“AKA I’ve Got the Blues” was the first real let-down that Jessica Jones has had all season. There was no real narrative impact, and a negligible sense of momentum. This is to be expected when an episode is mainly flashbacks, but that doesn’t make it easier to excuse. Jessica Jones has been reliably well-made: the direction, writing, and acting is consistently top-notch, so when an episode falls short, it’s very easy to notice. This is really the first episode where the absence of Luke Cage or Kilgrave is not only noticeable, but an actual detriment. Jessica Jones has a solid ensemble, but that can only do so much to save lackluster storytelling.
Usually on the second paragraph of my reviews, I remind myself, “Careful, Trevor, don’t just do rote plot recitation.” Well, even if I did it wouldn’t take up too much time. Almost nothing happened in “AKA I’ve Got the Blues.” A huge portion of the episode is devoted to delving into Jessica and Trish’s past, which is welcome exposition, but I just wish the show had handled it better. Jessica Jones always falters when it indulges its more cartoonish impulses (see: Robyn), and Trish’s mother is no exception.
We’ve already seen that Trish’s mother is an opportunistic jerk, but “I’ve Got the Blues” pushes that characterization into the realm of self-parody. By the time she’s forcing her fingers down young Trish’s throat to make her throw up, she’s in full-on Mommie Dearest mode: this is the “No more wire hangers!” moment of the show. It’s times like this that Jessica Jones truly falters, because moments like this are so over the top that they play like either satire or purposeful exaggeration, neither of which is of a piece with the dark, realistic tone the show has so successfully established.
All that being said, this wasn’t a terrible episode. Don’t get me wrong, it was probably the weakest Jessica Jones so far, but that’s not saying much, because this first season has been so damn good. “I’ve Got the Blues” was dryly funny, and made good use of the cast’s timing and delivery. Krysten Ritter constantly shows how well-suited she is to this role with lines like “Home first, then the morgue. Come on, it’ll be fun.” The ensemble really transcends the storytelling this episode, and the show suffers for it.
What struck me most about “AKA I’ve Got the Blues” is just how minor of an episode this is. Not a whole hell of a lot happens, which isn’t necessarily a death sentence for an episode. But it really stood out here. This was almost an aggressively unimpactful episode, lacking any real narrative consequence other than the continuation of Simpson’s transition into a villain, which this show is handling characteristically well.
Jessica Jones is a show that’s hard to dislike. The cast is superb, the talent behind the camera is unimpeachable, and the show tackles mature, uncomfortable themes like sexual assault and stalking. But “AKA I’ve Got the Blues,” as well made as it is, probably (hopefully) represents the nadir of the show’s freshman season. For a show as brutally honest as this one, it isn’t well-served by having its head up its ass.
A Few Thoughts
- Real talk, that flautist was badass
- Another bright spot of this episode: it represents another chapter in the story of Simpson changing from a damaged good guy to an unpredictable liability. Good demonstration of the effect Kigrave has on people
- “They’re dead. And there’s nothing I can do about it. But I can rip Kilgrave’s throat out”
- “I got hit with a Peoples Choice Award, you?”
- The fight between Trish and Simpson was a pretty striking portrayal of abuse survivors turning to narcotics to help them
- “You got duped, mop top”
- Lastly, here’s the Rolling Stones song that gave the episode its title. As a side note, if you don’t own Sticky Fingers, this as good a time as any to fix that
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