13RW SPIN-OFF SERIES about zach & alex: HOW YOU CAN HELP
REASONS WHY ZALEX DESERVEs TO BE EXPLORED ROMANTICALLY AND THE DAMAGING EFFECTS OF abandoning an interracial mlm
zalex college spin-off petition: here's the best way to HELP
THE GOAL: 10,000+ SIGNATURES WITHIN 4 WEEKS
We have established a practical and plausible strategy that requires everyone’s due diligence to ensure that we are able to reach our goal and accumulate a platform that will see that this initiative is seriously acknowledged.
STEP 1: WEEKLY GOAL - 200 SIGNATURES PER PERSON
DAILY GOAL = 200/7 = 29 SIGNATURES
this request may seem outlandish but it is the most feasible. It’s simple: by spreading the signature’s across a week’s time period, to—29 signatures per day, we will see a spike in numbers and conversation. If as little as 20 people adamantly participated, we could see more than 16,000 signatures within the 4 week period.
STEP 2: BUT I DON’T HAVE 200+ EMAILS?
DOES ANYONE...?
There is no expectation for anyone to have more than 200 emails...let alone more than one or two so—to ensure that the signing process is swift and undemanding, feel free to use disposable/temporary email address websites that WILL allow you to legitimately sign the petition without the added fuss. Here is an extensive handful of websites riddled with temporary emails: Temp Mail, Guerilla Mail, YOP Mail, Email on Deck
STEP 3: SHARE! SHARE! & SHARE!
If we truly want to see this spin-off developed we need all the help we can get so—please share the petition as extensively as you can as every signature counts for something. The purpose of this carrd is to inform audiences of zalex’s romantic potential along with the damaging repercussions of queerbaiting, conforming to harmful masculine stereotypes and mlm poc erasure so—please share so we can provoke a discussion.
ZALEX: THEIR LASTING IMPACT
From the get-go, Zach and Alex’s relationship (Zalex) has been a wide-known and highly appreciated one by both the fans and even that of mainstream media. Their unexpected bond and apparent chemistry in S2 saw many fans enthralled by the pair’s mutual fondness for one another despite their socially contradictory positions in the hierarchical structure of high school, where it is rare to see a jock (Zach) and the ‘outcast’ (Alex) share such amicability. Though their personalities conflict in their social sphere, Zalex is an instance of a valuable relationship that resides in two people that complement one other through their differences, notably understood as—‘opposites attract’. This cannot be said for a-lot of pairings today.
Additionally, the depiction of an Asian character as athletically proficient deconstructs harmful stereotypes surrounding Asians as merely academic and nerdy, something commendable on the show’s part but they would have accounted for Asian queer representation had they explored Zach’s sexuality.
The peak of season 2 saw many articles arise that expressed the masses supporting this unconventional duo.
Prior to the premiere of S2, fans highly anticipated seeing this dynamic duo again, but were left most dissatisfied due to their lack of one-on-one scenes. Although many felt their active involvement in the plot that season made up for it, it was a split field where—the majority felt incredibly unsettled and frustrated.
In addition to this, #Zalex also started trending due to their kiss in season 4, episode 1. Zalex’s impact extends beyond the 13RW fanbase as even those that did not tune into the show were aware of their romantic potential, constantly expressing their support for the two, many that also inquired into whether Zalex had finally been established as a canonical couple in S4.
“Fans have been waiting since season one for further development regarding Alex’s sexuality (though, to their disappointment, many were hoping Alex would end up with Zach, which did not occur).” — Teen Vogue.
This further suggests a widespread wish for this pair.
At the release of season 4, many Twitter users, many of whom have never even watched the show expressed their dissatisfaction at Zalex not ending up together.
Their lack of endgame felt like a betrayal to many long standing fans of the show, disappointed that Alex was paired with a character, whom when first introduced in S3 is seen using homophobic slurs. Similarly, said character expressed his insensitive amusement at Alex’s suicide attempt, where no instance/s of redemption is demonstrated as the character does not have a true character arc.
A lot of fans felt “baited” with both the official 13 Reasons Why Twitter and Instagram accounts posting pictures and such hinting at a potential relationship.
Even Ross Butler who plays Zach Dempsey hinted at a potential relationship on his Instagram account with a picture of the pair captioned: “#Aach”. Similarly, his Instagram post that promoted the final season’s trailer included the tag #ZalexForever.
Queerbaiting: It’s Problem & Harm to the Queer Community
Queerbaiting is the practice to hint at, but then to not actually depict, a same-sex romantic relationship between characters in a work of fiction, mainly in film or television. The potential romance may be ignored, explicitly rejected or made fun of. — Wikipedia.
