Why Hannah Baker isn't coming back for 13 Reasons Why's potential season 3
Nobody's quite over the hangover of the kaleidoscope of emotions that second season of Netflix's original series, '13 Reasons Why', was.
The show that was primarily centering around a tragedy was every bit as bold and tragic as its first season; and while a potential third season hasn't been announced by the streaming site yet, there's one thing that's known for sure, this season marked the end for the pivotal character Hannah Baker.
The first season of the extremely controversial show revolved around Hannah Baker's suicide and the people contributing to it hence the name.
Hannah (Katherine Langford) left behind a series of tapes where she discussed each issue she went through — from bullying, harassment, rape and an apparent lack of compassion — all of which led to her taking her life.
As a result of those incidents coming to light, a lawsuit was filed by her mother, against her school for negligence. Which brings fans to the second season. season 2 of '13 Reasons Why' dealt with so much more than Hannah recounting the harrowing experiences she went through. It offered viewers an insight into the other side of the story, from the viewpoint of the people labeled responsible for her suicide.
Dirty, sinister revelations are made and triggering instances of male rape and school shooting are portrayed in vivid light; but amidst all of this, the ghost of Hannah Baker somehow finds liberation.
As the lawsuit comes to a decision (which is sadly in favor of the school) and victims of sexual harassment are seen getting some moiety of justice, Hannah's parents hold a funeral service for her. The other protagonist of the show and Hannah's closest friend, Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) is seen speaking at her funeral and it is in the moments of this raw, emotional eulogy that Hannah's ghost walks into the church, and in the end walks out to what is assumably the 'better place'.
Hannah's story came to a full closure at that point, told from every perspective that it could have been relayed. Everything was out in the open and Hannah had finally attained the peace she was craving for.
Bryce Walker (Justin Prentice), who had raped Hannah, Jessica (Alisha Boe) and several other characters, mostly when they were unconscious, was finally sentenced. This was a pivotal source of closure for Hannah, especially since she had tried to bring up and stress the incident between Bryce and Jessica countless number of times. Jessica finally being able to look Bryce in the eyes and recount her story contributed to that.
Similarly, what seemed like Hannah's happiest in the summer before she took her life, aka her sort-of cutesy romance with Zach (Ross Butler) was brought to light to.
Zach seemed to want to keep their fling under covers but the second season offered people solace by showing that Hannah wasn't completely devoid of affection.
Her knowledge of her father's affair was revealed too. In a way, the trial let people know Hannah better, through the possible circumstances, now revealed, that could have led to her emotional state prior to her suicide.
It was like finally shutting an open book of allegations and inexplicable, frustrating mystery, after giving it the conclusion it deserved.
Katherine Langford herself believes the same. “For me, we told Hannah’s story so fully in season 1,” she spilled in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “In a way, doing that scene in episode 13, I’ve so often referred to it as it was the hardest scene because it’s the scene where I had to let her go. I think coming back this season was challenging because it was playing her but not really her.”
She also stressed on how important it was for Clay to let this borderline obsession of his idea of Hannah, go too. What he was fighting for was justified. Hannah deserved that justice every bit; but despite it seeming like he was the only one fighting for it, it was proving to be unhealthy for him.
“It was kind of like being in purgatory for season 2, and then being able to officially say goodbye to her,” Langford added.
“It definitely felt like time. For me, letting Hannah go was in season 1; season 2 was for Clay to let her go. It was being able to assist Clay on that journey.”
Netflix hasn't announced anything about a third season being on the cards, but season 2 of '13 Reasons Why' is currently streaming on Netflix.