'13 Reasons Why' season 3's portrayal of Monty's homophobia stands close to real life
This article contains spoilers for season 3.
The third season of Netflix's very controversial teen drama, '13 Reasons Why' has definitely toned down on its shock-value inducing content, making it for quite a solemn watch with way more mature execution. And while the premise of the newly released season is the show's prime villain - Bryce Walker's murder, season 3 also managed to start the conversation on topics like closeted gayness leading to blatant homophobia. The show tackled this sensitive, nuanced angle through one of the other evil guys and Tyler Down's abuser Montgomery 'Monty' De La Cruz, as he meets a rich, attractive boy called Winston at a party, hooks up with him, and later beats the crap out of him when Winston tries to talk to him in public. Needless to say, this is a tale too common.
Monty has always been the stereotypical high school jock. As more or less a by-product of Bryce, Monty is also all about establishing his dominance, but he lacks the gravity of Bryce. He is the guy who knows he will always be second best to Bryce and accepts that because he knows he can get away with a lot of bad stuff as long as he's got Bryce to cover him. We saw exactly how heinous Monty could be when he sexually assaulted Tyler with a mop while his teammates held the poor boy's head down in the commode at the school bathroom. In season 3 however, we see a whole other side to Monty, as Bryce's friend, who attends rich parties with him.
It is at one of these parties Monty attends much against his will, that he gets absolutely sloshed, and comes across a fairly attractive young boy, Winston, who's shooting him some intense checking-out stares. Winston has done this before you can tell, but Monty is too flabbergasted by his own urge to even control the situation. So the same boy who had inserted a mop inside his male classmate, lets it go and allows Winston to lock the door, before kissing him full on the lips. It is at this point that Monty's homophobia, as a result of his own closeted sexuality, comes into play. Instead of kissing him back, he tries to throw punches, which Winston is able to calm down before going down on him to perform oral sex.
Monty enjoys every bit of this, even though his mind can't fathom just how or why, or even where these intense feelings come from. For a guy who has made his entire personal brand around being a total racist, sexist, homophobic asshole to people so far, enjoying oral sex from a guy he met at a party is sure to mess with his mind. Probably why, in an inebriated state when he leaves the party and Winston wants to say goodbye, asking if he can see him around, Monty does everything to maintain his reputation and lashes out. He pretty much beats the shit out of Winston, calling him derogatory homophobic slurs among other things, establishing that he neither approves of the idea of homosexuality nor is keen on exploring that.
This makes sense as instances like these are common in pop culture and real-life too. Take HBO's disturbing new teen drama 'Euphoria' for example. One of the lead characters, Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) is a high school footballer who has known his father to have secret indulgences in young, trans-people. And while Nate was raised to be straighter than a pin with a personality that is the textbook definition of toxic masculinity, it is only after finding out that he might have feelings for the new trans-girl at their school, that his world starts to fall apart. He makes it his life's mission to destroy her, manipulate her, and emotionally harass, threaten, and blackmail her all because he can't deal with the idea of him desiring someone who wasn't always a member of the opposite gender.
Another instance closer to Monty's story would be Netflix's 2017 series adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name, 'The Mist', where emo, goth, gay kid Adrian gets beaten up by a high school jock, Trenton, for sensing his interest and kissing him on the lips. After Trenton breaks punches and kicks Adrian repeatedly on the floor, the boy gets up and proceeds to kiss him again. This time the two make out, but later in public, Trenton even refuses to acknowledge Adrian's existence beyond the word 'f*ggot.' Instances like these are not only common on TV but have also been established as a harrowing scenario in today's world. Which is probably why '13 Reasons Why' reminding us once again to take care of each other enough to make them feel that they can open up, is commendable.
'13 Reasons Why' season 3 premiered on Netflix on August 23, and all three seasons are available for streaming now.