Extreme measures.
By Eric Goldman
Note: We’re writing up separate reviews for all 13 Jessica Jones episodes, though for the purposes of binging brevity, some may be notably shorter than our usual reviews. Click here to see all of our Jessica Jones episode reviews.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
This show isn’t holding back. The oh-so ironically titled “AKA You’re a Winner!” went even further than previous episodes when it came to looking at what it would really mean if someone like Kilgrave came into your life, in a harsh, commendably blunt manner.
The revelation that Hope had hired her cellmate to beat her up because she was pregnant and wanted the baby gone, in any way possible, was as brutal as you could get. This was a situation Melissa Rosenberg and her collaborators could have danced around, but it’s to their credit they’re tackling it in such a direct manner. Kilgrave is a vile rapist and after everything he did to Hope, she can’t fathom this physical reminder of how he destroyed her life so completely, powerfully proclaiming, “I want to live. I want to have children. But I won’t give life to this thing.” Even as this situation will bring up all sorts of different reactions from viewers based on their own beliefs, it’s hard not to be stirred seeing someone dealing with this horrible situation, and Erin Moriarty is again to be commended for giving her all showing a young woman brought to such a place.
We want to hear it.
On top of that, there was the revelation that Jeri, after helping get Hope a pill to kill the fetus… is going to keep the fetus for herself! Jeri’s creepy little line a few episodes about how Kilgrave was wasting his abilities is suddenly a much bigger deal now that it seems she actually intends to use that fetus to attempt to replicate his powers. Given the fact that Jeryn Hogarth is an Iron Fist character, it’s easy to assume we’ll be seeing much more of Carrie-Anne Moss beyond Jessica Jones, so the question becomes whether we get a payoff to what Jeri is doing on this show or in another, but it’s quite a notable plot point to introduce.
Then of course is the return of Luke Cage into Jessica’s life, as he came to her with a case… one that turned out to be decidedly dangerous for Jessica, as it was leading towards the revelation that she killed Luke’s wife. Him going, in the space of the episode, from telling her she was too hard on herself, to proclaiming, “I was wrong. You are a piece of s**t” was a hell of a gut punch.
Before things took that harsh turn, it should be noted Luke got a couple of standout moments on his way to his own series – first getting in another “Sweet Christmas!” when he saw all that weed and then getting his own solo fight scene, cool table throw included.
Meanwhile, we had Kilgrave’s creepy (as all things Kilgrave are) trip to the suburbs and his curious offer to buy that man’s house. Why would he bother making it a legitimate sale? Why not just use his powers to take the house? We didn’t get a definitive answer, but the reveal that the house was in fact Jessica’s childhood home certainly gave us some unsettling ideas, as far as it perhaps meaning more to him to get this house for real than it would with others.
Rape. Abortion. These are incredibly hot button topics for any series to tackle, much less a Marvel series. But this show has proven it’s not afraid to really delve into uncomfortable subject matter, and examine just how terrifying a supervillain like Kilgrave would be. And speaking of villains, Jeri’s apparent desire to replicate Kilgrave’s abilities instantly puts a fascinating new spotlight on her, while Jessica and Luke had a sadly short reconciliation that ended with one hell of a tear down by Luke.
This is great TV.
