Tyler Down has given his testimony, and now it's Courtney's turn, as she takes a surprisingly good turn from her season 1 personality. At the end of the previous episode, Jessica found herself the victim as someone hung a doll outside her house calling her a slut. Clay, meanwhile, got the shock of his life as he found he could suddenly see Hannah, and is now unsure what to do with this development. He takes time trying to figure it out with Hannah, and Skye comes to take him to school, pretending their awkward night prior didn't happen. The episode's focus, Courtney, meanwhile, is talking with her dads about how anxious she is about court, but they remind her to just tell the truth. Another soon to testify, Zach, learns from his mom that Bryce's family is letting them use their lawyer, to his surprise. Things go to school where Jessica sees Bryce and his new girlfriend, her fellow cheerleader, and Zach arrives with Alex, to Bryce's confusion. Jessica finds a note in her locker telling her to keep her mouth shut, which she hides when Mr. Porter appears to offer his help with anything. Another cheerleader who seems to be watching Jessica arrives and helps shoo him away, and the focus switches to the court. Olivia Baker is caught off guard by the media frenzy her friend is turning the case into, and her lawyer Dennis cautions her to keep control. Courtney begins her testimony, admitting to spreading a rumor about Hannah, and says the school did nothing as the photo of them went around and they were sexually harassed. At school, Clay finds the yearbook room trashed, and Tyler angrily says it was likely someone he talked about the day before. After leaning Tyler doesn't work with Polaroids, Clay asks if he knows the two people in the photo from his locker, who Tyler identifies as former students Tommy Schuster and Erica Charles. We then see the baseball coach confronting Porter about wanting "teamwork" with teaching players, asking that Porter come to him if he has concerns with a player before talking to them. Porter states his concern about all the players, causing the coach snap that he's tired of athletes always being "targeted," but Porter fires back that the players run the school, and that he should watch them if he doesn't want someone else to. In a class Porter started, he has the students learn about thinking before acting, to control their impulses, by directing a blindfolded partner around the room. Tyler makes friends with a student who is busy mocking the school's choice to call the class "Alternative Strategies Solutions." Things return to court, where the school's lawyer notes that, despite Courtney saying she and Hannah weren't friends, Hannah seemed to tell no one else of her stalker. Olivia then remembers Hannah coming to her with her fears, only for her mother to brush the situation off as anxiety and joke about it. The lawyer suggests that Hannah had a crush on Courtney and could've been using her, as there were enough pictures to show she kissed back. Over at the school, Jessica confides in her situation with Alex, who says it probably isn't Bryce or his girlfriend, Chloe. He recommends that Jessica just tell the truth, saying that will stop whoever it is, since there wouldn't be a reason to protect Bryce, but Jessica says it's not that simple. She admits that every time she sees Bryce, it's like she's being raped again, and Alex continuing to suggest telling the truth makes her feel alone. After Jessica leaves, Alex texts Clay to ask about getting the tapes, which Clay ignores as Skye asks if his parents know about them, telling her they invited her to dinner. She asks if Clay told them about Hannah, and he says he eventually did, prompting her to suggest he didn't talk about her because he's still stuck on Hannah. Revealing she knows about him going to court, Skye tries defusing the situation, only for Clay to become distracted as his Hannah vision says she likes Skye. As things head back to court, we see the lawyer's accusation against Hannah cause Courtney to think about encounters they had that led to her crush. The lawyer keeps the pressure up, saying Hannah may have spread the rumors to put suspicion on Courtney. Courtney finally admits the opposite, and we see that, after their initial kiss, Courtney came out to Hannah, who, feeling bad, kissed Courtney back. This moment, Courtney says, proves Hannah was a true friend, and was there for her in a way that Liberty High was't. After court, Olivia heads home, where and her friend stumble upon the dress Olivia was wearing when she found Hannah, still stained with her daughter's blood. Olivia begins to apologize, but her friend stops her, sharing that she kept her daughter's sock for months after her death. The scene shifts to Bryce questioning Zach about Alex, with