In recent years, instances of queerbaiting in television have been dangerously realised. From Sherlock to Harry Potter, to Riverdale and now 13 Reasons Why; the list is endless and the Queer community isn’t happy. The popular ship of Zalex, saw many fans ready to stream season 4 in hopes of collecting ‘the Asian jock and the reserved white boy’ as the ultimate endgame. Season 2 introduced their newfound relationship and many were quick to join the Zalex bandwagon, however in season 3 fans were left disappointed after they shared little-to-no interaction, while season 4—being the final season, saw the fandoms’ hopes set very high. Yet again, the show burst our bubble when we saw Alex paired with Charlie instead of Zach despite the multiple implications set out by not only the showrunners and writers, but the actors—in particular Ross Butler after his Zalex forever hashtag; it could only be expected that they were to be canon in the final season. With Zalex coming into popularity from 2018 and the showrunners being fully aware of this, they grasped the LGBTQ+ audience’s attention by suggesting that they would receive their Zalex endgame, when in turn—they did not.
The damage of queerbaiting resides in the message that LGBTQ+ characters are reducible, second-rate and less worthy of decent stories, as well as less valuable and more ‘farcical.’ The problem with queerbaiting is the aim to grasp a queer audience through supposedly representing queer characters, yet instead, completely disregards the storyline many LGBTQ+ folk highly anticipate; it is not only queer erasure and censorship but—plain homophobia. Pairing Zach with Alex would have been a central instance of Asian male, queer representation in Western media, voicing and depicting queer indiviudals from the under-represented Asian community. Unfortunately we saw Alex paired with a white boy who resembles many traits of Zach prior to his season 4 characterisation. Luckily, there is still a chance to fix the ruins of their so-called “platonic” relationship. Avid Zalex supporters have created this platform in hopes of reaching out to showrunners about a possible college spin-off with Zalex as the one and only endgame. We hope you heed our words.
REACH OUT TO SPREAD THE WORD
The cast:
Dylan Minnette
Christian Navarro
Alisha Boe
Brandon Flynn
Justin Prentice
Miles Heizer
Ross Butler
Devin Druid
Amy Hargreaves
Timothy Granaderos
Michael Sadler
Steven Weber
Mia Jómor
Grace Saif
Tyler Barnhardt
FIND THEM ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER
SAMPLE EMAIL: A SCAFFOLD
Feel free to use this sample email when attempting to reach out to the appropriate contacts.
Dear (NAME),
I hope you are well. I am contacting you in regards to a potential spin-off/extra movie to follow on from season 4 of 13 Reasons Why. I am writing on behalf of a lot of the 13RW community and fans, as we have expressed our desires for a continuation from the finale given much of our dissatisfaction and lack of closure. Although it was a wonderful season, we feel there are some incompletions in the plot, and we would like to see more from the characters!
For the spin-off/extra movie, we are eager to see how the CHARACTERS are coping in college and whether their friendships are still close. A large part of our love for this season was the relationship between Zach Dempsey and Alex Standall, commonly known as ‘Zalex’. We were left lost when, although they kissed, their romantic relationship faltered as the season finished with Alex and Charlie dating despite the pairings evident romantic potential and two seasons’ worth of shared experience and development.
We are hoping that a potential spin-off/extra movie would disclose fine details regarding Alex and Zach’s relationship, how they stay in touch during college and if it blossoms into something more. We’d also love to not just focus on Zalex, but also to see how Jessica and Clay are doing, following Justin’s death.
We hope you are able to take our request into account given that such an initiative would see viewership increase significantly given the pairings’ dedicated fandom and their external impact that has created discussion among those that do not watch the show themselves but have expressed their support in exploring a romantic relationship between the two. zalex deserves justice, as do the other characters.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
(YOUR NAME)
the issues & how a spin-off will be valuable in addressing/resolving them
CHARACTER DESTRUCTION: HOW Season fours' CHARACTERISATION OF ZACH FUELS A hegemonic masculine archetype
Hegemonic Masculinity - men who exemplify, perform, and perpetuate the mythology of dominant masculinity… implicit in the subordination of women and of men who represent marginalized masculinities (such as gay men). In contemporary Western cultures, masculinity is typically associated with personality traits such as independence and competitiveness, role behaviours such as being the primary provider and initiative-taking, and physical characteristics such as muscularity and a deep voice.
Throughout the seasons of 13 Reasons Why, us as the viewers have seen each of the characters grow and develop into the better versions of themselves. With that being said, in the last season, one character’s arc falls flat— that being the arc of Zach Dempsey’s. In the previous three seasons, the viewers witness Zach’s character tear down the stereotypical jock archetype. We see this harmful masculine stereotype in his friends— like Bryce Walker and Monty De La Cruz — but not within Zach. His character arc over the series shows him becoming less of another run-of-the-mill high school jock and into an empathetic character that viewers can root for. He knows the differences between what’s morally right and wrong, cares deeply for his friends' well-beings, and faces the repercussions of his mistakes with a somewhat mature attitude. As Alex Standall said, Zach is “an entitled idiot who does cruel, stupid things even though [he] probably [has] a decent heart”, and throughout the seasons we get to see his heart grow, and his development with it. When we left off from season three, Zach is learning how to be brave, and stand for the things he believes in.
Many viewers looked forward to seeing how Zach’s arc would end in the last season, and many more were let down with how his arc was treated. The arc for Zach’s character seemed to be laid out for him; for him to finally be brave and face reality head on, but in season four, all we see is him repressing all of his feelings with alcohol, alcohol and more alcohol. He doesn’t try to reach out for help, and strays far from his sweet personality he had in previous seasons, resigning into an aggressive and unruly hyper-masculine persona.
