Jessica Jones (Season 2)

 

I really like Jessica Jones the character, and I really enjoyed the fist season of this show. The second season was a bit of a tough pill to swallow, however. The season starts with Jessica struggling, both mentally and with alcohol, following the events with Kilgrave. This is completely understandable, as Kilgrave is possibly the most terrifying Marvel villain I've encountered. As Jessica deals with her own demons, she discovers that others with powers are dying, which leads her to research and investigate IGH, the company responsible for giving her powers. She discovers that someone with powers is targeting others with powers and killing them. For the first several episodes we have no idea who this person is, only getting brief glimpses of them here and there. This mystery surrounding who the main villain is for season 2 lasted an episode or two too long, to the point where it became a bit frustrating. We eventually find out that it is Jessica's mother, who survived the crash that supposedly killed Jessica's entire family after receiving treatments from an IGH doctor. Jessica is obviously pissed, but instead of killing her despite having numerous changes, she drags her feet and by the end of the season ends up trying to protect her until her friend Trish Walker ends up shooting her. Ouch.

Speaking of Trish, the side characters step up big time in season 2. Trish becomes addicted to officer Simpson's (from season 1) adrenaline drug. At first she is using it to help investigate who the villain is, but eventually this turns into her wanting to get her own powers, and goes as far as consulting the IGH doctor to perform the same procedure on her as he did on Jessica and her mother. Once again, Jessica is pissed. 

Malcom is promoted at Alias Investigations, only to be alienated by Jessica. He then tries working with Trish before she turns on him. Jeri Hogarth, the lawyer who is in multiple Defenders series shows, is diagnosed with ALS and also shows interest in working with IGH to possibly heal her ALS. In the end, she is conned by both her former colleagues at the law firm and the former IGH employees who end up robbing her. Hogarth, played by Carrie-Anne Moss, is a great side character. Generally I like Trish, Malcolm, and Jessica, so it is tough to watch all of them struggle so much.

I'm sure you could do a much more in-depth discussion on how the second season highlights complex female friendships, mother-daughter relationships, rivalry, etc. The characters are written and acted very well, and these concepts are likely explored well here. I felt like the plot pace was a bit slow in terms of revealing the main villain, and once she was revealed she just wasn't as intriguing of a character as Kilgrave, though it was nice to see David Tennant's character make a brief appearance this season. I also really like all of these characters, so seeing them struggle and bicker so much was just sad, honestly. At the end of the second season, everything was looking as if it was improving for them, albeit individually. They were still pissed at each other. Here's to some reconciliation and forgiveness for season 3.