I’ve been pretty excited about Jessica Jones for quite some time now–ever since I heard that David Tennant was going to be in it, playing the villain Kilgrave. I’m a huge Tennant fan, so that right there guaranteed I’d watch it.
Now, after binge-watching it over the course of three days, I have to say it was better than I expected it to be. The actors were fantastic in their roles, the cinematography was amazing, and Tennant was wonderful as usual (albeit immensely creepy). But one of the best things about it for me was that it was one of the first of this kind of show I’ve ever seen where there were a lot of female characters and all of them were strong and capable in their own way. From Jessica the hard-bitten, self-proclaimed “asshole,” to her best friend/adopted sister Trish, to Machiavellian shark lawyer Hogarth and her estranged wife Wendy, to a character from Daredevil who shows up at the end, the show lets each of them be strong in their own way, and sometimes stupid in their own way.
Nobody in this show is perfect. Everybody has their secrets, their blind spots, their buttons to push. Likewise, the show doesn’t hold back on showing some pretty hardcore gore, but none of it felt extraneous or gratuitous (well, okay, maybe one bit, involving Luke Cage and an injection, but even that was explained). Most of it was there to show just what a deranged, terrifying figure Kilgrave is. He reminded me a little of what you might get if little Anthony from the old Twilight Zone episode “It’s a Good Life!” grew up and moved to New York City.
Bottom line: Jessica Jones is good. It’s very good. I haven’t seen Daredevil so I can’t say if it’s better, but knowing me and my preferences, for me at least I’m sure it is.
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