8 things that make no sense at all in season 2 of '13 Reasons Why'
Are you done bingeing on the second season of Netflix's '13 Reasons Why'? If yes, then read on, as we have to address some plot lines that made no sense at all.
No, we are not going to delve into the rights and the wrongs and get into the ongoing debates around this controversial high school drama and how problematic or necessary is the series today.
We will just starkly look at the logic behind some of the scenes that left us scratching our heads.
1. First up, Justin Foley not knowing about the Clubhouse
Gone are Hannah's tapes, season 2 is about polaroids and pictures speaking a thousand words; but mainly making an obvious statement that Bryce Walker is a serial rapist and Hannah isn't the only victim. We are fully aware that Jessica Davis is one of Bryce's victims, but turns out even Chloe, who is dating Walker, was raped by her boyfriend too. All these polaroids have something in common. They point to one particular location, a cramped and secret place with a couch where girls are regularly assaulted. As it turns out, the place is referred to as ' the Clubhouse,' an exclusive venue for the jocks and school populars.
It does not take Clay long to figure out that the mysterious Clubhouse is located on the school premises, but he isn't sure where exactly. Meanwhile, Clay has rescued the homeless addict, Justin Foley, and is hiding him in his house. Justin is geared up to fight against his childhood bestfriend Bryce Walker to win back his ex-girlfriend, Jessica Davis. Justin says he is all in to testify against Walker.
But when Clay shows him the polaroids he has no idea about the Clubhouse and this is when we go, "wait.. what?" The genesis of the Clubhouse dates back to years when jocks and their close friends got girls in the Clubhouse to get drunk, party and most likely assault likely.
We also get a glimpse of Marcus being in the Clubhouse getting a lapdance by a topless woman, thanks to Cyrus and Tyler's mischief. So there is no way can we get persuaded that Justin Foley, who was Bryce's best friend since playschool, would not know about the Clubhouse.
Justin Foley was the most popular guy of Liberty High and even if he wasn't in the baseball team with Bryce, he was still a star basketball player who crashed in at Bryce's luxurious home when he couldn't stay at his mother and her abusive boyfriend's house. They literally grew up calling each other 'brother' so it's sheer rubbish that he would be so oblivious about the Clubhouse.
2. Hannah Baker's ghost doesn't tell Clay about the Clubhouse either
Hannah Baker's return to season 2 was unlike anything we had fathomed and we are still not sure about the logic behind it. Hannah isn't just a voice, she is a complete physical entity in itself that Clay can interact with. So, is that a ghost? Clay sees her, but doesn't ever touch her because he cannot. She changes her clothes at every turnout. She talks to Clay and tries to give an explanation for every new thing Clay learns about her in the court.
But when her ghost sees the polaroids, she is as confused as Clay. Later, when Clay retrieves the set of polaroid box containing pictures of every girl who walked into the Clubhouse, we see Hannah Baker had been there before. So this is when we are assured that Hannah Baker's ghost is actually Clay's imagination and his way of coping with her death. That explains why Hannah never said anything new or unknown to Clay. This, in turn, makes us question even deeper things such as Clay's sanity.
3. Why was Zach on the tapes in season 1?
Hannah Baker names Zach on '13 Reasons Why' she killed herself and it turns out that Zach's action of hiding her compliments from the box was way before their summer romance. Zach and Hannah were in a relationship after that and it seemed like they were madly in love with each other.
4. Where did Tyler get his guns?
At the end of season 1, we see Tyler's been stacking guns. In season 2, he practices shooting and becomes really good at it and lets Cyrus and Clay try his guns. They both question where he got all the guns and so do we. But we do not get the answer. Tyler's mother cites concerns about the guns, when their neighbor complains about Tyler shooting. Tyler dismisses the question by saying that the guns are Cyrus's toy guns that only look real but aren't. Tyler isn't even 18 to purchase weapons and we wonder how he has many of those.
5. Who is Jackie and how did she start living with Olivia Baker?
If there's one character who made no sense at all in season 2, it is Jackie. We are randomly introduced to her as a woman whose daughter also killed herself. While that may be a common ground on why Olivia Baker welcomes her friendship in the midst of her separation with her husband, we still do not understand Jackie. She just moves in with Olivia and has the audacity to wash Olivia's dress stained with Hannah's blood, despite Olivia telling her how much that means to her. Then she supports Olivia and tells her she only wants what's best for her then mysteriously disappears after a former bully victim testifies at the court saying that Hannah Baker was a bully in her previous school. We did not know who Jackie was when we first met her and were still there when she left.
6. Zach's a self-admitted coward but what was his polaroid plan all about?
Episode one of season 2 starts with a cryptic polaroid that Clay finds in his locker. He receives a series of photographic evidence that Bryce Walker is a serial rapist. And later we find out that it is Zach who is leaving all these evidence to Clay so that he can do something about it, while Zach continues to bask in Bryce's friendship and the benefits he gets from being a popular jock.
Zach was portrayed as an uber nice guy, reaching out and loving Hannah Baker, but on closer scrutiny, he is no different from Marcus, who gave up his morals to live up to his reputation. Zach's polaroid plan could have been more efficient and when it is revealed why he did what he did, he makes less sense, given that he was in a position to stop Bryce from raping many women.
7. How did Alex Standall survive the bullet in his head and end up using a cane?
This is how Alex explained to Tyler Down how he survived the bullet: "Yeah, I had never shot that kind of gun before, so it was heavier than the other ones, and I flinched. And the bullet went up, and then in and out of my skull and into the wall. That's what they told me." At the end of season 1 we were told that Alex Standall shot himself in the head. What were the chances of his survival after that? Keeping logic aside for a moment, we are happy that Alex is alive and is making all amends to make things right.
8. Alex Standall's erection
Why isn't anyone talking about Alex Standall's erection? He tells Zach that he felt nothing when he kissed Jessica and we explicitly saw how he failed to have an erection even during a live webcam session. But all of a sudden, during a heated argument with Zach and physical exchange in rage, he is turned on. Explanation please.