Langford bids farewell to her character Hannah Baker as other characters let her go in the second season finale.
- May 26, 2018
AceShowbiz - While Hannah Baker's death is how "13 Reasons Why" season 1 started, she's still a big part of season 2. But by the end of the second season, her story has finally come full circle, which also brought Katherine Langford to the end of the character portrayal.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Langford confirms that the story in the season 2 finale marks the end of Hannah's story arc. "For me, we told Hannah's story so fully in season 1," she says. "In a way, doing that scene in episode 13, I've so often referred to it as it was the hardest scene because it's the scene where I had to let her go. I think coming back this season was challenging because it was playing her but not really her."
Langford confirms that it means she will not return to season 3, should Netflix pick up the show for another season. "I guess if I could put Hannah's life into season 1 and then say it was kind of like being in purgatory for season 2, and then being able to officially say goodbye to her. It definitely felt like time," she shares. "For me, letting Hannah go was in season 1; season 2 was for Clay to let her go. It was being able to assist Clay on that journey as Hannah and let Clay have his moment to let Hannah go."
Langford, however, admits that at first she had no idea season 2 would be her chance to say goodbye to the character. "In all honesty, no," the 22-year-old Aussie star confesses. "I think [showrunner] Brian's [Yorkey] always had an idea about how many episodes that I would be in, but this season was interesting because unlike last season, it was completely new territory. We weren't based on a book."
She continues, "And particularly for Hannah, it was something that was developed over the course of shooting, but I think that ultimately it was important to have her back for a second season and assist in continuing the dialogue from season 1 and following a lot of the other characters this season, particularly Clay."
The young actress, who received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her role on the teen drama series, also opens up about her plans for her career after her departure from "13 Reasons Why". " '13 Reasons Why' will always be a really special part of my life, and I know I'll always be close to the people that I've worked with on this show. But I'm also really excited for what's to come," she says.
"Even though the show is so huge, and I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to play Hannah, it still is just one thing that I've done, and since then I feel very grateful to have been a part of 'Love, Simon', and I have another film, 'Spontaneous'," Langford adds. "But I think ultimately, I feel like playing Hannah was such a small part of me that was magnified, and I'm just really excited to, over the next few months or years, show the rest of me."
