T.V. Time: 13 Reasons Why review/rating in Thoughts On...

I just finished watching 13 Reasons Why. It took me about as long to watch all 13 episodes as it apparently took Clay to listen to all the tapes.

Characters: I am long out of high school, but this portrayal seems to me to be pretty representative when you think about today’s world. There were times where I felt that there were other characters who seemed more poised to commit suicide than Hannah, but maybe that is what they want for season two (more on that later). Bryce seemed a little older than a high school student, but perhaps that is because he is a self-entitled prick.

Story: I think the story was amazing. I wish I would have read the book instead of watching the television show. Maybe I would have felt more connected to Hannah. The pace was so slow! I can’t believe how long it took Clay to get through all the tapes! I guess they needed to truly fill the 13 episode season. One thing that I guess bothered me is that there was a kid in that town that had working cassette players and recorders. And that there was still a store selling full size blank tapes. If this were set back in my high school days, totally believable because I am sure my generation invented Mix Tapes. With the advancement of technology, it seems lost on me that a teen would choose this form of media. Also, how did all of the reasons have access to a tape player?

Telling of Story: I covered this above in how slow the story unfolds. I had some issues with the “past” versus “present”. Perhaps that is why Clay crashed his bike in the beginning so you could tell then from now by the scrape on his head. One thing I wish is that I knew what period of time this covered. Was it a full year, a few months, a few weeks. It was difficult for me to piece together. There were no changes in the seasons that I could tell. There was basketball, which suggests spring, but then there was football, which suggests fall, and baseball which is spring/summer and they were apparently in school the entire time, so…

In the end I give it a 3.37/5. If the story had moved at a faster pace and wasn’t so back and forth, it would have easily been a higher score. Would I recommend this series? Yes. I am so glad I do not have children in today’s world. I think parents should watch this and realize that this is happening EVERYWHERE! I don’t know about anyone else, but there is no way my sister & I would have been able to hide booze under our beds (even though they were a complete disaster area) or come and go all hours of the day and night. And record tapes? 13 of them? Without anyone knowing? Not in our house. Even with two working parents, no way would that have gone unnoticed and I was home alone at times during my high school years.

Season Two: Really? This is like a season two of Big Little Lies…why? It was a one and done book shouldn’t it just be a one and done series? Why take the purity of the story away? Why ruin a “good” thing? It was left pretty open ended at the end of where they could go. Although, I doubt the latest, potential victim recorded any tapes, but maybe some MP3s? I vote no, but perhaps that is because I don’t think I could sit through 13 more back and forth reasons why!