Marvel's Jessica Jones - Season 2 review
Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) is an extremely complex character, whose past is unearthed and examined in this second season of one of Netflix's better Marvel shows.
This season sees our heroine develop in meaningful ways, as she is forced to relive the tragedy of the death of her family whilst solving the mystery of her origin and the impossible dilemma of her super powered mother, back from the dead. Our other titular characters Trish, Malcolm and Jeri are given stronger story-lines this season which allow them too to progress and evolve, resulting in a season which, whilst uneven and slow in places, delivers intriguing character development and moves the world of Marvel's Jessica Jones forward in a satisfying way.
The plot itself would be my main gripe with the series. Season 1 was brilliant at pacing its story, benefiting from the incredible villain that was Kilgrave (David Tennant) and storytelling which was thrilling and enthralling. This season was much weaker in this sense - it started off slow but intriguing, with the mystery surrounding IGH and Kozlov providing the main hook for binge-watchers. This built to the reveal mid-season that Jessica's mother, Alisa, was not only still alive but now possessed powers akin to her daughter's. This plot twist was smart and I personally didn't see coming, thus I thought it was brilliant and well executed.
Unfortunately, the season went downhill following this reveal in episode six, suffering from a lack of clear direction as Alisa flitted between stumbling around New York killing innocents and waiting idly in a cell. Despite two brilliant episodes in the form of episode seven's flashback, which incorporated Jessica's comic origins, and the return of Kilgrave in Jessica's mind as she battled with her own insecurities in episode eleven, the story lost its way and wasn't as enticing as series one.
This splintered storytelling was held together by yet another perfect performance by Krysten Ritter. Ritter portrays Jones as accurately as a fan could imagine her in the comics. Verbally, Jessica is more reserved, sarcastic and narcisistic, however Ritter conveys impressive emotion through her face and body language. Rosenberg develops her title character deeply in this series, allowing Jessica to open up more to Malcolm and Trish and to the idea of allowing a new romantic partner into her life. The alcoholic bad-ass learns to cope with the pressure society places upon her, whilst adapting to the emergence of her mother and the difficult emotions this brings with it. All-in-all, Ritter's performance served as the glue which binded the series together, as her character progressed in powerful ways.
Various character arcs allowed some respite from the sometimes erratic main story revolving around Jessica and Alisa. Trish Walker's (Rachael Taylor) struggle with addiction was frustrating to watch but fascinating also, as coming into season two I never expected her character to sink as low as she would. Her transition into becoming Hellcat is clearly on the horizon, however after losing her fiance, deeply damaging her friendship with Jessica, alienating Malcolm, destroying her career and throwing in with her controlling mother, it will be interesting to see where Patsy will go next season, and whether her relationship with Jess will ever be the same.
Jeri Hogarth's (Carrie-Anne Moss) side-story for me was a highlight of this second season. The headstrong, merciless lawyer elite was dragged through a barrage of obstacles from illness to betrayal, providing much depth to a character perceived to be unbreakable. The shot of her broken, hunched form collapsing and screaming hopelessly in her ransacked apartment was powerful and actress Carrie-Anne Moss should be commended for her performance. It is a shame that her story lacked any meaningful connection to the core plot of the season, but now that she controls her company and is facing the prospect of her death without fear, Hogarth could be beginning to play a more major role in future series.
Malcolm Ducasse (Eka Darville) served as the lovable helper to Jessica as he continued his rehabilitation post-Kilgrave, earning himself much adoration from fans as he tirelessly helped an ungrateful Jessica all whilst doing his best to improve his circumstances. Like Jessica, he too encountered reminders from his past, which gave him strength of depth as a character and encouraged the budding PI to conquer his own demons and raise his aspirations. He is sidelined during some later episodes as Alisa took centre stage, but went on to make a bold move in leaving Jess and joining Pryce Chen in the finale. I'm not sure where this new position and partnership with Jeri will take him, but one thing is for sure - Malcolm really does look good in a suit.
Oscar (J. R. Ramirez) performs adequately enough as a love interest, with another of my favourite side characters proving to be Detective Costa (John Ventimiglia). The actor serves his purpose as the good-cop to Sunday's bad-cop, but his character is aptly grounded in the MCU with his backstory about suffering at the hands of Kilgrave in season one. A nice touch from director Melissa Rosenberg.
Sadly, one of the weakest performances came from the series' stand-in antagonist, Alisa Jones (Janet McTeer). Whilst she does manage to mirror many of Jessica's mannerisms and the similarities between them are evident, her character does little to develop as she crashes from rage-fit to maternal monologue. I grew bored of her character near the end of the season and I believe that the overall series suffered from a lack of a strong, central villain.
Overall, Marvel's Jessica Jones season two is an entertaining watch, if a bit underwhelming in comparison with its predecessor. Jess herself is brilliant as always, yet her mother disappoints. Multiple interesting character arcs are effective in expanding on the world and keeping intrigue in the various plots as the series progresses. The plot itself is weak, however it is satisfying to now have an official, complete origin of MCU's Jessica Jones. It feels like Jessica has finally dealt with the demons of her past and can now focus on her future - a future which is undoubtedly uncertain now that Team Alias is fractured. With Trish having angered Jessica and now choosing to side with her vile mother, Malcolm and Jess refusing to talk and Jeri plotting alongside Pryce and new associate Malcolm, the dynamic between our core characters is extremely different compared to the start of the season. Defeating Kilgrave allowed Jessica to embrace her powers and start fresh; Alisa helped her daughter to overcome her difficult past and move on from her family tragedy; now it's time for Jones to face forwards and continue her growth as both a person and a hero.
RATING: 7/10 - GOOD
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