Thoughts on Marvel's Jessica Jones so far?

@i_stay_puft: Not to spoil too much but when this series takes place is made a bit clearer in the last episode, though they don't lean too much on any Daredevil stuff either way.

I have really enjoyed it 10 episodes in. I think Ritter is fine as Jessica and Tennant steals the show every time he is in a scene. My one worry, and this is the same for Daredevil, is whether these shows can survive without Fisk and Killgrave respectively. Thus far Luke Cage is the only character they have introduced that I feel like I really has any legs to carry his own show. This isn't meant to be disrespectful of Ritter and Cox but their heroes just haven't been as interesting or dynamic as the villains. At some point you would think they would have to move on to other villains.

Daredevil still has yet to introduce Elektra and they've hinted at the Hand. Punisher is widely an antagonist in the Daredevil comics along with Bullseye. They've still got plenty to pull from without Fisk.

Kilgrave is such a dumb name. And people always refer to him that way instead of with more ominous language. Like everyone who comes in contact with him just picks up this dumb name instantly and rolls with it. It's the single most widespread thing that kind of broke my suspension of disbelief. At least the moment when they finally comment on that is pretty good.

Anyway, the show is kind of disjointed and convoluted in some spots but it goes super dark and it has some great moments. I liked Daredevil better because I cared more about the characters. At least the villains in both shows were equally fantastic.

@zirilius: I know they have options for villains but what has made these shows compelling has been the performances of Tennant and D'onofrio. The worry becomes whether they can write and cast villains that are as interesting as those two have been.

I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I'm sure it's good. I'm just here to be an asshole and say that The Man in the High Castle (a new Amazon original series) is as good as anything Netflix has put out. It's truly incredible, and nobody seems to be talking about it at all, and that makes me incredibly sad. Somebody go watch it.

@pyrodactyl: Killgrave is his actual name, why would they not refer to him as that? The Purple Man is his dumb comic book villain name that they wisely avoid using in the show. If people were going around calling him The Purple Man I would agree, but Killgrave seems like a pretty easy thing to suspend your disbelief when you're watching a show based on a comic book. Especially when it literally takes place in the same world where Norse gods exist and fight evil aliens.

@zeik: I don't know, those shows are grounded enough that they feel the need to refer the avengers in hush tones and with weird nicknames that make the whole thing more believable than if they just threw around Hulk, Captain America and Kingpin like it was no thing. Like they still can't believe in aliens, giant green ogres and super heroes from the 40s'.

After that, everyone referring to a man as Killgrave is super dumb. Jessica Jones and her inner circle should be the ones calling him by that name because they know who they're dealing with. I'm not sure what everyone else should call him but certainly not Killgrave. Like they say in the show: ''Killgrave? What kind of stupid name is that? Was Murdercorps already taken or something?''

Hearing that name spoken aloud multiple times per episode by literally everyone on the show drove me completely nuts.

@davidh219: That's actually the next binge show on my list but one I'm having to wait on my significant other on.

@meteora3255: Trust in the writers. I didn't think Jessica Jones could be remotely interesting as a TV show and boy did they prove that wrong.

Three episodes in and enjoying it so far. I'm coming into this thing as a Krysten Ritter and David Tennant fan, and not really a superhero fan. It's working for me as a self-contained thing that kind of downplays the whole super power thing (though Kilgrave's power is a terrifying presence), but I'm dreading the inevitable episode where fucking Thor shows up and helps Jessica take photos of people boning. Okay, that probably won't happen, but you know what I mean.

@spunkyhepanda: Marvel Universe bullshit doesn't come and ruin shit. I can promise this.

@drakoji: That's good to hear, though I'm also talking about future seasons if I like it enough to stick with it. Looks like they're already doing The Defenders where she joins a crime-fighting team with Daredevil, so I dunno, I guess we'll see.

It's less about joining a team but the "heroes" of Hell's Kitchen face a threat that they can't face alone. The current plan from what I remember is that Daredevil is the only one getting a multi-season run where all the other characters are mostly self-contained.

