Reasons why I couldn't stand 13 Reasons Why S3

Sometimes a TV show should not continue beyond its first season. And 13 Reasons Why, a Netflix drama about teen suicide, should have ended immediately after its controversial first season.

Season 3 is based around the murder of Liberty High bully (and rapist), Bryce Walker, played by Justin Prentice, and is basically just a drawn-out episode of Crime ID’s ‘Catch a Killer’.

The Bryce story allows producers to hone in on what has been a theme in 13 Reasons all along: the idea that everyone is fighting a hard battle that may not be apparent on the surface.

Ani, played by Grace Saif, is brand new to the show in season three and has just moved to the U.S. from the UK. At first, I was excited to see a fellow Brit on such a popular show…but that soon changed. She starts attending Liberty High School in the months leading up to Bryce’s death. Despite the short time she’s been there, she seems to instantly know every teenager within a 25-mile radius, which is completely unnatural.

In addition to somehow knowing everyone, Ani is constantly eavesdropping. She’s worse than the main character Clay in this regard, and that is saying a LOT. Ani is like every character on Downton Abbey who ever loitered in a doorway listening to a conversation, all rolled into one high-school student who thinks she’s a Spy Kid.

Seriously, at one point the camera turns around for us to see this:

Never forget: Ani is always there, Ani is always listening, Ani is the human equivalent of Alexa.

Although the mystery leading up to the murderer’s reveal was good, it feels like they are just trying to tick off storyline checklists. 13 Reasons Why is constantly trying to portray that it is the voice of a generation. And while it is less controversial than season one, the strange insistence on moralizing teen pain, while also presenting completely amoral storylines, makes season three such a frustrating watch.