'Jessica Jones' Excavates Its Roots In Survival, Abuse & Sleuthing For Final Season [Review]

Scrappy, bitter survival has always been at the heart of “Jessica Jones,” arguably Marvel’s most layered and adult MCU show on Netflix. Be it surviving abuse, coping with demons, or struggling with PTSD, no matter what sensationalistic supervillain entered the fray, showrunner Melissa Rosenberg‘s series has remained grounded in a level of psychological realism, allowing her to weave topical issues and weighty themes into the narrative.

Killgrave’s (David Tennant) Season 1 intro explored the idea of psychological rape, gaslighting, and the lifelong wounds sexual assault survivors endure. Season 2 further examined the issue of consent, with Jessica and her mother’s experimentation at the behest of Dr. Karl Malus (Callum Keith Rennie) serving as an allegory for the historically immoral federal control over women’s bodies. As “Jessica Jones” wraps up for good, in its third and final season, the series tackles the disgusting underbelly of embittered men trying to undermine the #TimesUp movement with lies and bad faith actions. However, whereas the theme of betrayal took center stage previously, forgiveness takes prominence here, something that doesn’t come easy to the hard-headed Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter). “Jessica Jones” S3 centers on two sisters finding their way back to each other in an unstable sociopolitical era where citizens hold as much power as enhanced individuals and the #TimesUp narrative is being sullied by enraged men.

But it’s not a sunny bed of roses on the road to clemency. Addiction, relapse, old habits dying hard, personal and professional accountability, and human nature’s corruptibility are the kinds of dark texture weaved into this final season. It’s one that’s thankfully better than the listless Season 2, though still somewhat anticlimactic.

Season 3 picks up where the series left off last year, with Jessica attempting to pick up the pieces after the death of her mother at the hands of her best friend Trish (Rachael Taylor). Rosenberg introduces her version of the comic book hero Hellcat (with a waggish, but endearing, nod to the comic book costume). This season’s story is an amalgamation of Season 1 and 3 of “Daredevil‘s” minimalistic superhero take and “Jessica Jones’” consistently gritty, noir-soaked world. With its back-to-the-basics approach and a new villain accompanied with higher stakes, Season 3 is at once familiar and refreshing.

Like Jessica, Hellcat Trish officially receives her own quintessential film noir, play-by-play self-narration. Although not as entertaining, Taylor’s voiceover work gets the job done. The child star-turned-pop star-turned-junkie-turned-talk show host-turned crime-fighting vigilante teaches herself “’90s parkour crap,” as Jessica refers to it, in an impossibly short amount of time. Continuing “Jessica Jones'” tradition of diverging from the comics to establish a grounded world within the MCU, the only Hellcat abilities Trish possesses after Dr. Malus’ procedure are enhanced strength, agility, speed, and reflexes. The retractable claws and the goofy costume of the comics are predictably (and thankfully) absent.

Trish has always been Jessica’s moral compass. However, given the events of last season, paired with Trish’s intense, competitive nature and blinding self-righteousness, the two best friends aren’t exactly on good terms. This sets the season up for a touching sub-narrative of forgiveness, redemption, and sisters rebranded. Ritter makes a commendable directorial debut in Trish’s vigilante alter-ego’s introductory episode, stepping behind the camera with ease. Before Trish and Jessica finally team up, Jessica finds an ally in Erik Gelden (Benjamin Walker), a riff on the character Mind-Wave, who has the ability to sense “evil” in human beings, acting as a stand-in to offset Hellcat’s missing psionic abilities from the comics.

Throughout the first eight episodes, Rosenberg sets the stage nicely for a “Jessica Jones: Public Enemy Number 1” narrative. Although this has been done before in various mediums (“Daredevil” Season 3, very recently) this comic book trope hasn’t been explored with someone whose moral standards are already decidedly lower than some of her other do-gooder pals. However, despite all of the expertly delivered wry wit, cynicism, and “fuck you” attitude by Ritter, Jessica has a big heart. Enter Greg Salinger, aka the Foolkiller (Jeremy Bobb from “Russian Doll”), who will do anything to eliminate her from the picture, including utilizing the guarded side of her that does give a shit to his manipulative advantage.

A murderous psychopath, Foolkiller resents women, particularly those more powerful than him. He refers to Jessica and Hellcat as vindictive feminists, echoing the ludicrous alt-right “toxic femininity” sentiment used to attempt to discredit the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. Salinger serves as a catalyst to finally unite the feuding adoptive sisters, allowing them to bury the hatchet and form a hero-sidekick team-up. Two intelligent super-vigilantes engaged in a battle of wits against an un-enhanced, psychotic genius. What could go wrong?

“Jessica Jones” has never been a show that rushes its narrative. The rich atmosphere, character-building, and lengthy narration keep it engaging. Its baggy pacing may periodically get in the way of its narrative for some viewers, but this is, after all, a slow-burner of a noir far less action-oriented than its fellow fallen Netflix MCU superhero counterparts. For the most part, the long periods without dialogue, when the detective work and visual exposition shines on display, are as enjoyable as they’ve ever been in “Jessica Jones.” Rosenberg harkens back to the show’s roots: Jessica’s voyeuristic fire escape exploits, hard-drinking, and endless sarcasm, sisters and best friends reunited, Malcolm’s spiraling descent back into darkness, and the moral gray area that made the first season so captivating. It’s a make-up story following an ugly breakup, interwoven into a dark, sinuous television universe that has continuously emulated our own, corrupt society so effortlessly. Always confronting serious issues and the climate of the #TimesUp era with tact and taste, “Jessica Jones” ends its Netflix run on a high, albeit characteristically feckless note, its character development as layered as the performances occupying these memorable, eccentric characters. [B]

”Jessica Jones” returns for its third and final season on June 14, 2019.