'13 Reasons Why' season 3 asks if Casey's activism has gone too far with her insistence on crashing Bryce's funeral
This article contains spoilers for season 3.
The third season of '13 Reasons Why' brought a shift in its narrative from the dead girl beyond the grave to the new girl in school. And amidst all the issues it tackles, from ICE deportation to sexual assault, school shootings, and a criminal's redemption, the one ground it also covers is activism going too far. Season 3 approaches the topic through Casey. Casey (Bex Taylor-Klaus) fits the cardboard cutout stereotype for what the popular terms these days is 'feminazi'. And for the most part, even with her impassionate and extremely impeccable stances on why it is so important to not turn a rapist into a martyr just because he died a tragic, mysterious death, what Casey does emphasize is with everything that's taken out of context when it comes to feminism.
When we first meet Casey, she is rooting for Jessica Davis (Alisha Boe) - one of Bryce's (Justin Prentice) many victims of sexual assault to go on to become the student council president. In the beginning and from the top, it's a very wholesome picture of solidarity - two rape survivors coming together to change the perception of consent that high school students, teachers, and especially jocks seem to possess. Jessica is all about not giving athletes the get out of jail free card, and actually holding them accountable for their heinous crimes without considering their glorious future. Jessica has finally found her voice and power and isn't afraid to use it, and Casey serves as a catalyst in her reclaiming her authority.
The two begin a survivors group called "Hands Off" or "HO" with Jessica leading it and as more and more people join, the group becomes all about aggression, more than activism. These survivors and allies are angry and for all the right reasons, but Casey goes over the top whenever any of the others' opinion comes in conflict with her agenda. She doesn't hesitate to call Jessica a victim when she opposes the idea of crashing Bryce's funeral. Casey says "F**k their pain" about the parents grieving the loss of their son's murder because he was a rapist. And granted Bryce did get away with his crimes with just a slap on the wrist (three-month probation for sexually assaulting at least three high school girls), but for Casey, more than raising the discourse on consent, it is about vandalizing whatever she can, as long as it's related to Bryce.
Casey does have a few saving graces though; like the way she correctly points out that they shouldn't stop vocalizing their protest. At one point, Casey says Bryce's funeral and tragic murder was a ploy to turn another 'star athlete' into a martyr, and that is exactly why they should crash his funeral. And when Tyler Down (Devin Druid) who has joined their group as an 'ally' tries to counter her idea, she retorts "If you’re going to be an ally, be a f**king ally." The survivors are so invested in making a statement with aggressive, and quite rash gestures that they are simply ignoring the fact that Tyler could be a victim too. Albeit nobody knows at this point that Tyler had been raped by Monty the previous year in their school bathroom, but considering all the sympathy and solidarity they preach, they show zero consideration for their allies, or even Jessica, for that matter, as she gets Casey's burning rage when she says crashing the funeral might be a step too far.
Bryce Walker is a character beyond redemption, there's no doubt in that, and seemingly, both Pentice and the show's creators get that idea very well, despite season 3 spending a due amount of time showing him in the aftermath of his probation. It's true, Bryce tried his bit to make amends but was in the end murdered, without having to serve a sentence for the pain he put so many people through. So Casey's crude nature isn't a crime against Bryce, but her lack of compassion for the same survivors in the group she's taking so seriously comprises of is sort of off-putting.
Casey probably means well, but to crash the funeral posing as mourners and interrupting Bryce's mother's speech by calling him a rapist could have been handled better. They weren't husting Bryce by doing this, all they did was break Mrs. Walker's heart as cries in the middle of all that commotion, with a desolate look on her face because she knows these girls are right about her son, but her son was beginning to be more than he had been until that point. Bryce is dead and none of this affects him. But the lack of compassion she shows to her own survivors is kind of unsettling and that is exactly the question season 3 is asking: is this what activism is meant to be? Not listening to the ones who have been through pain similar to your own?
'13 Reasons Why' season 3 premiered on August 23 and is up for streaming on Netflix now.