13 Reasons Why | Is Season 2 Changing Hannah's Story?

WARNING: spoilers for episodes 1-7 in the second season of 13 Reasons Why

I am currently deep in the second season of the hit-series 13 Reasons Why and let me tell you, this second season is leaving me shook. I think we can all agree on the fact that while the first season rounded off Hannah's story pretty well and laid out the basics as to what led Hannah to take her own life, it still left quite a few things open and to be continued. Most people (myself included) expected the second season to mostly be about the unfinished business between the still-alive students at Liberty High, for example Jessica, Alex, Tyler, Bryce, etc. The trial that we are currently witnessing in the second season is most definitely something that had been hinted at in the first season and is playing out just as dramatically and suspense-fully as I had hoped. However, I think that barely anyone saw the additional parts to Hannah story coming.

Most prominent of all would probably be the shock of her short but sweet relationship with Zach, and the fact that she lost her virginity to him. It was extremely heartbreaking to see how the end of their relationship came about and it definitely added a whole extra dimension to her story, especially in regards to how she related to Zach. 

While everything that was revealed in Season 2 definitely doesn't change the fact that she was clinically depressed and bullied, does the additional information we get from Hannah's story maybe change how we should see her story? 

Most of the new revelations we are currently getting

definitely give us more understanding into Hannah's depression. For instance, we find out about her father's affair and how that definitely burdened her mentally. Other revelations which are coming out in Season 2 are also making me think that Hannah maybe wasn't quite as isolated as implied from the tapes in Season 1.

Don't get me wrong, Hannah was definitely bullied and had every reason to be upset and all of the people on the tapes are still just as responsible as they were in Season 1. However, it definitely makes me rethink her story.

Zach is a great example to this. If we look at the timeline of events, we see that it was right before the summer that he threw out her notes from the class's brown bag. From the tapes in the first season we are left to think that that was the only reason why Hannah was upset with Zach. Finding out that they had this completely full-blown summer romance after those events took place definitely made me see his tape differently and makes me see their relationship differently. They ended their relationship civilly, and Hannah never led Zach to believe that she was upset about how he was handling their romance. Hannah made that choice to not confront him about her feelings.

I think that it's really great that the show-writers are exploring this facet to Hannah's story. While the most important aspect to this story was definitely bringing the evil and bullying that the students at Liberty High partook in into the light, it's also important to acknowledge that each case of mental illness and suicide is affected by a multi-dimensional number of factors, in this case, including Hannah and her parents. It's incredibly hard (for us watchers but especially for people involved in cases with mental illness) to admit that one cannot just point out a culprit and be done with it but it's still very important. When starting a discussion on mental health, it's alright to point out that people who are suffering from depression or some other mental illness are also involved in their recovery. It's alright to admit that suicide is not a situation where one can just point fingers at one or a few individuals. And above all, it's important to see that while the people who are suffering are not perfect, it's still important to give them the support they need, even if we might feel tempted to point out that they are making things harder for themselves by being imperfect. It's not for us to judge the person who is suffering from mental health but it is our duty to give them the help they need and keep ourselves in check. It's all about caring and seeking to change things for the better: in one's own behavior and in the systems which work against the victims in it. And I think that 13 Reasons Why, especially it's second season, is doing a great job at portraying this. 

What do you think? Do you think that the revelations from Season 2 are changing Hannah's story? Leave a comment down below!