea, but perhaps not one that translates to thirteen hours of television — how is that going to hold up for a second round? Unless Hannah had a secret second plan, the hook is going to be diluted with another character doing the same thing and will ultimately just not be as interesting.

According to the official description for the show, 13 Reasons Why’s second season will revolve around Hannah’s parents filing a lawsuit against the school with a bunch of polaroids serving to uncover a conspiracy. Even if Clay did his best Dick Tracy impersonation at points in the first season, I can’t quite reconcile the show turning into another Riverdale or the teen version of The Killing.

I am happy to be proven wrong, but as we get closer and closer to the new season dropping on May 18th, I am looking for more than a few reasons why I should care.