Deron Generally
Deron GenerallyJessica Jones
Netflix
Season 2 Episode 1
You would think that Jessica Jones’ (Krysten Ritter) circumstances might have improved slightly following the events following her encounter with Killgrave as well as the events of The Defenders, but that wouldn’t make good drama. In the first episode of Jessica Jones season 2, we see that things haven’t changed that much for the hard-drinking detective except now there’s a new wrinkle; people know she has powers. The problem with this becomes painfully clear when her first client gets some information she wasn’t expecting and offers to pay Jessica extra to kill someone.
The exchange that follows hits on one of the main themes of the season which is Jessica battling her own anger while also dealing with her actions from season 1. That anger is on full display when she’s confronted with a rival PI Pryce Cheng (Terry Chen) who wants to buy Alias Investigations and will do anything to put Jessica out of business. It also leads her back to her favorite pastime; drinking to forget. Unfortunately, her past hits her square in the face when Trish (Rachael Taylor) brings her something from storage. Trish is also dealing with new circumstances in her life as well while she digs into the mystery of Jessica’s past.
Malcolm (Eka Darville) returns as Jessica’s assistant who is more of an emotional punching bag in this episode and Jeri (Carrie-Ann Moss) has her own issues to deal with both personally and professionally as we find out what her hand in the Cheng situation is. All of this culminates in the beginning of a new mystery that will be personal for Jessica this season.
The first episode of this season is a little slow in its pacing, but that works to establish the world, the characters, the conflict and take its first steps towards the new mysteries that will be part of this season. Ritter and Moss give two of the best performances of this episode. Ritter has Jessica down as she struggles to deal with the new circumstances in her life. Moss’ Jeri Hogarth is awesome as well and there is a layer of desperation under her veneer of dispassionate control that is great when you see it. With many of the pieces in place to drive the story forward, it will be interesting to see where this season goes thematically.
