In its debut season last year, Netflix’s young adult series 13 Reasons Whyfound itself regularly blasted for its controversial depiction of suicide. Some schools banned it, parents petitioned against it, and Netflix installed multiple warnings prior to each episode warning viewers of graphic content ahead.

Despite efforts to keep the network from renewing the popular series, which was originally meant to work as a mini-series based on the novel by author Jay Asher, Netflix announced a second season, which premiered over the weekend.

This time, the series was blasted right out of the gate, by critics and fans. In the finale, the character of Tyler returns to high school after spending a month away to work on his emotional issues. In the boys’ bathroom, he is attacked and assaulted by jock Bryce and his friends, who slam his head against the sink and dunk his head in a toilet. One of the boys, Monty, then sodomizes him with the end of a mop. Tyler is left alone, bleeding out.

In a later scene, it’s revealed that this is the incident that inspired him to go forward with his plans for a shooting at the school dance. He is convinced not to go through with it by Clay in the final minutes of the episode, but the incredibly graphic rape scene and the ensuing school shooting narrative have been criticized for not only being unnecessary, but rather horribly timed.

Showrunner Brian Yorkey addressed the controversy in a statement to Vultureon Tuesday, saying, “As intense as that scene is, and as strong as are 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. When we talk about something being ‘disgusting’ or hard to watch, often that means we are attaching shame to the experience. … 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.”

Yorkey said Netflix and Paramount discussed the inclusion of the scene at length, and that he found the less aggressive reaction to Hannah and Jessica’s rape scenes in the first season compared to Tyler’s in Season 2 an important talking point.

After binging the series over the weekend, fans took to Twitter, declaring the show “needs to be cancelled,” and only cares about “shock value, not rape or suicide.”

In a statement, the Parents Television Council said, “Netflix has delivered a ticking time bomb to teens and children who watch 13 Reasons Why. The content and thematic elements of the second season are even worse than we expected. We would have liked to have 13 reasons for hope and redemption following the graphic suicide of the lead female teen character, but rather than providing a path forward, the season only provides cause for despondency.”

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But for all its warnings, critics have dubbed it “more problematic than Season 1,” with The Guardian suggesting the show “continues to turn teenage pain into a soap opera.”

Netflix has included a new 50-second PSA before the start of Season 2, featuring the stars of the show, with an added trigger warning.

The show has yet to be renewed for a third season.