I’m very late to this party, and not fashionably.
More like awkwardly because I can’t seem to do any better.
ANYWAY… let’s talk about raven-haired, snarky, foul-mouthed Jones struggling with PTSD after being under mind control for more than a year.
And repeatedly raped.
And forced to kill an innocent woman, the wife of the man she falls in love with.
I’ll get to all of those things but first, let’s sink our teeth into Jessica Jones and why she is irrevocably important.
Right from the get-go Jessica Jones is a person you don’t want to mess with. And it isn’t the ability to fly or her super-strength.
It’s the hostile, guarded look in her wide dark eyes and the snarl behind her gritted teeth of a smile. It’s in the casual way she flips someone off and the confident stride.
The blunt, sharp-edged words that she tosses seemingly without a care in the world of how they affect the person she’s talking to.
Jones is utterly terrifying, while also being utterly vulnerable as well.
She wears her fiery anger for what her abuser did on her leather jacket-clad sleeve, and suffers the onset of many panic attacks that she is barely able to force back by murmuring three words:
“Birch Street. Higgins Drive. Cobalt Lane.”
Jones doesn’t apologize, and it’s extremely refreshing because women are often put into that corner, apologizing for all of the things that happen to them, and can never seem to fight their way out of it.
Jessica Jones is mean and angry and frustrated, and she makes no apologies for those facts because her world has never been the forgiving type.
Despite all of this, Jones is incredibly selfless and good, placing the needs of her sister above her own always, makes sure that Malcolm, another one of Kilgrave’s victims makes it to his room, and does the best she can for the sad girl, Hope, to move on, even if it was all in vain.
Jessica Jones is the prime example of what it means to be defeated but still fight anyway. To lose everything but still search for something to hold on to. To get the air knock out of your lungs, knowing you’re going to lose this battle, but stagger up anyway for the next punch.
To lose everything but still search for something to hold on to. To get the air knock out of your lungs, knowing you’re going to lose this battle, but stagger up anyway for the next punch.
What’s also great about Jessica Jones is that while sexual assault is a giant topic throughout the show, the act is never shown. That, in itself, is amazing because the watcher understands the trauma without ever having to see it.
Neither Jones’ or Hope’s rape is ever shown, but you can tell that it was horrific and shattering without ever having to witness it.
Game of Thrones and CW’s Reign are just two out of many shows that have depicted a rape, and many have been upset by it because it’s seen as being used for shock factor or a way to boost the ratings.
I, for one, agree on this, but if you need convincing, just google search what I’ve said and A LOT will come up.
This show mixes in many themes throughout its thirteen-episode run: trauma, assault, bystander effect, grief, and standing up for what’s right, even if it nearly kills you.
Jones isn’t an antihero, but a reluctant one. She isn’t nice, but she’s ferociously loyal and kind. She cares desperately, the weight of her feelings is enough to crush her, which is probably why she’s always downing a drink, the alcohol burning a familiar path down her throat.
I know I’m jumping around, here, but this is my review, and you’ve stuck around for this long, so bear with me here. I’m about to tell you why Jessica Jones is incredible, and not because an audience saw a woman be herself without making no compromises, but because they saw her and watched… and now there will be a second season next year.
With the exception of Supergirl, which is currently in its own second season on the CW, it’s very rare to see a woman heading a superhero movie, let alone a show. There’s Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Captain America, and Black Widow!
Oh, wait, Black Widow will never have her own movie, because Marvel still doesn’t believe that an audience will pay to watch her… because that’s a smart train of thought.
I don’t really have to list off the names for superhero television shows, but I will. Arrow, The Flash, Constantine, Gotham, Smallville… come on, guys.
Come. On.
I don’t know what’s worse: the fact that people still don’t think that women are interesting, or that if they the main character in a show, they usually end up revolving around one or two guys that can’t live without her.
Vampire Diaries, anyone? Scandal, anyone?
Don’t get me wrong, I love those shows. But still.
I’m not denying that Jones has a love interest in the show, and in fact, that’s cool. Good for her for being able to move on from what happened to her and start to heal with a guy that’s actually a pretty decent human being.
There should be more Luke Cage’s out there in the world.
Here’s my point: watch Jessica Jones.
I don’t give the best explanations, in fact, I ramble and babble and become pretty incomprehensible.
But I think you got something out of my words.
Watch Jessica Jones, because as much as she’s a superhero, she’s also incredibly human, struggling to get by, afraid to lean on the ones she loves, and still trying to figure out who she is, even though you find out exactly the kind of person she’s become.
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