After the tonal hiccup of the previous instalment, we find that episode 5 gets Jessica Jones back on target with an episode that not only locks back into the search for Kilgrave, but also indulges in some welcome context that enriches the backgrounds of all involved. It’s high time the show started filling in some blanks as we start peeking into the lost period of Jones’ life once she found herself under the thrall of her very convincing captor.
While the dealing with the aftermath of an abusing relationship and/or the emotional scarring of being a survivor of sexually abused has been the driving force of this especially dark corner of the MCU, we actually don’t know what Jessica was like before the day she ran into Kilgrave. Rest assured that “AKA The Sandwich Saved Me” will ensure that an already disturbing plot point will take on an even more tragic twist.
After that red herring that threw in an somewhat awkward tip of the cowl to the events of The Avengers, we’re back on the trail of Kilgrave that’s suddenly grown hot after Jessica’s discovery that it’s her junkie neighbour, Malcolm, who has been photographing her every move for the manipulative stalker. Knowing full well that approaching Malcolm full on will result in nothing, both Jones, Trish and clench-jawed third-wheel Will Simpson, whip up a plan to trail the drug-addled shutter bug in a hope that he’ll led them back to their quarry – but after discovering that Trish and Simpson have started a relationship (or at the very least are sleeping together), Jessica isn’t quite sure she wants this ex-special forces guy turned cop complicating matters.
However, thanks to some contacts and knowhow, Simpson knows of a place with a hermetically sealed room that could be the perfect place to store Kilgrave once they’ve darted him and spirited him away in their van.
However, just because Kilgrave has the ability to make anyone do his bidding with a word, it doesn’t mean that the villain is lazy or sloppy and once the mission to nab him is underway, the trio discover that their prey has hired bodyguard to protect him. But as Jessica’s plans lay in ruins, we get a string of flashbacks that truly detail how damaging Kilgrave’s influence was. You see, it seems that even though Jessica was still her abrasive, combative self, there was still enough of a lightness to her for Trish to convince her to use her powers for good and fight crime under an assumed name.
However, after saving a pre-junkie Malcolm from a beating from a group of thugs, Jessica is spotting using her powers by a passing Kilgrave who simply can’t pass an opportunity like this up. From here, Jessica’s prolonged period on Hell began, made all the more tragic by the fact that she was on the verge of being a hero…
Now that we’ve gotten last episode’s weird, poorly positioned diversion from the main plot out of the way, the showrunners are now free to turn those screws even further and really focus on the trauma and pain caused by its enigmatic and thoroughly terrifying villain. Fully recognising that when you have an antagonist with powers like Kilgrave, it immediately precludes you from having the villain and hero be face to face via any natural means (the second Kilgrave speaks it’s essentially over), so as a result, the show has to find smart ways to link the two together while still keeping them apart. One way to do that is make him the complete and utter focus of our hero, and the main bulk of AKA The Sandwich Saved Me details how the thrown together union of an alcoholic, super strong private eye, her TV show host best friend and an intense former pawn of Kilgrave strive to take down their shared threat. Strangely enough for a MCU title (even a side one that the movies don’t reference), it’s this aspect of the episode that’s arguably the weakest because unlike the drawn out, punishing action sequences of Daredevil, Jessica Jones is a series that can’t quite get the hang of its action.
The mission itself is tense enough, but the later fight with some hired goons feels oddly blocked and awkwardly clumsy. Yes, Jones’ talents don’t stretch to being an out and out Ninja, but it isn’t the first time her shows of strength look noticably low tech compared to the stuff seen in the more cinematic part of this cinematic universe. However, sloppy fight scene aside, there’s still some good stuff in this uneasy group – especially when Jessica is given ample opportunity to quash any of Simpson’s macho crap. However, the further we move away from traditional superhero fisticuffs, the better the episode gets and yet more dark instances of Kilgrave-related trauma keep popping up to creep us out. Take poor, incarcerated Hope for example, who is paying to be beaten by other inmates for some unfathomably horrible reason (possible guilt for shooting her parents?), or the insidious revelation that in order to ensure Malcolm’s compliance when he’s out of range, Kilgrave was the one who got him hooked on heroin.
However, when we shift over to the flashbacks, things get even more tragic and once we get a full idea of the scale of injustice going on here, we realise that it’s a miracle that Jones isn’t more bitter than she already is. After witnessing her pre-Kilgrave existence, we find that she’s still got that ever-present dislike of authority and an even greater hatred of entitled dudes on an ego trip, but after she saves a little girl from a car accident, realises that there may be something behind Trish’s constant urging for her to step up. From here we get a reference to Jewel, the briefly used alter ego that Jones was supposed to adopt if she didn’t instantly despise the costume and it’s a nice nod to her similarly tragic comic book origins.
However, the episode reminds us that – literally – not all heroes wear capes and in the wake of their failed kidnap attempt, Jessica chooses to take Malcolm under her wing and get him off the junk despite all that he was forced to do. In many ways, the two of them have gone full circle as it was Jessica saving Malcolm that both brought them to the attention of Kilgrave in the first place which is a cruel little detail that really sticks it in a breaks it off. However, as the episode closes out, Jessica makes a deal with her abuser to spare Malcolm from relapsing that requires her to send him a picture of herself a day to appease his sick need for her. And it’s here that we finally get an idea of the person Jessica Jones truly is and for all of her don’t-fuck-with-me attitude, there lurks a true hero under that leather jacket and ginormous snood.
Proving that the series is at full strength when leaning more into the psychological-noir than regular super-heroics, Jessica Jones delivers arguably it’s best episode to date. It’s just a shame that all those devastating moments and sterling character beats are slightly derailed by fight choreography that looks like it was made up on the spot. While Jessica may be able to lift a car, it certainly seems that her real strengths lay with less physical attributes.
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