The differences from Alias are ones I'm going to comment on, though, because that's really the only thing I can contribute which hasn't been dissected to death by hundreds of blogs. Also, a discussion of how I think the show lamed itself by being a bit too obsessed with the Purple Man plot despite how much emotional drama this carried. In the original comic series, Jessica Jones is a retired superhero named Jewel who wasn't very good at the role. After trying very hard to make a difference (but not), she ends up exposing her identity to help a child then gets kidnapped by the Purple Man to be his slave for months. Months which nobody even notices she's gone.
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| The funny thing is the Purple Man was a C-Lister until this point. |
Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones suffers a bit from the fact she never has an idealistic period of her life. After her parents die in a car wreck that gives her superpowers, Netflix's Jessica Jones enters a permanent funk of cynicism and anger she never gets out of. It's a funk which gets worse when she is horrifyingly captured by Zebediah Kilgrave (The Purple Man played by David Tennant) then forced to be his slave (who acts like his girlfriend) for months. Jessica breaks free on her own but not until after she's killed someone on his command.
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| Krysten Ritter does an excellent "haunted heroine." |
This is, fundamentally, about the different expectations of medium and it will take a far more mature essay by someone other than me to dissect its implications. Basically, though, comic books are for teenagers and adults remembering their teenage years while Netflix's television series tend to be for adults. The fact TV Jessica is mind-controlled into being Kilgrave is enough of a "cushion" to talk about the subject without verging on the exploitative. Which basically is both the show's strength and weakness.
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| Kilgrave and Jack Napier are among the few men who can pull off a purple coat. |
Unfortunately, the biggest weakness is Kilgrave can't quite carry the entire season on his back and the story stretches too long. It's not a dealbreaker because of a very unexpected character's appearance (at least unexpected outside of Daredevil) who I really think was done well. However, I do think the story would have benefited from a couple of episodes where Jessica Jones deals with other cases like the ones in the comic. One of the funniest scenes in the story is where she deals with a pair of bigots who want to kill her for her superpowers except they're really bad at it.
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| I see no reason to make fun of Jewel's outfit. |
Honestly, I actually prefer Patsy Walker (Hellcat! I know this!) as played by Rachael Taylor to Jessica Jones herself. Her idealism really is a great contrast to Jessica's 24 hour bad attitude. I'm a huge fan of cynical, sarcastic, and noir themed characters but it's an odd contrast in the Marvel universe. I also felt the contrast of Jessica Jones' past idyllic self to her future one was an exceptionally good one. Watching Patsy Walker in her lone fight in the show was also impressive, making me think she could handle her own lead role.
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| As much as I love her as a shark lawyer, I would totally have loved to see her as the Wasp. |
Really, I could talk about the supporting cast every bit as much as I could the actual plot. I may be one of the few people who loved Carrie Anne Moss' subplot, though. You'd think the divorce of Jessica's primary employer so she can marry her secretary would be a terrible weight on the story. However, it's build up all pays off in the end. I also, again, think the main story took up a bit too much time so distractions were good. Mike Colter, certainly, does a decent job introducing Luke Cage but I found the plot about Jessica and his dead wife to be unnecessary. Really, the show underuses him and his lead-in here is unnecessary to appreciate the Luke Cage show.
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| I like the only super-strong person in the Defenders is a woman. |
9/10
Jessica Jones, a show that i have grown to love each time i rewatch it. Despite the fact its the first of the Netflix shows to suffer from the 'Netflix fatigue' of having too many episodes for the story and characters it told and uneven pacing.
ReplyDeleteA few standalone episodes of JJ doing detective work would have helped i agree. Since it would have allowed for the Kilgrave stuff to be paced out better and not becoming overwhelming.
Along with some plot contrivances and idiot balls that force the show to the 13 episode mark.
But despite all of that, JJ deserves praise for tackling the subjects it does, with some very clear research shown of what abuse survivors go through (naming of streets is a technique therapists use to help survivors cope). That JJ is shown to have not been the greatest of people before the incident.
Avoiding the usual perfect victim complex that many media is very guilty of when it comes to stuff like this. That and also showing deep down, jj is a very empathic person who does believe in helping people and wanting to do good. But not seeing herself as righteous in the way i feel that matt and luke do at times.
Doesn't hurt Ritter nails all her snarky lines with perfection that makes her an enjoyable arsehole to me. Something which i reminded myself recently watching the Defenders. JJ is not the most likeable of characters, but she is the most interesting for what she has gone through and how believable her show handles most of it.
JJ's cynicism is a different sort to the cynicism portrayed by Tony, Strange in that it ain't wealth or narcissistic focused cynicism. But from the trauma of her life. Which makes it more relatable to me and understandable. As hard as it is to watch her spiral downwards at times.
Same with how Killgrave and Trish's mom are handled as abusers, namely the never my fault excuse they use. It's exactly the mentality so many abusers have towards their victims, and something I have seen in my own volunteer work many times. Some of them really don't believe they have done anything wrong.
I really enjoyed Frank as well, for in many ways exploring how masculine toxicity can affect a person and what sort of person who acts like Steve without his morals and self restraint can end up becoming. That and for how he really in his own way i think care about Trish and wants to believe in the idealism she has. He's just too caught up in being a GI Joe and single-minded obsession with taking down Kilgrave along with some stuff he has going on in his head.
Yes the subplot of Jeri and her wife and mistress has grown on me as well for how complicated it is and for the way all three actresses pull off the material. Just a shame it ended the way it did, as it felt to me such a shaggy dog feel. Doesn't help its in the episode where everything goes wrong for the sake of dragging the season out and making everything to that point feel like it was for nothing.
As for Luke Cage stuff, personally i felt Luke had more range here than on his own show. Though i feel that's due to how LC directed and wrote Luke as a character. After Defenders i feel Luke and Iron Fist work better in being supporting roles or together and acting as foils to each other. than carrying their own shows.
It's something i wonder if i will feel the same on about Frank after his show at the end of the year. He's a great foil to matt in Daredevil, but to carry his own show requires some balance.