13 Reasons Why’s Controversial Suicide Scene Removed

Remember the infamous suicide scene from 13 Reason Why? Well, fans has serious issues with the way the dramatic scene was captured, it got into some controversy not only because of the subject it addressed but particularly because of the decision to show Hannah’s suicide in the season 1 finale. So almost after two years of its debut on Netflix (the series premiered on March 31, 2017), the showrunners have decided to edit out the show’s controversial graphic suicide scene.

Netflix confirmed that the scene, which featured in the finale of the show’s first season, is being removed, releasing statements from both the network and members of the 13 Reasons Why creative team, Hollywood Reporter confirmed.

“As we prepare to launch season three later this summer, we’ve been mindful about the on-going debate around the show,” a spokesperson said. “So on the advice of medical experts, including Dr Christine Moutier, chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, we’ve decided with creator Brian Yorkey and the producers to edit the scene in which Hannah takes her own life from season one.”

In the original scene, it showed a troubled Hannah getting into a bathtub and slitting her wrists with a razor. The new version, however, has removed all those details.

“Our creative intent in portraying the ugly, painful reality of suicide in such graphic detail in season one was to tell the truth about the horror of such an act, and make sure no one would ever wish to emulate it,” Yorkey said in a statement, adding that “ one scene is more important than the life of the show, and its message that we must take better care of each other. We believe this edit will help the show do the most good for the most people while mitigating any risk for especially vulnerable young viewers.”

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“It was supremely important that we do everything we could to tell the truth,” showrunner Brian Yorkey told EW at the time. “In the case of the more traumatic events of the show, we felt a real responsibility not to look away from them. The temptation to tell that story in a way that makes it easier to watch is tantamount to not telling the truth. So where we were bold, we were only bold because the truth is powerful and sometimes difficult.”

We believe this edit will help the show do the most good for the most people while mitigating any risk for especially vulnerable young viewers

Speaking directly about the suicide scene, Yorkey continued, “It’s a very brutal sequence and very hard to watch, and we debated that at great length. We had some wonderful doctors who helped us to understand what the experience would be like for Hannah and in what ways past depictions of suicide, especially by teenagers, had been aestheticized and made pretty. We set about to do it as truthfully as we could.”

Also read: You Are Not Alone says Deepika Padukone on depression

Feature Image Credit: The New York Times

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