13 Reasons Why Review: 10 Ups & 9 Downs From ALL 4 Seasons

5. Strong Characterisations

The show relied heavily on its ensemble cast of characters for the vast majority of its run, and that meant that the writers had to a damn good job of making them engaging.

For the most part, the show succeeded, crafting complex, three-dimensional personalities that resonated with us, as viewers. Love them or hate them, we felt something when we looked at them and that means the writers were doing their jobs.

The characters and their respective journeys were one of the few things that arguably improved after the first season, as moving on from Hannah's tapes meant that we were no longer just seeing her version of them, and as a result, we got to know them as real people. And that's what ultimately made the redemption arcs, particularly those of Justin, Alex, Tyler, Zach and Kevin Porter so engaging.

Yes, they often threw them to the wolves for the sake of whichever season required them to act annoyingly out-of-character (Zach and Jessica were particularly frustrating in the final season) but to say that we didn't care about what happened to these characters would be a lie. And that, if nothing else, is an example of how good the show was when it was on the money.