‘13 Reasons Why’ Viewers Need to Watch ‘Beyond the Reasons’

It’s hard to even talk about 13 Reasons Why without bringing up its many controversies. That remained true of Season 1’s arguable glorification of suicide, and it certainly remains the case in Season 2. From this season’s focus on sexual assault to Tyler’s disturbing and violence-filled arc, this season was filled with shocking moments that seemed to exist just for the sake of stoking the flames of controversial conversations. At least that’s what I thought until I saw Beyond the Reasons. Spoilers ahead.

Beyond the Reasons is the name of Netflix’s behind-the-scenes documentaries for its immensely popular show. The special originally premiered on Netflix the same day as 13 Reasons Why Season 1. The 29-minute documentary acts as a celebrity-packed deep dive into why suicide is a serious topic and why the show depicted Hannah’s (Katherine Langford) suicide as graphically as it did. But just like the show it’s attached to, for its second season Beyond the Reasons got a little deeper. Composed of roundtable and one-on-one interviews, this season’s 67-minute documentary doesn’t just break down big plot moments and exciting performances. It’s this heated show’s way of directly telling its audience what its creators think of suicide, sexual assault, abuse, drug addiction, gun violence, and basically any subject this show has tackled that’s left viewers gasping. It’s a roughly hourlong guide that spells out exactly what this controversial show is trying to say. When you’re talking about a show with a younger-skewing audience that’s as charged as 13 Reasons Why, that’s huge.

The very thing that makes 13 Reasons Why an arguably dangerous watch is what also makes it such an addicting one. Through its 26 episodes, the drama explores its taboo teen topics in an unabashedly frank way. There’s very little hand-holding in 13 Reasons Why and even fewer lessons that feel like after school specials. Instead the show takes the controversies at its center seriously, and it rarely pulls away the camera.

Over the course of the show’s two seasons, the rich jock bully Bryce (Justin Prentice) is revealed to have brutally raped at least three of his classmates. Even during the show’s most dangerous moments, very few characters argue that they should take this information to the police or even parents. Much like in the world of adult dramas on television, everyone is more concerned about how these secrets can effect them than what the “right” thing to do may be. The inherent selfishness seen in 13 Reasons Why isn’t unbelievable — far from it, in fact. History has repeatedly taught us that most people are more interested in protecting themselves than in being morally upright. But the realistic and murky moralities of 13 Reasons Why can make the ultimate message of the show unclear. Is this show telling survivors that they need to hide their attacks? Does 13 Reasons Why support Clay’s (Dylan Minnette) unfocused vigilante justice? Was Tyler’s (Devin Druid) sexual assault and attempted school shooting just thrown into the finale to be a thrilling cliffhanger?

Beyond the Reasons abandons the moral murkiness this series loves to dwell in and gives viewers a direct answer. People should come forward after being sexually assaulted. But the process of recovering from an assault is a complicated one, and no one should feel pushed to do anything they don’t want to do. No, Clay isn’t right. You’re supposed to think he’s kind of a selfish jerk this season. Yes, there is a point to Tyler’s assault other than just creating a shocking finale.

It’s the answer to that last plot point that transformed Beyond the Reasons from just another piece of Netflix content into essential 13 Reasons Why viewing. Season 2’s behind-the-scenes documentary immediately dives into why the show portrayed Tyler’s sexual assault. “It’s important to remind ourselves that most crimes of sexual assault are not sex crimes; they’re crimes of violence,” show creator Brian Yorkey said. “We found in high schools that this kind of thing happens across America, particularly with athletes violating other students with mop handles and pool cues and — almost at epidemic levels.”

These brief sentences completely reframe how to think about Tyler’s assault. Based on Yorkey’s response, 13 Reasons Why wasn’t just fishing for a shocking ending or searching for a reason why Tyler may become the school shooter they’ve been hinting at since Season 1. They’re exploring an often ignored branch of toxic masculinity and the psychological effects of this abuse. This explanation transforms a scene that seemed needlessly exploitative into a conversation. You may not agree with Yorkey. Personally I felt that Tyler’s assault relied too much on its shock factor to the detriment of the show, its finale, and this character. But now it’s easier to understand why this scene exists and see it as part of the show’s larger argument.

In a perfect world, all teen dramas would spell out good life lessons and their teen audiences would still happily watch them. But that’s never going to happen. 13 Reasons Why partially became the juggernaut it is because it treats its young characters’ problems both authentically and maturely, and the real world is never black and white. 13 Reasons Why will never spell out its life lessons for us, but for the sake of its younger viewers and my sanity, its after-show starkly does.

Stream 13 Reasons Why: Beyond the Reasons on Netflix