Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) is a socially awkward student at the periphery of the high school hierarchy. He is mourning the death of his friend Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) when he finds a box full cassette tapes at his door step. It's Hannah's voice detailing the events which led to her suicide. The tapes are being passed along between the people who had a hand in her death.

The first season is an addictive y/a melodrama. The young cast is great. They deliver compelling and well-defined characters. It's rare to find no weak spots. The only problematic character is Tony which is mostly due to his character construction. A magical negro is a well known movie trope and Tony is a variation on the theme. He knows all and assists Clay in his development. He needs to stay in the background if all he does is tell Clay to listen to the tapes. In a show full of compelling teen characters, he is the one that doesn't feel real.

There is also something wrong with the mechanics of the tapes. The premise needs an earlier and more detailed exposition in the movie. For all his screen time, Tony really fails to explain the concept in enough detail. He needs to tell him the list of people given the tapes, and that he has a backup safely hidden in secret. In fact, he should be handed the box by one of those people. The premise is so important that no possibility of confusion can be accepted. On the other side, the reveal of Clay's Why is not devastating enough. Everybody warns him about his tape. It is supposed to be all his fault. In the end, he doesn't do anything bad. It's nothing more than not being a mind reader. It's a miss. There is one trope in many movies to build tension. A character tells important information to another but is interrupted by someone or some event. Everybody does it and there's nothing wrong with it. This show does it so often that it does become annoyingly repetitive.

The end of the first season drags on a little too long. The plot climaxes during the confrontation between Clay and Bryce Walker. It needs to wrap up the show quicker after that and the show does wrap up by the end. It begs the question why a second season. With all the interest, it's not unexpected to see Netflix renew the show even if it's not necessary. It moves forward with the trial in the second season. The third season has a new girl and a new dead body. With a murder mystery, the dead body needs to be episode one and perhaps even scene one. With the new girl, she needs to be part Hannah 2.0 and part Nancy Drew. It doesn't quite get there and the toxic social justice group does not help. That group is a problem. Even if Jessica had a problem as their leader, she should still implement other solutions like a safe ride program and a safe reporting program. As usual, Clay has a bit too much Insp. Clouseau and not enough Hardy Boys. Somebody should tell him about lawyers. Nobody ever asks for a lawyer when they get interrogated by the cops. The kids just keep talking to the police. It gets annoyingly repetitive. As for the actual murder mystery, the reveal is not that compelling and I have an issue with the people involved. I thought maybe Ani's mom would be the surprise reveal. By the fourth season, the show had long since lost its narrative drive. The characters are bumping around and getting into various movie-of-the-week scenarios. This is really only an one-season limited series. Its inherent heat forced three more seasons before finally getting canceled.