Jessica Jones ★★★★

When Marvel announced that they were releasing a number of MCU television series on Netflix, I was certainly pleased. I enjoy Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter, but though the latter is certainly a great deal more accomplished they lacked the sheen that, say, House of Cards sports. I looked forward to Marvel TV to rival the best.

Daredevil was released in April this year, and surprised everyone not only with its darker, more ‘mature’ tone (think more ‘The Dark Knight’ than ‘Thor’) but also with its quality; Daredevil is one of if not the highest scoring Marvel property on Metacritic to date. Hot off its heels is Jessica Jones, thankfully similar both in noir tone and quality.

Jessica Jones (played by Krysten Ritter) is a ‘gifted’ individual (and Private Investigator) with a past she’d rather leave behind, but that past is ripped from its grave when Kilgrave (David Tennant) turns up and uses his powers of mind control to get her attention. Helping our lead is her best friend Trish (Rachael Taylor), fellow superhero in hiding Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and attorney Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss).

Aside from one character that makes a special appearance in a sole episode, there are little to no ties to Daredevil or the wider Cinematic Universe as a whole. This is to its benefit. As an audience we know that Iron Man etc. are out there; we don’t need reminding. What we want, and what Marvel needs to do in order to keep its material fresh and exciting, is concentrate on characters and tell interesting stories. By keeping things grounded (a loose term here, but in comparison to all things superhero) Jessica Jones does just that.

It tackles issues that you wouldn’t expect from any of Marvel’s filmic properties, namely sex and rape. People do things under Kilgrave’s control that they wouldn’t normally do, and the show deals with these topics appropriately; let’s not beat about the bush — Kilgrave is a serial rapist and murderer without the slightest conscience or understanding of his actions. People have drug and alcohol addictions. There are abusive relationships (and to its credit, though it shouldn’t need to be mentioned, relationships both hetero- and homosexual); there are abusive parenting methods. It’s certainly a contender for the ‘most personal superhero series’ award.

But all this would be worthless without great actors holding it all together. David Tennant is the standout star, bringing a sort of sophisticated derangement to Kilgrave that makes you both want to see him pay for his crimes and root for him (at times). His determinism and belief in his own right makes him an unpredictable foe, and Tennant plays him with both desperation and flippancy. A favourite line of mine is what he says to a newspaper stand attendant who complains that he’s picking up too many magazines: “Pick up that coffee. Throw it in your face”. He’s quirkily likable and yet utterly selfish and dangerous. He’s right up there with Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin in Daredevil, by far the two best portrayed villains in the Marvel world.

However, the series is not without its missteps, no matter how great the whole is. Jessica’s neighbour Robyn feels too unnatural even for a world where people that fly live next door, and her over-the-top performance clashes with the grittier tone elsewhere. I can’t help but feel that her story arc would have had more impact had the character not been made so much of a caricatured oddball. On the flipside, the story of Simpson seems to bring in a bit of unexpected backstory a little too quickly and without warning, and then wraps up without much explanation on that end either. I’m sure this is being saved for an inevitable Season Two and will work as a whole, but I found it a little undeveloped.

If your child enjoys the Marvel films, definitely don’t let them watch this. It sports the red Marvel logo, and it adds to the Cinematic Universe, but it is by far their most adult content so far. To its benefit it also works as an entirely standalone story, which means viewers can become invested in the one character, Jessica Jones, without concerning themselves with how it affects the world as a whole. It’s dark, gritty, and goes to places most other shows, let alone superheroes, fear to explore. Netflix raised the bar when they released Daredevil, but Jessica Jones takes that bar and lifts it right over her head.