No Marvel show is darker
By Sonam Kaloti, Arts Editor
4/5
The same cannot be said for supporting characters who typically find Jessica’s unpleasant nature to be, well, unpleasant.
Jessica Jones is a quietly underrated show, often not finding itself on Marvel fans’ radar. With three seasons, the show explores the dark underworld of New York City following lead protagonist Jessica Jones, played by Krysten Ritter.
The characters are built fantastically. They’re not necessarily likable—in fact, many are rather unpleasant—however, their personalities, motives, and desires are incredibly down-to-earth and relatable to the average person had the average person experienced their life being thrown upside down. Jessica is volatile, impulsive, and honestly kind of mean. Yet, because her character is built so thoroughly by displaying the good and bad sides to her personality, she can be easily forgiven by the audience who knows what she’s been through and what her present mission is. The same cannot be said for supporting characters who typically find Jessica’s unpleasant nature to be, well, unpleasant. This is because while the audience sees her story, she remains mysterious and private to the people around her.
Supporting characters are all great foils to Jessica—including the main villain Kilgrave (David Tennant)—because none are quite as brooding as Jessica herself. Her best friend Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor) is a former teen TV idol and currently a bubbly and renown talk show host. It’s hard to understand why the two are friends in the first place, but explanations come as the series goes on.
Kilgrave is a great villain. He has the creepy evil stalker persona down and it works to continuously give the audience chills when peering into what his next move is. His name could use some work, though. Also, he doesn’t feel as scary as he should due to his boisterous personality, yet in a way that may be another reason why he’s a formidable villain—you wouldn’t see it coming.
The story is good as well, but it’s a Marvel show specifically designed for adults over children and teenagers. The plot includes heavy topics such as kidnapping, torture, violence, abuse, rape, drug and alcohol abuse, trauma, and PTSD, among others. The show is rather dreary compared to many of its Marvelcounterpart shows (let alone the films).
One part I would change about the series is the episode length. They run a tad too long and it becomes hard to stay invested in Jessica Jones’ negative universe for a prolonged amount of time. Many scenes can be cut down where the characters just appear to be standing around contemplating. Although there is a lot of information per episode, I’m sure the viewership could have stayed more consistent with easier to watch shorter episodes. Alas, Jessica Jones was cancelled by Netflix after its third and final season debuted on the platform.
I would recommend Jessica Jones for those who enjoy darker, brooding types of shows. It is consistently engaging and there is a lot of experiences the characters go through that we can learn from.
