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13 reason why - Season 4: Is it worth it?


13 Reason why - Season 4


For those who follow this blog, you know I was a bit disappointed with this show since season 2. They wanted to make a tale about everything that could go wrong with a group of teenagers, disguised as an unbreakable friendship pact. Tiring. 

In fact, if you think about it, the show started as a teen drama, went to a crime show, and ended up as a slightly ridiculous psychological thriller.

Throughout the show, one question remains: is Liberty High the worst high school in human history?

(Contains Spoilers) 


The Last Season


The production finally announced that this one would be the last season of the show. It has been a while now since the show stopped being about Hanna Baker (Katherine Langford).  She is now a distant memory, even though they try, from time to time, to maintain the connection with her story.

The main ingredient of the show is crime and a guilty conscience. 

At the beginning of this last season, the students are at a funeral. Again. We just don't know whose.

Did they learn the lesson? 


A lot of bad things happened to this group, and they are the only ones responsible for it. Despite that, they are trying to blame everyone around them for their choices. So did they learn something from the past? No, they didn't because they had no consequences!

This show is full of violence and crime, but nothing happens. The kids literally get away with murder; they take part in riots, they blow up a car, they enter a police station claiming to have a gun… And nothing happens! Absolute impunity.

What kind of message are we giving to the teenagers watching the show? The disclaimer at the beginning of each episode is simply a way of getting rid of any problem. It doesn't really have an impact on any possible viewer. 

In this season, they replace the bullying with pranks. Stupid, dangerous pranks. Yet, I have to give it to them: it is more "teenage-like".

Now, let's talk about that camp trip? Directly from a horror teen movie from the '90s. But worst.

Mental illness


The main topic of this season is supposed to be mental illness. Clay (Dylan Minnette) suffers from depression and anxiety. He has panic attacks and some periods of dissociation.

I don't think it was incredibly well represented, yet I think it reached the goal. Clay shows us how mental illness can be scary. Most importantly, he ends with the myth that depression is "just" about crying in the corner.

Are the adults worse than them?


Usually, in teenage shows, it bothers me that the adults don't do anything. They are too passive. That is different in 13 Reasons, but…

I will not discuss the secret parents' meetings or the spying apps on the kids' phones. Let's talk about that drill instead. What the hell was that? Were they trying to give the kids a heart attack? The whole thing is insane!

And how about the guns thing? Police using Tyler (Devin Druid) to get to a gun dealer? Using a kid? It made no sense at all!

Pride month


I'm not sure if the exponential increase of gay couples was on purpose because of Pride Month. Did they know, when they were making the show, when it would be released? Well, if so, congrats. 

The prom was the cutest thing ever. I loved the idea of the king and the king and the fact that the football team was so supportive. At least there was a group of students that learned something.

Anyway, during the prom, it seemed that we were seeing the happy ending until... Justin (Brandon Flynn) passes out on the dance floor. That is the moment when we realize whose funeral is opening the season. Try not to cry. 

HIV - We can’t forget


HIV and AIDS are no longer that scary. New medicine made it a chronic disease instead of a death sentence, but 13 Reasons Why brings up in our memory how negligence can still make it dangerous.

Justin's death was heartbreaking. It looked so unfair.

It was all there for a long time. The drug abuse, prostitution. Yet, who would have thought that could be the reason he was breaking up with Jessica (Alisha Boe)? Did he know? Was it a coincidence?

During the season, the increasing number of skin lesions (Kaposi's sarcoma) was evident. Nonetheless, the average viewer ignored them. The other characters ignored them, which made us not give it that much importance. There was always an excuse for each symptom. Very realistic and a last hard blow to Liberty High students. 

Is it worth it?


Now, the big question: is it worthy of watching? I had many doubts in the first episodes, but I believe that the last one saved the whole season. So, my answer would be, "Yes, it is." 

That last episode was very good, and it made an impact—a good ending for a show that went way off the trail.

It was not perfect at all, but it gave the viewer some sort of closure.



Check the previous reviews of this show.
Season 1
Season 2 
Season 3 
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