As we creep into the second episode of Jessica Jones with all the guile and attentiveness of a really good private investigator, we’re seeing the slow burn world of Marvel’s premier alcoholic (Tony Stark notwithstanding) gradually open up. It’s obviously good business for a show to naturally expand both the supporting cast and the emerging, overarching threat, but it’s actually cool to see a show that isn’t eagerly slamming all of its cards on the table with the first episode.
Much like an investigation itself, facts and backstory have to be discovered, unearthed and teased of from different sources in a variety of different ways and it very rarely happens all at once. Adding to this jigsaw puzzle is “AKA Crush Syndrome”, which delivers a veritable palooza of drip fed clues that offer up a whole bunch of info about the people that orbit our notoriously anti-social lead. Take notes, because telling information spills out about everyone from Trish Walker to Luke Cage; but the most troubling facts unsurprisingly come from the mysterious threat known as Kilgrave.
In the aftermath of Hope’s shocking murder of her own parents, the young girl is promptly arrested and Jessica has some unsurprisingly tough questions to answer. Obviously, the hard bitten PI isn’t inclined to tell the cops everything, but we soon start putting some of the bigger picture together. Whomever is out there targeting Jessica is not only some sort of old acquaintance, but they’re also an obsessive lunatic who narrowly survived a brush with dead a year ago. Worse yet, this Kilgrave seems to be able to control people with merely a word, which proves to be something of a terrifying prospect when it’s obvious that he’s a spiteful and sadistic piece of filth.
As Jessica mounts her own investigation trying to find out how Kilgrave survived the year-old bus crash that saved Jessica from him, she discovers that her former abuser quite a large amount of truly disturbing carnage as he fought for life, be it mind controlling a doctor to donate the kidneys of an ambulance to save his life. But as she circles him, how can she be so sure that he isn’t circling her? Elsewhere, other aspects of her life keep creeping back in despite her best efforts to hold them at arm’s length.
Former best friend and talk show host, Trish, simply won’t take Jessica’s snubs seriously and insists on inserting her controlling personality into Jones’ business, and her recent dalliance with drama-loathing bar owner, Luke Cage, starts to get dramatic when he discovers that the boozy investigator has actually been stalking him. But while Jessica has abilities that she hides, it seems that Luke has a few physical attributes he’s been keeping on the down low too – the man just can’t catch a break… literally.
While the expansion of the stage that Jessica Jones operates on is tangibly expanding already, it’s nicely fitting that the show is making you work for all the scattered details and info rather than just shoving them in your face in one, gluttonous serving. The majority of AKA Crush Syndrome (itself a deliciously clever pun that both details the term for massive kidney failure and hints at some sort of obsessive need), is used to uncover a wealth of truly intimidating facts about the shadowy antagonist still waiting in the wings and at times it feels like the build up we got for Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin before he showed up in the mountainous flesh in Daredevil. But while Wilson Fisk certainly has a sense of villainous awe around him, Kilgrave seems on another level entirely and subsequently the episode feels like one, big, truly disturbing warm up show before he arrives.
As we follow Jessica as she plucks facts from every facet she manages to sweet talk through, she builds a truly chilling portrait of an absolute monster. Gifted with the ability to make anyone do what he commands – including gunning down down their own parents or perform ten hours of surgery to help him steal someone else’s kidneys – it seems that this adversary has an indomitable will and a mean streak a mile wide that has him see people as merely his playthings. It’s been pretty apparent already that Jessica Jones as a show is a big metaphor for surfing the sort of poisonous, toxic, abusive relationship that sees men dominate every aspect of their victim’s lives and it’s a main reason why Jessica is as guarded as she is. She may be bitter, abrasive and pretty fucked-up, but she’s also a survivor who knows what it’s like to have every inch of her power (both personal and super) stripped away from her by a controlling abuser. It’s a plot line ripped right from the comics and it’s glaring proof that when used correctly, superhero stories can tell vital stories that go way beyond simply punching out a bad guy with a splashy sound effect, but it also proves to be legitimately terrifying when, in the later parts of the episode, Kilgrave takes over the apartment of an unsuspecting family with only a few commands.
But while the show is building its main threat, it’s also building a few other things too. After seeing a rare attempt to do the right thing end in bullets and blood, a lot of the episode is dedicated to watching Jessica ply her trade and hunt for clues. Either sneaking into a hospital disguised as a nurse or talking her way into people’s apartments, it’s fascinating watching her bullshit her way through most scenarios on a wing and a prayer. Elsewhere, we see her relationship with Trish get fleshed out and it’s ironic that Jessica seems to keep getting tangled up with people so eager to control her. Kilgrave’s mind control powers may be one thing, but Trish isn’t quite that different, constantly sticking her nose in with some sort of superiority complex that seemingly stems from a complicated relationship with her mother. It’s not unlike the relationship Jessica also has with flinty lawyer Jeri Hogarth, who also seems to revel in getting people (Jessica, her wife, her girlfriend) to do her bidding and morals be damned. Even Jessica’s freakish upstairs neighbours, Robyn and Rueben, seem to have issues of control considering that they’re twins who appear to be bordering on incestuous. Yup, you read that right.
As most of these guys have something of a sizable comics presence that all hint where they’re heading (maybe not Robyn and Rueben), I’ll probably dig deeper into their origins the further we go, however, what with Luke Cage outing himself after a bar fight that sees him emerge without a scratch, it seems Power Man has entered the chat sooner than anticipated. It’s a smart tactic seeing as Netflix is growing its cadre of street level superheroes, but pulling off super strength is a mite bit tougher than enhanced senses.
Two episodes down and Jessica Jones is turning those screws as it expands its focus and lays out its truly disturbing metaphors with a grungy, superhero mask. With Kilgrave set to finally take centre stage and Luke Cage about to fully reveal himself, it’ll be interesting to see if Jessica can avoid being outshone in her own show – but then I guess being able to take back control is the entire point…
🌟🌟🌟🌟
We Have Issues 