’13 Reasons Why’ Star Wants Montgomery to Pay for His Brutal Actions in Season 3

Kim Taylor-Foster
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TV Streaming Netflix

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for 13 Reasons Why Season 2.

13 Reasons Why is Netflix’s hugely popular series based on the novel by Jay Asher. Season 1 found itself mired in controversy because of its depiction of teen suicide. It also featured rape sequences, and dealt with the fallout from those attacks. This made equally uncomfortable viewing for some who were sensitive to the events depicted, felt they identified with characters in the show or had gone through similar experiences.

Despite the storm surrounding 13 Reasons Why, Season 2, which premiered in May, doesn’t shy away from tackling incendiary topics either. It furthers the rape storyline, via a courtroom drama-style approach which looked at different perspectives, and how the truth can be distorted. Once again, the show looks at how we view and treat women.

Justice Served

MOntgomery-13-Reasons-Why
Timothy Granaderos as Montgomery (centre) with Devin Druid as Tyler Down (left).

All provocative enough – particularly when the trial ends and we see a rapist get convicted, but get away with a risible sentence. But what it also does is introduce even more contentious subject matter – in the form of a brutal male rape which leads to a school shooting incident.

The attack occurs in the season finale, and is perpetrated by Bryce cohort, Montgomery de la Cruz. Played by Timothy Granaderos, Monty savagely assaults Devin Druid’s Tyler Down, aided and abetted by two friends who pin the outsider down over a school toilet.

Granaderos spoke to FANDOM in defence of the scene – which you can read here. But he also detailed what he’d like to see happen in Season 3.

Fans called for rapist Bryce to face justice in Season 2 following the attacks he carried out in Season 1, so it follows that there’s an outcry regarding Montgomery this time around. And Granaderos wants him to face the music.

“As a human being, as a viewer, as a fan of the show myself, Montgomery does need to face his actions and justice should be served. It’s a very brutal act of violence he carried out, so he shouldn’t be able to get away with that,” he says.

Finding A Voice

13 Reasons Why Season 2
Tyler is confronted by Montgomery.

This, of course, would depend on Tyler speaking out about his ordeal. At the end of Season 2, we see a very unstable Tyler greatly affected by what Monty did to him. Keen not to let on about the attack, he’s clearly dealing with some complex emotions. But Granaderos hopes that Season 3 will see Tyler tell someone about what happened.

“I would hope [he will],” he says. “That kind of goes with the theme of the show. Talking about things only makes it easier so I would hope for his character’s sake that he feels comfortable coming out with that.”

The actor is eager to see how Season 3 handles the Tyler aftermath.

“I’d like to see how Tyler is dealt with,” says Granaderos. “Because obviously, he’s in a lot of pain. So I would love to see how the writers develop his post-‘that incident’ [character]. You know, his mental state. And how we deal with that [as a show] and how we can help him as a character and a person — because I think you can take a lot from that, especially with the school shooting, about them being so relevant right now.”

Monty’s Relationship with His Father

With one of the criticisms of the scene being that the attack appears to come from nowhere, Granaderos is keen to explore Montgomery’s motivations further.

“I want to dive deeper into who Montgomery is a person and not just [see him presented as] this bully. In Season 1, he was found most of the time pushing Tyler around or kind of just being a jerk but I really want to discover why he did that and why he acted the way he did in Season 2,” says the actor.

Delving into Montgomery’s background is crucial to understanding Monty’s actions, according to Granaderos: “I’d like to explore Montgomery’s home life and his relationship with his father.”

He adds: “I think to fully understand why Monty does the things he does and acts the way he acts, we need to understand where he comes from in his relationship with his father. Because Montgomery is a product of his environment, so that’s something that should be addressed. So we’ll see.”

A teaser for 13 Reasons Why Season 3 was released recently but there’s currently no premiere date set.

Kim Taylor-Foster
Kim Taylor-Foster is Entertainment Editor for Fandom in the UK. She was raised on an unsteady diet of video nasties and violent action flicks.