The American TV drama 13 Reasons Why depicts a story about the aftermath of the suicide of a high school girl called Hannah Baker. She left 13 cassette tapes, which recorded a reason why a person is responsible for her tragedy. I was first attracted to this book merely because my best friend is also called Hannah. I meant to borrow this book to tease her. However, when I started reading it, it was unstoppable. That’s why I was thrilled to know Netflix will adapt the book into a TV drama series.
Soon upon its introduction, everyone like me was charmed by the storyline. Season I has successfully recreated the majority of scenes from the book. In my humble opinion, the TV series literally walks out from the book. By keeping the whole storyline with some minor amendments to the Netflix series, viewers can visualise Hannah Baker’s life. I held my breath when Hannah was hiding in the wardrobe, helplessly watching a tragedy happen. I shouted in front of my laptop, urging Clay to finish all cassette tapes immediately. Speaking of teen dramas, it’s not just Glee, High School Musicals or the Vampire Diaries. There are more realistic or, sometimes, unfortunate incidents in college. 13 Reasons Why shows what may really happen in a high school, bullying, drugs, rape or suicides. What makes Season I so appealing is that the audience can feel the resonance from the drama. It’s authentic to them. People’s emotions are drawn as the plot develops. They are anxious to know what is in the next cassette tape. Season I can be said as an excellent adaptation from the book because both new audiences and book fans are satisfied with the production.
However, its spin-offs are record-breaking in the wrong way. Following the original storyline, the sequels own original content, such as moving the case to the Court and even the death of other characters. Despite being reasonable, the storyline has become undesirably lengthy and monotonous. Even though each season has its own intact story, by connecting four seasons altogether, it’s no longer a worth-watching TV drama. Viewers are bored by the unnecessary extension. The original message of facing adolescent problems is lost in the sequels, which has become a detective story and goes against the original setting. Therefore, critics say that 13 Reasons Why should have best been stopped at Season I, the same as where the book ended. Maybe there’s a reason why the author himself didn’t write a sequel, given the massive success of the previous book.
As a fan of the book and viewer of the first two series (forgive me for not making it through to the last episode), the adaptation from the book is fascinating because it fits my expectation from the book. However, it’s more difficult for original sequels to be as attractive as the first season. It’s complicated to balance between the old storyline and original content. The reductant spin-offs impair the viewing experience of the whole adaptation.
Comments