NetflixIf you finished 13 Reasons Why then you probably feel like you need a hug, and want to give somebody a hug. Basically hugs all around.
The intensely heavy teen drama from Netflix about a high school girl, Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford), who commits suicide and leaves 13 tapes for her classmates, explaining her decision, tackles a variety of subjects from rape and bullying to drug-use and school violence.
Spoilers for the series, which includes Selena Gomez, her mom Mandy Teefey, Brian Yorkey and Tom McCarthy among its executive producers, follow.
In the finale, Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) passes the 13 tapes along to the next recipient Mr. Porter (Derek Luke), skipping Bryce (Justin Prentice) after recording a 14th tape, Bryce's confession to raping Hannah.Meanwhile, Alex (Miles Heizer) was in the hospital after supposedly shooting himself and Tyler (Devin Druid) prepared for what looked like carrying out a school shooting. There was a hopeful note though, with the Bakers also receiving Hannah's tapes (hopefully getting some closure) and Clay reaching out to another troubled classmate, Skye (Sosie Bacon).
"We hope that [viewers] have a better understanding for the darker issues, whether they're going through them themselves, or we also hope that it's easier to have conversations amongst your friends, and from parents to their kids about these dark issues," Prentice told E! News at the 13 Reasons Why premiere. "I mean, they're difficult things to talk about so we hope this makes it a little easier and it's kind of a conversation starter for what someone's going through."
"I think this show does a great job of showing the perspective of the issues, so we also hope that it sheds some insight onto what people may actually be feeling and experiencing emotionally because they may hide that from the world," he continued. "So this show does a great job of showing, hey it's not all happiness. Even though they may put on a facade, this may be what they're feeling—be there for them."
Brandon Flynn, who played Justin, whose character hid his girlfriend's rape and helped start the rumor that Hannah was "easy," had a simple message to viewers after taking in all 13 episodes:
"Be comfortable with who you are. Be comfortable with the truth you lead and how you lead it through the world because when you're young, it feels like that's not the best thing to do but it will take you places," Flynn said.
The 13 episodes of 13 Reasons Why are now streaming on Netflix.