Marvel's Jessica Jones: Season 1 (2015) - written review

After the big success of Daredevil, Marvel and Netflix released the first season of Jessica Jones back in November, which was met without as much hype, but certainly got a lot of people talking. There's been quite a bit of debate as to whether after 12 movies, Marvel are really losing their touch. It ultimately comes down to very familiar stories done in entertaining ways with great and well-developed characters, and in some ways, Daredevil followed this - just adding greater depth to the characters and having a much darker and more adult tone. Jessica Jones, however, isn't instantly recognisable as  a Marvel series. Yes, three of the main characters have super powers, but tonally and stylistically, this show is drastically different to, say, Ant-Man or Agent Carter.

Jessica Jones is a Private Investigator, who, after an accident when she was younger, has gained super powers. Despite once trying to be a super hero, Jessica is now working on private cases for anyone who's willing to pay, and is suffering from PTSD and alcoholism. The series follows her as someone from her past returns from the dead, and as the story goes on, we get to find out more about what changed her.

First thing to mention is Kristen Ritter - she is fantastic in this show. She manages to carry the whole series with ease, never taking too much of the spotlight but always providing an interesting main protagonist for the episodes to focus on. I'm sure not everyone will like her character, but that is the idea - she isn't a particularly friendly person, but has a lot of responsibility on her shoulders to do the right thing. Her performance has a lot of layers to it, and the character goes through so much in the series it's amazing she's not gone completely insane.

The rest of the cast are perfectly standard. There's the very loyal friend, there's Luke Cage - very much Jessica's equal, who goes through an interesting arc across the season, presumably leading into his own series next year; and then there's David Tennant as Kilgrave.

For those who watched Daredevil, you'll know how well the character of Wilson Fisk was developed. He was incredibly well-written and performed, and made for a great antagonist for Matt Murdock in the show. Kilgrave, however, is pretty terrifying. David Tennant is an actor who I've never disliked at all, but never seen him really become a character on screen. Maybe it's because of the media attention he gets having played the Tenth Doctor, but I always see him as an actor playing a role - very well, I might add - but never really see him as the character. Here though, David Tennant is pretty amazing in his performance. At first, Kilgrave seems slightly creepy but not all that threatening, but as the series goes on, we really get to see how powerful and threatening he is.

Not to spoil anything for those who haven't seen it, but there is one scene where he meets his parents...and that is pretty scary. Kilgrave has the ability to manipulate peoples' thoughts - which he even admits isn't as fun as it sounds - and seeing how him just saying a quick comment like "hit your head against the wall" can make people literally kill themselves from doing exactly what he says is a frightening concept.

There are a lot of layers to the character though. Much like Jessica isn't your typical heroine, Kilgrave isn't your typical baddie. There are a couple of episodes focused on his back-story, and it becomes clear part of the way through that you're not too sure whether he's telling the truth or whether he's manipulating the facts to make himself seem better.

The dynamic between Kilgrave and Jessica highlights some of the key themes of the series, which are all very dark and quite mature. The writers deal with these themes very bluntly, to the extent where sometimes the characters will turn round to the audience and essentially explain them, but considering just how deep and thought-provoking these themes are, not to mention the fact that these are real-life issues that the show is addressing, I have to forgive the writing for almost being too blunt.

Jessica Jones has quite a unique style to it, with the series being a Noir-style psycho-drama that really makes it stand out against the other Marvel properties. The direction and cinematography are all very good, and even though these Netflix shows have a lower budget than say, Agents of SHIELD, they really do not show it.

The music by Sean Callery is very good, and I really like the watercolour title sequence. It's a very well-made show, so the real problems are in the writing.

Firstly, the show's pacing is sometimes a bit off. It takes a while for the story to get going, and it really doesn't help that the series reaches its peak in terms of quality mid-way through, so the final episode comes across as a bit of a letdown, even though it's perfectly good. When it gets going, it really gets going, but there is a whole subplot involving a character who feels forced into the series with no real reason, doesn't have much to his character and just sort of fills in whatever role the plot requires of him in order to set up a second season - one that hasn't, as of yet, been commissioned by Netflix.

There is an entire sub-plot involving Jessica's boss that doesn't quite go anywhere. It could have been entirely cut out and I don't think you would lose anything from the series. Her character is explored well-enough with her interactions with Kilgrave, and not much more to her is explored, so it seems almost pointless.

But what the series gets right, it really gets right, so these problems are so large in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, Jessica Jones is a series I strongly recommend. It might not be your cup of tea, but it's really worth giving a go. It's no fun watch, and it really does live up to its 15 certificate, but it is fascinating show to watch. If you fancy something a bit different, I'd definitely recommend it. You have to stick with it though - watching a couple of episodes will ultimately be like watching ten minutes of a movie, so you won't get anywhere near the full story from that. I'd also recommend that you watch it within a week or two, just to get the full story. But, I think Jessica Jones is really good. In terms of actual quality I'd say it was just as great as Daredevil, but personally I prefer Daredevil as it focuses on characters who I'm genuinely interested in. Jessica Jones just has the titular heroine and the villain who appeal to me, even if a couple of the other characters have some interesting arcs.