13 Reasons Why Season 2 Review: 5 Ups And 7 Downs

2. The Second Season Has No Purpose

The first season of 13 Reasons Why was a complete adaptation of Jay Asher's book. It told the full story of Hannah Baker's suicide and her tapes, as well as the impact her decision to end her life had on her family and friends. The story was complete. Which is why some fans were a little perturbed when Netflix greenlit a follow-up season.

With Season 2, the writers had one job to do: to convince us that there was more story to tell. To give us a reason to keep watching. In other words, there had to be a reason for Season 2 to exist. Unfortunately, the writers struggled to come up with one reason, let alone 13. Hannah's court case runs of steam rather early on. Clay's incessant desire to save everyone continues, but even that felt a little contrived by the end.

Instead of a worthy follow-up, we got a bloated and uneven season that had to modify the Season 1 narrative in order to create more material to work with. At this point, alarm bells should have started ringing.

The show really should've quit while it was ahead. Quality over quantity. But it's all worth if it manages to deliver a strong ending, right?