The third season of “13 Reasons Why” premiered Aug. 23 on Netflix and it should have been the final season of the series. As a whole, the plot was enticing but it was a far stretch in the grand scheme of the series. 

Season three centers around the murder of the previous season’s villian Bryce Walker, played by Justin Prentice. Clay Jenson, the altruistic friend, played by Dylan Minnette, and new student Ani Achola, played by Grace Sarif, try and piece together what happened to Bryce as the series unfolds. 

The season follows a similar theme from past seasons of jumping from the past to present throughout each episode, which offers a visually appealing storyline throughout. 

Minnette’s portrayal of Jenson goes to new depths and it is one of the best parts of the series. Viewers get an even deeper look inside of Jenson this season and it makes the character much more relatable. 

Each character truly develops into their own self and become a person that viewers can relate to. Jessica Davis, portrayed by Alisha Boe, tackles her journey as a sexual assault survivor and Boe’s portrayal is impecable. 

The series tackles countless other controversial topics such as mental health and murder. It is all done very tastefully and in a respectful manner. This is important when working with such sensitive topics and the series does a great job. They also played a crisis helpline credit at the end of every episode. This shows that they are truly concerned about the viewership.

The plot itself was very strong and the actors portray their characters very well but the storyline lacks connection to the original premise of the series. It seems as though the writers are grasping for straws to connect the plot to the events of season one.

Hannah Baker, played by Katherine Langford, is hardly mentioned and she was the original main character of “13 Reasons Why.” While characters can shift and become less important, this seems like a huge stretch. The title of the series is “13 Reasons Why” and the show isn’t even about those reasons anymore. Season three would have made a better spin off show than an added season. That being said, this leaves little hope that season four will be any different.