Jessica Jones

[Mr. Hakujin]

Busy weekend, so I haven't started it yet. I wanna re-watch some of the S1 stuff, too. I'm hoping to knock S2 out this week coming up though. 

[FireDownBelow]

On 3/9/2018 at 2:11 AM, The NZA said:

2 eps in, and shit's already hitting the fan!  no idea where this season's going yet, but i'm digging it.  it's cool to see Jess doing more PI work too. 

 

 

See, that part, about not knowing where this season is headed... It feels more all over the place than the first one. I'm withholding judgement but I'm not enjoying it quite as much as the first one.

 

Also, I still disagree with Ryan about the first season not being written tight enough.

[Da Cap'n 2099]

Heh!

 

S2E2:

Scroty Sense.

[Donatella]

We just finished season 2! I thought it was just as strong as the first season, but it is so hard to beat Tennant as a villain...This is still my #1 Marvel Netflix show. I’m so happy this season wasn’t a let-down! 

 

Also loving that every episode was directed by a woman! 

[The NZA]

yeah, really enjoyed this season as well

 

jessica got to do a lot more PI'ing, we finally got Hellcat in the end, and the circle is now complete with jerk protagonists pushing away their supporting cast to hogarth & inc

 

i was telling donny how a critique i'd recently read about black panther said they felt it was a really good story constrained by comic sensibilities, meaning that no matter how deep & interesting the conflict was, it was gonna end with 2 people trying to out-punch each other.  the fact that this season basically didn't have a direct antagonist (but rather, Jess getting her mom back as a monster & a series of ugly truths, with some touching moments as it went along) was really interesting.  i think just making a season without a big baddie & incorporating her mother was pretty bold, as either one of those ideas could've easily fell flat - instead, i really liked the actress who played her mom, she was not only jess-like enough, but they absolutely made her shift to hyde/hulk mode scary at times.  

 

i'd had tenet's presence spoiled going in (thanks, marvel insider) & was already curious how they'd follow the thriller that was season 1.  i'd convinced myself we'd see him as a flashback, so when her backstory was moving along, i figured it'd end at him...but i was wrong, and his use here was interesting enough. i was glad they didn't rely on him too much. 

 

the awful mothers parallel was interesting at times, and malcolm really grew on me as a character too.  there's prolly a few plot points with cheng that didn't always vibe with me, but there's really not much i can knock here or say i wish we'dve skipped/etc - if there's one thing i could've gone for more of, it was david mack art

 

after defenders, i was thinking another 13 ep thing would feel bloated/drag a bit, but i really didn't feel that here.  so yeah, still quietly bummed we're not just jumping into heroes for hire yet, but bring on luke season 2! 

[Mr. Hakujin]

I just finished S2E8 and I'm definitely more mixed on this season thus far than I was on S1. For my money, JJ S1 was one of if not the best overall seasons of TV Marvel has put out. Tennant's Purple Man & introducing Luke Cage had a lot to do with that, but I felt the overall arc and flow of S1 was more on point. To be reductive in my critique of the writing, S1 had a few "filler episodes" but S2 feels like it's got more filler "per episode." 

 

On the plus side for S2: I like the lead actress's performance a lot more. Ritter's Jones was hit or miss for me in S1, but in S2 she's really reaching a more honest, layered performance for me. And even though I don't really find the growing supporting cast of characters as interesting, the acting is so solid it's saving some writing and pacing issues I'm having with the episodes thus far. Even Hispanic David Mack, which is written thus far just about as cliched as you can get, is coming across as tolerable thanks to the performance. Trish and Malcolm (associate status unlocked!) are having a really interesting season thus far. Hopefully that doesn't go south in the last five episodes.

 

Some spoilery comments on S2E1-8:

 

* Kudos to the writers for making IGH a much more layered "villain" thus far & not just another "evil corporation of mad scientists." Malus & Hansen were trying to do legitimate good. Koslov took the science and applied it to the military, but even he didn't seem to be malicious in his intents with the tech. 

*RIP Whizzer. Gone too soon!
*Kudos for S2 continuing the theme of addiction and relapse from S1 (technically more obsession in S1, but that's mostly semantics) with Trish & Malcolm. I'm liking how their stories are intersecting as of S2E8. I always thought Trish had a selfish side to her, but it never made me actually dislike her untilt hat moment she pushed the inhaler drug on Malcolm. And of course he caved b/c he's in love/lust with her, in pain, and an addict. It was a very well done scene.

*I'm not hating the Hogarth/IGH nurse plotline, but it's just not the characters I sat down wanting to see so much time spent with. I wish I had Claire or Luke or even moar Foggy.