I've only watched the first episode so far. While I liked it, I also felt like it was dragging on in some places where, by the end of the episode, I was asking myself "did it really need to be this long?"

For instance, there's the part where she pulls the fire alarm and starts moving towards the hotel room. That whole trip felt WAAAAY too long. Could've cut about two seconds in the hallway, another second or two from the room itself, and then about another five seconds off the whole struggle with the girl. I get that they wanted to build some tension and, in the case of the girl, hysteria. However, all of that could've gotten across just as effectively with less screen time. It felt like they were trying to dig situational depth and character depth without ACTUALLY digging into it.

Overall, though, I was satisfied. They definitely set up Kilgrave as being a douchebag, but...I mean...look, he's more than just a douchebag in the Alias storyline. He's a downright fucked-up individual that creates fucked-up individuals with his particular brand of psychological trauma. For anyone who hasn't read the comics, this is the same guy that mind controls Jessica to fall in absolute 100% love with him against her inner will, then refuses to touch her...ever...while making her strip naked and come onto him. He fucks two chicks in front of her and still refuses to touch her, degrades her, and it's just...like, it's sooooo fucked up in so many ways.

If they can't capture THAT level of fucked-up, then it's going to be hard for me to fall in absolute love with this series like I did with Daredevil. However, from just the first episode, I like it. I'm just hoping it doesn't suffer from the same issue that Daredevil had: being more about Wilson Fisk and his story than Daredevil and his stuff. Seriously, they might as well have called that show "Kingpin and Friends." If this just ends up being "Kilgrave and Friends," then I might start feeling a little saddened. Then again, in order to understand these heroes, you HAVE to understand their villains. Daredevil added so much goddamn depth to Wilson Fisk that it made the series great. I have a feeling the same could be done with Kilgrave here.

Mind Control is by far the most fucked-up superpower, it makes me rethink Charles Xavier, that dude was evil the whole time I bet.

Also I really like David Tennant as a bad guy.

I haven't finished yet, but I like it a lot. I feel like in general it's much better written than Daredevil was, in terms of it not retreading old superhero origin story ground, and it has better characters (Kingpin notwithstanding) but it doesn't really deliver any thrills to really drive it to the next level, which is I figure why a lot of people are calling out the pacing. To me it seems like a show that was written by and for a woman's tastes.

I don't know man, I think you're really overreacting to that name. Yeah, it's a super comic-booky name, but I don't think there's a better way they could have handled that. Like I said, Killgrave is his actual name. The Purple Man is his comic book villain title. It's not the same as calling someone The Hulk, or Captain America, or The Kingpin. Those aren't their real names, they're comic book hero/villain titles.

That episode where they constantly refer to The Hulk as "the big green dude" was pretty silly honestly, but none of them know who Bruce Banner is, so I can give that a pass. But if they did that with Tony Stark and Iron Man that would be pretty dumb, as everyone knows he's Iron Man.

The people who call him Killgrave are people who have personally encountered him and know that's his name. (Everyone else just refers to him as a britsh dude in a suit.) Even if they can recognize that it's a silly name and make fun of it, that doesn't mean they have any reason to call him anything else.

I really don't agree with that last part. You don't need tons of action and thrills to appeal to a male audience. Nor does the lack of that mean it's intended for a female audience.

I loved it, and I didn't even like Daredevil. They set it up perfectly for a second season, too.

Guys, please don't randomly spoil things, whether it's this show, Daredevil, or something else. Show some consideration for others and mark major plot spoilers and reveals for recent shows with spoiler tags and don't just throw them out in the open. Thanks.

@zeik: While my paragraph structure might be confusing, the one sentence doesn't necessarily follow from the other. I would strongly argue it seems written from and primarily for a female perspective and am willing to defend that point of view, but it's not (primarily) because of the action content.

I can agree that it's written from a female perspective, but I strongly disagree that the show is aimed at and meant for a primarily female audience. Moreso than the vast majority of comic book movies and shows? Sure. But that's a pretty wide scale.

Another way to put it: Jessica Jones is nowhere near marketed toward a female audience as much as most comic book media is marketed at men.

