"The worst thing you can do is censor yourself as the pencil hits the paper. You must not edit until you get it all on paper," -Stephen Sondheim
Note: These are my opinions, mostly. Feel free to disagree, kindly. I know this is a sensitive topic, but don't discredit me or my thoughts because I didn't find this series flawless. Just because I didn't think this was perfect and I think there are some things wrong with it doesn't mean it's not important or impactful to other people.
You can't help but fall in love with Clay. Anyone who says they don't love Clay is lying. He's a strong character who surely can carry the weight of the show on his shoulders. Dylan Minette does an unspeakably great job. He captures the mannerisms, the subtle movements, and the emotions of Clay with astounding perfection. But Clay isn't perfect - he's human. And that's even more perfect.
2. It's definitely not what I expected.
One of the reasons I hesitated on watching this show is that it was pitched as a mystery. Still, I expected it to be about how the 13 reasons connected, dealt with it, listened, and learned. Or something like that. I guess I assumed that because that's the stories that I like, and I was a little bored and offput by the direction of the show. However, since I haven't read the book, I came to accept it for what it was.
3. Justin's flawless character development.
I'll talk more about characters and character development later. But Justin especially. We're led to believe he's this basic, popular hot guy, but then it turns this stereotype on its head. Through all of this awful shit he does, we are still able to see what he goes through and why he's like this. And, truth be told, I didn't like him much until his backstory is slowly revealed. What sold me is his undying love for Jessica. It was so heartbreaking and admirable of him, and it showed his humanity, which fleshed him out immediately, and then everything else he had done in the show made sense.
4. I had a hard time connecting to Hannah in the beginning.
I attribute this to her lack of development as a human being. For about half of the show, I sympathized with Hannah but I didn't empathize with her feelings or see her as this whole person, as we should have from the beginning. If she was developed as a character earlier, the beginning part of the show wouldn't be so mild, and the things people did to Hannah in the beginning would have hit the audience harder. Another complaint is the question of why she didn't tell her parents. Up until we see them fighting a bit at the end, we're never given a reason why she wouldn't tell them about her other problems. This also was a roadblock in me connecting with her because, at times, she seemed to be acting kind of ridiculous. However, as the series progressed, we were shown that she really is a good person, further solidifying her character.
5. Episode 13 lost its way.
Throughout the whole series, I found that this was less about Hannah than it was about Clay. And episode 13 should have put more of the focus on Clay, and seeing how he truly learns and moves on. Where it does pick itself back up is when Clay calls after Skye. However, it wasn't as powerful as I had wanted. More on this later.
6. I've heard a lot of stories about suicide, and this was mostly uninspirational.
"But Olivia," you say. "It's about a girl who commits suicide. It's not supposed to be inspirational." And to that I say, the purpose of art is to teach. And while it does do a great job of teaching the watcher about bullying and it's effects, it lacks something. Every good teacher should inspire us to become our best selves, to reach for the stars. And since art teaches, it should also inspire. An exception to this is when Clay reaches out to Skye, because this shows he learned his lesson and changes because of it, which is inspirational. However, nothing else in the story is inspiratioal, and with a story as dark and depressing as this, it needs to have some level of inspirational quality in order to balance out the darkness. It's important for a story like this to be inspirational so it gives the watchers - who probably relate to this - hope.
8. The cast of complex characters.
Clay, Sheri, Alex, Zach, Tyler, Ryan, Justin. Some of these characters were slow burns, like Justin and Zach. But all of the characters above are truly complex human beings. And what makes them so is that we're not only shown their personality and who they are, but that they aren't just the demons shown on Hannah's tapes. They're bad and they're good, and this makes them beautifully and enjoyable complex characters.
9. The all too many one-sided characters.
Bryce, Courtney, Marcus, Jessica. Now, you may be wondering why I placed Jessica on this list. Throughout the show, I never liked her. I thought she was a resolute bitch, and surely what she went through was tragic and awful, but, like I mentioned earlier, we never see her having a redeeming quality or something else that would humanize her. She needs to be a character first. I don't think I need to explain why the other three have made this list. However, this isn't a superhero movie. We're not dealing with supervillains, we're dealing with high schoolers.
