Jessica Jones Season 1 – Release Date: 2015

Episode Guide

AKA Ladies Night
AKA Crush Syndrome
AKA It’s Called Whiskey
AKA 99 Friends
AKA The Sandwich Saved Me
AKA You’re A Winner!
AKA Top Shelf Perverts
AKA WWJD?
AKA Sin Bin
AKA 1,000 Cuts
AKA I’ve Got The Blues
AKA Take a Bloody Number 
AKA Smile

Following the success of fellow superhero show Daredevil, Netflix continues the trend of producing great superhero shows with Jessica Jones. Part crime detective, part psychological thriller and part acton thriller, Jessica Jones manages to navigate its own complexity with confidence and a focused drive on delivering a fantastic character-driven narrative. For the most part it succeeds too, with some fantastic acting, spearheaded by Kilgrave (David Tennant) who’s shocking performance as the mind-controlling villain one of the best in recent memory.

The story stays close to its comic book counterpart, with many nods to that source material throughout. After turning away from her superhero duties, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) opens her own detective agency helping people in distress. Along the way she meets up with fellow superhero Luke Cage (Mike Colter) whilst a man from Jessica’s past threatens to destroy her new life. The story is suitably complex, with some great chemistry between the actors. Its backed up by some impressive visuals; some of the more surreal scenes showing Jessica in a subway bathed in a purple hue while she witnesses flashbacks are really well done.

I mentioned before about Kilgrave and despite some very strong performances all round, he is the driving force here that makes the show shine. There are some truly shocking scenes with him using his powers in sinister ways and the menacing, faraway looks and subtle sneers help give the character some much needed realism. His lack of compassion and insanity throughout are fully realized in a script that doesn’t fail to shy away from showing the full extent of his immorality. Whether it be telling somone to pour hot coffee on their face or forcing a child to urinate over themselves in a cupboard in silence, the show explores the darkest recesses of Kilgrave’s mind. It really helps us to root for Jessica Jones, despite her own antihero status.

In many ways, the lack of a hero in the conventional sense is part of the allure here. The gritty realism and hard-hitting script make Jessica Jones a great addition to the Netflix superhero catalogue. Despite it somethimes feeling a little overlong and the episodes themselves a little lacking in action or meaningful plot development, Jessica Jones is a suitably complicated show without ever feeling convoluted or confusing. Its mash up of genres help set it apart from the crowd and tonally the show is very strong. With a clever use of flashbacks, a great cast of characters and a decent plot, Jessica Jones is a great superhero show and well worth a watch.