'13 Reasons Why' creator addresses Season 2 rape scene

The following contains spoilers for 13 Reasons Why Season 2.

Those who binged 13 Reasons Why have many reactions to the controversial show's second season, particularly to one scene in the finale. Series creator Brian Yorkey defends the scene where Tyler (Devin Druid) returns to school after a hiatus, only to be immediately singled out by his bullies and brutally raped in a bathroom stall.

"As intense as that scene is, and as strong as are [sic] or reactions to it may be, it doesn’t even come close to the pain experienced by the people who actually go through these things," Yorkey told Vulture. "When we talk about something being 'disgusting' or hard to watch, often that means we are attaching shame to the experience."

The scene is visceral, horrible to watch. It's not the first rape scene in the show, which depicted the sexual assaults of Hannah (Katherine Langford) and Jessica (Alisha Boe) in Season 1, but the scene with Tyler stands out as the first instance of male rape and for the violent use of a broomstick which leaves him bleeding and alone in the stall.

Yorkey said that his team did research before writing the scene and that they were "astounded" by the prevalence of male rape among teenagers, though he did not elaborate on sources or statistics.

"We would rather not be confronted with it," Yorkey said. "We would rather it stay out of our consciousness. This is why these kinds of assaults are underreported. This is why victims have a hard time seeking help. We believe that talking about it is so much better than silence.”

Every since its release and since backlash to the first season, the team behind 13 Reasons Why has maintained that depicting different types of trauma and hardship will promote conversation and hopefully, ultimately lead to open discourse and healing. But many disagree with the show's approach to graphically depicting such subjects.

Yorkey added that viewers should react no differently to this scene than to the other rape scenes on the show, saying that it implies a desensitization to female sexual assault when this issue crosses gender lines.

With many still working their way through Season 2, more reactions are on their way.