13 Reasons Why Season 3 Review: 7 Ups & 5 Downs
2. The Murder Mystery Is Really Well-Executed
Look, by now we've established the fact that 13 Reasons Why really didn't need to continue past Season 1, but the fact of the matter is that it did. And it is rather baffling that a show that once tried to address some important topics (topics that simply aren't talked about enough) has now evolved into a full-blown murder mystery, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't acknowledge how well the show pulled it off.
What we got in Season 3 was a good old-fashioned whodunit that revolved around the mysterious death of Bryce Walker. It wasn't some contrived narrative about a character who just so happened to piss a lot of people off in the last five episodes - no, it was the compelling culmination of a storyline that had played out over three seasons, revolving around one young man who hurt countless people.
"You've hurt everyone I ever loved." Bryce's killer told him before throwing him into the water - and that right there is the reason why the mystery worked so well: Bryce did hurt everyone and, as a result, literally anybody could have done it.
This ultimately made for a gripping adventure that kept us all guessing right until the very end, and it was executed so well that it managed to set itself apart from the countless teen murder dramas on TV these days.
Well done indeed.