I'm going to start by saying that before this series, I knew next to nothing about Jessica Jones. When I started reading comics, I knew Jessica as Luke Cage's wife, the mother of his child, a member of the New Avengers, and that she had a crush on Peter Parker when they were in high school. I didn't really have much interest in her backstory either. It's part of the reason that out of the announced Marvel Netflix series, Jessica Jones was my least anticipated. The trailers got me really pumped though. It really showed that Marvel was really amping things up after Daredevil by throwing in characters with actual superpowers in a grounded setting like New York. After six days of watching all thirteen episodes, I believe Marvel has done with Jessica Jones what a lot of people didn't think was possible: it topped Daredevil.
I should start be mentioning that while this is a show about someone with superpowers, this is NOT a superhero show. Jessica may have powers and intentions to help people, but she is a severely damaged person and a heavy drinker. But if you had your life controlled by a sociopath obsessed with you, you probably wouldn't fair much better. Krysten Ritter delivers an amazing performance as such a character that while sometimes coming off like a bitch, has true compassion for others despite her past.
Jones isn't the only superpowered non-superhero in the show however, as Luke Cage is also a part of the series as Jones' potential love interest. A lot of people wanted someone like Terry Crews to play Cage, but in my opinion, Mike Colter totally embodied the character, another example at how well Marvel does with their casting.
Another prominent character is Trish "Patsy" Walker, Jessica's foster sister, who in the comics (and possibly in the future of this series) is the superhero Hellcat. A former child star with a showbiz mother who controlled every aspect of her daughter's life, Trish was able to break free and hosts a radio show. Out of everyone, Trish is the person Jessica trusts most. And I think that when it comes to an abusive controlling relationship, Trish can understand Jessica more than anyone. Much like her relationship with Luke, Jess's friendship with Trish is a driving force of the series and is just as prominent as Matt and Foggy's in Daredevil.
Malcolm Ducasse, an original character created for the show, is probably one of the best aspects of the series. For one reason, he is acted amazingly by Eka Darville, who some may remember as Scott Truman, the Red Ranger from Power Rangers RPM (brief sidenote: this is the second former Power Ranger actor to be in a Marvel series, the first being Nikolai Nikolaeff from Power Rangers Jungle Fury in Daredevil; makes me wonder who will be the next former ranger Marvel will cast). Back on topic, what also makes Malcolm a great character is the best embodiment of the show's theme of redemption. While Malcolm has his life greatly disrupted like Jessica's, he wants to use the experience to try and better himself and others that have been affected. Even while others begin to give up hope, Malcolm still tries to help the best he can. Without spoiling much, it makes me look forward to his position in the next season as Jessica's assistant.
To round out my thoughts of the "good" characters of the show (there are others but don't have much to say about them), I feel I need to talk about Robyn and Ruben, twins who live together in the same apartment building as Jessica and Malcolm. Ruben is kind of an awkward guy who has trouble standing up to his sister and has a crush on Jessica, especially when he stands up to Robyn for him. While not an important character, he's still likable. Robyn on the other hand is just a crazy psycho controlling bitch. Trust me, that description is sugarcoating it. I'm guessing the intent was to make her so unlikable, but I was hoping for some kind of glimmer of humanity in her by the end of the series. There are moments where we're supposed to feel sympathy for her (that I won't spoil why because it's kind of major), but even when they try, she does something that's reminds us that she's a bitch.
While not technically a villain on the show, we are also introduced to Will Simpson, who in the comics is the supervillain Nuke, a product in an attempt to recreate the Super Soldier serum. A seemingly nice character at first, as well as Trish's love interest, but when he gets the red, white, and blue pills, he starts to get bat-shit crazy. It's entertaining as hell, and we are left wondering where he'll show up next in the MCU.
Now the coup de grace of the character analysis, Kilgrave, the mind-controlling supervillain, played by the always brilliant David Tennant. This year, I began watching Doctor Who and became a big fan of the Tenth Doctor and Tennant altogether. As Kilgrave, Tennant once again brings enough charm to bring such an entertaining villain. As the Doctor, I'm used to seeing Tennant in a heroic role. As a villain, to put it lightly, Tennant is fucking scary! With his ability to control minds, you never know when he's using somebody or even what they might do (particularly when it's self-mutilation and trust me there's a lot of that). Compared to other villains of the MCU, Kilgrave is definitely the scariest one to date, not because of his powers but because of his motives. He doesn't have a quest for power (like Loki and Red Skull) or some perverted sense of making the world better (like Ultron and Kingpin). He's a complete sociopath who is obsessed with Jessica, taking control of anyone he likes to do whatever he wants with tasks ranging from mundane to lethal. He's the kind of villain that makes you think that they'll never be able to defeat. He doesn't even see himself doing anything wrong because he's not the one doing the deed or claims that he's makes people do things because he doesn't know what the want (an excuse he uses for his rapes of Jessica and Hope). He wants sympathy because of what his parents did to him and didn't do for him, but it's really hard to feel any for him, though it's most likely an excuse for him to do what he wants. But overall, Tennant's Kilgrave is a gem of the show and he'll stand alongside Loki, Ultron, and Kingpin as the best villains of the MCU.
As for the action of the show, it does feel very similar to Daredevil in that it's very down and dirty, but there are moments where I feel it shouldn't be. Considering Jessica, and Luke for that matter, are super strong, I can't help but think that they should be able to knock somebody out with one punch, which would really help when it comes to mind-controlled slaves. It's not something that really hurts the show, but just something that was in the back of my mind.
As I mentioned before, Jessica Jones really amps things up from Daredevil. Specifically, I mentioned before in my Daredevil review at how there were moments in each episode that made me go "OH! I can't believe they just did that!" that earned the show its TV-MA rating. Jessica Jones definitely has those moments and at a greater volume. Because of a villain like Kilgrave with mind-control powers, you never know just how far he'll make someone go. There's also Simpson's moments of psychosis that had me scared of what he'll do next if someone pisses him off.
I don't necessarily mind Marvel going this dark because with Netflix, they can use this as an outlet to tell stories that wouldn't work for the movies as well as expand the MCU further. I just hope that they're not going so far for shock value. Though maybe I'm just surprised at how far this particular show went. I mean, with Daredevil, you'd expect a lot of grittiness. But since I never had much investment in Jessica Jones in the comics or thought of Kilgrave being such a major villain, I might just not have been expecting what we got. I guess I'll have to see what Daredevil Season Two does next year to see if I actually had an argument.
To wrap things up, this show gives me some new respect for the character in the comics and how much she went through to get to where she is. I can only hope that her MCU version can find real happiness in her future. I have no doubt she'll show up in Luke Cage's Netflix series next year and it'll be nice for their romance to grow some more.
Overall, with great characters, a terrifying villain, and many shocking twists and turns, Jessica Jones offers something new for both the MCU and fans of superhero shows, especially for those wanting something a little less super-heroic (if that makes sense). Just be prepared to see David Tennant like you never have before.
RATING: 10/10
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