Sometimes you can just tell instantly whether something is going to be good, whether it be a musical hit, a stylish sequence or plot points that grab you and don’t let go.
Jessica Jones had all of these and then you add the anti-hero factor which makes this one of the best shows of the year.
I have to start with the title credits which are flawless, gorgeous to look at and listen to. It shows major themes from the show; duality, the colour purple, lust, deception and lost innocence while also being just cool.
Some background info about JJ from the comics. A classmate of Peter Parker, her father worked for Tony Stark, became an full on hero as Jewel, often working with Daredevil but then it all turned a dark shade of purple. She had her mind controlled by Zebediah Kilgrave (played by David Tennant) and was sent to kill Daredevil however was beaten by multiple Avengers and sent into a coma. After months she wakes up and hangs up her cape and becomes a private investigator, that’s where this show comes in. This series has created a modified backstory which I do not have all the answers yet, all we know is that Kilgrave is supposedly dead but is still tormenting Miss Jones.
Jessica (played by Kysten Ritter, of Breaking Bad fame) runs Alias Investigations and is constantly having flashbacks to her time under Kilgrave’s control, however she battles her way through using a psychology technique she learnt. As a PI she gets the results with non-conventional and acts like a total badass while being closed off, tough, and stoic and when she discovers Kilgrave is involved with a case we see why. Plaudits go to Ritter for her portrayal of someone on the verge of losing her mind every day.
What Jessica Jones did in it’s first episode is something nearly all superhero shows don’t do which is keep the villain mysterious, the fact he can seemingly appear out of any shadow and make you do unthinkable (and spoiler filled) acts is truly chilling.
The only criticism I can offer is that at times the lighting can be unsettling and took me out of the drama, this is not a critique of the show’s use of colour which is flawless I just thought at times it was too dark to see everything we needed to. Having said that, considering that’s the only thing wrong with the show we might have the new standard all superhero shows must reach.
