I've finished season 3 of Jessica Jones, and with that I have watched all of the Netflix-era Marvel Defenders series shows, minus season 2 of Iron Fist, which I skipped on purpose. The only show left to watch is 2025's Daredevil: Born Again. Jessica Jones is on my podium of favorite Defenders characters in third place, so I was looking forward to this season. While we're discussing the podium, surprisingly The Punisher is number 2, and Matt Murdock's Daredevil is number 1.
Season 3 starts where season 2 left off. Jessica is still mad at her friend/adoptive sister Trish for shooting her mom and going through with the experimental surgery to become superhuman. The very end of season 2 eluded to the fact that the surgery was successful, with her dropping then "catching" her phone with her foot. Adept comic readers probably figured this out long ago, but in season 3, because of the surgery, Trish is transformed into Hellcat. I was completely aloof, and didn't see this coming at all until the end of season 2 after Trish had the surgery.
Trish turning into Hellcat sets the stage for season 3. As mentioned, Jessica is still mad at Trish from the events of season 2. Jessica is attacked by a psychopath killer named Gregory Sallinger, who targets people with abilities and powers, believing them to be "unworthy" of their abilities. Jessica uses her private investigation skills to try to imprison Sallinger. This proves difficult, and the newly aggressive Trish Walker as Hellcat seeks quicker justice. This reaches a tipping point when Sallinger kills Trish's mom, and Hellcat attacks and kills Sallinger. Jessica is compelled to do the "right" thing, and turns Trish in to the authorities. In the final scene, we see Trish being taken to the Raft with Jessica watching in the background.
This season was fine, but I prefer the dynamic we got in season 1 with these characters. As the season progressed, it became a bit unclear who the actual enemy was - Sallinger or Trish. I don't particularly like Trish as a villain as I don't think she's a bad person by nature. Sallinger is a terrible person, and a good villain for a psychological thriller, but a bit of an odd choice for a comic book villain. Also, his identify was revealed very early, and since Jessica is a private eye, it would have been nice for his identity to have been a bit more of a mystery. This season also suffered a bit from the same problem that I had with Luke Cage season 2. With Hellcat being the more aggressive character going after Sallinger, and then subsequently becoming the villain and going to jail, you could almost remove Jessica completely from this season and it would have turned out mostly the same.
Jessica Jones as a character is a good one. Her alcohol loving, don't give a shit attitude is always entertaining. Each subsequent season of all of the Netflix-era Defenders shows got a bit worse (with the exception of Daredevil), but this doesn't mean they were bad. They just weren't as good as their initial seasons. Jessica Jones has been announced to appear in Daredevil: Born Again season 2, and I am excited to see her appearance in that show next year.
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