S01.E13: AKA Smile

[Hecate7]

In a way it seemed too easy for Jessica to just reach out and snap his neck. It brought up the question of why she didn't do that like 30 fatalities ago. Or more importantly once she decided to kill him why she didn't get a gun and shoot him instead of this elaborate nonsensical plan that only worked due to plot contrivance. 

 

Also Jessica seems sort of unbelievable with her violence. She throws people against walls with super strength, you'd think she'd be slightly concerned about deaths or people noticing her flinging people across rooms. 

 

Kilgrave is not a long-range planner. He's never needed to be. He's also a very lazy person, because he can be.

 

As for why Jessica didn't get a gun, 1) she only wants to kill Kilgrave, not whoever's standing next to him, behind him, or whoever he can order to take a bullet for him. 2) Someone else could get ahold of it and then get Kilgraved. 3) Jessica's superpower is her strength, not her accuracy as a shooter. That's like asking why Superman doesn't just take out the villains with a gun. Because he's Superman. Jessica doesn't usually need a gun, and aiming instead of just lunging would just slow her down.She didn't kill him before, because she needed him in order to prove Hope was innocent.

 

Hope's suicide freed her up to kill Kilgrave, but by then Jessica had made it very difficult to get close to Kilgrave. She's super-strong, not super-sneaky. I have never enjoyed a superhero story like this before.

Edited December 4, 2015 by Hecate7

[wayne67]

Kilgrave is not a long-range planner. He's never needed to be. He's also a very lazy person, because he can be.

 

As for why Jessica didn't get a gun, 1) she only wants to kill Kilgrave, not whoever's standing next to him, behind him, or whoever he can order to take a bullet for him. 2) Someone else could get ahold of it and then get Kilgraved. 3) Jessica's superpower is her strength, not her accuracy as a shooter. That's like asking why Superman doesn't just take out the villains with a gun. Because he's Superman. Jessica doesn't usually need a gun, and aiming instead of just lunging would just slow her down.She didn't kill him before, because she needed him in order to prove Hope was innocent.

 

Hope's suicide freed her up to kill Kilgrave, but by then Jessica had made it very difficult to get close to Kilgrave. She's super-strong, not super-sneaky. I have never enjoyed a superhero story like this before.

 

Kilgrave has been shown to be a short to mid range planner though, he had the Chef and the maid ? pre programmed to come to the room if Jessica made any sudden movements and by the sounds of Jessica's response she didn't seem to be that surprised by him actually having a strategy in play for her turning against him. He also made mention about a whole bunch of suicides in the neighborhood if Jessica killed him.

 

Jessica's super power is super strength... which is only really useful if she gets close enough to punch the guy... which requires short range which could easily be stopped by Kilgrave ordering everyone to attack her directly. It wouldn't have been the first time he literally threw people at her, eg when he had that family attack her to buy himself enough time to escape from wherever he had holed up. A gun would have provided her with a ranged weapon where she could have waited till he had his back turned and shot him in the back. He wouldn't have been able to order anyone to do anything because he'd be too surprised to order anything. Also Jessica while apparently mentally immune is physically vulnerable to bullets and a good enough concussive attack. 

 

Superman on the other hand doesn't need a gun because he can shoot lasers out his eyes, has cold breath and is virtually invulnerable to most non kryptonite attacks. He doesn't really need to think before engaging an enemy. He's got like a dozen super powers that makes him so overpowered that the only decent antagonist is another Kryptonian. Jessica has super strength, slightly enhanced healing and above average durability along with jumping against an amoral mind rapist who uses people like disposable weapons. 

Edited December 5, 2015 by wayne67

[Kel Varnsen]

Jessica's super power is super strength... which is only really useful if she gets close enough to punch the guy... which requires short range which could easily be stopped by Kilgrave ordering everyone to attack her directly. It wouldn't have been the first time he literally threw people at her, eg when he had that family attack her to buy himself enough time to escape from wherever he had holed up. A gun would have provided her with a ranged weapon where she could have waited till he had his back turned and shot him in the back. He wouldn't have been able to order anyone to do anything because he'd be too surprised to order anything. Also Jessica while apparently mentally immune is physically vulnerable to bullets and a good enough concussive attack. 

Jessica isn't a law enforcement officer and as far as we know she doesn't have any skills hitting a target with a gun. Based on that alone shooting at Killgrave would put people around him at risk. Plus going into the final confrontation, even she had no idea if his powers would work on her or not, making a gun even more of a liability.

[wayne67]

Jessica isn't a law enforcement officer and as far as we know she doesn't have any skills hitting a target with a gun. Based on that alone shooting at Killgrave would put people around him at risk. Plus going into the final confrontation, even she had no idea if his powers would work on her or not, making a gun even more of a liability.

