13 Reasons Why season 2: we haven’t heard Hannah Baker’s "whole story"
Showrunner Brian Yorkey explains how season two will move on from the “traumatic” ending of season one, and how Hannah’s story does not end with her suicide
If 13 Reasons Why season one ended with Hannah Baker taking her own life and her fateful, final tape, how will her story continue in season two?
That’s the question fans have been asking ever since it was confirmed that star Katherine Langford would return as Hannah in season two. Now showrunner and writer Brian Yorkey has revealed just a little bit more about what we can expect from the Netflix series.
“I think all of us working on the show became very invested in what happens next for all of these people who we’ve come so close to,” Yorkey explained, adding that after season one ended “we felt there was so much more story to tell.”
However, while season two will feature all of the characters fans have come to know in season one, Yorkey said he was particularly concerned with trying to explore what had been left unsaid on Hannah’s tapes.
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“For Hannah, you know, have we heard her whole story? We’ve heard her tapes, but there must be more to that story,” Yorkey said at Netflix See What’s Next TV showcase in Rome. “We heard the story that she wanted us to hear. There’s more.”
Actress Langford has herself revealed that "it's a different Hannah that you see in season two" compared to the first run.
Teen high school drama 13 Reasons Why became one of Netflix’s most successful – and at times most controversial – series when it was released at the end of March 2017. While a season two release date still has not been confirmed, it has been confirmed that the action will open a short time after the events of the first season.
Dylan Minnette, who plays Clay Jensen, explained that the court case that Hannah’s parents brought against the school in the first season will continue to impact his character in season two.
“When season two starts, you find that Clay is trying to move on from the memory of Hannah and the events of season one,” Minnette said. “He’s just trying to live his life in any way he can.
“When this new trial begins, it brings him back into old memories of Hannah, and brings him back to trying to find justice for her again. Whether he wants to or not, he can’t really help it.”
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Showrunner Yorkey also explained that it was important that season two does not underestimate how “traumatic” the final episode of season one was.
“Episode 13 of season one was traumatic for a lot of us. The experience of losing Hannah was also traumatic for all of these kids, for this community. I think like them, we want to follow a course of healing from that. We want to see what happens next, how you live your life after that.
“When you talk about recovery, when you talk about healing, no amount of that diminishes the tragedy of what happened. But hopefully it helps us understand the larger picture of how we deal with tragedy and loss and move on from that.
“I hope season two hopefully ennobles and enlarges what happened in that episode at the end of season one. Of course it will be for every viewer to judge.”
