Throughout the duration of Jessica Jones’ run, it became quickly apparent that the further away the show stayed from the typical MCU recipe, the better and more fiercely original it became. Hinging it’s entire plot on the notion of telling a superpowered version of a rape survivor’s story, it left the complex fight scenes and operatic battles between good and evil to the likes of Daredevil and instead weaved shades of grey as it sat more within the realms of a psychological thriller with hints of noir.
However, as the plot ramps up for a big finish, there’s a feeling that the show is in danger of muffling the exact thing that makes it stand out from the rest of the Marvel brand. The tight, minimalist stylings of the extended, one on one episodes that saw both Jones and Kilgrave trying to gain control of the other are gradually getting changed out that the rest of the cast gets more directly involved once again. Expect shocks and twists galore as Marvel/Netflix’s most daring show compensates for the fact that it has to return to a more familiar tone.
As both Jones’ and Kilgrave’s respective plans lay in ruins, both of them have to admit that there’s silver linings to each of their failures. Jessica’s attempts to imprison her abuser and force evidence out of him by reuniting him with his scientist parents only resulted in a violent escape that left his mother dead. However, while the mind controlling monster is in the wind, Jessica has discovered that his powers no longer work on her any more which changes a whole number of things. Conversely, Kilgrave may not have one the affections of Jones fair and square and taken a bullet for his troubles, but on the other hand he’s eliminated one of his hated parents and found himself in the company of Jeri Hogarth whom he orders to take him to a doctor.
Needing a medic, the controlled Horgath takes Kilgrave to Wendy, the ex-wife she’s been feuding with as their divorce got ever more spiteful and ever the mischief maker, Kilgrave pits them against each other as he tries to discover where his father has been stashed. Meanwhile, while Detective Clemons secures the crime scene in an attempt to compile the evidence against Kilgrave only to run into an erratic Simpson who is obviously tweaking on his super-meds. However, the hyper-paranoid ex-special forces guy is on such a single minded trip to take out Kilgrave, he murders the detective to eradicate all traces of his prey.
Meanwhile, after stalking the Kilgrave Survivor’s Group, Robyn finally discovers what happened to her brother when Malcolm finally spills the beans. But after stiring up the group to forcibly get answers from Jones, they are all enslaved by Kilgrave who sets up something of a trap for Jessica, with the newly released Hope being used as bait. But with so many lives on the line, what will it take for Jessica to finally break her rules and take out her nemesis?
While “AKA 1,000 Cuts” is a fast paced episode that’s filled to the brim with a ton of shock deaths (three of them!) and multiple revelations, there’s something of a glaring problem that’s setting off internal alarms all over the place. With a reveal of how Kilgrave’s powers actually work, Malcolm’s grisly secret leaking, Hogarth’s divorce subplot reaching a violent conclusion and Clemmons, Wendy and Hope all biting the dust with a single episode, the ending finally gives Jessica the permission she needed to end Kilgrave once and for all just in time for a season finale. However, seeing as the next episode isn’t actually the season finale and we ultimately still have three episodes to go before things wrap up, it seems that that old Netflix issue of thirteen being far too many episodes for the story that’s actually available.
So much of the series comes together in this one episode, that it’s almost inconceivable that we still have so much of the season still to go and the fact that the drama and stakes are raised by all this rampant death makes it seem like something of a waste. Clemons’ rather rude murder is obviously used to fast track Simpson’s path to a villain, but he still feels surplus to requirements compared to the threat of Kilgrave, but on the other hand the resolution of the Hogarth/Wendy/Pam plot had a genuinely horrific ending that is abominably perfect. Compelled to murder her former spouse via death of a thousand cuts, Wendy is ultimately stopped when Pam arrives and belts Jeri’s attacker with a heavy ornament that kills her outright. If this isn’t nasty enough, all of Hogarth’s dirty laundry comes tumbling out – her ownership of Hope’s aborted baby, her sabotage of Kilgrave’s cell and her refusal to take responsibility for Wendy’s death – and we once again see that she’s every bit the emotionless manipulator that Kilgrave is.
If it feels like I’m ragging on the episode, I can assure you that regardless of the plot seemingly reaching a crescendo too early, there’s lots of juicy stuff to sink our teeth into her and once again, the continuing drama between Jessica and Kilgrave takes another intriging turn. After discovering that Kilgrave’s powers are actually a virus and Jessica is now immune (possibly to overexposure), the two deal with their new status quo with some brutal truths. Kilgrave admits that he knew Jessica is immune, hence why he tried to get Jessica to join him willingly, but he also reveals that he tested her during her time under his control. There was a time span of about 18 seconds where she wasn’t actually under his thrall and since she didn’t try to leave, Kilgrave took it as proof that she could conceivably fall in love with him with his verbal cues. However, Jessica counters with the reality that she would have stepped off the roof if brain fog hadn’t slowed her reflexes which reveals her enemy’s entire belief system as just being deluded wish fulfillment.
From here, the rest of the episode seens to be wrapping up the series pretty neatly. Kilgrave holding the Survivor’s Group hostage with nooses around their neck is a great conundrum for the hero to solve and Hope’s decision to free Jessica from her responsibilities to her by committing suicide is exactly the tragic occurance that should galvanise the hero to enter the final battle with renewed vigor. But again, I can’t shake the feeling that after such an obvious set-up, the fact we’ve still got three more episodes to go means that after all the good it’s done, Jessica Jones may yet outstay it’s welcome before we’re all said and done.
Absolutely loaded with incident, twists and a great set-up for a final battle, the curse of the Netflix episode count is suddenly looming large over proceedings. Fingers crossed that the writers will find an innovative way to keep the energy high, even if it feels like the season should be ending with its next installment.
🌟🌟🌟🌟
We Have Issues 