As far as television shows go, 13 Reasons Why is pretty controversial. Over its first two seasons the show dealt with some heavy and confronting issues including rape, suicide, physical abuse and gun violence.
The show has copped a lot of criticism for its graphic depiction of each of these things, so much so that they have deleted a scene from the first season which showed the suicide of one of the main characters, Hannah Baker.
Despite its past controversies, the third season of 13 Reasons Why promises to be the least controversial yet.
Speaking to Radio Times, Timothy Granaderos (who plays Monty de la Cruz, on the show) said Season Three “feels like a different show.”
“[It’s] not the same as the past two seasons. I don’t think you’ll be asking me the same questions about the two prior scenes. There are definitely scenes that are wild but I don’t think you’ll be asking if any scenes will need to be removed from season three.”
Timonthy said that this season is more of a mystery:
“Right off the get-go you know it is a murder-mystery, the stakes are very high and everyone is a suspect,” he told the publication.
“So, I think fans will be left questioning who they thought they were loyal to. It’s going to take off really quickly. Within the first episode or two you’re going to be engaged trying to put the mystery together. But I think that’s the fun of season three.”
While I am hopeful that Season Three will indeed not include any problematic scenes, I’m skeptical. 13 Reasons Why is a show which has built itself on shock value – on tackling the difficult issues which other shows otherwise skirt around. 13 Reasons Why being reduced to a simple ‘murder mystery’ in Season Three would go against the reputation it has established for itself over the last few years.
On the flip-side, it kind of makes sense. Of course the show would digress from the themes explored in Season One and Two given the controversies they caused. I suppose this is why shows should sometimes end after a couple of seasons- they stop before they go too far and ruin themselves from the inside out.
I’m also skeptical that Season Three of 13 Reasons Why will feature no problematic behaviour because teenagehood is full of problematic behaviour. Find me a teenager whose daily life doesn’t feature some kind of problem – from a fresh pimple to a fresh bought of cyber bullying – and I’ll sell you my house (okay, I don’t own a house, but you get me).
Let’s also review the basic plot of Season Three: a teenage murder mystery set in the wake of a suicide, a rape trial and on the backdrop of a high school with a bullying problem.
That sounds pretty problematic to me.