*So, maybe I'm being overly nit-picky here. But the plot twist of the female protagonist's villain turning out to be her mother who was thought dead but ended being a murderous assassin that the protagonist is conflicted in reconciling with is STRAIGHT UP lifted from the show ALIAS. I mean, considering the original comic book the show is based off of was named ALIAS, I gotta call shenanigans.

*I love the mention of Cap & The Raft, but why no DEFENDERS talk thus far?  I'm still not through with S2, so maybe it does get mentioned later, or maybe it's revealed JJS2 takes place prior to DEFENDERS. I'm not calling this a criticism yet unless the whole fighting an army of ninjas thing isn't addressed at all. No way someone like Jessica would go through the DEFENDERS and not at the very least bring it up as a sarcastic comment.

 

 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Mr. Hakujin

[Mr. Hakujin]

S2E09

This episode was just outstanding. None of my previous critiques on the writing or pace apply here. Everything on point. Also, I see where this is going for Hogarth. It won't be pretty. 

 

S2E10

Twelve minutes in: Wow. That's impressive. Malcolm may be my new new hero.

Twenty minutes later: Nvrmnd.

Yup. Hogarth was messy. Kudos to the writers for actually making this an emotional moment when I didn't really care about this character's personal life at the onset of the season.

 

Patsy done gon' an dun it, y'all! I'm not sure I like where this is going for our lil' Hellcat. :/

[The NZA]

 

[Donatella]

3 hours ago, The NZA said:

 

 

I love every single thing about this.

[Jumbie]

Quote

S1 had a few "filler episodes" but S2 feels like it's got more filler "per episode." 

 

Yeah. I disagree with NZA in that so much of the last half felt deflated and stretched out.

 

Spoiler

They had that thing going with the mom as a ticking time bomb which SHOULD have brought tension, but it didn't. I think The sense of forward motion just ended and I kept wishing they'd wrap it up. I think there is a structural element missing in the plot that was needed to provide a sense of time moving towards an approaching deadline to get things feeling like a story was happening.

 

Maybe they needed a second villain. I appreciate them trying to be original like Nick pointed out and not be constrained by comic book sensibilities, but there was no sword of Damocles hanging over things. The regular police never seemed like a threat and the idea that Jessica had to keep moving to prevent a confrontation where her mom would kill people, but we never got the sense the cops had a chance to catch them. Sadly, the only solution my constrained brain can think of is maybe a superpowered armored SHIELD-esque team to hunt them. Maybe give Chen something to do. But that risks getting into Diamondback levels of over-comicsing things.

 

Specific things I didn't like:

• They make a big deal about how Alisa would cause casualties in a confrontation with the National Guard etc, but then one bullet takes her down.  Seems like that's the show undermining its own villain and sense of danger. Why be afraid of confronting the National Guard if a hail of bullets could kill her? Or a hidden sniper? Or RPG?

• And that's after they also spent Simpson's life in a bid to build up how powerful Alisa was. I thought it was a great move to take a character we expected so much from (Simpson) and job them out to give cred to the new villain. But when that villain just doesn't end up being that powerful in the end, it seems wasted retroactively.

• That the big bad fearful research company was a fizzle. If they were just a mom and pop operation with a total of 3 successful supers, then why are they such a powerful shadow organisation able to manipulate records and all that? It was a step down for the antagonist that made Jones struggle seem less severe on top of being a mismatched characterisation.

 

Things I did like:

• The parallel between addiction and powers. I don't think I've ever seen it presented so directly, and it worked.

• The monster reveal. The way the escape scene was initially presented, the burnt up 'monster' seemed like a build up for some beastly opponent and so the reveal of it being Alisa all a long worked well for me. One of the few times a surprise twist actually surprised me.

• Anything Tenant did.

 

Stilly Edit: I tried to fix this as best as I could. It seems there's no way to get rid of a misplaced spoiler tag reliably. I will look into this.

Edited April 1, 2018 by Stilly
Trying to fix it

[Iambaytor]

Jessica Jones remains the Netflix series' best character and the best from a dramatic standpoint but they really are bad at sticking those landings.

 

They did things better this time.  Jeri, Malcolm, and Trish all got better stories without stepping on Jessica's toes as much which became an infuriating aspect of the first season.  And no characters were as insufferable as the crazy girl from upstairs in the first season, it was nice to see more of a warm side from Jessica this time.  But bringing back Tennant was jarring and out of nowhere, it just happened apropos of nothing and the whole dead character comes back to haunt the protagonist as a representation of their guilt is so hack at this point.

