Jessica Jones

Episode Title: AKA Playland
Originally Aired: March 8th, 2018

The final episode has finally arrived, and it delivered in a big way. AKA Playland had its peaks and valleys, and like the glaciers or swift water responsible for the geographical versions, the events of this episode have reshaped our character’s world. Whether their life ended, hit the reset button or veered off in an entirely new direction everything will be altered when Jessica Jones returns for season 3.

The biggest lowlight of this episode was its CGI. The big scene where Jess and her mom work together to save a family and a truck driver who was involved in an accident looks like Syfy five years ago. Fire can be essential to a major crash and the tension of an action scene, but CGI fire is rarely successful and not something that should be attempted on a lower budget. The practical effects and the stunt work continue to be excellent especially in the climactic scene at Playland.

Jeri continued to be a highlight for me. Now that she has her drive and determination back, it should be interesting to see where she takes her firm and how she interacts with the rest of the Netflix supers. One thing that was fun to see was Jeri behaving like the stereotypical man. When she is getting her private yoga lesson, she is more interested in her trainer’s backside than proper technique. Jeri has gone from one long-term relationship to another before searching for love in all the wrong places while battling her depression. She may be in the midst of her disease, but Jeri can still get lost in the moment and enjoy something as ordinary as finding another person attractive even if does mean the objectification of a young woman.

Next season Jess may be more alone than she has ever been but she may be in the best situation of her life. She will have the chance to develop real connections that are not shrouded guilt, anger, and whiskey. Things probably won’t end well for her because  Jessica will always be a character that is more tragic than happy go lucky but her spending some time on the other side will be great and make her fall that much worse. This season and especially this episode will make it harder to predict what Jess will do, but what more could you ask for of a season. We were given a compelling story, and it left her in a place where we know next year cannot be more of the same and the creative team needs to be commended for that.

Rumors are that production will begin on season three after this year. If that is true, we could be back here this time next year talking about the all-new adventures of Jessica and Hellcat.

 

Episode Title: AKA Three Lives and Counting
Originally Aired: March 8th, 2018

Jessica has done it again, for the third time some has died at her hand. First, it was Luke’s wife Reva, not her fault because she was being controlled. Next was snapping Kilgrave’s neck like a glow stick, a revenge tainted necessity to stop the madman. The final victim was a correctional officer defending his home until Jessica caved in his skull. Ok, maybe it wasn’t that simple, and neither is the way Jessica deals with the unexpected psychological ramifications. Continue reading Jessica Jones S:02 E:11

Episode Title: AKA Shark in the Bathtub, Monster in the Bed
Originally Aired: March 8th, 2018

Superpowered private investigator down! When we left off last week, a sniper had shot Jessica, and her mom was in a murderous rage hell-bent on finding the shooter. This week we get a couple of cases of kidnapping, a career change, a possible cure and a missing Malcolm.

Trish’s arc this season is impressive and will continue to ramp up as she enters the full meltdown phase, but I also find her incredibly annoying. Her obsession and arrogance make me hope Jessica slaps some sense into to her. Unfortunately, Jess is too busy trying to wrangle a mass-murdering mother that she won’t be there to catch Trish when she falls. When Trish gets good news, she attributes it to the inhaler, but now that her supply has run out, I am afraid for her and anyone who cares about her over the lengths she will go to find more.

Jessica has the most roller coaster like experiences this episode. She is nurtured and injured by her mother; she makes plans for her mom’s freedom and incarceration, she commits a felony and stops someone from doing the same thing. As sweet and damaged as Jess is it’s hard to say how this new situation will changer her. She feels less guilty about some issues and more about others so it could be a wash but I imagine she has many dark days ahead.

Alisa Jones was an angry woman long before the experiments that gave her powers. Her trauma loosened her control over her emotions and provided her with the tools to murder almost anyone she wants. I don’t know what conclusion the show will come to, but I have already decided that she can never be trusted. Whether she goes to jail and can continue a relationship with Jess or if she has to die something must end, her freedom or her life.
I hope we get more Jeri next week. Now that Jeri is on the precipice of a cure or knowing that she is a lost cause and it is just a matter of time, Jeri will be fun to watch. Where is Malcolm? Did he go home to visit his parents or is he in rehab or out on a bender after Trish got him to use the inhaler? There are so many questions and possibilities I can’t wait to see what happens next week.

Episode Title: AKA Ain’t We Got Fun
Originally Aired March 8th, 2018

Here’s to hope, hope gained and hope lost. The hope for a relationship you believed was impossible, hope for future you thought was impossible and the hope to survive a fall from the wagon. This episode was filled with characters full of hope but also full of denial to believe that all solutions or within their control or that they could be this lucky. Continue reading Jessica Jones S:02 E:08

Reunited and it feels so weird. She was a fool to ever leave your side, you minus her is such a lonely ride. Jessica is shaken by a reappearance of someone from her past, and things are never going to be the same. Continue reading Jessica Jones S:02 E:06

Episode Title: AKA The Octopus
Originally Aired: March 17

The fifth episode of Jessica Jones was able to add depth to our characters and set a lot of things into motion at least for some of them while ending stuff for others. When we left off last week, Jessica arrested for murder, Trish arrested for assaulting a cop, and Malcolm was left in charge of Alias and protecting Inez. Continue reading Jessica Jones S:02 E:05

Episode Title: AKA Freak Accident
Originally Aired: March 8th, 2018

“Maybe I am a freak, but someone made me this way. And this lab rat’s got some complaints.” With Jessica’s anger management issues, you definitely won’t want to be the one on the receiving end of those complaints.

One thing I really liked about this episode is that it merged the themes of season one with this season’s storyline. Trish has a background that is unexpectedly similar to Jessica’s. They both have past trauma with sexual abuse caused by charismatic men who are used to getting everything they want. What’s worse in Trish’s case is that she was essentially pimped out by her mother so Dorothy could continue to live vicariously through Trish’s fame. It would be easy to read this episode as a #MeToo inspired but it is important to note that pre-production on this episode started almost a year and a half before Harvey Weinstein was outed. I think that fact makes the episode even more commendable for its decisions to tackle a subject that wasn’t widely addressed. I am interested in seeing if they tell us that this incident was the cause of Trish’s obsession with powered people and the idea of saving people.

Jessica spends the episode following the clues left by the Whizzer to figure out who killed him and who is responsible for what happened to the two of them. Unfortunately, her first lead Dr. Koslov turns out to be a dead end, leaving us to wonder if he was an innocent man who maybe knew too much or an evil doctor who was taken out by his bosses. Malcolm spends all of his time trying to help Jess and avoiding his addiction, supplementing drugs for construction work and casual sex, an act his boss also finds comfort in. After her recent medical news, Jeri takes a day off fueled by drugs and hookers while she tries to come to terms with a yet unknown diagnosis. Her bender is only going to last a day as she eventually kicks the women out of her home and plans her next move. You can see Jeri’s strength and determination, you wouldn’t want to be on the opposing team, but she may lack focus leaving herself vulnerable.

I think that the major theme of this season will be the past coming back to haunt you. Trish has to relive her experience with Max her abuser, Jessica is still battling the effects of Kilgrave, the loss of her family and now, how she was experimented on. Sometimes it’s not the long-forgotten past coming back on you. Jessica is visited by the police over what happened to the Whizzer but the most notable example of the recent past coming back on them is the return of Will Simpson. I can’t wait to see what else will come out of the dark recesses of IGH and Jessica’s psyche, when she begins her anger management classes, as the season continues