“13 Reasons Why” is worth settling in and watching

“Many of these episodes were not only dedicated to Hannah but also to all the other people her suicide affected.”

Editor’s Note: This article may contain spoiler information on Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why.” If you have not seen the show yet and want to, you may want to stop reading and check back in with us.

It’s no secret when a new show is released on Netflix. Posts can be seen all over social media discussing this new must watch show or movie.

And a month ago when “13 Reasons Why” was released, it was no different.

My husband and I had essentially nothing else to watch at the time and decided to give it a try. We turned on our Xbox, geared up Netflix, got comfy on the couch and settled in to watch episode one “Tape 1, Side A.”

And man, we were hooked.

Needless to say we finished all 13 episodes in less than a week.

I knew we had a Point of Review coming up in a couple weeks after we finished watching the show and it has taken me until now to collect my thoughts. I knew this was a show I wanted to give my 2 cents about.

To say “13 Reasons Why” is a good show seems odd due to the matter it covers — bullying, suicide, sexual assault and many other heavy issues ­— but it was a very well done show.

In the past week or so I have seen a number of different articles floating around the internet talking about how people should be cautious when it comes to watching the show.

I get where those who think that are coming from but I also think this show may help others.

Yes, this show follows a high school student, Hannah Baker, who killed herself.

Each episode goes through a series of events that she says led her to commit suicide.

Before she died, she recorded cassette tapes vividly describing how she viewed a number of different incidents that happened at her school and with fellow classmates.

Each of the tapes focused on one specific person and each of those people listened to the tapes from one through 13.

The show not only shows these events through Hannah’s eyes via her cassette tapes but it also shows the interactions with her classmates.

Life looked difficult for Hannah, no doubt about it.

What was interesting was how they showed these incidents through the eyes of those people who the tapes were about.

You see all of these people she talked about were also struggling, and even more so after she died.

I see the concern many have, that this show may glorify suicide for those people who have similar thoughts, but I also see it as a way to help those who are struggling.

“13 Reasons Why” shows how every action we make, every word we speak does have an impact.

This doesn’t just apply to high school students, this can happen at any age.

Another interesting aspect of the show was following Hannah’s parents as they searched for answers to their questions. Their No. 1 question being: why did she do this?

Not an easy question to answer especially when you can’t ask her yourself.

The parents, especially Hannah’s mom, looked as I imagined parents in that situation would — no makeup, red puffy eyes. That’s how I imagine I would look.

Throughout the series you would see them looking through Hannah’s things searching for answers, they would talk to other students — most of the time not getting much out of them. But that was due to them holding onto the secret of the tapes she had recorded in place of leaving any type of suicide note.

That was until the last episode where the parents are given a copy of the tapes.

I can honestly say the parents hit me the hardest. Watching them find her dead in the bathtub to knowing what they were going to hear on the tapes really got to me.

I cannot imagine what it is like for someone in that kind of situation.

My husband and I aren’t parents yet but this was the part we talked about most after watching the show. Shows and movies don’t affect him much, but even he said he couldn’t imagine what the parents were going through.

I could see that their role in the show had an impact on him.

It wasn’t just Hannah’s parents but parents of other students involved were also showcased throughout the 13 episodes.

But again, I don’t think anything about this show was glorified.

People will be left with a lot to think about following watching this show but I believe good can come from it.

When the final episode came to an end there was plenty left to base a second season on. And on May 7 it was announced that Netflix will be making a another season.

Some argue that now all the tapes have been listened to and now that we have seen Hannah die what more is there?

I think there is a lot of the story left to tell, so many of these episodes were not only dedicated to Hannah but also to all the other people her suicide affected.

Not only do I think people would binge watch more episodes, I also think they would be worth watching.

I know what Hannah thought led to her death and now I want to see those she left behind and how they pick up the pieces and put their lives back together following listening to the tapes she left behind.