After getting disappointed at Season 2, I believed this was one of those shows that had should not continue beyond its first season. Nonetheless, I give it a try once more, to find a storyline full of questionable choices.
(contain spoilers)
Ani, the new girl
With the new school year, a new student comes to Liberty High: Ani. Ani comes from a different country, doesn’t know anyone, and suddenly, she is the new narrator of the story. It seemed interesting in the beginning. We would have the perspective of an outsider about what was happening. The problem is that Ani does not behave exactly as an outsider.
She is a strong young woman, independent, confident, who knows how to move around, mingling amongst her new colleagues. The problem is, the new girl, that no one really knows is, suddenly, ‘besties’ with everyone. How reasonable is that? Have the authors ever been “the new girl”?
Something that could be interesting to see explored was her cultural background. However, it was only superficially addressed; through the lies, she seems to feel obligated to tell her mom.
Bryce’s Murder
We start this season with a missing person's case: Bryce Walker disappeared. We quickly find out he was murdered. This case is the main story of the season, and let me tell you - it was unnecessary.
The audience hates him. No one cares! Besides that, once again, this show tells us that plenty of times, you can commit a crime, of any kind, and have zero consequences for it. Is this the message we want to pass to our teenagers? We will be back to this topic later. For now, let’s look at the positive side of this new focus in the story.
No matter what I think about Bryce’s redemption attempt, this deeper perspective of the character was a good addition to the show. The idea that bad people are not evil all the time, that they also have family, friends, and feelings themselves, is, as controversial as it may be, an essential notion that most of us tend to forget.
Message of Empowerment
Jessica is no longer the sad, fragile girl we met in season 2. She is now a strong character, trying to lead other teenage girls sexually abused to step forward. Unfortunately, not always in the best way possible, but that is part of being a teenager anyway. Some scenes irritated me, though.
I liked, however, her speech in the gym scene, when all the victims stand up and say, “I am a survivor.” It was a powerful scene, clearly inspired by the #metoo movement.
Approaching to difficult topics
This was, in my opinion, from the very beginning the best part of the show. We must talk about what’s ugly, scary or uncomfortable, instead of pretending it’s not there.
The show talks about all the “uglies” present in our society: suicide, sexual assault, abuses, gun violence, abortion, etc. Not always with the best approach, I must admit, but it’s probably a good way to start talking about these things.
One of the things that surprised me the most was seeing mentioned male sexual abuse or rape. It was painfully difficult to watch Tyler’s scene in season 2 and I thought of it as senseless violence with no other purpose than shocking. I changed my mind this season. I still hate the scene, I don’t want to watch it again but brings to light a very delicate topic that is for some reason a bigger tabu than sexual assault in general.
Moral dilemma
The end of the story is as annoying as disgusting. We found out who killed Bryce. However, nothing happens. “Let the dead bury the dead,” says Ani to the Sheriff, as who is sweeping the trash under the carpet. Am I the only one thinking about corruption here? Would the Sheriff accept the suggestion if Alex was someone else’s son?
I have a simple question: what were the values they were trying to pass here?
“He was a human being!”, screams Winston at Ani, referring to Monty, at the end of the show. Should we forget this?
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