 

I thought PI's had to have some sort of qualifications to be able to hang a shingle on their doors? Something along the lines of concealed weapons, tasers or law enforcement knowledge. I could be wrong. She could have thrown a baseball at his head, giving him a concussion, non lethal and very little risk of collateral damage. Considering her fighting style of throwing people at walls, I'm amazed she hasn't accidentally killed or paralysed some one by now. 

[zxy556575]

I don't get the criticism of characters making bad decisions in general. Is it out of character for an alcoholic, severely emotionally damaged person faced with a rehash of their worst nightmare to make some bad decisions?  Not in the slightest. I get irked when characters act out of character. If they didn't make bad decisions we'd have no story, usually. If she was thinking clearly she'd have made sure he was dead after he got hit by the bus and we'd have had a completely different series.

 

It's not out of character, but it's exasperating IRL when people I know consistently screw up, so it bothers me for fictional characters as well. But that's just my own impatient and unforgiving neuroses. ;)

[Danny Franks]

It's not out of character, but it's exasperating IRL when people I know consistently screw up, so it bothers me for fictional characters as well. But that's just my own impatient and unforgiving neuroses. ;)

 

But if Jessica wasn't a screw up, the premise for this show wouldn't exist. Being a screw up is pretty much de rigueur for a private eye character anyway, but in Jessica's case it's exacerbated by the traumas she's suffered and the unhealthy lifestyle choices (read: copious amounts of whisky) she's made as a result of them.

 

While this show wasn't an origin story, it was a beginning for the character, in terms of showing her climbing out of the pit of self-flagellation and self-induced isolation she'd put herself in. The first time we see her, she's spending her nights on fire escapes, taking photos of people and exposing cheating spouses, she's avoiding the only person who cares about her and the only conversations she has are with clients or a drug addict who occasionally wanders into her apartment. And the last time we see her, she's repaired her friendship with Trish and she's got a whole new friend, in Malcolm, the guy she helped turn his life around. She's actually able to contemplate helping people again. It's no small journey.

[Captanne]

But I don't buy the "whiskey" thing.  (It may be canon that she's drunk all the time?  I never read the "comic" book.)  

 

For what I saw in the television portrayal we are discussing, she upended bottles and shots all the time but never once -- never once (not even in the garbage bags on the curb) acts or behaves drunk.

 

By the last few episodes of the series, I just chalked it up to "superhero" business and that she likes the taste of whiskey.  Because it never had a mental degradation or physical effect on her that I could tell.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Captanne

[Danny Franks]

But I don't buy the "whiskey" thing.  (It may be canon that she's drunk all the time?  I never read the "comic" book.)  

 

For what I saw in the television portrayal we are discussing, she upended bottles and shots all the time but never once -- never once (not even in the garbage bags on the curb) acts or behaves drunk.

 

By the last few episodes of the series, I just chalked it up to "superhero" business and that she likes the taste of whiskey.  Because it never had a mental degradation or physical effect on her that I could tell.

 

I don't think there really is one set way of 'acting' drunk, though. Some people are affected more obviously than others, some people get louder and some people get quieter. Functional alcoholics are able to live lives that appear, from the outside, to be relatively normal, while still drinking heavily. 

 

Jessica drinks a lot, we see this. We don't see every moment she's awake, there are plenty of scenes that open with her waking up, there are plenty that end with her having a drink, so I don't think it's a stretch to believe she was drinking heavily in the intervening hours. And there have been scenes where she was acting drunk, in my view. Whether everyone was convinced by that acting is another question, but I felt she did seem drunk when she was kicked out of the bar, and when Malcolm found her passed out in the elevator, and before she had her one night stand with Luke. She's buttoned up and dour, at the best of times, so it doesn't seem that unlikely to me that she would be a subdued, grumpy drunk.

[Morgan of Hed]

Functional alcoholics are able to live lives that appear, from the outside, to be relatively normal, while still drinking heavily.

This. We had a neighbour who used to sit outside to chat and watch the kids play, always with a big glass of water. We never knew it was vodka until she was seperated from her kids, lost her driver's license, ordered into rehab ( never took) and of course forced to stop practising as a kids' dental surgeon. According to what I've since learned, she probably did her best work drunk since sober would have resulted in the shakes.

[rozen]

There are plenty of scenes where Jessica's nose is lit up like Rudolph, she's slurring her words, and being cruelly flippant. Imo, sober Jessica uses cruelty like a sharp poke to keep people well away and safe. When I perceived her character as drunk, she hurts people for control and for fun. 

 

It's what made Killgrave's scene with the illusions of grandeur neighbor so scary to me. Jessica fully uninhibited would enjoy that very much and seek it out, I think. K & J would have been a terrifying duo if she gave into her messed up inclinations that weren't that deep below the surface. I expect that why Killgrave liked her so much. She was his Harley Quinn, he just never managed to break the outer shell to get at her guts.

