Shuvrajit Das Biswas
’13 Reasons Why’ Season 3 Episode 7 takes us well into the second half of the season. Naturally, Bryce’s funeral was placed at what could be considered the midpoint of the 13-episode season. By the time Episode 7 starts, the grief of the funeral is all gone and what is left is a burning curiosity to find out who killed Bryce.
Clay finds himself in the center of the spotlight as he is repeatedly questioned about the video of him pointing a gun at Bryce. Justin, who is also present in the video, finds himself dragged into the mess. Both of them keep trying to prove their innocence. However, by the time the episode is over, the people closest to Clay and even the viewers are left wondering if his desire to be a hero might have resulted in him taking matters into his own hands. Aptly titled, “There Are a Number of Problems With Clay Jensen”, the episode takes us deep into the mannerisms of Clay, our purported hero, showing the many flaws in his character.
13 Reasons Why Season 3 Episode 7 Recap:
Episode 7 of ’13 Reasons Why’ finds Clay in the hot seat. He is hard-pressed to prove his innocence to the police. Justin finds himself caught up in trouble with law enforcement as well. No matter what the two tell the officers, they continue to point to the video which is pretty damning. Combined with Clay’s frequent outbursts about wanting to kill Bryce, the cops believe that they have their man. However, as Ani keeps saying, wanting to kill Bryce and having it in oneself to carry out the deed are two different things. It falls upon the sheriff’s department to prove that Clay is a murderer.
A flashback shows Clay and Ani’s relationship as we are taken deep into Clay’s psyche. He is apparently the hero of the show and is often holier than thou. However, ’13 Reasons Why’ does not shy away from going meta here and comments that Clay’s hero act can appear obsessive, even entitled, to girls who are not interested in him. Notably, even the comic character Clay favors, displays some of the same characteristics as he does. Coming back to the case, the cops show Clay a panty with Bryce’s semen on it. Clay recognizes it as Ani’s although he does not let on. However, the cops are hot on his trail as they theorize it must be Ani’s and Clay’s feelings of jealousy must have led him to kill Bryce. Flashbacks show that Ani and Clay had a budding romance as the two shared a kiss. However, Ani is inserted more prominently into the investigation as we also see her having several sexual encounters with Bryce prior to his murder.
Meanwhile, Jessica is confronted by Alex, who seems to be in a steroid rage mode. He calls her out for lying about being with Justin on the night of the homecoming game. Jessica also gets called out by other women in her ‘Hands Off’ group, for continuing to be with Justin after he allowed Bryce to rape her.
13 Reasons Why Season 3 Episode 7 Review:
Episode 7 of ’13 Reasons Why’ turns the heat on for Clay in Bryce’s case. While he sweats in the interrogation room, the show tackles Clay’s psyche wonderfully, showing his holier than thou attitude has its own flaws and Clay is not the perfect hero that most of the other episodes try to show him to be. While it gets this bit right, ’13 Reasons Why’ tries to tackle the complex sexual dynamics of Justin, Jessica, and Bryce. The series simply feels ill-equipped to do so. There is not enough emotional range into calling out Jessica for continuing a relationship with Justin, and we feel that Episode 7 errs in this regard. That aside, we cannot wait to see where Clay’s story with the cops goes.
