‘Daredevil’ was a show I truly enjoyed. It wasn’t my #1 favorite Marvel show (that honor goes to ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’), but it was such a damn good show that, while set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was quite different than what has been released, exploring rather mature themes. ‘Jessica Jones’ was released on Netflix recently, and continues the trend that Daredevil started. And while good, ‘Jessica Jones’ didn’t leave me with the same impression that ‘Daredevil’ left me with. I think it was probably ’cause I found the cast of characters from ‘Daredevil’ to be more likable than those of ‘Jessica Jones’ as a whole. In ‘Jessica Jones’, the titular character comes off as an unlikeable b*tch who only wants to drink, get Kilgrave (show’s main baddy), then get back to more drinking. Luke Cage seemed to be nothing more than a horny bartender with unbreakable skin (though he become more interesting later on in the series). And Jeri… well… I got nothing positive to say about her. I can completely understand why the characters were written the way they were, and the performances truly were great, but it’s unfortunate that I couldn’t connect with them the same way I did with characters like Matt Murdock.
However, if there’s one thing that ‘Jessica Jones’ surpassed ‘Daredevil’ with, it’s the main bad guy. Don’t get me wrong, I thought Wilson Fisk was a great villain, and Vincent D’Onofrio did a really good job portraying MCU’s Kingpin. But Kilgrave, portrayed masterfully by David Tennant, totally blew my mind. He was a sick, twisted freak that creeped me out, and boy did I love watching him. In the show, Kilgrave has the unique ability of simply stating orders to people, who do as he says without hesitation (regardless of how horrible the action is). This leads to some very terrifying results throughout the show (including a daughter shooting her parents dead), giving us the message that Kilgrave isn’t playing around. And despite all that, learning more about Kilgrave’s past and how he came to get his powers really made me look at the villain in a different light. As a matter of fact, after the audience learns about his past, Kilgrave toys with the idea of becoming a hero with Jessica’s help, an idea I kinda hoped would become reality (although it didn’t, which I was still fine with). Although it’s a shame that, after the season finale, it doesn’t seem like Kilgrave will be returning to the MCU, what little time he had in the universe certainly made him a truly worthy villain.
Being a show set in the MCU, the #ItsAllConnected rule certainly applies to ‘Jessica Jones’. Although, like ‘Daredevil’, the connections are kept at a minimum. References are certainly made to the Avengers. But there were parts that seemed to hint at the state of the public and their reactions to people with powers… something that is leading up to next year’s ‘Captain
America: Civil War’. One of my favorite scenes from the show involved Jessica being led into a trap by a husband and wife who want to avenge a family member killed during the Battle of New York, believing that people like the Avengers (such as Jessica) were a threat needing to be eradicated. You cannot tell me that this isn’t an early sign of what to expect once ‘Civil War’ arrives. Outside the movie connections, there were also some connections to ‘Daredevil’ itself. While a few locations used were also in the other show (such as the police station and Metro-General Hospital), the biggest connection of all (and my personal favorite) was Rosario Dawson reprising her role as Claire Temple in the season finale. Every scene she was in felt like meeting a friend I hadn’t met in a while, and truly tied the show with ‘Daredevil’. And while it was a shame her guest appearance couldn’t last longer, hopefully it’s a first step into more deeper connections between the MCU’s Netflix shows.
Being Marvel, ‘Jessica Jones’ certainly leaves a lot open for the audience to ponder about and wait until a reveal is made in the future (just the way I like it). One of those open plotlines involves Jessica’s powers. No solid answer is given as to how Jessica gained her powers. All that is known is that she gained them after surviving the car accident that killed her family years ago. Another known fact is that following the accident, Jessica’s medical bills were paid for by a mysterious group simply known as IGH. IGH also seems to be responsible for turning police officer Will Simpson into the crazed villain Nuke (and appear to have taken him somewhere after being defeated by his ex-girlfriend Trish Walker). What this IGH group is trying to achieve to is up in the air, but it does seem that Jessica and Will are more connected to each other than initially thought (and it’s pretty much a guarantee Simpson will return to cause more trouble in the future). Another plotline left open involved Luke Cage. Early in the show, I saw Cage as nothing but a bartender with unbreakable skin who desperately needed to have sex as much as possible, and I couldn’t bear those damn sex scenes. Call me a wimp, sissy, whatever… but I do not like having sex scenes in my entertainment at all. Back to my point… later on in the series, Cage became more interesting, as it was revealed that Luke’s deceased wife, Reva Connors, had a flashdrive that seemed to contain videos of experiments being done on children. One of those children was Kilgrave, who used Jessica to retrieve the flashdrive and kill Reva. And in the season finale, after having a nice conversation with Claire Temple, Luke suddenly disappeared, having run off to an unknown location. Why was Reva in possession of the flashdrive and its content? Does the content of the flashdrive involve Luke himself? And where has Luke Cage run off to? These are questions that seem like they’ll be answered in the third MCU Netflix show, ‘Luke Cage’, which should arrive sometime in 2016.
My Verdict:
‘Jessica Jones’ is a fine addition to the Netflix side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While not quite as good as ‘Daredevil’, there’s still plenty to enjoy in this show for MCU fans.
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