@zirilius: Speaking of Daredevil season 2, have they said whether that will premiere before or after Luke Cage season 1? I know the last time I looked I couldn't find any info on a Luke Cage release date but for some reason remember seeing something about Daredevil being "early 2016"

Gave it a try, but I don't think its for me. I don't mind a little bit of grit, but dang if this thing isn't freakin dark. The mind control stuff is just too unsettling.

@meteora3255: Some speculation and details here (spoilers for casting etc) on season 2 of DD.

JJ filmed Feb-Aug 2015 and then had 3 months of post.

Luke Cage started filming Sept and I haven't read anything to say it's wrapped yet. So that would likely put it into the Summer if they go for a similar schedule.

DD started shooting in July, same as they did for the first season. So that could be another April release.

Iron Fist is scheduled to start filming some time after Luke Cage wraps so don't expect that until the end of the year (or even next year?)

@zeik: I can't think of a way it could be more targeted toward a female audience without totally ditching the superhero genre (and I'm not even convinced that's a factor one way or the other). Its cast is primarily female, with most of the male parts in supportive roles (minus the villain), it has a ton of relationship drama, it deals with feminine issues like coping with rape/abortion. It represents the stereotypical male approach to dangerous situations through the well-meaning but not-so-bright Officer Simpson. Its portrayals of its men are more sexualized than those of its women. That's without wading into murkier questions like whether downplaying Jessica's powers to make her seem more vulnerable is a feminine aspect or just a stylistic choice.

If you disagree so strongly, what would you point to as an aspect that seems targeted toward men?

Haha yep! I had to make a decision between Man in the High Castle and Jessica Jones and I chose JJ for the weekend. I have no doubt that High Castle would be a great show. Wouldn't also hurt to create another off-topic thread for that series since it was also highly anticipated.

I'm enjoying it.

I'm enjoying the show (ep 11 atm), but maaaaan the continued conflict past like episode 7 has seemed extremely contrived.

Felt super let down by this compared to Daredevil, I only watched two episodes though so I'll give it one more before I call it quits

Still, it's not looking good though...

Yeah, the writers are poor me thinks. They are dragging this out way too much. I just finished episode 10. And I don't know if I can take any more of it. The season should have ended with that episode. But they reached in the cliché bag and pulled up some nonsense to extend the show further.

Just finished it and think it's a great show, had a little too much random sex for no real reason in the first few episodes but i guess that's to get the HBO audience? I liked how it focused pretty much on one villain the entire time since Kilgrave seems OP as hell, but wish maybe some of her super powers could have been showcased a little more instead of just being in the background 90% of the time. This and Daredevil makes keeping a netflix subscription a must for me now.

Just finished this last night and I must say this was fantastic and literally on par with Daredevil for me. Kilgrave was an amazing villain and thought they struck a perfect balance of arrogant prick with delusional ideals of love and complete sociopath. I really like how in her attempts to get Kilgrave there is just so much collateral damage. Not all of it is her fault but a good majority of it is simply because of her shitty choices.

To me the stand out of the show is Malcolm. He stood out to me as being the moral center of the show and shows that sometimes Jessica's decisions do work out. Granted he is pretty ambivalent to her towards the end of the show but ultimately the goodness in him wins out and I thin she had a lot to do with that.

I was disappointed ever so slightly in the fight with Luke Cage though. Just felt cheesy compared to the previous fight with Simpson vs Jessica and Trish.

I wanted to like the show. I think the casting and idea of it are fantastic. However, it just falls apart for a myriad of reasons. Which I could get into but the one made me crack up more so.

Aliens blow up New York. The Hulk and Captain America are understood by the American public. Guy has mind control powers? GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE WITH YOUR HERETICAL NONSENSE! Now, go and use your superpowers I know all about.

The thing is though, how do you PROVE that? *Spoiler* There is a scene where a bunch of people claim to get mind controlled, and half of them are lying or just nuts. How will that testimony hold up in court without proof? Especially when he has a 12 hour control time and doesn't need to be anywhere near the scene

I thought that part of it was great, it's not that nobody will believe it the problem was the burden of proving it.