We know that not all characters get their happy ending, but why lay Zach’s development to waste in the last season? He reverts back to the harmful masculine stereotypes; drinking, holding in his emotions, ignoring his true friends and thereby, becomes a thin shell of himself. This hegemonic masculine stereotype is further substantiated through Zach’s ill-founded and unusual hypersexual behaviour where he actively seeks sexual intercourse to further alienate himself from his true emotions, most notably perceived when he brings an escort as his date to prom. The question we as the viewers have is simply, why? Why spend the last three seasons building up this character who’s learning how to have a heart, to simply—throw it all away? Why do we not even get to see more of the actions that lead to Zach’s drinking issues and his behaviour change? If the last season is the last time we ever see our beloved characters, why completely destroy Zach’s arc and leave him with no closure?
Zach Dempsey’s return to alcoholism, emotional repression, and negligence of those close to him is an unusual narrative for the writers to take, especially with it being the last season. It almost seems like the writers are condoning this type of harmful behaviour, with no solid conclusion to Zach Dempsey’s story. Perhaps exploring the reasons behind Zach’s unwarranted and self-deprecating actions, and a discovery arc into his sexuality could be taken into consideration for a spin-off instead.
ZALEX VS CHALEX: SIDELINING AN INTERRACIAL COUPLE TO PERPETUATE THE SECTIONAL NARRATIVES OF WHITE GAYS
The introduction of Chalex this season was reason for much discontent and outrage from members of the queer community, especially that of queer, people of colour (poc) whom attest that writing in Chalex as a means of sidelining sidelining Zalex perpetuates the sectional narrative of white gays which resides in the notion that mlm (men loving men) queer voices are singular and parallel to the white gay experience.
The issue - white privilege constructs whiteness as normative and central to queer identities and is actively reproduced in the media where—on streaming platforms alone, 73% of gay characters are white, while around 6% are asian. By representing queerness as white, queer poc are rendered invisible in both queer and racialized communities so, it is easy to discern where the outrage lies because the representation of Asian mlm characters in mainstream media is little to none. Seeking authentic representation, especially as a queer mlm is hard enough but perpetuating the issue by replacing the Asian love interest with a white one communicates that queer poc’s experiences/voices are equitable and interchangeable to the white gay narrative—which is not the case. Charlie as a substitute for Zach is inherently racist expiated by ‘providing rep’. The replaceability of Zach through Charlie is further outlined by Charlie also being a jock—the quarterback, a goofy, warm soul whose personality is quite synonymous to that of Zach’s. In the 3 seasons that we’ve gotten to know him, we understand him to be a tender, compassionate and humble soul who cares deeply for others—traits that Charlie also reflects. The problem stems from the fact that a mirror substitute for Zach was found—a white one and permeates the notion that a happy, gay love story is only attainable if the white gays narrative is fulfilled.
By failing to pursue Zalex’s relationship despite the substantial material and two seasons worth of development at the writers’ disposal, queer male Asian voices are undermined and suggests that their experiences are second-rate to the white gay narrative and unworthy of any exploration. Zach’s character had great potential to be written as a potentially bisexual or pansexual mlm, and integrating an arc where he navigated the difficulties of reconciling his sexuality as Asian teenager would have been a valuable story to many queer Asian teenagers— a community that is sparingly represented beyond the harmful academic and nerdy archetype. If a spin-off is possible, we ask that Zach’s sexual discovery be a prominent plot point as such an integration would speak volumes for the voice and depiction of the Asian queer community.
this tweet originally addressed this issue
MLM POC ERASURE
Season 4 of 13RW followed Alex reconciling his sexuality with two new male characters, yet many had— prior to the season’s debut— expected a romantic relationship between him and Zach. Obviously this was not the case, as the show concluded with Chalex instead of Zalex, ultimately fulfilling and conforming to the white gay narrative. Although the season explored Alex’s relationships, and we canonically saw him with a guy, the show blatantly erased mlm, the validity and importance of exploring queer POC experiences; in particular—that of queer, Asian male voices.
Seeing Zach as a male POC coming to terms with his sexuality, as well as navigating the experiences of cultural stigma, would have resonated with not only queer, Asian audiences but queer POC in general. Male, Asian queer characters are rarely televised, with - How To Get Away With Murder, Shadowhunters and Glee being the few shows with queer, male Asian leads. Introducing Zach as a queer, varsity football player would have encompassed the cliche writing of a jock with homoertic subtext instead— normalising his identity by writing queer characters in the same fashion that straight characters are written.
The notion of mlm POC erasure resides in pairing Alex with a character that resembled the same attitudes and traits of Zach— being that of a jock and athlete but instead, white. Charlie is presented as funny, charming, cute, kind, likeable, unproblematic, and so on; all of which Zach was before the writers ruined his characterisation in season 4. The need to place a whitewashed replica of Zach with Alex is clearly destructive to queer POC communities, particularly male, Asian queer folk. We deserve better, Zalex deserved better and so does the Asian queer community as the queer poc erasure is a notion that is still overlooked and perpetuated by bodies arguing that at least ‘representation’ is provided.