Edited December 5, 2015 by rozen

[myril]

I'm surprised at how well it's being received! Structurally this did not work for me at all, it was far too repetitive. Chasing Kilgrave, finding Kilgrave, losing Kilgrave for 13 episodes, I felt like I was watching a Wile E. Coyote and the roadrunner cartoon. I found Daredevil much more compelling.

 

Repetition in story telling can be quite a bore and sometimes annoying, but it fits well into the narrative and its underlying themes on this show. It reminded me of struggles I've seen people in abusive relationships or who were fighting off stalkers have. You get the feeling pretty soon, it's rinse and repeat, been there done that but try again - it can be immensely frustrating. You can get very close to giving up the fight, or even give it up, because  it always seems to fail because of stupid things (you afterwards feel you should have though of), or sometimes you just do whatever not knowing what else to do for the moment and fail. So it didn't feel much to me as if the show dragged on because of not so good writing or lack of good story structure, it made some sense to me, that it took Jessica a number of attempts to get to the point of being willing to kill Kilgrave and to succeed. It made her human. Think they dragged it just enough to make it nearly unbearable and install a wish of "enough, get finally done with it".

 

Or more importantly once she decided to kill him why she didn't get a gun and shoot him instead of this elaborate nonsensical plan that only worked due to plot contrivance.

 

We didn't see Jessica having or shooting a gun anytime on the show before, so why should we think, that she could be instantly a good enough shooter able to kill Kilgrave with one or even a few shots? She might have immense strength but she didn't struck me as having been ever trained in combat or as shooter. The moment she would have started shooting at him, Kilgrave would have known for sure he had no control over her, and unless Jessica were a sure hit sniper, it could have given him a chance to escape. No, Jessica had only the choice to rely on what she knows, on her strength, and she had to get close up to him to leave him no way to say a word or at worst have a chance to even duck and escape.

 

I thought PI's had to have some sort of qualifications to be able to hang a shingle on their doors? Something along the lines of concealed weapons, tasers or law enforcement knowledge. I could be wrong. She could have thrown a baseball at his head, giving him a concussion, non lethal and very little risk of collateral damage. Considering her fighting style of throwing people at walls, I'm amazed she hasn't accidentally killed or paralysed some one by now.

 

No, a PI doesn't have to have any gun training or firearm permit, unless you want to carry a gun. But even then that training might not be sufficient to turn you into someone able to take someone out for sure with a shot or a few shots. Things have gone wrong for Jessica before, the best was to rely on what she was good at, her strength, and that in a way she could be as sure as possible to take Kilgrave out. Throwing a baseball still could have gone amiss.

From a writing point of view: Killing Kilgrave by snaping his neck was more personal, direct, including physical contact, it was handiwork, something quite different from all the evil and killing Kilgrave has done.

Edited December 5, 2015 by myril

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Jessica Jones Isn't Likable
...and that's why you should love her. Eve Batey looks back on the season with S01.E13.

[supposebly]

Ok, that was an almost perfect ending. Although I could have done without the extended scene of Luke waking up. I just find him rather boring. And I must be the only person who doesn't really find the character of Claire all that interesting either. But then I was bored by Murdoch too.

 

Anyway.....Jessica made me think it worked for a short second there, or rather I kept hoping she was playing.

 

I agree with many posters here, the Trish-Jessica relationship was the highlight of this show. And Malcolm and his hair! I hope this show comes back soon.

[RustbeltWriter]

I liked the series but I really enjoyed the finale. As others have pointed out, it was masterful to have Kilgrave become so confident in his power that he delivered himself to Jessica. It was satisfying to see Jessica take control of him, force him to smile against his will and then see her put him down not for revenge but because he was going to keep on ruining lives as long as he was alive. This went way beyond a simple revenge tale and it was all the more satisfying because of the extra thought put into everyone's motivations.

 

The episode was directed by Michael Rhymer who directed some truly excellent episodes of Battlestar Galactica. That may explain why the pacing was good and the story was tight. 

[shrewd.buddha]

... Structurally this did not work for me at all, it was far too repetitive. Chasing Kilgrave, finding Kilgrave, losing Kilgrave for 13 episodes, I felt like I was watching a Wile E. Coyote and the roadrunner cartoon. I found Daredevil much more compelling.

...Still not sure how I feel about the climax, where Jessica does the thing everyone has been wanting her to do from the beginning (mostly). Jessica was not able to save Hope, so it felt as if Jessica had lost all 'hope' and took the most obvious course of action.

Maybe I was expecting a more unexpected conclusion or some type of poetic justice for Killgrave (crushed vocal cords?).  I don't know. It just felt as if Jessica was finally forced to kill Killgrave because she gave up on trying to outsmart him. 

 

And during all that time, no one thought of using earplugs?  Hogarth's idea of using Killgrave's abilities to her advantage and how that played out horribly was one of the best story lines. But by that point the repetition of catching and losing Killgrave was starting to become annoying. One missed opportunity would have been enough.