Zach lying that his mom is making him help, and things becomes more awkward as Zach asks about the lawyer. The two see Alex and Clay, and Zach leaves as we hear Alex demanding that Clay give him the tapes so he can have a statement for court. He tells Clay that just knowing what Jessica told him isn't enough, and that he can't "fail at this, too," a deeper look at his character as he is ashamed of not killing himself. Despite having no memory of why he tried, this reaction is quite telling of Alex's personality, as he sees his inability to commit suicide as failure. We saw in the first season that he and his father weren't close, so it could be a case of Alex feeling like he doesn't live up to what his father wants. This has led to new self-hatred, as his attempt has left him with muscle problems he finds difficult to manage. Later in the episode, he becomes frustrated during a PT session with Zach, in which he suddenly has to stop his workout. Enraged, he asks Zach why he is even helping and says he can do things himself, suggesting Zach go hang out with his "rapist friends," but Zach reminds him that he knows what it's like to feel alone. Jessica, meanwhile, continues dealing with Chloe, who, while seemingly nice, has Jessica warily maneuvering through an awkward conversation after having issues during cheer practice. The focus returns to Alex, talking to Tyler, who has been barred from photographing women's sports, and Alex notes the cruel irony that the school is only letting him photograph the jocks who bully him. After learning Tyler can't help with the tapes, Alex asks to see the photos Tyler took during his coma, becoming shocked and wondering why he would do such a thing to himself, though Tyler said it was others at the school who did it. We then get a look at a less-viewed character this season, Sheri, disinterestedly brushing off Mr. Porter talking about her school standing and giving suggestions. He says he wants to help, even if she thinks it's too late, and as she leaves, she turns down his offer of a session, saying she'll stop by if someone rapes her. A return to the Baker home shows that Olivia's friend, thinking she was ready to move on, washed her dress, prompting an outburst from Olivia. Though Olivia insists she stay, she takes more charge over their situation, saying there are some things she has to do on her own. Heading back to the court, Olivia's lawyer notes that people will question Courtney's reliability if she's been keeping the truth hidden for so long. Courtney explains that she owed it to Hannah to finally tell the truth, and later in the coffee shop, she tells Jessica that she just knew it was time to do so. We then see that Bryce has finally been subpoena'd, and see multiple characters dealing with changing parental relationships. Tyler's dad tries video games with him and says he's thinking of transferring him, and Courtney's parents try deciding how best to help her come to terms with herself. Things become awkward for Clay as Skye has shown up for dinner with the family, during which he stumbles through questions of their relationship. Skye begins feeling Clay up under the table, leading to an unexpected night for the two, and we learn that Tony is taking boxing lessons as part of parole, after which he spends time with Olivia. As she wonders why Hannah had so many secrets, Tony states he believes we sometimes keep secrets to protect others. Jessica continues to struggle with her upcoming court date, and an interesting discovery is made about Porter. Courtney's change was a highlight for this episode, drastic from how she was in the previous season, when her attempts to keep Clay quiet earned her the fanbase's ire. Seeing her finally tell the truth not only about what happened, but about herself, is great to see, in part because now she seems happier. In season 1, she was afraid how people would treat her if they knew she was gay, but upon realizing things seem little different than before, she calms down. In a following scene, we even see her openly checking out a girl, who seems to return the feeling. Tony's scenes near the end are interesting to see, as we honestly didn't learn too much about him in the first season. We get a lot about Clay's relationship with Skye, and how his feelings for Hannah are obviously hurting them, which is nice to see, as he is struggling like anyone could. He repeatedly lies, and his lack of communication causes problems as Skye has to find alternate ways to be a part of his life. Though it didn't present him as a god, the first season did do a lot to present Clay as a moral high ground of the series overall, but seeing him struggle here helps make him more realistic. With two testimonies down and threats getting worse, the violence can only escalate going forward.
