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After Season 1 was think pieced to death, there was no way that 13 Reasons Why‘s second season was going to be boring. But Season 2’s final episode has been leaving both critics and fans divided. According to creator and showrunner Brian Yorkey, that divide is kind of the point. Major Season 2 spoilers ahead.
“We’re anticipating that there will be a lot of conversation about the show, and I think we’re hoping there will be,” Yorkey said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re hoping there will be strong and divergent opinions and that people will talk about these issues in the context of the show, and more importantly in the context of the real world.”
Season 2 ends with one of the most brutal scenes this show about teen suicide has ever seen. After being sent away for acting out, Tyler (Devin Druid) comes back to Liberty High eager to redeem himself and start a new life. However, his hopes are almost immediately crushed when the lackeys of popular bully Bryce (Justin Prentice) corner Tyler in a bathroom. Things quickly go from tense to terrifying in a scene that ends with Tyler being graphically sexually violated with a broom handle.
The series then leans into the narrative its been teasing since Season 1’s finale. Tyler, with his collection of guns in tow, decides to cause a school shooting.
Ultimately, Season 2 ends on a less intense note. Clay (Dylan Minnette) talks Tyler down from shooting the school and takes the gun away from him. “We’re much more interested in understanding that character’s journey than we are in seeing it end in the worst way possible,” Yorkey said.
The show creator says the 13 Reasons Why team wanted to talk about gun violence without glorifying it. “I think each viewer will have their own opinion about whether we found that balance, so I will leave that evaluation up to each individual viewer. For our part, we did as much research as we could,” he said.
Yorkey said that the main goal of the finale is the same goal as the series as a whole — to authentically portray an experience in an attempt to start more conversations about it. So whether that finale spoke to you or repelled you, know that the 13 Reasons Why team thought about it.
