The show handles many of its leads in inconsistent fashions, having drastic personality changes to fit each scene. That camaraderie is all gone in season 4, for no apparent reason, until it suddenly returns about midway through for Clay to include some jarring speeches about the power of friendship that exist in stark contrast to the earlier episodes. As reckless as this approach was, it did function as a method for keeping the group together after all that had happened. The beginning of the third season focused on the group’s absurd efforts to stop Tyler (Devin Druid) from conducting a mass shooting. Without flashbacks to rely on, the show instead puts Clay (Dylan Minette) through the mental health ringer in an inconsistent and highly irresponsible manner. 13 Reasons Why has a sick fascination with rehabilitating Monty and Bryce, two morally bankrupt rapists who continue to occupy space in the narrative for little obvious reason. Season 4 also repeats some of season 2’s worst mistakes, particularly with the inclusion of ghost characters. Season 3 narrator Ani (Grace Saif) fares a bit better without as much narrative obligation, but it’s never quite clear why anyone with a half a brain would want anything to do with this train wreck of a social dynamic, especially in their senior year. Both perform fairly silly perfunctory roles that do little but remind the audience of how much better the show was when its two worst characters were still alive.
Show newcomer Diego Torres (Jan Luis Castellanos), a football player who apparently also cares about the little-loved dead rapist, essentially splits the role of villain with Winston.īut neither Winston nor Diego make particularly compelling antagonists. The presence of Winston (Deaken Bluman) as a recent mid senior-year transfer to Liberty High, who had a brief abusive relationship with Monty in season 3 and is able to provide an alibi, complicates this dynamic.
Ostensibly, season 4 is supposed to deal with the fallout of the group’s seemingly successful efforts to frame Montgomery de la Cruz (Timothy Granaderos) for the murder of Bryce Walker (Justice Prentice), but the show has to completely bend over backwards to create conflict. While many of the pieces that made the show a success remain, the subsequent three seasons have all struggled with the same murky sense of purpose. The show built an entire world out of Jay Asher’s far more limited source material, with a stellar cast, strong pacing and superb production values. The final season of the controversial Netflix drama suffers from bad writing and no clear sense of narrative purpose.ġ3 Reasons Why season 4 review - Grade: Fįor all its controversies and irresponsible depictions of mental health, the first season of 13 Reasons Why was excellent television. By Ian Thomas Malone 1 year ago Follow Tweet