Spoilers
Jessica Jones is the layered, beautiful, complex, darkly funny, thrilling, well written female superhero show we’ve been waiting for.
There is nothing I don’t like about this series, from its gritty, stylized visuals, its jazzy, haunting music to the exceptional performances from just about everyone, this is a show that is, in more ways than one, a treat. It’s a show that you sit down and look forward to, like a slice of your favourite cake, you savour every mouthful because it ignites every joy in your head.
This episode only cements the shows place in the list of this years greatest TV, not only be continuing its impeccable balance of dark drama and engaging character, but by bringing some solid action into the mix, as Jessica confronts Kilgrave for the first time (for us), albeit through a glass window.
The key things that happen in this episode are this. Jessica and Luke have a lot of sex, which Jessica proceeds to flee after seeing the picture of his dead wife, who we assume to be the same woman that Kilgrave told Jessica to murder in flashbacks. So, y’know, awkward.
Trish lets loose on Kilgrave on the radio, who sent a police officer to kill her, in a fantastic scene as Trish, suspicious of him, barely cracks the door open before the cop bursts through the door and attacks her. Jessica intervenes, tricks the cop into believing Trish is dead, then follows him to Kilgrave, where he is lying low with the family he has under his thrall.
The scene of Jessica seeing Kilgrave again is horridly creepy, he just smiles, as she stares in panic at him. She proceeds to chase him, but loses track as she discovers a room full of photos of her, taken secretly from a distance.
I’ve said it before and I won’t stop saying it, but David Tennant is the best TV villain since, well, I wouldn’t kick him out of a top 5 list. He’s more terrifying when you don’t see him, more so when you see his influence, but when you do see him, his smile, all teeth and contemptible eyes, they send a chill down your spine.
He’s a perfect adversary for Jones’s tough, but good hearted detective, and before they’re even on screen together, Ritter and Tennant spark like crazy, they’re entire history laid before them with a mere few words.
Elsewhere Luke Cage is excellent, not quite fully formed yet, but providing much needed stability to Jessica’s world. Trish Walker is the next best character after the two leads, she’s kind, and no nonsense, but not corrupted by her fame. She’s also whip smart, and a fighter.
Then we have Malcolm, who at the moment is a stoner who’s of no use to anyone, but after Jessica left him in the sights of the law, I’ve a feeling his story will come into the show in a big way. Hope returns as the presumed crazy murderer of her parents, and she is now just as tortured as Jessica, her face when she hears Kilgrave on the radio is of real pain, and it’s all the more chilling for it.
Overall, I don’t have a bone to pick. It’s only episode 3, so I’m not gonna wonder too much as I don’t want to spoil any surprises, but lets just see where it goes, shall we? This is one wild ride that I want to remember.
Rating: A- 9/10
The Empathy Machine 