I knew literally nothing about Jessica Jones before watching the show, and I liked it a lot.

I liked how the superpowers weren't the main focus of the show (with the exception of Kilgrave of course). Yeah, we get to see their powers on screen, but it felt like I was watching ordinary people use their extraordinary abilities in a way that ordinary people would, for better or worse. It was a great contrast to the superheroics of the Marvel movies.

Also, Kilgrave is fucking terrifying. He can make you do whatever he wants, but he can't control your thoughts. If you survive the encounter you still have to deal with the memories and emotional burden of what he compelled you to do long after his control wears off. I think he's easily the darkest, most sociopathic villain in any Marvel property I've seen so far. I haven't seen David Tennent in anything else, but he's brilliant in this show.

Watched it within a couple of days. Interesting premise, but it handles its pieces sloppily. Had to slog through it after the midway point. Officer Jerkoff boyfriend was a dumb character this show didn't need at all. Who the fuck is charmed by a story of a boy setting a barbie house on fire? Poor writing. Bad character top to bottom. Also didn't help that his actor sounded and looked like a doofus. I'm guessing he was just there to set up the IGH crap.

Outside of that, the biggest problem is Killgrave. A villain with an amazing power over the human mind, yet he's written as a mustache twirling petty creep. Wasted opportunity. No subtlety.

Don't feel like listing the rest of the show's downfalls. Enjoyed Daredevil more, but it definitely had some not so small problems.

Kilgrave reminds me a lot of a even more psychopathic version of Pusher from The X-Files. Mind control scares the hell out of me and it's great to see a villian use it with horrific results.

He is a mind-raping monster with the charisma to make him one of the best adaptations of any Marvel antagonist.

There's a reason people say "seeing is believing".

As a huge fan of DD came in with high hopes and really liked the different vibe the show was putting out the first few episodes. Mid way things really got into high gear but quickly fell apart for me the longer it dragged along. I was still feeling good about it around episode 10 but after that Clemons/Simpson thing and then the ending it really left a bad taste in my mouth.

The season really felt like they had 6 great scripts and they stretched them far too long. I pretty much hated all the side characters save Malcolm and even then those extra scenes in the final few episodes with him seemed pointless and only served to anger me as they wasted airtime when all I wanted was main plot.

I'll give it like a 7.5/10 but honestly that's probably raised a point or two solely on Tennant being amazing. Really really disliked the last three episodes.

Jessica Jones is the best thing to come out of the MCU after Guardians of the Galaxy.

The movies are fun spectacle, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter are fun side-stories, but the Netflix Marvel stuff feels like a world unto its own. It's surprisingly as much of a difference as you might expect when comparing the characters' respective comics to each other. What I mean by that is it feels like they've delivered on these street level heroes, rather than try and glitz them up to some Avengers-esque glow.

Can't wait to see more of these street level stories. So many exciting stuff going on between all the Netflix stuff and the cinematic universe getting into the arcane and deeper into the cosmic with Dr. Strange and Captain Marvel. I'm looking forward to Civil War, sure, but that other stuff is of the sort I fuckin love.

Anyways, there were one or two episodes that were a bit of a slog near the early goings of the second half, but the momentum afterwards stays through to the end. I had my doubts about Krysten Ritter pulling off the rough and tumble P.I., but she did a damn good job. There were some odd acting moments from some other characters, but most of it wasn't a problem (except for that annoying as fuck sister. I get that annoying was what they were going for, but damn). Super happy with how Luke Cage turned out too. Oh, and of course David Tennant was great as well.

Would've probably liked if they went a bit deeper into why she was able to break free from him, but whatever, it's not a huge deal. She just adapted I guess. That did have a few shades of the whole chosen one thing, which I tend to get all eye-rolley over.

Nonetheless, great show!

I got up to ep 5 and stopped.

Its good, possibly great even but I don't know if its for me. I don't think I'm into super heroes much these days.