They very much managed the impossible task of finding a villain that was different but as effective as Killgrave.  I didn't even mind too much that Alissa and Jessica's arc was just a rehash of the arc of Killgrave/Jessica mixed with the Harold Meachum subplot from Iron Fist only with more nuance and fewer magic ninjas.  It's still pretty clear that they pulled this entire season out of their asses.  I'm not really disappointed that they didn't make IGH all it was cracked up to be as I wasn't looking forward to that subplot or more of Simpson but his unceremonious death makes all the wheel spinning that they dedicated to him on the back end of season one even more pointless.  I'm glad they were able to spin it into more story for Trish, though.

 

This is still the strongest series from a character/story perspective but so far The Punisher and Iron Fist are the only shows so far to make use of their entire episode order and not draw out the inevitable.

[Jumbie]

Wait, nothing on how to revert strikethrough text or spoiler tag? 

 

Quote

But bringing back Tennant was jarring and out of nowhere, it just happened apropos of nothing and the whole dead character comes back to haunt the protagonist as a representation of their guilt is so hack at this point.

 

Yeah. I thought the same thing as it was happening. But it was fun enough in the moment that I gave it a pass.

Didn't they hint in S1 or in Luke Cage's series that IGH was part of his origin too? I was ready to see that turned into something wider leading to a big bad villain down the road. I guess I'm just not tired of conspiracy angles.

 

[Stilly]

@Jumbie, it doesn't look like it can be reverted directly. I've edited the post, as best as I could figure it out. That was kinda cool. I will try to figure out a good solution for this, but right now, it might just be easier to copy the text, nuke the post, and then paste it in without formatting, which is essentially what I did to your post.

[Jumbie]

Cool. Thanks.

By the way, have we met? I know we have a poster Stillbored...but I've been away for a while.

[Stilly]

That's me! I changed my name because reasons, that's all.

[Da Cap'n 2099]

So, just finished this and, yeah, this is Netflix/Marvel's strongest series and character (Punisher might be next. We'll just have to see after season 2).

 

Not really mad at anyone's critiques and pretty much agree with all the praise. I'll be honest, when Ritter was announced as Jessica, I didn't think she was going to be a great fit, but boy was I wrong. DEAD wrong. She's really done something special with that character that even Bendis couldn't keep consistent.

 

Bring on season 3!

[Donatella]

Jessica Jones season 3 has been out for a bit but it's been hard to find time to watch with NZA's intense work schedule! We are only two episodes in. I love the noir feel they're going for with the dramatic voiceovers and all that. But ep 2 is Trish-centered and she honestly can't carry an episode. It felt sooo long cuz I just wanted it to end. Still looking forward to the rest of the season, though. Just hoping we don't spend too much time on Hellcat. 

[alive she cried]

I still haven't found the will to finish season 2, after the sheer brilliance of season 1 I was really disappointed by the drop in quality. I'll get there eventually, just hope season 3 is a return to form.  

[Mr. Hakujin]

On 7/2/2019 at 9:13 AM, alive she cried said:

I still haven't found the will to finish season 2, after the sheer brilliance of season 1 I was really disappointed by the drop in quality. I'll get there eventually, just hope season 3 is a return to form.  

Eh, not so much with S3--at least the first nine episodes. 

 

I tell ya, S3 is being a struggle to get through for me. I binged the first seven episodes but the last two have taken me multiple viewings to get through. It's the same old problem with all the Marvel/Netflix (#RIP) shows--too many damn episodes.

 

S3 E01-09 Spoilers below:

*So. Much. Fucking. Retread! I dig the concept of having a serial killer with the same motives towards superheroes as Syndrome from the first

Incredibles movie but once ya boy gets caught that should've been it. New case and villain(s) for the back half of the season. This nonsense of Jessica doing bullshit burglary and breaking into the crime lab to exonerate a serial killer is some infuriatingly weak ass writing. 

 

*I've got zero fucks to give about Trish even though her mom was just brutally murdered. And that's due to a special blend of mediocre acting and shit writing. 

 

*Hogarth is the moral equivalent of a yo-yo. I see that the firm is her legacy, but the doxing of her old lover's husband and the spinoff from that has just been one WTF moment after another.

 

*That whole scene where Malcolm quit in S3E9 was also some BS character writing. They just had him go back to S1 naive Malcolm. So he learned nothing from his time with Hogarth? He literally regressed as a character instead of progresses? *sigh* Malcolm should've just asked for his "magic recommendation" and been on his way. All the moral grandstanding is something S3 Malcolm know sis completely self destructive for his career. S3 Malcolm should've had a better exit strategy from Hogarth's employment.

 

I've got four episodes left in S3 and the only reasons I'm not totally abandoning the show are 1. I'm hoping for some kind of Luke Cage reappearance and tying up to his S2 "cliffhanger" and 2. I've come this far so, uh, fuck it.