 

The acting, direction, dialogue, character interaction and scenery were top notch. And I thought many of the camera angles and shots were interesting. I think I would enjoy watching Jessica Jones working on some interesting cases -- cases that did not revolve around one character for thirteen episodes. (Maybe binge watching made it feel as if it was 24-7 Killgrave?)  

I believe it was the ongoing Killgrave plot that was weakest element and maybe because it suffered from comic book tropes :

a) all main characters have sad childhoods

b) lots of bad parents

c) Wile E. Coyote villains who are always one step ahead and always escape (until the end)

d) Lots of innocent people die but main characters are spared (like Trish surrounded by the cops with guns. He had already tried to kill her previously, so why not now?)

 

All in all tho, this series had more pluses than minuses. 

Edited December 13, 2015 by shrewd.buddha

[Snarkette]

I connected more to the Jones characters but Daredevil had tighter storytelling. Like them both.

[Kel Varnsen]

...Still not sure how I feel about the climax, where Jessica does the thing everyone has been wanting her to do from the beginning (mostly). Jessica was not able to save Hope, so it felt as if Jessica had lost all 'hope' and took the most obvious course of action.

Maybe I was expecting a more unexpected conclusion or some type of poetic justice for Killgrave (crushed vocal cords?).  I don't know. It just felt as if Jessica was finally forced to kill Killgrave because she gave up on trying to outsmart him. 

I think it had to be her killing him because at least for Jessica anything that didn't actually kill him meant there was a possibility that he could come back and terrorize her. I mean he was hit by a bus and survived since he ordered someone to give up both his kidneys. Plus looking at it from Jessica's point of view how do you exert enough force so that you know 100% that their vocal cords are permanently crushed, but they aren't killed? If there is any chance their vocal chords could be repaired it was all for nothing for Jessica. Especially when you consider the level of medical care in the MCU (see Bucky, Cap or Agent Coulson for examples) or the fact that with Killgrave's level of obsession even if he had to wait years for his vocal chords to be repaired he would if it meant he could go after Jessica again.

[Beatriceblake]

I was so glad they killed Kilgrave. You opposite of bastards!

 

It's tempting to keep a good villain around but Kilgrave was well past redemption and it weakens Jess' character to have him cause so much collateral damage every episode. Also the show was starting to feel unbalanced to me, since all Jess' actions revolved around finding and stopping Kilgrave and we were spending so much time with him.

 

On the whole I've enjoyed the show but I think ten episodes would have been better. After Hope's death there was definitely a bit of wheel spinning and contrivance to keep the story going. Next season I hope to see more cases of the week and I'm hopeful they can bring more range to Jessica now she doesn't have to worry about Kilgrave coming back and can start to rebuild her life.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Beatriceblake

[Matt K]

I didn't say anticlimactic, I said anticathartic. His death didn't offer the emotional cleansing or payoff that deaths of villains usually offer, neither to Jessica nor to the audience. That doesn't have to be a bad thing (just as sometimes a story line can have an anticlimactic ending that still works)  and it makes a lot of sense here - he was too dangerous (and enough of an asshole to senselessly take down the people at the dock with him) to give him a proper beating, just kill him quickly before he can do any more harm.

I think that might be the point.  While Killgrave might be dead, the damage he did and the consequences of it will be long lived.  What he did was so bad that there is no catharsis from his death.  There's satisfaction in knowing it's over but no catharsis.  His actions long outlive him.

 

For the series as a whole, I think it's the best thing Marvel's put out so far.  That said I kind of like DD over this but that's down to how brutal this show was.  I wasn't able to watch more than a couple episodes in a sitting because of how rough the show was.  I ended up needing time to decompress.

 

I do think the storyline could have worked better with just a few less episodes and honestly I would have preferred to have at least one episode dedicated to the aftermath.  Get an idea for how Jess and Trish and Malcolm are all doing a few days/weeks/months out from Killgrave's death.  But to some degree that may have been in part based on how tough the show was to watch (not in a bad way, it just dealt with very difficult subject matter that can be tough to watch).

 

Ritter did an amazing job with the character.  Eka was a surprise, that change from first episode to last and he really made you feel for the character.  Overall I liked all the characters, Simpson included.  SImpson showed more of the effects/after effects of being controlled by Killgrave and seeing how easy it would be to go to the dark side trying to stop Killgrave. Also a needed counterpoint to Jessica's originally wanting to not kill him. 

 

To wrap up a long and rambling post, this was probably one of the best shows I've ever watched.  I also rate it highly because it so different from everything else.  It's rare to see a show's main character be the victim and then show dealing with the aftermath of the abuse.  DD was good but not really unique.  Jessica Jones on the other hand.

 

ETA: As for the IGT (or whatever it was called) connection.  I wonder if perhaps Jessica was already powered when the car accident occurred (and Simpson's group maybe developed the drug from her biochemistry).  It was an accident when everyone died but her and we've seen that her powers give her some enhanced durability and quicker recovery.  SO maybe that's why she survived, her powers kicked in.  First season of SHIELD had a few people who were just enhanced, not Inhuman and seemingly not science gone wrong/right so it would be unprecedented to have her just be powered. 