I finished watching Jessica Jones last night and my coworkers already got an earful over what I had to say regarding the "AKA Sin Bin" episode so I'll spare the Giantbomb audience that rant (that whole sequence at the end was bad decisions on top of bad decisions from every character in the room), but I can't contain my disappointment with the stupidity and lack of moral consistency with most of the characters on the show.

You know what's probably the worst part? I actually enjoyed the show and found it riveting because I BELIEVE THE CHARACTERS ARE ACTUALLY THAT STUPID. We are used to seeing fairly capable people take on villains, but rarely do we get the chance to see normalish fuckups try to save the day and eventually succeed in spite of their actions.

In the end I would recommend Jessica Jones as a thing to see, but I would caution people to be ready to yell at the screen at all the dumb things people do. As a treat I'd like to write out the things my girlfriend had to hear me yell at the TV. Spoilers for entire show follow in this rant.

You finally caught him! Now fucking kill him! Be done and kill him! No? You want him alive for some random girl to gete out of jail despite the fact that countless people have already died thanks to your unwillingness to kill him? Then break his legs. Break his arms. Rip out his tongue. Poke his eyes out. Immobilize him before...and he's gone.

Oh you are living with him now. Now's your chance to kill him. Surely all the deaths up to this point will show that he needs to die? No? Fine. Hey Simpson is here and he's super into killing him. Just let him do it with that bomb. Oh you're going to save him? Are you that stupid? That's bullshit, but I believe it.

He's in the glass and his power needs air flow to hear his voice (didn't know about the virus at this point). Zap him to death. Starve him to death. Knock him out with the electricity and take his eyes. Put your fingers in your ears and kick him to death. Woah he's killing his parents! That's cool. What's done is done I guess. Why are you shooting the glass Trish!? Why are you trying to save his father when you seemed to be totally cool with Kilgrave blowing up your boyfriend and killing his friends? The death of your boyfriend's buddies wasn't enough for you to kill him, but you are drawing the line with Kilgrave killing his own parents even though you now have the proof of his powers? Well fuck it!

If Kilgrave needs people to be close enough to be infected and understand the commands that are coming out of his voice, why doesn't a sniper just take him out? Simpson made that suggestion. It was a good suggestion. Why don't people go in with ear plugs so they can't hear? How about a squad of deaf people? How about a gang of Mexicans that don't understand a lick of English since clearly his powers are based on the individual's understanding of Kilgrave's order? Can't obey what you can't understand.

Wow, Hope was so fed up with Jessica's unwillingness to kill Kilgrave that she just committed suicide so she can finally stop using her as an excuse for all the deaths she's allowed to happen because she continues to allow Kilgrave to live.

Cool it looks like Trish finally had the idea that I've been screaming for. She made it so she couldn't hear with those headphones. My idea of deaf fighters can totally take out Kilgrave with zero super powers. Are those beats by dre? Does dre exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Oh shit Jessica finally did a thing with that neck snap and killed Kilgrave. It only took a dozen additional deaths AFTER HOPE WAS ALREADY DEAD.

Man I can't wait for Punisher to just kill everyone. He wont be dumb. He'll just kill right? Right?

@golguin: Hope wasn't an excuse. They needed him alive to corroborate her story.

It's been a bit since I've seen it, but Jessica didn't know she was immune until after he escapes their little prison for him. That explains why she didn't make a move any time before that. She was afraid that at any moment he would control her.

With Hope dead, and knowing she was immune, she was free to kill him. Mind-controlled Luke got in the way the first time, allowing Kilgrave to escape, but the second time she totally did kill him.

They needed proof of his power existing. That's why they needed the police witness and why the video itself wasn't enough proof. The whole scene was depending on the cop seeing the power in action, which is why Trish held a gun to his head to force him to watch. At no point did they say they needed him alive to prove her innocence. At no point did they say they needed his testimony to prove Hope's innocence. Once Kilgrave had the papers that released Hope there was no point in keeping him alive. She could have punched his head off and she still would have gone free. Instead she tied him up and taped his mouth so the angry mob could storm in, somehow overpower her, and release Kilgrave so he could get his hands on Hope.

