Ah, here it is: the dreaded transition episode. If you’re a regular reader of mine, first of all, Hi, all six of you! Second of all, this should be a familiar refrain. My bitch with transition episodes is that it’s usually a whole lot of table-setting with not a lot of resolution or real narrative momentum. Jessica Jones fares slightly better with its entry “AKA You’re a Winner!” but that’s to be expected because this show is incredibly well made.
Jessica Jones, like a lot of noir, is truly sad at its core. Noir is an entire genre centered around broken people who have lost their faith in humanity. They turn to violence, or drink, or in Jessica’s case, both (although it’s tough to tell if she ever actually gets drunk; Captain America has the same difficulty). A lot of the pleasure of this show comes from watching Jessica’s exterior crumble as she lets people into her life, whether they’re new additions like Luke or longtime friends like Trish.
Luke makes a welcome return tonight, showing up at Jessica’s doorstep with tattered clothing, looking to hire her. “Are you hurt?” she asks. “Sorry, stupid question.” It’s great to see Luke again, because Mike Colter’s performance was missed, but I didn’t appreciate how the show casually introduces the fact that Jessica broke up with Luke. If Jessica and Luke were serious enough to warrant an actual break up, it seems like a narrative cheat for that to happen off screen. But I can’t be completely mad about it, because it’s a way for Jessica Jones to enjoy its bifurcated narrative – for instance, until this episode, I didn’t know that Luke was ignorant of Kilgrave’s existence. That seems weird, right? The two most important male characters on the show don’t even know each other, but through Reva Connors and Jessica, they’re inextricably linked.
Luke hires Jessica to help him find Antoine Greer, whose sister Serena can give him info on the truth behind his wife’s death. This puts Jessica on high alert, because she can’t let Luke know she killed Reva. This plot also allows for a pretty kick-ass fight in a weed growhouse, and I’m consistently surprised at the humor that a dour show like Jessica Jones can wring out of its fights. Since Jessica and Luke are crazy strong, there’s no real sense of peril (especially with Luke, who has impenetrable skin). But violence really isn’t a focal point of this show like it was with Daredevil, because Jessica Jones is more concerned with how people cope with pain and loss.
Obviously this will all be compounded by Jessica’s confession that she killed Reva. It’s a pretty devastating moment, and Krysten Ritter sells the hell out of it, and we know that Jessica’s pain is worsened by the knowledge that she had no control over herself when she did it.
I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m in awe of the character of Kilgrave. It’s not especially surprising that he’s a rapist who impregnated Hope with his baby (“I can feel it growing in me like a tumor,” she shudders), but it adds to the psychosexual dimension that sets Jessica Jones apart from other Marvel fare. I keep coming back to the way Jessica debases herself by sending Kilgrave a picture every day, and the way Ritter can smile and scowl at the same time. What Kilgrave wants with Jessica’s childhood home I have no idea. I’m not sure I want to know, but I know that I absolutely need to find out.
A Few Thoughts
- Jessica Jones not fully explaining Kilgrave’s power is a very smart move
- Luke calling Jessica “Jones” bugged the crap out of me. Only a few kinds of people address others by their last names: assholes. Oh wait, it’s just one kind of person
- It was very sweet of Luke to say “You are a hard-drinking, short-fused mess of a woman, but you are not a piece of shit.” And that’s why it was so crushing to hear him say “I was wrong. You are a piece of shit” at the end of the episode
- Today in Jessica Jones Doing Sleazy Shit: Jessica tries to get the information about Reva before Luke can get to it, denying him closure in order to save herself. She sticks the landing by confessing, soooo I guess this feature is just going to get harder and harder to write
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