Edited December 18, 2015 by Matt K

[Beatriceblake]

Eka was a surprise, that change from first episode to last and he really made you feel for the character. 

I thought Eka Darville was really good as Malcolm and I hope they pay off the end of this episode and have him as Jess' partner/assistant in the detective business. He's a good foil for her and I enjoyed seeing him come through his crisis of faith about helping people.

[paramitch]

I was pleasantly surprised by this series. I was working on novel revisions and living under a rock, so the hoopla passed me by (mostly). But: Wow.

 

Jessica and Trish, sittin’ in a tree.... Sorry, I don’t know what came over me.

 

Absolutely love those two, and their friendship. And I’m so glad the show made the climax about them, rather than about Luke. Anyone could see who the most important person in Jessica’s life was, who the person she cared about the most was. Even Kilgrave, in his delusional belief that Jessica loved him recognised that. Such a sweet moment, where Jessica said “I love you” in the car, in the pretence of it being a code, and Trish’s understated reaction to it.

 

I love the show. Loved the season. But I do think -- from day one -- the direction may have slightly pushed Jessica/Trish as a couple a little more than was necessary, at least in the early episodes. Maybe they were being coy, but I think I remember assuming they were an actual couple through at least episode one (and maybe two and three). There's a middle ground between intense family love and "I want to chew your face off. But in a good way." For me, very very occasionally early on, the acting here felt very forced in this particular way. Like they were hedging their bets.

 

But this was a reaction early on for me, and I quickly grew to love Trish as her own person, as well as her relationship with Jessica. By the end, I was so delighted that the entire show was about this incredible bond between these two women. I was really moved in the end when Jessica used both opportunities to tell Trish she loved her.

 

Meanwhile -- I loved the show, and thought this was a very strong finale. Loved the performers. Krysten Ritter was at a career-best (as was Tennant, often horribly and hilariously), and I loved the supporting cast even more than Ritter. Kudos to all involved.

 

The funniest thing is that the moments that will stay with me most from this episode were: (1) When Kilgrave looks exasperated at the reveal and just goes, "Aw, it's PATSY!" The disgust in his face was so hilarious! And (2) When Jessica looked at Trish and said she loved her, then snapped his neck. Amazing final moments.

 

If you like Tennant and haven't seen Broadchurch yet, you should remedy that posthaste.

 

I hated Broadchurch. Just throwing it out there as the voice of dissent. A well-acted but horribly written drama set in a tiny town of absolutely awful people, and a terrible mystery (coyly withholding all actual "clues" until the final few episodes, then presto, shocking killer). I hated it. Still watched because I adore Tennant. But: Ugh. Sorry.

 

For me the fact that she couldn't just kill him is what I liked about Jessica. She's human, she's flawed and can't just straight up murder someone even if he's a bad guy. She was trying to save Hope and yes other people were getting hurt because she wouldn't take him out. But again that's a human response, most of use would not be thinking of the rest of the world, we'd only be thinking about the people we care about. She wasn't going to let Hope spend the rest of her life in prison for a murder she wasn't responsible for. Hope then took herself out of the equation so Jessica wouldn't have to worry about her anymore. Without Hope, Jessica could kill him. 

 

If Jessica is going to be a hero, she should struggle with the decision to take a life. If she did it easily then what would make her different than a villain? 

 

I loved this and completely agreed. Jessica didn't sign a contract. Nobody trained her. Nobody said, "You will now give your life (or sacrifice other lives) in your sacred quest for freedom, truth and Spandex. I love how flawed she is and was. Wouldn't have her any other way.

 

I guess it depends on what you watching for the show for. I wasn't watching a show about Jessica vs. Killgrave. I was watching a show about the characters. And I wish we had more than 13 episodes to get to know them.

 

I loved this show because it wasn't a typical superhero show with a larger than life villain hellbent on taking over the world or a city. This was a show about an everyday monster that happens to have powers and an everyday woman that also happens to have powers. This show was street level show from the get go. You can even tell from the camera angles, everything was shot from the street, even Jessica's flying was shown from the our level.  

 

What drew me to this show was that it was about a failed super hero. Too many shows or movies are like person gets powers, person becomes an insta hero. Just because they get powers doesn't mean they can be a hero. I also like the heroes that don't think of themselves as one.

 

This was exactly what I loved about it as well. I certainly love superheroes. But I loved this because it was at heart so much more -- it wasn't as simplistic as a superhero/Campbellian journey, but about regular people dealing with supernatural powers and situations. I loved that Kilgrave didn't want to rule the world. He was so much creepier and more malevolent precisely because he was a run-of-the-mill stalker and rapist who just happened to have the power to terrorize Jessica and others like her, and take away their free will. I loved the show and found it fascinating. I'll miss Kilgrave but also thought the final exit was magnificently written and performed. 

