Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones is lucky to be a new character. Her adventures have only been coming out in comics since 2001, so there's no need to process nearly a century of history and transformations on Netflix, as is the way with Marvel. The first season is a world unto itself, only later does Luke Cage split off and we meet the whole bunch of superheroes again in the Defenders series. As long as Jess is going solo, things are good for 13 whole episodes for a solid female lead and interesting girl characters. The superhero clichés are handled with wit, and the problems with the villain are handled very civilly. Although Tennant as the Purple Man is right on the edge between civilian and cartoon. The acting trio of Krysten Ritter (my first time watching her in a leading role and I consider it successful), Rachael Taylor (remember the great 666 Park Avenue series?), and the legendary Carrie-Anne Moss. The finale was great and Season 2 didn't take long to get going. (01/06/2019)

How good is Jessica Jones Season 2? It’s very good and quite exciting. We already know the characters from Season 1 and Defenders, and personally, I've already managed to fall in love with the trio of Jess, Tris, and Jeri. For one thing, the performances are fabulous, but more importantly, the scripts are good (Jess facing the drama of her investigation, discovering new questions around her birth in the IGH experiment, Trish still dealing with the effects of her past on the present, and Jeri going through the biggest trials of her adult life). Krysten Ritter is the perfect representation of the "Alias" adult comics idea by Bendis. Rachael Taylor can play just about anything, from the sweet starlet of It's Patsy, to the celebrity drug addict Trish, to the brilliant investigative presenter Trish Talk, but can she still manage the transformation into Hellcat? And finally, the sexy Carrie-Anne Moss as the unscrupulous lesbian lawyer Jeri (who is a man in the comics). I couldn't help it and I had to read more about it all in "Patsy Walker a.k.a Hellcat," and it will make your head spin when you watch it. In some ways, the series is as literal as possible (e.g., in both the comics and the show Jess has a 1917 painting by Egon Schiele of his wife in her bedroom), and in other aspects, the show goes its own way. It’s a good thing there is going to be a Season 3. Unlike the Marvel/Netflix parade. (01/06/2019)

I was looking forward to Jessica's ending. It takes a while for the viewer to get back in tune with the specific atmosphere, but by the turn of the second and third episodes, you’re in it again. One of the great storylines has Trish trying to find a balance between the classic superhero vs. his or her civilian life problem. Will Hellcat defeat Trish? In contrast, Jessica is going through the bottom again and Malcolm is climbing up. And Jeri? He's having a beautiful old-school romance. Thanks for the gifts. Then at the end, I couldn't help thinking of Dexter, and I thoroughly enjoyed the behind-the-scenes flashback of Patsy. I also especially appreciated how it all fit together. I rate the whole Defenders era on Netflix very highly. (08/09/2019)