'13 Reasons Why' Season 2 News: Copycat Suicide, Search for Justice to Be Explored Next Season
The students of Liberty High School will still feel the after-effects of Hannah Baker's (Katherine Langford) suicide when "13 Reasons Why" returns for season 2.
Speaking with Buzzfeed News to promote the upcoming season, actor Dylan Minnette said that Hannah's death continues to affect his character Clay Jensen and the other students who were mentioned in Hannah's cassette tapes which she recorded before she decided to end her life.
"Hannah's story is still such an existing factor this year," the actor stated. "People have a lot of opinions about her interactions with these characters that we know but we didn't know about yet and how that plays into the overarching issue at hand here about what she did," he added.
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Showrunner Brian Yorkey also mentioned in the same report that the second season of "13 Reasons Why" will immediately tackle the fate of Hannah's former friend, Alex Standall (Miles Heizer), who decided to shoot himself at the end of season 1 because of the depression that he felt due to Hannah's death.
He acknowledged the criticisms about their decision to feature a copycat suicide to close the first season, but Yorkey argued that they want to emphasize on the incident because copycat suicides normally happen when someone was deeply affected by the first suicide.
The showrunner also mentioned that they wanted to highlight the impact of Hannah's death on Alex, which was ignored by his own friends despite its glaring signals in the first season.
"The signs are there when he falls into [Bryce's] pool when he acts out in a way that's uncharacteristic of him," Yorkey stated. "The signs are there, but you tend not to see them the first time through because you're looking at other people. And that is unfortunately so true of what happens in life," the showrunner added.
Aside from the alleged copycat suicide, the new season of the controversial web drama will also deal with the search for justice after it was revealed at the end of season 1 that popular high school jock Bryce Walker (Justin Prentice) sexually assaulted Hannah and Jessica Davis (Alisha Boe).
Based on the extended trailer for the upcoming season, Clay will find a Polaroid photo in his locker with the message "Hannah wasn't the only one" written in the back.
Several other Polaroids were seen by the other students in the entire clip, including the one that said, "He won't stop."
The trailer also showed that Bryce will spend some time testifying in court, which could mean that he would be on trial for sexual abuse allegations.
Also, the trailer revealed that Liberty High guidance counselor Mr. Porter (Derek Luke) will also be deeply affected by his involvement in Hannah's suicide. This will make him more determined avoid other students to be in the same situation in the future. "We'll see a man who is determined to reach every kid who needs to be reached and help every kid who needs to be helped, whatever it takes," the showrunner stated in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Netflix will release all 13 episodes of "13 Reasons Why" on Friday, May 18.