 

Despite going against the opinion of nearly the entire Internet, I was really happy that Robyn was part of this story. No superpowers, no "heroism", just taking care of a disabled relative 24/7 and being crap at her responsibilities. Probably could do with a carer of her own. It's not a character you often see. Adding to Trish's mom and Jessica's Kilgrave PTSD, Robyn's story painted another layer of twisted pain to connect to. Hopefully in heaven there are lots of giraffes and the angels remembers to serve seedless-crusts.

 

I freaking loved Robyn. I love that she's an asshole who remains an asshole, but who of course nevertheless could be undone by grief and who could also even show unexpected humor and compassion. I also thought the actress was freaking wonderful. Just wonderful. She made the character feel so real and human to me (however unpleasant she also was most of the time).

 

When people critique Jessica's plans, I keep getting this nagging feeling that damaged heroes of the female gender are held to higher standards in their 'try/fail' cycles than damaged heroes of the male gender.

 

If the hero gets it right the first time, the story is over in chapter one. 

 

This. Jessica was a terrible superhero because she was just a messed-up ordinary person who'd suffered a series of losses and setbacks, who was battling the further PTSD from Kilgrave and drinking herself into oblivion. I loved her entire journey and that it was as human and unheroic as it was. Sometimes just getting up in the morning is heroic, and Jessica kind of embodied that for me at times.

 

I am glad that this series was made and that there is a chance to get a second season. I'd like to hang out with these folks again, except for Simpson and Ma Walker.

 

Me too. I loved it, every second of it, and I'm even still interested in what becomes of Simpson and especially of Trish's mom. I thought it was genuinely interesting to explore the fact that yes, this woman is awful (and did awful things to Trish) and yet she does palpably love her. It's so easy in these fictional scenarios for the love to be absent, but in actuality, terrible people can and do love all the time. So it was interesting to see Trish's responses.

 

There are plenty of scenes where Jessica's nose is lit up like Rudolph, she's slurring her words, and being cruelly flippant. Imo, sober Jessica uses cruelty like a sharp poke to keep people well away and safe. When I perceived her character as drunk, she hurts people for control and for fun. 

 

It's what made Killgrave's scene with the illusions of grandeur neighbor so scary to me. Jessica fully uninhibited would enjoy that very much and seek it out, I think. K & J would have been a terrifying duo if she gave into her messed up inclinations that weren't that deep below the surface. I expect that why Killgrave liked her so much. She was his Harley Quinn, he just never managed to break the outer shell to get at her guts.

 

Beautifully said. I loved that additional complexity to Jessica's character -- interesting that both she and Trish didn't escape addiction as a response to their abuses. I definitely think part of Jessica's horror at Kilgrave was that, occasionally, she understood him. She may have even enjoyed tiny moments here and there. And that makes it all even more horrible and awful (and harder for her to let go of).

Edited January 4, 2016 by paramitch

[Captanne]

I didn't like either version of Broadchurch, either.  Trying to be Forbrydelsen-lite.  Argh.  Can you imagine that thought process?  "I know!  Killing children is vogue right now!  Let's do another one of those!  Only let's make it less dark and grisly than the Scandinavians do -- because anyone can lighten child-murder up, right?"

[April Bloodgate]

I was pleasantly surprised by this series. I was working on novel revisions and living under a rock, so the hoopla passed me by (mostly). But: Wow.

The funniest thing is that the moments that will stay with me most from this episode were: (1) When Kilgrave looks exasperated at the reveal and just goes, "Aw, it's PATSY!" The disgust in his face was so hilarious! And (2) When Jessica looked at Trish and said she loved her, then snapped his neck. Amazing final moments.

I hated Broadchurch. Just throwing it out there as the voice of dissent. A well-acted but horribly written drama set in a tiny town of absolutely awful people, and a terrible mystery (coyly withholding all actual "clues" until the final few episodes, then presto, shocking killer). I hated it. Still watched because I adore Tennant.

Ooh, what's your novel about?

The Patsy line by Killgrave is a contender for best line of the season in my book.

If you hated season 1 of Broadchurch, definitely don't watch season 2. I actually liked season 1, but 2 really struggles.

Overall thoughts: I enjoyed the story, but thought the structure needed work. I agree with many other posters that it was about 3 episodes too long and that the frequent failed plans were frustrating. I totally get that Jessica would not be good at making solid plans. I just don't think it makes for good TV to watch Killgrave be caught and then escape over and over.

I really didn't care for Trish at first. I think it was the actress. But she definitely grew on me over the course of the series.

Simpson is awful. I never liked him, even when he seemed to be good to Trish. I wonder if they're holding the rest of his story for season 2 or for "Luke Cage". With Trish's interest in IGH and its connection to Jessica, it would be odd to me if they didn't pursue this in season 2, assuming there is one.

