Working in the pits of New York City as a private investigator, Jessica Jones, played by Krysten Ritter, gets through life by working on cases of scumbag cheaters and liars who come through her door.
Quitting the superhero business after a traumatic experience with a supervillain, Jessica has a million skeletons in her closet. She deals with post-traumatic stress disorder through booze, sarcasm, and a mountain of self-loathing.
Everything changes for her when one of those skeletons—a charismatic psychopath with mind control powers named Kilgrave (David Tennant)—crashes back into her life, forcing Jessica to face her darkest traumas in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Released by Netflix on Nov. 21, Jessica Jones is one series in the Marvel Defenders universe, alongside Daredevil, that Marvel plans on releasing through Netflix.
With Jessica Jones, viewers get to see Marvel’s dark side. Jessica is no noble, conquering heroine; rather, she is more of an antihero, someone who struggles to care about others as she works through her own inner demons. Ritter portrays this inner conflict excellently, giving Jessica a combination of hard-edged world-weariness and wry, dark humour throughout the series.
Kilgrave is the charismatic, evil foil to Jessica’s hard-boiled, cynical personality. He is chillingly compelling. While he’s utterly nefarious in using his powers, certain episodes compel viewers to pity him. Tennant’s performance is emotionally manipulative, and that is part of what makes it so strong. It’s a complete turnaround for an actor who’s best known as the 10th Doctor from Doctor Who, yet Tennant pulls off a villainous performance fantastically.
In addition to the brilliant dynamic between Jessica and Kilgrave, the show’s supporting characters are also well-developed and performed. Mike Colter’s Luke Cage has great romantic chemistry with Ritter’s Jessica. Rachael Taylor gives a strong performance as Trish Walker, Jessica’s strong-willed best friend and adopted sister, a character who could easily have her own show.
In some episodes, the plot wears a little thin, with some developments feeling a little contrived. But the show makes up for weak plot lines by its amazing character writing. Jessica Jones’ well-paced cinematography is also impeccable, casting New York in a wonderfully gritty light.
At the heart of Jessica Jones is a profound, powerful story of survival. Underneath the action and plot, Jessica Jones reveals the ugliness of being a victim of a manipulative and abusive relationship: the insecurities, the deep emotional scars, and the incessant self-doubt. There is no clear sense of hope, forgiveness, or reconciliation for Jessica, but there is survival, and as the show progresses, she learns survival isn’t something you can do alone, and viewers learn this along with her.
Overall, Jessica Jones is worth the binge-watch. Fans of the Marvel universe will not be disappointed with its tie-ins with other characters. Even so, it’s a worthwhile series to watch even if you’re not a Marvel fan.
