13 Reason Why - Season Two

When Brian Yorkey developed Jay Asher's YA novel "13 Reasons Why" and brought it to Netflix as a 13 episode television series, the show stunned audiences and thrilled critics. It also drew a fair amount of controversy. The sensationalized subject matter – namely suicide and sexual assault – upset many parents who felt it was graphic and concerned many mental health professionals who felt it was triggering.

Still, viewership was undaunted by the controversy – not because the public outcry drew in the viewers, but because the narrative barreled forward with gripping suspense and compelling cliffhangers. In the end, many people felt the series surpassed the original source material.

Though the show continues in a second season, the intensity is waning.

Season Two takes place five months after the events of the first season and is now part courtroom drama part ghost story. The spectral image of Hannah actually appears to Clay this season, rather than the haunting recordings of her voice on a series of tapes. Now, Hannah's ghostly presents reminds Clay of how he failed her, his unrequited love, and how he must change the caustic, elitist culture at his high school.

Analogue images, namely Polaroids, replace the analogue sound recordings of the first season and detail the mysteries that lie in this season's 13-episode arch. Also this year is driven by an attempt to bring last season's rapist and the negligent administration of Liberty High School to justice, while a mysterious someone threatens the student witnesses in order to keep them silent.

Although the idea of Hannah's ghost appearing to Clay and guiding him along his journey seems to be a contrived device – of course, Clay can see her when no one else can, and she seem to talk to him at the most inconvenient times, mostly when he's having important conversations with living people – we forgive it, because it would be a shame to lose the dramatic presence of actress Katherine Langford in Hannah's role. Her emotionally layered performance was such a driving force in the first season; she was nominated for a Golden Globe. And although she has less to work with this time around, her acting remains strong, as does her co-star's Dylan Minnette as Clay. Alisha Boe as Jessica also delivers a devastatingly heartbreaking performance, as a character that lives with the trauma of a sexual assault and a culture that holds her responsible for it.

Unfortunately, the hard-hitting drama and driving suspense of first season ebb significantly in year two, even though episode 13 climaxes in another graphic and disturbing event.

The series' showrunner defends this season's effort as "unflinching" and "truthful stories about the things that young people go through." That's all fine and well, but the episodes themselves are a far cry from their predecessor, drawn out and desolate of intrigue.

"13 Reasons Why: Season Two"
DVD $29.98
www.netflix.com/title/80117470