Gwen Roberts
“Marvel’s Jessica Jones” is an outstanding show.

It is a violently unique addition to Netflix’s recently produced run of TV shows that include “Marvel’s Daredevil.” As the name implies, “Jessica Jones” is a show set within the same fictional Marvel Cinematic Universe as “The Avengers” or “The Guardians of the Galaxy” but is told in an episodic TV format rather than one singular movie.

“Jessica Jones” follows an emotionally broken private investigator, who is the namesake of the show and also happens to have super powers. Even though she has super strength and some other super-human abilities, Jessica is not a super hero by any means. She is dreadfully cynical and mildly sarcastic making her a stark contrast to characters like Daredevil or Captain America. Jessica puts out a tough exterior but that exterior is quickly revealed to be nothing more than her hiding from some deep routed pain.

Unlike other comic book inspired media, Jessica Jones is a beautiful exploration of weakness and sincerely human emotions. Few other shows can boast such qualities and not even some of my favorite shows can boast such a quality. A lot of the depth in this show is created by Jessica’s relationship with the shows main villain: Kilgrave.

Kilgrave, or Purple Man as he is known in the comics, has the ability to control people’s minds. He can simply command people to do whatever he wants them to and they have to do it regardless of the damage they could incur upon themselves. The character is played exceptionally by David Tennant, who conveys all the terror and horror that should be associated with the ability to force people to do terrible things. Tennant easily makes the character Kilgrave the best villain in all the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far.

Jessica’s relationship with Kilgrave is a complex one, as she was once under his control and is desperately afraid of falling under his control once again now that Kilgrave has “returned”. Throughout the show, flashes to Jessica’s past reveals more about both of the characters while adding an extra layer of depth to the current conflict at hand. Jessica is trying to capture Kilgrave in order to save a character who becomes important partway into the first episodes.

A lot of the show’s strengths come from how believably personal everything is. Jessica is intimately tied to her worst nightmare and seemingly cannot escape. This works extremely well with how fast the show builds up to introducing Kilgrave, which really conveys the feeling that everything in Jessica’s life is spiraling out of control, not that it ever was in control.

Only a couple things really work against “Jessica Jones.” The shows graphic content and very mature themes, while handled tastefully, makes it unsuitable for younger audiences. Older audiences who are not bothered so much by graphic content or shows that deal with adult themes will find an excellent watch that is hampered only by some pacing issues with the narrative. “Jessica Jones” starts off fast but slows down towards the middle, where the show should have really sped up.

“Jessica Jones” is still by far one of the best shows I have ever seen. It is a well contained story that carries a lot of impact and depth. If you are looking for a good Netflix binge watch this.