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Despite having a solid series finale after one season, 13 Reasons Why has returned to Netflix with a second season. Months after the events of season 1, things have apparently calmed down, though the release of the tapes has caused issues for the students. Due to the Baker family choosing to settle rather than go through with a lawsuit, Clay has become apathetic and bitter. Now dating Skye, he insists that he hasn't thought of Hannah in months and no longer cares about her or what happens. His attitude changes, however, when he learns Hannah's mom decided at the last second not to settle. The episode is narrated by Tyler Down, whose tape revealed his stalking of Hannah, as he is on the stand as the first to testify about life at Liberty and specifically for Hannah. Tyler readily admits his hand in Hannah's downfall, explaining how he went from a yearbook member with an interest in her to obsessing over her beauty. After giving his testimony, Tyler is threatened, as he finds the school dark room vandalized. The other students are facing problems now as well, with Jessica being called a drunk slut at school, as her time away allowed Bryce to spin the story of what happened. Her only solace comes from Alex, who, having survived his attempted suicide at the end of season 1, has amnesia of everything that happened a month before his attempt, including listening to Hannah's tapes. His attempt has altered his relationship with his parents, as his father tries to be more caring and his mom has become overprotective. He learns from his mom that he left a suicide note, which she kept, and demands to see it, confused as to what he meant by saying he "could have stopped it." Jessica has her own new situation, as her dad doesn't want her to testify, and like Alex's parents, doesn't want her to go back to school yet. Zach begins to stick around Alex, determined to help him through physical therapy, as the brain injury damaged his ability to use his arms and legs. Throughout the episode, Zach, like Jessica, tries to avoid Bryce, making excuses to be away from him and help Alex. Despite he and Tyler insisting on finally getting the truth out, Clay struggles to decide what he wants to do. His attempts at a physical relationship with Skye repeatedly fail, as he takes issue with her continuing to cut herself. Against his mom's wishes, he goes to see Tyler's testimony, but storms out when Tyler says Hannah was sexting after her situation with Justin. While listening to Tyler's testimony, Hannah's mom thinks back to him asking Hannah to model for him, when she made remarks about Hannah's appearance in the photos, realizing the repercussions her words had on her daughter. After the testimony, Clay has an encounter with Zach, who is in disbelief that Clay says he only cares about school and Skye. The situation moves to Mr. Porter approaching Bryce for a "talk," following him into the bathroom after being brushed off. Bryce is initially confused and nonchalant, until Porter grabs him by the throat and shoves him against a wall, threatening that he will face repercussions if he goes near Jessica. Bryce, finally afraid, notes that Porter can't talk to him that way, to which Mr. Porter simply says that he didn't, before adjusting Bryce's blazer and walking out. In class, Alex becomes frustrated upon learning the others knew of his suicide note, and that Clay won't give him the tapes to listen to again. Afterward, Porter shows a newfound aggressive attentiveness in his job, intervening when Bryce and his friends begin bullying Tyler. Clay, off to the side, discovers a Polaroid in his locker of students at a party, with "Hannah wasn't the only one" written on the back. He goes to Tony, but learns nothing, and the scene goes to the baseball team, where Porter gives a lesson on consent, refusing to let anyone make light of the situation. The mounting pressure begins to weigh on Bryce, who performs poorly at practice, and at the same time Jessica is named a flier for the cheer team, but becomes suspicious of her fellow cheerleaders. Tony has a meeting with Ryan, who is now nervous about the trial, and they discreetly discuss a part of Tony's past that he's been worried about. Over at Alex's house, Tyler visits with junk food, as Alex's mom has him on a strict diet he doesn't like. While washing his hands, Tyler notices some off-color wall tiles, and Alex explains that it's the spot where the bullet he shot himself with hit the wall. The two talk about what Alex has gone through, and Tyler agrees to let Alex see the photos he took of Alex during the coma, intending to document his progression. Things get complicated at the end of the episode as both Clay and Jessica face new problems in their lives. Honestly, I for one saw no need for a second season after I saw the first, as I loved how everything was handled, with the showrunners showing how harsh suicide is, how it affects people, and how we try to sweep it under the rug. One of my favorite small moments of the season was when Clay is in class and his teacher talks about signs of depression. As she talks of changes in appearance, lack of interest, and people just being out of it, she simply brushes past how Clay is staring vacantly at Hannah's seat. To me, the way they handled Hannah's accusations was also excellent, as they show that not everything was exactly as she remembered, and there were things she could have done, like speaking to her parents. This is in no way, of course, to say the suicide was Hannah being weak or dumb; just that there is a problem of people not being able to speak to loved ones about their thoughts and emotions. The finale ended great to me, leaving so much open-ended but showing that numerous people would have to face repercussions and new aspects of their lives. When I got into the second season, however, I was pleasantly surprised by the direction they took as well as how they're handling it. A lot of character progression has taken place over the few months between seasons, and the writers do a good job explaining where the shown characters are at. Clay says multiple times that he "hasn't thought about Hannah in months," a non-clunky way of explaining that he's just avoiding how he feels about the trial and Hannah. Porter was one of my favorite aspects of the episode, with his more assertive nature and how seriously he takes his job. In the previous season, it was obvious that Porter did care about the students, but he was so passive in his approach that it led to him being one of Hannah's reasons. Although he still took more interest than the other oblivious teachers, Porter seemed to not really care at some points while talking to students. The previous season, he seemed to teleport through the halls like Friday the 13th's Jason, always appearing at important moments, and that still happens this season, but in an admirable way with how Porter protects the students. When talking to the baseball players, it was clear the coach was uncomfortable and seemed to take issue with Porter having them give the talk at all. With season 2 starting off strong, I'm hopeful that the remaining episodes will be just as enjoyable as the first. |
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