Everyone Thinks Sheri Deserved Better In '13 Reasons Why' Season 2

25 May 2018, 17:49

Sheri 13 Reasons Why
Sheri 13 Reasons Why. Picture: Netflix
Sam  Prance

By Sam Prance

The former Liberty High cheerleader is the unsung hero of the entire show...

There's no question that 13 Reasons Why has its fare share of problematic characters. From people who spread completely false rumours (Courtney) to actual rapists (Bryce), it can often feel hard to root for anyone on the show. No-one is an angel.

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In fact, nearly all of the protagonists on the teen drama are messy and morally corrupt to varying degrees, so much so that fans tend not to stan the same people on the show. Some people adore Clay because he clearly loved Hannah and wants justice for her, others think he has a hero complex. Some people think Justin is ultimately a nice guy, others think that his actions are unforgivable. Some people think Zach is great, others think that he enables rapists and bullies.

Nevertheless, there are some characters who are pretty much universally loved. Olivia is impossible not to sympathise with, Jeff is a number one honey and Sheri is a queen. In fact, Sheri is so loved that many 13 Reasons Why fans have taken to Twitter to praise her. Here are some of the reasons why Sheri deserves so much more.

Let's start with the specifics. Sheri did not deserve a tape in the first place.

Okay. We know that Sheri is in some way maybe a little bit responsible for Jeff's death. She knocked down a stop-sign and didn't report it to the police while she was driving Hannah home from THAT party. Jeff then crashed his car at the same intersection and there's a good chance that it may have been linked to the fact that the stop sign was no longer visible. However, she didn't actually kill anyone.

Maybe the real tea is that Sheri is a legend and Jeff can't drive.

Look. We adore Jeff with all of our hearts but shouldn't he have known where that intersection was and been slowing down in the first place? Sheri made a mistake but it's a little bit unfair to put Jeff's death completely on her.

Sheri actually owns up to her errors, learns from them and grows.

Not only does Sheri go to a juvenile detention centre to atone for her crimes but she also literally "risks being raped" by going in the clubhouse to investigate what goes on in there. Not to mention, she also puts Clay and Justin in their places when they ask her to go back in there for them. What a legend.

Sheri is punished more for her crime than Bryce is for repeated sexual assault.

This is perhaps unsurprising because justice systems in the US and around the world tend to routinely fail victims of sexual assault and people of colour but it doesn't make it any more easy to swallow. Sheri should be thriving while Bryce rots in prison.

Some fans were upset that Sheri and Clay never became an item.

There is definitely a budding romance between Clay and Sheri in season 1, but in season 2 it doesn't feature at all. Clay dates Skye for a bit and then takes the time he needs to properly get over Hannah. Still if 13 Reasons Why gets a Season 3, we need Shay or Cleri to become a thing.

Why is Sheri not in more scenes?

This was essentially us all season long. Where was Sheri's central arc?

Sheri is a feminist icon.

At one point Clay tries to victim blame all of the girls who enter the clubhouse and Sheri is having none of it. People routinely point the finger at victims of rape for "wearing revealing clothes" or "acting incorrectly". This needs to stop. The only people responsible for rape are those who commit it.

Essentially, Sheri is our 13 Reasons Why fave and she should be yours too.

Sheri is a boss bitch with a golden heart and she needs her own spin-off.

Thank you for listening to our TED Talk.