13 Reasons Why | Pros & Cons

Trigger warning – This review may contain spoilers that might make those of you who haven’t seen the show to throw a fit at me for revealing some of them, so therefore of course, read at your own risk.

This series has taken such a huge portion of time in my life, by all means, I really couldn’t stop myself from watching it. So instead of a casual ramble talking about the things I want to say regarding on how much I might have somehow both like and dislike this TV series, I’ve carefully accumulated upon 8 pros and 5 cons that I may have which come across to personally, so that’s 13 points in total, which is by far the iconic amount for a number of reasons, no? (See what I did there? No? Okay, moving on.)

Let us hop in with a friendly discussion upon the pros.

1. This show had really chosen their casts accordingly. One thing’s for sure about this particular series, is that they have such an amazing array of casts enrolling such authentic roles that fit so perfectly. Their acting was what I would automatically picture a typical teenager would react whenever being faced through those of significant trials in life. In a way, I can somehow connect to some of the characters that played along this series quite well, which is very much appreciated.
2. The cinematography for each episode was surprisingly on point. For a TV show, handing out the audience with a good screenplay motion is one thing, but throwing out a great one is definitely another. The angles were brought down super nicely, and I appreciated the fact that they put so much effort and dedication into delivering the visual focus that needed to be seen by the audience, which made it super easy to not only understand what was going on at the present point, but also to grab ahold of where the situation was partly taking them next.
3. There were several episodes that provided specific trigger warnings. It is extremely important for a show to bring down trigger warnings of what may seem to appear toxic in the eyes of children, or anyone in particular who may have issues viewing things like this beforehand. It was nice to see that they had warnings regarding the topics such as, rape, abusive content, etc that are going to be shown in certain episodes, for it indirectly gave the audience a choice to take in consideration of whether or not they should continue watching it. Which in a way, I think is a very responsible and respectful feature that ended up not being forgotten through the course of this show happening.
4. The plot of this story = one heck of a ride. I have to say, just from the very beginning I was a little skeptic of going into this with all the hype surrounding it, but I ended up watching 5 episodes in one sitting which was really something I don’t normally do on a regular basis when it comes to marathoning TV shows. I was quite surprised, that this show had succeeded into keeping me on the edge of my seat, for I was always, always, wondering of what might happen next, and was waiting for the time where Clay was going to finally listen to his own tape, etc etc. One word: in-trigue-ing.
5. It had a very appealing message. The show taught us to never treat others badly, for they may be the reason behind the sufferings of another. It approached massive focus regarding one of the most fundamental topics in this series, aside from suicide, in a way which, was appealing, and it was rape. People may or may not look at the message being sent across similarly, and I too was not a big fan of the initial raw moral that this story had portrayed from the beginning, which thoughts you may find when reading ahead in the con section down below.
6. It is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. I love the idea that this was a very interesting concept to begin with. Having 13 reasons why Hannah Baker killed herself being recorded on tape, and with each containing a story inside of it had really killed the job. It was intense, outstanding, and very intricate in a way that it really deserved all the positive hype its been getting from the media lately. It promotes an ideal format that involved a jungle of series of topics that may have consciously raised awareness and representation towards the people who might suffer from it. Very well intended, indeed.
7. Nominated as the one of the best book-to-TV-show-adaptation so far. I have seen other reviews online saying that this was a one of a million book inspired TV show that stood out better than the book itself. I may not have a say to this, for I haven’t exactly read the book, but I can might as well say that I have heard the actual brief outline of it, and that it ended up sounding a bit dull for me to the point where I lost interest towards reading it after. So yeah. I’m sorry.
8. There was so much diversity being brought to the table. The high level of diversity being put to play in this story was surely unimaginable. Its fine elements are what makes the show whole. I’m not going to say too much at this point, for I personally think that it’s fairer for me to not do so, but to hint those of you who managed to have seen  this series yourselves, I hope you get my point. (:

Disclaimer: For those of you who merrily agreed along to all my positive thoughts on this show from above, please bear with the few more that will soon be written down below as of course, this is a very controversial series, and that hearing from different sides can never be wrong to avoid. Therefore to remind, I’d like it better if you guys respect the issues I have for this show as much as you did for the love I have for it. No hate, please. Thank you.

And with no further ado, here are the cons to bear with that comes after:

1. It supports a harmful message. Some people may view it this way because the mere raw plot of this story was how Hannah reacted to the people that hurt and ruined her as a person by cutting her own wrists that enabled her to bleed to death. This was not a healthy message to promote through a 13-episode-television series that is to be seen by millions of people worldwide, especially teenagers. As great as it sounds, that the producers created this plotline in means of spreading suicide awareness, the bare truth still lies on Hannah choosing the only worst possible decision to “solve” all her problems in which was cruel, as well as ironic as it is: committing suicide. 
2. There was an episode in which they did not provide a trigger warning. Trigger warnings are a crucial element to consider beginnings with, there was an episode where Clay hallucinates Hannah Baker’s wrists bleeding unexpectedly which ended up with her lying on the ground and her blood spreading all over the floor. This was indeed, very disturbing to view for a number of certain people, and that they should have put a warning about this in advance to prevent triggering, unwanted actions to likely happen.
3. No mental health related matter was mentioned in this story. There should have been an explanation through all the stakes Hannah and her friends were battling at the moment being related to mentally unstable issues at the very least, to properly educate the viewers instead of only plucking upon the generally assumed suicidal aspects of it.
4. The characters of this story often refused to talk to their parents and/or authority about their problems and chose to deal with it on their own. I apologize, but this was another harmful thing that might have been the core issue for me that I have for this series, as it is very important to be open to those around you who can actually distribute help. Teenagers should acknowledge the adults who obviously knew better to assist them getting through horrible things in the most well-mannered way possible.
5. Dangerously triggering to suicidal people. As a result of the release itself, we still can’t neglect the fact that its intense content is triggering many teenagers out there to commit suicides after watching this show every now and then. Some even got downright inspired by the show that they copied the awful turn Hannah made by recording reasons of their own as to why they ended up committing on tape. Let’s hope the good will outweigh the bad on this one.

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Aaaand yep, that finishes off all my thoughts, feelings, and opinions being successfully planted on this post. I’ve actually finished this series quite a long while ago, so this was honestly a long overdue post. I’m super glad that I’ve finally come around to writing it, feels good to let my inner thoughts yet flow like river once again. Thank you so much for your time reading this!

What are your thoughts after watching 13 Reasons Why? Did you like/dislike it? Or both? Drop your comments down below, as it would be nice to hear from you.

brb as I go along writing more articles to post on my blog,