13 REASONS WHY: Season 2: “The First Polaroid”

Name: 13 REASONS WHY: Season 2: “The First Polaroid”
Item: 13 REASONS WHY: Season 2: “The First Polaroid”
Author: Steph Manthe

Season 2 Episode 1

Family Content: -4 Intentional blasphemy, evil, gross immorality, and/or worldview problems. (To be avoided)

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

Content:

(PaPa, B, LLL, V, SS, N, A, DD, M)
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
Strong pagan worldview, with immoral behavior like sexual promiscuity, and teenage rebelliousness condoned, with some moral elements condemning sexual assault and bullying;
Foul Language:
33 obscenities (mostly f-words) and six profanities;
Violence:
A school counselor physically attacks and threatens a teenage boy who raped a girl, implied self-harm, and discussion of attempted suicide;
Sex:
Teenagers try to initiate sex, but boy is surprised his girlfriend is still cutting herself, so he stops, plus passionate kissing and a reference to sexting;
Nudity:
Upper male nudity, girl starts to undress, another girl undresses under a blanket;
Alcohol Use:
Light wine drinking;
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
Teenage athlete gets a steroid shot; and,
Miscellaneous Immorality:
Teenagers illegally get tattoos;

Episodes: Season Overview

Number	Date	Title	Production	Content
2.1	5/18/2018	“The First Polaroid”		-4
2.2	5/18/2018	“Two Girls Kissing”		-3

More Detail:

The episode “The First Polaroid” begins with Tyler, the photographer who stalked Hannah Baker, testifying at the trial against the school. Tyler befriended Hannah when she was new, but it all backfired, especially when Tyler secretly took pictures of Hannah when she was changing in her room. Meanwhile, Clay is dating Skye, a teenage girl who cuts herself. The two try to fornicate for the first time, but every time they try, something weird happens to Clay: he keeps seeing Hannah appear. It also appears that some students have secrets, like the mysterious Tony.

“The First Polaroid” sets up the trial and mystery of Season Two, but the hook doesn’t sink in very well. It also doesn’t help that some characters, like Alex, who tried to kill himself at the end of Season One, have terrible dialogue written for them. At other times, the show has odd musical choices that distract from the story and characters. Also, the teenagers deal with such heavy and sad situations, it’s hard to call 13 REASONS WHY entertaining. It’s certainly not appropriate for teenagers.

Watch 13 REASONS WHY: Season 2: “The First Polaroid” →

Quality:

- Content: -4