The final confrontation with Killgrave certainly looked cool, but it didn't make a lot of sense to me. And I can't believe no one thought of noise-cancelling headphones sooner.

I wish they hadn't used science to explain Killgrave's powers because it doesn't work for me. If he emits a virus that affects the part of the brain associated with obedience, why would it make you only obedient to him? Wouldn't it just make you obey any command you heard from anyone? It just doesn't work for me. I'd rather it have been left unexplained.

I wasn't really invested in Luke, but I didn't like the way he just took off at the end. Jessica deserved one last, non-Killgraved interaction with him, to say goodbye.

[ACW]

I think jessica didn't realize he couldn't control her because she thought she'd just shrugged off one command "come here jessica" and not that ignoring one command meant full immunity. There were maybe 30 seconds, if that, between his yelling the command at her and him getting hit by the bus. Considering she'd hesitated on the roof and still got sucked back in, I could see her assuming it was temporary, not permanent.

 

  I had been hypothesizing that maybe, at that moment, she was so psychologically impacted by what she'd done that she literally couldn't hear/process what Kilgrave was saying.  She may have assumed something similar.

[JAYJAY1979]

I'm glad kilgrave was killed...it was a fitting arc...and season 2 can be Jessica trying to rebuild her life...as well as Trish looking into the corporation.

A few case of the weeks thrown in for season 2 can work if used to develop the main characters.

[Taryn74]

  I had been hypothesizing that maybe, at that moment, she was so psychologically impacted by what she'd done that she literally couldn't hear/process what Kilgrave was saying.  She may have assumed something similar.

 

That's kind of what I thought, too.  She was in such a state of shock after Reva's death that she didn't even really "hear" him, and then before she could come back to her senses he was hit by the bus.  At that point she thought he was dead and that it was over.  Until she learned he was alive (and was still controlling people) she never had any reason to wonder if his control over her had been broken or not.  Kilgrave was suspicious because he knew he had called to her and she ignored him, but Jessica at that point didn't even have a reason to think she was free of his control for any reason other than he was now dead.

[Kalliste]

 I will miss Kilgrave's exasperated way he says "Oh, it's PATSY!!" though, heh.

I won't miss the way he yelled "Jessica!" it was so grating on me. I loved pretty much everything else as Tennant though. I also really enjoyed this villain. Yes, he wasn't like DD's Fisk who had grand plans of 'improving' his city and used his hulk and anger issues to get what he wanted, but then Kilgrave didn't need or want that. I think he was all the more scary because he could easily have been someone you know. Especially when he bought Jessica's old house and because he was so obsessive and thought she'd enjoy him giving her the past back. I can imagine there are people in the world who do these types of things and terrorize people every day.. he just had the added 'bonus' of being able to mind control people that didn't do what he wanted, or weren't useful to him anymore.

 

Which is exactly what Alias was designed to be, as a comic book. And The Pulse, which came after it. And Gotham Central. The idea of exploring the world beneath your flying, world-saving superheroes is always really interesting. Getting to know what Joe the cab driver thinks about Captain America or Superman, seeing how people adapt and survive in a world where aliens might try to destroy New York, or Doctor Doom might hatch a new plan to take over the world. It's what I hoped Agents of SHIELD would be, until the creative minds behind it proved to be so very limited.

 

Yes, Jessica has superpowers and so did Kilgrave, and Trish wants to be a hero, but they're all still a far cry from Iron Man and Thor, even from Black Widow and Hawkeye. The scope and scale is much smaller, and it makes for a far more intimate, character-driven story.

My understand is this was what Agents of Shield was meant to be, the stories of the people who weren't massive super heroes... and then it wasn't really. Maybe in the first season but then all the Hydra stuff happened and ruined it.

 

Overall I really enjoyed JJ and think Tennant is one of the scariest villains I've ever seen.. mostly because he didn't need to raise his voice, or (directly) use violence to get what he wanted. In fact, he never needed to use violence but just chose to, it was very upsetting to see him casually tell people to kill themselves because they were no longer of any use to him. He could easily have let them just walk away.

 

I don't know how I feel about the ending specifically, my first thoughts were "that was very Smallville" - for anyone that hasn't watched the show, every season there is the big bad who is seemingly impossible to beat and then suddenly, in the last few minutes they miraculously do defeat them - after reading the comments here though I can see how this was a good ending for Kilgrave, he let his power and ego get in the way of the truth and paid for it.

 

Also, did anyone else find Jessica's smile for him really creepy? Maybe we've just never seen her smile in the show before.

 

I think one of my favourite scenes in the show was the 1000's cuts with Kilgrave, Hogarth and Wendy. I liked the discussion with Kilgrave and Wendy first and how he seemed to relate to her and then gave her the literal version of her revenge. Those cuts were so hard to watch!

