Will '13 Reasons Why' Season 3 overshadow the school shooting cliffhanger with Bryce Walker's murder?
Season 2 of Netflix's very controversial yet extremely popular original '13 Reasons Why' ended on the dangerous cliffhanger of its lead character Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) being in the center of a school shooting gone awry. While Clay was able to stop his classmate Tyler from acting upon his rage and executing a shooting at the high school's dance, he was left standing on the premises with the gun he had been able to retrieve from Tyler. Yet season 3's official trailer focuses on the murder of the show's big bad, Bryce Walker (Justin Prentice); so, are we not finding out where the season 2 finale's ending goes from there?
While it has been two full years since the show's protagonist Hannah Baker (Katherine Langfield) took her life, the consequences of her tragedy are still following up with her peers. We had Clay dwelling in her memories, not willing to let go of her until the truth about how she was bullied and raped by Bryce was brought to light. And after all of that happened at the end of season 2, just when we thought maybe now Clay could finally move on to more peaceful things, the incident of the almost school-shooting plagued his life.
Tyler, who had been brutally sexually assaulted by his classmates in the school's bathroom, decided to end everything once and for all by shooting up the school. The show tackled the burning issue of mass shootings at school using this plot, but they also showed Clay being able to talk him down with compassion and kindness. And as Tyler was able to see the light, he left Clay with the gun, standing all alone at the school's entrance while the police arrived.
This had led to speculations that perhaps season 3 would be about Clay's new mess that his good intent landed him in, as always. Speculations about the third season's plot focusing on what happens to Clay after he is found with a gun were rife along the lines of wrongful incarceration. It was also a possibility that he would tell the truth about the whole thing being Tyler's plan and thus get the other boy behind bars.
However, the show seems to have other plans. The first official trailer for season 3 establishes a new mysterious murder as the prime focus of the story. The trailer opens with a funeral and on the podium is Bryce's photo, revealing he is dead. His mother aims at digging deep into the murder of her child, while the boy's schoolmates look visibly scarred, yet suspicious. It's almost as if Liberty High's students can't catch a damn break, and knowing it's the death of a character as significant and hideous as Bryce, it can be expected that no focus or light would be shed on other plot points from the past.
As of now, Netflix is keeping everything under wraps with zero spoilers or teasers managing to make way to the public eye. But opening up a plot on such a sensitive issue that has never been more timely, given the several mass shootings the United States this year alone, the show should focus more on that instead of making Bryce Walker's murder the big plot reigning the season.
'13 Reasons Why' season 3 is slated to premiere with all episodes on August 23, only on Netflix. The previous two seasons are available on the streaming platform right now.