Media Monday: Marvel’s Jessica Jones

FINALLY. After dropping a reference a few posts ago, I am finally getting around to writing about Marvel’s Jessica Jones. Thanksgiving shenanigans prevented me from writing about before, but nothing is stopping me now! Well, except for finals, which prevented me from so far watching more than 7 episodes. So yes, I am going to be taking a page out of Tony’s book for this one, and finish the series up in time for next week’s post.

First off, I’d like to mention Daredevil for a second. Daredevil was Marvel’s first foray into Netflix series’, and I just recently finished watching it. In my opinion, Daredevil was fantastic. The writing was superb, the acting was outstanding, and the choreography was intense and exciting. While I did enjoy the show, a part of me wondered just how much of that enjoyment was caused in part by my familiarity with the character. The action and violence was increased to 11, but did the gritty realism actually help make the show better? Or was I just excited for another attempt at Daredevil?

Having started Jessica Jones with no prior knowledge of the character, I have to say; Marvel is just really really good at making Netflix shows.

Exactly like Daredevil before, Jessica Jones is split up into 13 roughly 50-minute episodes. And also much like Daredevil, the story plays out less like a show and more like a movie, with small intermissions for bathroom breaks and more popcorn. The jazzy, noire theme song is amazing, and really fits in with the tone of the story. And I have to say, that movie-esque story is phenomenal. After all, it is based on a Brian Michael Bendis story, and that guy’s track record is intense.

While it does start off a little slower than other shows, Jessica Jones very quickly worms her way into your heart. This PTSD-suffering, alcohol-abusing, rough-housing private investigator is surprisingly lovable, and extremely interesting in terms of character. The main antagonist Kilgrave is creepy as heck, and makes his presence known very quickly, without actually being revealed for a few episodes. As the history between the two is explained, I guarantee you’ll be sucked in almost immediately, just DYING to know what happens next. At least, that’s what happened to me.

The other supporting characters are mostly great as well, but the one that deserves his own paragraph is Luke Cage. Like I stated previously, I had no idea who Jessica Jones was prior to watching the show, but I was familiar with the unbreakable Luke Cage. And I have to admit, he sort of steals the show when he’s on screen. He isn’t aware that he has a sort of history with Jessica Jones, but their story unfolds together spectacularly as well.

While Daredevil pushed the limits with graphic violence, Jessica Jones goes a different yet still more-than-you’d-see-on-cable route. Most of the physical violence is heavily implied rather than outright shown, but the psychological damage is very much evident. Jessica herself suffers heavily from PTSD, and is a hardcore alcoholic. Her neighbor Malcolm is a heavy-hitting drug addict, and her neighbor Ruben suffers mental abuse from his sister on a daily basis. Once the villain Kilgrave is introduced, it ramps up the psychological trauma tenfold, with Jessica suffering flashbacks of violent rape and abuse. There are also many, many sexual encounters between Jessica and Luke Cage.

I am really enjoying the show so far. With finals out of the way after Tuesday, I’ll finally get to finish the show. The rest of my thoughts will go up next week, but I absolutely recommend binge-watching the show as soon as possible. Jessica Jones is definitely another success on Marvel’s part.