13 Reasons Why: 9 Reasons It Ultimately Fails

3. Suicide As Revenge Fantasy

I don't think there's any one clear or definitive reading of the show's depiction of suicide, but I do think that its messaging is both confused and irresponsible, and a big reason for this is in the way Hannah's decision - and it is her decision, despite the blame-game being played - is framed over the course of 13 episodes.

While the show is attempting to depict that reasons that led to Hannah's suicide, a far more troubling one emerges: revenge.

She is doing this knowing it'll hurt everybody who hurt her, with potentially far-reaching consequences - Alex shoots himself, Courtney is unwittingly outed as gay, everyone knows Jessica was raped - and does so in a way that has a strange air of nostalgia to it: she uses cassette tapes, coloured in with nail polish. Hannah killing herself is not a rash action, but one that is meticulously thought-out and even written down, creating a web of people who serve as 'targets' of the tapes. Revenge can be a motivating factor, but here it's presented as largely the reason, as Hannah is framed as clearly wanting to hurt these people back, and even achieves it, which is not a good message to send out. Does someone like Bryce deserve punishment and justice? Of course. But suicide should not be shown to be a way of getting even or extracting revenge.

It's a revenge fantasy that plays out like a game, with Hannah creating rules for how the tapes must be followed, and has now even become a meme (which isn't the show's fault, but it's not like Netflix haven't contributed to it).

Its graphic depiction of suicide is also troubling. On the one hand, it is extremely horrific to watch, and is intended to show the horrors of such an act. And yet, it can't get away from that 'shock value' notion, and the fact that we see it in so much detail basically offers a how-to guide for anyone thinking of doing the same. That might be a minute percentage of people who watch the show, but if anyone sees that and is inspired to copy it, that's too many.