Thoughts on Jessica Jones: Season 1

by Mike "It was a dark and stormy night" Lunsford, Editor-In-Chief

This November will be the 3rd anniversary of the release of the first season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones. It is pretty likely that you’ve already seen the show and my normal “What to Watch” recommendation would be late to the party. Instead I’ll just talk about my thoughts and takeaways. Before I do that I am sure there are plenty of you out there who were like me and for reasons that are either now invalid or just don’t make sense, you hadn’t seen this particular Defender’s series on Netflix. If you’re still on the fence as to whether to use your time to watch this series let me be the one who tips the scales: you need to watch Jessica Jones. Drop whatever other shows you are watching. They’ll still be there when you’re done with the 13 episodes of the sassy, snarky, private investigator with super powers. The show rocks in ways that no other super hero show does.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, here is a quick synopsis. In the same vein as Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage, Jessica Jones is a super-powered human living in New York City. A common thread that these Defenders share is a palpable amount of tragedy in their lives that helped mold them into the people they are today. Jessica’s family was killed in a car accident that she miraculously survived. However, unlike her male counterparts, we don’t get much more of her back story. With the other Defenders, we know how and why all of them achieve their powers. Jessica Jones does not tackle this completely. This is not a detriment to the story in the least. It would be nice to know where her powers came from, but it does leave a certain air of mystery to the character and leaves you wanting more.

What we do know about this series is that it has a completely different feel than the other super heroes’ shows. Jessica Jones has a film noire vibe that is unique and refreshing. This makes sense as Jessica runs her own private investigation business known as Alias Investigations, a nod to the comic title that serves as the source material for Jones. All the earmarks of good noir are there, too:

• pessimism

• fatalism

• menace

• a private investigator with demons and potentially a substance abuse problem

• a femme fatale (who also happens to be the P.I. as well)

On top of the loss of her family, Jessica’s first real interaction with a super villain has disastrous results when she runs into the incredibly powerful Kilgrave (David Tennant, Dr. Who). She truly is the tortured-private-investigator trope as she is essentially enslaved by Kilgrave and his incredible ability to get people to do whatever he wants. The sexual desires and motivations of characters are often a hallmark of film noire as well and that plays heavily in the relationship of Jessica and Kilgrave, giving a modern aesthetic to the noire framework that unapologetically tackles difficult topics like rape culture, consent, toxic relationships and dealing with trauma.

What really struck me about this series was how incredible the Kilgrave character was both written and portrayed. I had heard that he was fantastic but I figured it was all the Whovians who were in love with the 10th Doctor. Again, I was wrong. David Tennant is utterly terrifying as the man who can have anything he wants. And Jessica Jones handles the reveal of Kilgrave brilliantly. We don’t even see him until the third episode with the previous two installments showing the effects of his powers and foreshadowing at how truly horrifying he can be. In fact, they did such a good job with building the tension with Kilgrave that it affected me in my real life. I watched the first episode and then went to bed, planning to watch the rest during the subsequent week. I dreamed that Kilgrave was influencing people I knew and none of them would believe me that the voice of Scrooge McDuck was making them do stuff they didn’t want to do. Well done, Melissa Rosenberg, who’s the writer/producer/showrunner. You scared me enough to make me have bad dreams.

so charming, isn’t he?

In Marvel/Netflix fashion, you learn about this character and you understand the whys of the character, what made them become a villain in the first place, and almost feel a certain ounce of empathy for them. There were times that I actually felt bad for Kilgrave as you learned the tortured childhood he endured that made him develop his powers. What a lonely feeling it must be to never know if anyone truly cares for you without you having to “convince” them. However, let me be perfectly clear: that only added to how scary this guy is. He had a difficult life and awful childhood ailment that gave him incredible powers, and he chose to abuse that power. On top of that, it made me understand why every female viewer who had seen Kilgrave was terrified of him. They’ve seen and dealt with guys just like him, someone who they just couldn’t say no to even though they should. He’s handsome, charming, and seems like a perfectly nice man but there’s so much more going on underneath that. The “moments alone” were moments of dread and terror for the victim…and on top of that, he tries to convince her that she enjoyed it! The post traumatic stress Jessica dealt with because of her dealings with Kilgrave was heartbreaking when you realized that there was nothing she could have done to stop him. The fact that a superhero was helpless really brings home how awful Kilgrave is.

charming…yet frightening and controlling

Let’s talk about another great part of this show: Jessica her self. This show manages to have a hero that is often times not heroic and not a good person yet you find yourself liking her. You root for Jessica as she works through her issues. You know that her trauma has caused her to be untrusting, bitter, devoid of compassion and yet you’ll see her show all of these qualities. She has built herself a wall to protect from ever being hurt again but as you learn about her, you see that she is not completely lost. In just one season, we are given a complex and interesting character that is working to overcome her demons by facing them head on. I was completely sold on her in the first episode. To recap, Jessica is worried that Kilgrave is still alive and you can see that she is rattled by this. Instead of running and hiding like her initial plan, she sets her jaw and determines that she must stop him at all costs. Hats off to Krysten Ritter for a magnificent performance. I wasn’t particularly fond of her in any prior roles but she won me over in this series.

Some other takeaways about Season 1:

• Hey, Luke Cage is in season 1! I legitimately didn’t remember this until I saw Luke’s bald head. It was a pleasant surprise. There were no major revelations to his character but it was still nice to see a little crossover here.

• Man…Luke and Jessica hook up a bunch. He didn’t have to use his “cup of coffee” line either! Makes sense though: they both got super powers, they’re both broken people emotionally, seems like a perfect match!

and a catch phrase is born…

• Dude, Jeri Hogarth is a piece of crap! I saw her in Iron Fist first and she was your general lawyer character but she seemed helpful. In Jessica Jones she is straight garbage! Carie-Ann Moss does an incredible job as the morally ambiguous hot-shot lawyer.

• Kilgrave buys Jessica’s childhood home for…her, I guess. It’s very weird, strange, creepy but also, had the context been different, this particular act is like something out of a Nicholas Sparks novel. Context is important. It just shows the sick levels of obsession Kilgrave has with Jessica and how he has no ability to function as a normal human. Ultimately, he isn’t a normal human because of his abilities but it is still unsettling all the same. No well-adjusted person does this, especially after keeping her captive for months at a time and thinking this will “win her over.”

• The 5th episode of the season is called “AKA The Sandwich Saved Me.” We see Jessica, in her early days of heroism performing odd jobs to make ends meat and she’s dressed as a sandwich to pass out flyers. A little girl wanders into the street and Jessica saves her from getting plowed into by a cab. When the father asks the little girl what happened, she says “the sandwich saved me.” I was very angry that they missed the painfully obvious chance for a “hero” pun in this instance. Do better, Jessica Jones.

“That’ll be my superhero name! The Hoagie! Wait…no… I’ll be The Footlong of Justice! Wait! Even better, the Great Grinder!” Me screaming at the TV “YOU’RE A HERO!!!!! GODD***IT JUST MAKE THE PUN!!!!”

Jessica Jones Season 1 was so damn good. If I’m ranking it amongst all the other shows in the Marvel/Netflix universe, the first season of The Punisher has been my favorite one thus far, Daredevil has been nearly flawless with season 2 somehow being better than season 1, but Jessica Jones Season 1 beats them all. It’s the best season of any of the Marvel shows to date. Thanks to all who were patient with me as I just now got around to finishing it. You were all correct.