Nine Things I Noticed While Watching Jessica Jones

Warning: Spoilers

Jessica Jones finally came out this weekend, and I (being me) finished the entire show within a day. Once I finished the show, I wallowed in self-pity and denial for a bit until I collected my thoughts and hauled my ass to my laptop. So here are some random thoughts that came across my mind over the course of 13 hours. No matter what this article says, I loved Jessica Jones, maybe even more than Daredevil. My points may fight against that statement, but whatever.

The Supporting Cast is Outstanding

Krysten Ritter does great as Jessica Jones, but the show would be nothing without its amazing supporting cast. Some characters were better than others (get out of here Simpson), but all of them had a great role to play. My favourite charater (after Jessica of course) is definitely Trish Walker (played by the wonderful Rachael Taylor). In the beginning she came across as an annoying overbearing character, but that changed two episodes in. With her compelling backstory and fluidity in the role, she definitely stands out in the role. BUt as amazing as she is . . .

Rosamund Pike Would've Been Great as Trish

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) is an amazing actress. I don't know why or how it came across my mind, but I had a sudden realization mid-season that Rosamund Pike would be great as Trish. No offense to Rachael Taylor, of course, but her voice/elegance/looks just reminds me of Pike.

Marvel is (Kind of) Understanding Diversity

Marvel movies have been fairly *ahem* vanilla with their casts, both in terms of race and orientation. Luckily, Jessica Jones swung that right around by genderbending a character, but also making them LGBT! Add in Luke Cage, Malcolm, Reva (who's involvement with the USB wasn't super clear but whatever), Claire Temple, and Clemens and you have a much more diverse cast. The show also managed to put women in the front, and not just as eye-candy.

Marvel Didn't Take the Best Direction With Kilgrave (But Still a Pretty Good One)

Marvel had a lot of reinventing to do when they brought The Purple Man onto the show. Of course, he couldn't be totally purple (although we did see flashes of it when he took the "potion", and the lighting did a good job), so they dressed him up in purple. The show brought Kilgrave in really well, making him a creepy, unseen force. As the show progressed however, Kilgrave's character changed. He became less menacing and more, well, dickish. David Tennant played it off amazingly and sure enough, he returned to his more creepy (although still childish) nature. He was so close to becoming a bland Marvel villain with quips about his evil plans and nothing else. Thankfully, he didn't, but ne utterly unforgivable thing however . . .

Kevin? Are We Sure?

The show had a massive shuffle with origins here. I'll skip the whole gained powers/torture/saving/neurological disease here and just focus on the horrendously named "Kevin". Yes folks, your terrifying villain who holds mass hangings, known as Zebediah Kilgrave in the comics, isn't Zebediah. Oh no, he's even scarier! He's Kevin. And Kilgrave? Yeah, he chose that himself. His real last name is Thompson. Kevin Thompson is the omnipotent Kilgrave, not Zebediah KIlgrave. At least it opened the door to some good jokes at his expense ("Kilgrave? Was Murdercorpse already taken?").

Those Contingency Plans Were Pure Gold

A villain is only as good as the tasks he carries out, and Kilgrave does not disappoint. To keep Jessica (or whoever's after him, for that matter) in check, he sets up some sort of contingency as an easy way out. Knowing Jessica hates the loss of innocent life, they always relate to death or pain. They started off mild, with Kilgrave's house slaves not allowed to blink until Jessica returns from her "walk", but gradually rise up to mass hangings. They bring a sense of gravitas to the show, especially since we don't know if the victims will survive. I was slightly pissed off with the counter-stepping-hanging, but they used it as a plot device for the characters, something that worked out for the best.

Hey Simpson! F*ck Off!

Oh my god, what role did Simpson even play here? I was okay with him when he was just an average cop being mind-controlled by Kilgrave, but then all of a sudden he mattered? Not only is his acting subpar, his face is extremely punchable and his storyline is fairly boring. Wow! A pill-popping freak who could/would/should become a Marvel supervillain! Needless to say, he's my least favourite character on the show.

Also: Who the hell says buddies so much? It's weird.

How the Hell are the Defenders Going to Fit on the Big Screen?

I can't wait for The Defenders, especially after how great Daredevil and Jessica Jones were. But something I picked up on was just how often they swear. I mean, you couldn't go five minutes (at least in Jessica Jones) without someone saying shit, fuck, or anything along those lines. Given the fact that Avengers: Infinity War is most likely going to be PG-13, there's no way the characters can be going around dropping F-bombs

Kilgrave isn't Jessica Jones' Worst Enemy, Glass Is

Kilgrave isn't Jessica Jones' worst enemy. Jessica Jones is not the victim. But you know who, nay, what is? Glass. If I counted correctly (and I probably missed a couple) Jessica Jones and her friends (and not friends) broke glass 24 times in 13 episodes. That's almost two instances of broken glass every episode. The show literally starts off with broken glass. Hope kills herself with glass. Trish shoots through glass (three times) trying to take out Kilgrave. At a certain point, you start to feel sympathy for it. All the sand that spent so long being compressed and "glass-ified", only to be shattered (again and again).