Netflix Edits Graphic Suicide Scene from Season 1 of '13 Reasons Why,' Social Media Reactions Mixed

Television By TooFab Staff |
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"No one scene is more important than the life of the show, and its message that we must take better care of each other," says series showrunner Brian Yorkey.

Never let it be said that studios don't listen to public outcry, even if it may take them a bit of time to respond. Nevertheless, Netflix has made a retroactive change to one of the more disturbing scenes ever broadcast on one of the streamer's own shows, taking to social media to explain why the change was made.

Nearly two-and-a-half years after the scene first disturbed viewers and parents and mental health professionals and just about everyone, Netflix has finally gone back and drastically edited down the suicide scene from the first season of "13 Reasons Why." Meanwhile, the third season of the show is expected to drop later this summer.

As delayed as it is, the timing and the move do make sense in an era when television is exclusively on-demand. As soon as Netflix starts promoting the upcoming season, many fans who never gave the show a chance may choose to binge-watch the first two seasons, while many fans will choose a re-watch in anticipation of the new season dropping.

Shows don't disappear like they used to, and so an episode from way back in Season 1 on a streaming service holds an immediacy and a relevancy absent their network counterparts.

Still, many online critics were disappointed that it took the streamer this long to finally acknowledge and do something about a scene they've been hearing criticism about for over two year now.

Consider this your Spoiler Warning for the first season of "13 Reasons Why," as well as a warning that the following description may be disturbing for some readers.

The scene in question involved the extremely graphic suicide of Katherine Langford's Hannah. In it, she is seen cutting open her wrists and the scene lingers with her through several painful minutes as she bleeds out and ultimately dies.

In the newly edited version, the scene cuts from Hannah looking at herself in the mirror prior to getting into the bathtub to the moment that her mother (Kate Walsh) finds her lifeless body. Still effective and affecting, but not nearly as graphic or disturbing.

"It was our hope, in making 13 Reasons Why into a television show, to tell a story that would help young viewers feel seen and heard, and encourage empathy in all who viewed it, much as the best-selling book did before us," said showrunner Brian Yorkey. "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."

He went on to address the outcry the show has received and explained that the re-edit was agreed upon because "no 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."

Despite the criticism and warnings from mental health professionals, fans on social media were of two minds about the new edit. Some were in support of the decision, while others disagreed with removing the powerful scene that showed the brutality of suicide so graphically. You can check out some of those varied responses, and their reasoning, below:

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