Warning: The below contains spoilers for Season 2 of ’13 Reasons Why’
Despite many calling for teen drama 13 Reasons Why to be axed after its first season due to the graphic scenes of self-harm and sexual assault, this month the second instalment was released.
Though trigger warnings were added to the start of each episode, the show continued along the same storyline, showing both a teen’s attempt at suicide (thankfully, this time in less detail) and another graphic rape scene.
The horrifying scene which has everyone talking – AKA questioning why the show exists – is in the final episode of the season, “Bye,” and depicts high school student Tyler being brutally sodomized with a mop in the school bathroom by another student, Monty.
The backlash has caused 13 Reasons Why creator Brian Yorkey to speak out defending the reasoning for its inclusion in the show.
“We’re committed on this show to telling truthful stories about things that young people go through in as unflinching a way as we can. We fully understand that that means some of the scenes in the show will be difficult to watch,” he told Vulture.
“If there’s a greater sense of backlash about this scene, especially it being hard to watch, ‘disgusting,’ or inappropriate, that goes to the point that we need to be talking about the fact that things like this happen. The fact that this would be somehow more disgusting than what happened to Hannah and Jessica, I’m shocked but not surprised,” he continued.
