Superhero movies and TV shows always have a certain inherent goofiness to them. Even when creators like, say, Christopher Nolan go deep into that dark, gritty atmosphere, delivering something much closer to what we now see as the real world than what was depicted in classic comics, there just comes a point where you have to contend with the fact that you are watching a man dressed as a bat fighting villains known as the Joker (Heath Ledger) or Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy). However, ten years ago, this one show came along that completely changed the face of superhero stories. Originally on Netflix, Marvel's Jessica Jones is a series that took the seriousness of its universe beyond just the aesthetic level, giving viewers a story about sexual violence and trauma like few others.
Based on the titular character created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos in the early 2000s, Jessica Jones is not a show about saving the world or even the multiverse. Played by Krysten Ritter, the titular main character is, much like Daredevil (Charlie Cox), a more urban superhero who deals with smaller bad guys in the confines of New York City. And, over the course of the series' three seasons, many of these villains are people from Jones' past, such as her own mother and the man who virtually turned her into a puppet for eight months. The show's quality dwindles as the story moves on, but the first season of Jessica Jones is hands down the best thing ever put out by Marvel.
In a universe in which sexuality is often denied to keep things as kid-friendly as possible, Jessica Jones goes in a completely different direction. Not only does the show embrace its characters' desires, showing her passionate encounters with love interest Luke Cage (Mike Colter), but it goes a step further and discusses how sex can be used as a weapon to destroy someone. The big bad in Jessica Jones Season 1 is a man who uses his powers of mind control to enslave Jessica for a long period of time, forcing her to be something akin to a perfect girlfriend for him. This includes, of course, sleeping with him. Completely stripped of the usual charm that made him into lovable characters such as Good Omens' Azrael or the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant is superbly heinous as the vicious Kilgrave — a name so silly that Jessica herself has to wonder if Murdercorpse was already taken.
Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.
You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.
You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.
Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.
You've been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What's left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.
Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.
You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.
But there is nothing silly about what Kilgrave represents, and creator Melissa Rosenberg is well aware of that. Jessica Jones never equates defeating Kilgrave with solving all of Jessica's problems. There is a trauma that remains, a ghost of the past that still haunts her mind even when Kilgrave is gone. When we meet Jessica in Season 1, she's a complete wreck, an alcoholic, and recites names in order to keep her mind away from these awful memories. But Kilgrave insists on coming back, both figuratively and literally, as the parents of a girl he has taken hostage come to Jessica for help. In Season 2, Jessica still deals with her past and with the fear that Kilgrave might return to her life once more.
This is important because it isn't rare for the media about sexual violence to suggest that the trauma generated by it can be undone by some good revenge or, even worse, by simply finding someone who will love you right. As lovely as those ideas sound, they aren't true. Like Jessica Jones, people who undergo these types of violence can still have flashbacks and trust issues even if they are hanging out with loved ones or if they have physically beaten their assailant. And it is particularly there that Jessica Jones shines: the show understands that trauma isn't something that can be erased. It is, instead, something that we must learn to manage and live with.
There are more Marvel characters that ought to make a Daredevil comeback next season.
Another point in which Jessica Jones stands apart from other stories that deal with the same themes is in recognizing that, quite frequently, it isn't just one traumatic experience that makes a person into who they are. Jessica isn't cynical and aloof just because of Kilgrave, though he certainly didn't help. Instead, the character also has a past involving a lost family and an abusive foster household. With superhuman strength, Jessica also helps her adoptive sister Trish (Rachael Taylor) deal with a violent mother as a child, and the fraught relationship between the two grown women is also a great watch.
Jessica Jones got canned after its third season in 2017. The show's final installment has a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes — quite a drop from Season 1's 94%. Still, it's a shame that such a brilliant series was cancelled so quickly. With some course correction, a fourth season of Jessica Jones could have been a return to greatness. After all, there is still some pretty interesting stuff going on in Season 3. Nowadays, fans of the character await her return in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, which is set to drop in March 2026. It certainly will be nice to see her again. But, while she's not back yet, why not take some time to appreciate her very own show? We promise you it's like nothing you've seen before.
