13ReasonsWhy:Plotsummaryandcontentwarnings
Ifyouhaven’tseen13ReasonsWhybutwanttodiscussitwithayoungperson,oraretryingtodecidewhetheritis
suitableviewingforayoungpersoninyourcare,thissummarymayhelp.Itcoversthebasicplotanddescribes
contentthatviewersmayfinddisturbing.13ReasonsWhyisnotconsistentwithmanyguidelinesformedia
reportinganddepictionofsuicide,andwatchingitmaybedistressingforyoungpeople,especiallythosewhoare
vulnerable.
13ReasonsWhyisahighschoolbaseddramarecentlyreleasedinternationallyonNetflix.All13hour-longepisodes
st
werereleasedtogether,onMarch31 2017.ItisthestoryofHannah,ayoungwomanwhohasdiedbysuicide
beforetheshowstarts.Shehasleftaboxofaudio-tapeswithClay,theprotagonistoftheshow,eachrevealingone
ofthe13reasonswhyshedecidedtodie.Onthetapes,shedetailsanumberofhighlytraumaticeventsthat
contributedtoherdevelopingthoughtsofsuicide,mostlyinvolvingherclassmates.Clayisthelastofseveralpeople
whoweretolistentothetapes,accordingtoherinstructions.AsClayplaysthem,helearnsaboutmanythingsthat
happenedduringHannah’slife.Classmateswhohavealreadyheardthetapesareinvolvedatvariouspoints,
providingadditional(sometimesconflicting)informationandtryingtokeephimontrack.
Onthesurface,theshowclearlysetouttodosomethingimportant,likethenovelofthesamename;toshowthat
actionshaveconsequences.Hannahwasraped,bullied(bothonandoffline),stalkedandharassed.Obscene
photographsofherwerecirculated.Thelistgoeson;asyoucanimagine,thelistisHannah’s‘13reasons’fortaking
herownlife.
Theshowcontainsseveraldistressingandgraphicscenes,includingHannah’ssuicideandtworapescenes(oneof
theseisHannah’srape,theother,analmostunconsciousclassmate,whileHannahishidingintheroomterrifiedto
act).
Thestoryistoldoutofsequence.SometimesweseetheworldthroughHannah’seyes,andsometimesthrough
Clay’seyesafterherdeath,oftenwithhervoicenarratingeventsashehearsheronthetapes.Thiscangivethe
impressionthatsheispresentafterherdeath,andthatsheisseeingtheimpactthatherdeathhashadonher
classmatesandothers.Herlockerisdecoratedbyclassmateswhotakeselfiesinfrontofit,furtherromanticizingand
trivializingherdeath.
Acriticalplotpointisthattowardstheendoftheshow,Hannahdoesreachouttoanadult.Sheseesthisasherlast
attempttogethelp.Shetalkstoaschoolcounsellorandhehandlesthesituationverypoorly,andultimatelyletsher
leavehisofficewithoutdoinganythingtohelp.Whilethiswasprobablyintendedtoshowonespecificadultwho
failedtohelp,theimpressionisthatadultscan’torwon’thelp.
IntheendwelearnthatClay,whohasspentmostoftheshowconvincedthatheaboveanyoneelsemustbe
responsibleforhersuicide,istheonlypersonshedoesn’tblame.Sheincludedhimintheprocesssothathewould
understandwhyshe’dpushedhimawaywhentheywerekissing,afteracknowledgingtheirfeelingsforeachother.
Ifayoungpersonhasn’tyetwatchedtheshowandwishesto,encouragethefollowing:
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It’sokaytofast-forwardthroughupsettingscenes.Viewingtheminfullisnotnecessarytounderstandthe
story.Suicideandrapearenotromantic,andshouldnotbeconsideredentertainment.
Considerwatchingtheshowwithatrustedresponsibleadultasthiswouldallowthemtoaskquestions
aboutthemesandscenesthatareupsettingorconfusing.
Justbecausealltheepisodesarethere,doesn’tmeantheyneedtoallbewatchedatthesametime.
Watchinganepisodeacoupleoftimesaweekorevenlessgivesayoungpersontimetothinkcritically
abouttheshow,ratherthanriskfeelingupsetbyit.
It’sokaynottowatchtheshowatall,evenifotherfriendshave.