10. Lack of attention on mental illness.
Bullying is rarely the sole reason why someone takes their own life because, in order for someone to commit suicide like that, they can't be in the right headspace. This could have been more complex if layers about Hannah's mental state would have been factored in. If we were shown more about how this not only affected her emotionally, but psychologically, it would make it not only more relatable to people but also more realistic and complex.
11. Episode 11 is a work of pure art.
Best episode, by far. It was so insightful to both Hannah and Clay, especially Clay's flaws, and why he has them. Every emotional moment hit like a baseball bat. But truly, the reason Episode 11 was so beautiful was because I felt it. My uncle committed suicide about a year and a half ago, and everything Clay was feeling - I had felt. And one of the reasons I thought the show - and some of the characters - were so unrealistic was because someone died and they never felt the feelings I did, thought the things I did. Until Episode 11. I cried during Episode 11 because it was truly what I needed, what I wanted out of that show. I recommend this show just for Episode 11 alone.
12. Great cinematography.
Dynamic shots, camera concentrations on a certain character, mood lighting. These all added up to make the cinematography of the show something spectacular. It's like the writing, if the medium was a book. Something I noticed was the flashbacks had a warmer, yellow-toned lighting to them, but the present day had, cooler, duller lighting. This was a great way to distinguish the timing, and even the mood, so much more effectively than just having Clay's cut on his head. The transitions between the tapes and the present day were smooth and dynamic. The storylines were weaved together nicely, and the alternating chunks of the story weren't too long.
13. Focus confusion on Hannah and Clay.
Was this Clay's story? Was this Hannah's story? Both? I ask these questions because their answers aren't always so clear. Based on what Clay does at the end, and how he percievably changes, you'd think it's Clay's story. However, by the climax, it's Hannah's story. By splitting the focus on the two characters, we're left feeling like neither story was explored or completed like it should be. When you have a story, there must be one singular character that the story is about, otherwise, the arcs fall flat on their ass. This is what happened here. Clay's mental health, him as a character, the impact he could have had, are all cut short on time exploring Hannah. This could have been balanced out much better by changing the lens in which Clay listened to the tapes, and the way her backstories are portrayed.
13. Focus confusion on Hannah and Clay.
Was this Clay's story? Was this Hannah's story? Both? I ask these questions because their answers aren't always so clear. Based on what Clay does at the end, and how he percievably changes, you'd think it's Clay's story. However, by the climax, it's Hannah's story. By splitting the focus on the two characters, we're left feeling like neither story was explored or completed like it should be. When you have a story, there must be one singular character that the story is about, otherwise, the arcs fall flat on their ass. This is what happened here. Clay's mental health, him as a character, the impact he could have had, are all cut short on time exploring Hannah. This could have been balanced out much better by changing the lens in which Clay listened to the tapes, and the way her backstories are portrayed.
~
Now, all of these points contribute to my final, fourteenth thought, like the fourteenth tape.
14. The ending left me frustrated, which is not what it should have done.
I finished it and screamed. That couldn't be it. Not a drive off into the distance and a fade out. Truly, it felt unfair. Besides a bit of Clay's personal narrative, virtually nothing else was resolved. The court case, the status of most of the characters, what happened when her parents listened to the tapes.
And you could argue that these things were supposed to be left open-ended because both Hannah's story and Clay's story was done. However, we've come to care about what happens with Hannah's parents, the case, and the other characters. By not giving us feasably conclusive ends to the story, it feels like a steal. It feels unsatisfying. And after a story like that, that's the last thing we want to feel.
Sure, the author very rarely is required to give the consumer exactly what they want, but at this point, I pose the question: Why build up these storylines, if you're not going to complete them?
~
Overall, I really enjoyed - or, as much as I could enjoy a series about a dead girl - this tv show, even if I did have some complaints. I wish there was a fourteenth episode, giving this series the conclusion it really deserves. I do believe it puts forth an important message that words have power, and we can never know what someone else is going through.
~The WordShaker