Jessica made several moves without knowing that his powers didn't work on her. She captures him in the park and threw him in a van. Didn't kill him or immobilize him, but she did punch him in the face while he was incapacitated from the injection. She could have punched his kneecaps and rendered his legs immobile for life. She also made the move when she captured him BY HERSELF while she was living with him. She wasn't afraid to make a move there was she? She took him and jumped away from his security detail and then placed him in the room. Plenty of time to kill him or render him immobile. She did none of that.

I'd also like to add that right before Kilgrave revealed that he had "legally" secured the release of Hope he was in the clutches of Jessica as she threatened to do other things to him aside from killing him. He showed her the papers and explained that everything was set for her release the next day. She knocks him out and tapes his mouth as I already mentioned. Jessica calls Hope to inform her that she will be released the next day and she'd be there to pick her up. The papers were already filed and set to go. She was discussing with Hope what she needed to do after her release. If at that point there was any need for Kilgrave to use his powers to secure the release of Hope she wouldn't have had him tied up with tape over his mouth. She could have simply killed him at that point if that's what she wanted.

The only reason cited by Kilgrave for his continued living state was that he said, "You can't kill me because you're not sure what will happen once I die. There have been a rash of suicides as of late." That might be the reason right? The reason she wont kill Kilgrave? That reason goes right out the window when Jessica says, "You think I wont kill you because some strangers might stab themselves?" Kilgrave responds no, she wont do it because he has Hope. We then wrap back around to the situation of Hope being free the next day with the release papers and Jessica still not killing him despite stating that she doesn't care if his death causes more people to commit suicide.

I forgot to address your last point @theht

Jessica was free to kill Kilgrave at the club. She knew that he had been testing his powers and so she was no longer sure if her immunity was still active. Any sensible person would have brought a gun or some means to engage in long range combat. A single bullet to the head would have done the trick. What does Jessica do? She shows herself in dramatic fashion to a Kilgrave with an unknown mind control range. She casually walks up to Kilgrave as he attempts to use his powers and fails. An unarmed Jessica Jones continues to walk and stops 5 feet short of his position all the while allowing him to monologue. Could have run up to him and given him a swift uppercut at any point in that walk.

Kilgrave reveals a mind controlled Luke Cage that teleports between that 5 foot space and attacks Jessica. I say teleport because they are literally standing in an open dance floor with ZERO COVER. I didn't know Luke Cage has the power of teleportation because he sure as hell didn't run to that 5 foot space. All scenes show he's one slow lumbering powerhouse.

@golguin: I definitely understand why she wouldn't immediately kill the most important person in Hope's case upon finding out about her impending release. After Hope's out and safe, sure, but by then he was already in the wind.

I recall her not know he'd still be at the club, so packing in order to pick him off wasn't really a consideration. Why she doesn't carry a pistol at all times, I dunno. At that point you might as well ask yourself why every superhero doesn't carry a piece, which sounds crazy. Running up to him then and uppercutting his head off woulda been pretty good though. Unless he had a gun and just shot Jessica, or Cage was quick enough to save him.

It's probably just par for the course in super hero shows, but I do get that you can't just solve the problem in the first episode or you wouldn't have the show. All those moments though just completely took me out of the show as I had to pause and rewind to confirm what I was seeing.

It's the same kind of problem I have with Batman in general. Why does Batman continue to capture villains and stick them in Arkham if they always escape and end up killing more people? At some point Batman must realize that his "no killing" rule is the cause of all the death and destruction. It would be fine if Batman is just as crazy as everyone else and he lives for the chase, but surely the police force would step up at some point and say, "Nah, we gotta kill all these sickos in Arkham. The literally escape and kill every other week!"

just bindge watched it, I was actually shocked when Patsy Walker was introduced..... there's a point with me that I have to step back with all these marvel reference, that's I'm often surprised that 8 years ago they introduced Shield into Ironman. Like before if you told me the Marvel films would be made I'd think "okay basic heroes, love interest and villian." Now I'm like "jesus what if they made a She Hulk series and had the whole drunken fight in an AIM base with Hellcat." and right now I feel that could actually happen.