[kingshearte]

Kilgrave didn't suffer as  much as he deserved, but I liked his death. I must say,  though, that any of them was being smart. He should have told  them to kill  themselves if she attacked him.  Jessica and Trish, especially Trish,  should have used small earplugs under the big  earplugs.  And why wasn't Jessica carrying a gun? No need to get that close to him.

I couldn't help but wonder if that was deliberate. I don't really know how Jessica planned to get as close to Kilgrave as she needed to if not by using Trish as bait (albeit astonishingly high-stakes bait), so I wondered if the headphones falling off was part of the plan, to support the illusion that they didn't intend for him to get control of Trish so he wouldn't suspect anything when she was just there, vulnerable to him. Such a plan would really require everything to fall into place perfectly (what if all those people he ordered to start killing each other had managed to kill Trish?), but it's just a little hard to imagine what was supposed to happen, if not that.

 

I think that might be the point.  While Killgrave might be dead, the damage he did and the consequences of it will be long lived.  What he did was so bad that there is no catharsis from his death.  There's satisfaction in knowing it's over but no catharsis.  His actions long outlive him.

 

[snip]

 

ETA: As for the IGT (or whatever it was called) connection.  I wonder if perhaps Jessica was already powered when the car accident occurred (and Simpson's group maybe developed the drug from her biochemistry).  It was an accident when everyone died but her and we've seen that her powers give her some enhanced durability and quicker recovery.  SO maybe that's why she survived, her powers kicked in.  First season of SHIELD had a few people who were just enhanced, not Inhuman and seemingly not science gone wrong/right so it would be unprecedented to have her just be powered. 

I agree about the first part. Killing someone doesn't just magically make everyone feel all better — at least, not in real life. There's still a lot of trauma and guilt (not saying she should feel guilty, but we know that she does) to work through. So I really kinda liked that his death didn't, I don't know, make the sun rise or really effect any instantaneous change.

 

As for the IGH thing, I also thought maybe she was already super-powered. In the scene in the car, she tosses the game, and although it doesn't shatter the window or anything, it was evidently hard enough to break it, but it didn't look like that hard a throw. So I wondered.

[candle96]

Just catching up on this series, finished it last night.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed it, although had trouble watching more than an episode or two at a time, due to how dark it was. I can only handle so much dark at once, even if I enjoy it. I loved the emphasis on strong female characters, with men mostly serving more in supporting roles. (nothing wrong with men, just refreshing to see, since it is lacking in so many shows).

 

Can someone clarify if Jessica ever figure out why she became immune to Kilgrave's powers? I thought for sure when he escaped from that isolation room, and was bleeding, it had something to do with her touching his blood. Or maybe his victims' blood, because they flashed back to the night Reva died, and showing her blood on Jessica's hands. I assumed Jessica figured it out in that moment when he escaped and she smiled. I assumed this was going to become a pivotal plot point, but I was wrong. Besides his power being a "virus," did they ever address why it didn't work on her anymore? Not that his death wasn't satisfying, I just wanted some more resolution around that.

 

I'm glad they killed off Kilgrave. I, too, was growing a bit weary of the chasing Kilgrave only to have him fool someone again and again. I wanted to like Simpson at first, but something about that actor screams "minor character only put in to enhance the plot" to me. Very good looking, but sort of generic and forgettable, by Hollywood standards. I assume we'll find out more about that shady operation he's a part of next season. 

[Cranberry]

I don't think it was ever explained. I assumed that Jessica was exposed for him for a longer time than people usually are, and her body managed to eventually fight off the virus. His control over her seemed to weaken over time.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I finally finished S1! ITA with the previous post that said even without the superpowers, this was still a psychological thriller about an obsessed stalker. Kilgrave was even scarier because he was a stalker with powers who was emotionally immature with everyone, not just his victims.

When Kilgrave saw Trish, I was afraid he was going to tell her to attack Jessica. Poor Jessica had to watch him mind control Trish into kissing him while he gleefully told Jessica that he was going to make her sister into his sex slave. The amount of self control it must have taken her to keep up the ruse so that she could lure him close enough to kill him!

Even though Jessica isn't a lovable/likeable character, she was still a good character who had a compelling story. As others have pointed out, Jessica has no special training for her powers or any directive to use them for good. She is someone who had a shitty adolescence and then was raped for months, so it's not surprising that she's surly and self-medicating. Even though Kilgrave is finally dead, that doesn't mean she's magically healed from everything she's been through. It wouldn't be realistic for her to suddenly turn into a happy girl, so I'll be okay with her still being grumpy in S2.

I love her friendship with Trish and I hope that she softens a bit more towards Malcolm. I know she likes him but it would be nice for him to know that too. I might be biased though since I think he is the best.

[johntfs]

On 11/21/2015 at 8:35 PM, nosleepforme said:

My only criticism is that the plan was really contingent on him not telling people to do awful things should he die.

It was as far as they knew, but it seems clear that Kilgrave's influence doesn't survive his death (though it can survive his unconsciousness).