Thirteen reasons why

So I'm not normally one to jump on TV series band wagons; I may have watched Orange Is The New Black but I didn't bother with Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Making a Murderer or Stranger Things. However, when I saw twitter suddenly blowing up over Thirteen Reasons Why, I decided I had to give it a watch (seeing as I read the book years ago). And despite the fact that I don't do reviews very often, this one couldn't go without one (note: obviously spoilers to follow). Okay so a quick synopsis: basically 17 year old Hannah has just killed herself and has recorded tapes of herself telling of the 13 reasons why, each linking to a different person. These tapes are then sent round the people who are on them, to be passed from person to person. The story is told from the point of view of sweet-but-socially-awkward Clay, who is reason number 11 and has just received the tapes, and who was madly in love with Hannah.

The first thing I'll say is that it's a good job it's a Netflix original series so that all the episodes are available at once, because if I had to watch one a week I just know I wouldn't have bothered. I know it's all part of the slow build up and the creation of suspense but it just felt like a bit of a slow-starter to me. As a whole, I have to say I didn't enjoy it (sorry not sorry). Maybe it's because I'm slightly outside of the target audience or maybe it's because I've never really suffered with my mental health but I just didn't think any of the things that happen to the main character Hannah are reasons to kill yourself. Having your name put on 'good bum' list or having a poem you wrote published without your permission are not reasons for wanting to die. The more serious ones like having a stalker invade your privacy or getting a reputation as the school slut may be reasons to want to move away or reinvent yourself but are still not reasons for wanting to kill yourself. Obviously I understand that it's portraying how every small unkindness can wind you up in a very dark place and I think the producers (and author) have done an excellent job at portraying important issues like suicide and rape. And I had issues with the show because it's just fundamentally against what I believe, and not because it was done badly (it was done excellently). I don't think suicide should ever be an option and the scene depicting Hannah being found dead were absolutely heartbreaking and gut-wrenching. Even if you're in a dark place, I can't ever understand how you could do that to someone (in this case, her parents). Overall I think the show should be congratulated for bringing to light some really important issues. For some reason, mental health still seems to be a taboo issue and not talking about it has never helped anyone. So if the show makes even one person think twice before they say something mean, or to realise that what you think of yourself is more important than what other people think of you, or to reach out to someone who seems to be struggling then it's done a good job. 

Having said that though, it got one very important thing wrong. The whole "blame game" that the show is centered around is completely not the way that things work. Yes shitty things happen to all of us, some more than others, but we've all had our fair share. However, it doesn't affect us all the same. It's like the quote about how the boiling water that softens the potato, hardens the egg. It's not about the situation you're in, it's about what you're made of. The idea in the show that Clay could have somehow saved Hannah if he had just admitted that he loved her is ludicrous. When someone is depressed and suicidal, three little words wouldn't have changed that and I think it's irresponsible of the show to depict that that's all it would have taken. And despite all the teen angst (which was way too much for me at times), I think the main thing that the show teaches us is the butterfly effect. Our actions have consequences and we could all do with stopping and thinking twice about things first. Which I think is a pretty good message to preach.