Trailer

Property of: Netflix

So, as you all might have figured out by now from my previous posts, I am a big fan of Superhero movies, and shows.  And very recently I have watched the very first Season of Jessica Jones, a marvel show within the Daredevil universe. I quite enjoyed watching the show, as it was very enjoyable and had a twisty, unpredictable sort of plot. In saying that, the show was not without it’s failings, which I’ll be getting into shortly, but I found it much more engaging than either Daredevil, or The Flash (more on this later in a next week’s post).

The Synopsis of the Show

So basically Netflix describes it as:

“Quick-witted and tough as nails, gifted PI Jessica Jones is rebuilding her life when a terrifying figure from her past comes back to haunt her. Haunted by a traumatic past, Jessica Jones uses her gifts as a private eye to find her tormentor before he can harm anyone else in Hell’s Kitchen.”

A little more of a detailed plot synopsis (spoiler-free) is:

Jessica Jones is a Private Eye, who works from a broken down office, is very good at what she does, and seems to be hiding a lot of secrets and Trauma.  Oh, and she just so happens to have superpowers.  Just as it seems like things are finally looking up in her life, her life is completely disrupted by the reappearance of her nemesis (and her worst nightmare). He starts tormenting her again by harming different innocents as her replacements and Jessica is forced to decide between running away or becoming a hero.

The Good Points of the Show

Jessica Jones is a multi-faceted hero with powers that have defined limits and parameters. This makes the show more interesting and complex and our hero more sympathetic. As she cannot just magic up a solution to every new issue she faces and therefore has to actually use her brain to solve some mysteries.  Our, hero is not just handed success on a platter by plot convenience (though some of it does occur) but actually had to work for her resolutions.

Another great thing about Jessica Jones is that she is smart, resourceful and her trauma brings us closer to her and makes us empathise with her character. I especially love the way they portray the trauma and communicate it to the watcher. The side characters are interesting enough for their parts and help fill out gaps in the plot as needed (as side characters often do).

But forget about all that, the real star of this show is not any of these but rather; the villain. He is one of those villains you simultaneously hate and love; dangerously addictive even in small doses. He is casually cruel, dismissive, devious, enigmatic, charming as sin, manipulative and frighteningly intelligent (also a bit unhinged but that’s what makes him fun!). Honestly, he is the best part of the show, and I often found myself subconsciously rooting for him instead of the hero. The villain is the real reason to watch the show; the actor playing him did a wonderful job at making him seem real. His character is written really well, with very few flaws in the logic.

The Bad Parts

Okay so going back to the side characters; most of them are really meh, and hold not a lot of my love, with some few exceptions. I really do not like the main love interest either, as I fell that a resolution to his arc was undeserved by the hero, and that he is very one-dimensional. He is very attractive, however, which I do believe was his main purpose in the show. His is a character used, as alternatively arm candy and a cheap tension creator for the show; his actions often do not make logical sense.

Also, the season changes direction halfway through the show VERY abruptly, cutting my enjoyment down to half. (I can’t be more detailed without spoilers).  The way it changes directions makes our hero look like a moron who jumped the gun and caused everything that came after that one choice, to be her fault.  This was really a big sticking point for me, as prior to this the show had been teasing us.  It promised  something no superhero show before it had attempted to do, and it felt like it had a lot of potential which they fail to deliver.

The way they brought it in; the abrupt the plot twist casts Jessica Jones in a very bad light. It also spits on the potential of the previous premise for no good reason, therefore, it annoys me a lot. I actually liked our hero quite bit more before this twist ruined it. I felt really disappointed with the writers as I felt that they did not have the courage to see their more challenging path through. Rather, they veered off into generic “hero good, villian baaaaddddd” plots. (Not that there is anything wrong with those when done well – looking at you Avengers.)

Overall Thoughts

Despite all of my griping; I enjoyed this show immensely, mostly due to the villain and the fast, action packed, adrenaline inducing pacing.  In fact I found it way better than Daredevil and bit better than The Flash, though not quite as good as the earlier seasons of Arrow. I highly recommend everyone giving it a shot (then come back here and discuss it with me – so I can rant at somebody who knows what my vague mumbling’s actually mean).

I rate this show a solid 7.5/10.

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