- 1000 cuts for Hogarth
- Wendy's head dripping blood
- Albert lowering his hand in the blender
- Sticking the needle through Luke's eye
- Trish making out with Kilgrave
- Hope stabbing herself in the neck
- Fucking Claire taking up so much goddamn screen time in the finale. It was a cute nod to the shared universe with Daredevil, but then she just kept hanging around for no reason! I would have rather had more time spent on Kilgrave vs Jessica, or Trish, or Malcolm -- you know, the characters that we've been investing in this entire season and actually care about!
- Luke Cage taking up so much screen time in the finale. We get it, you have to set up your own Netflix show. He really didn't add anything to the finale, except the sweet goodbye Jessica gives him when he's unconscious.
- Support group proves useless in more ways than one. Robyn should not have been able to galvanize the support group against Jessica so easily. They get in Jessica's way, and then they disband, with no one really seeming to take away any good from the group. Is this the show's way of saying that support groups don't really work? Perhaps. Maybe it's just too impersonal? It does show that talking one-on-one with friends or people you care about works pretty well, like for Malcolm and Robyn.
- Too many terrible plans where Kilgrave escapes. Maybe it was because I didn't binge watch the season, but having captured Kilgrave only to have someone act stupidly and have him escape became way too repetitive, and somewhat cheapened his final demise.
- Everyone making fun of Kilgrave's name
- "I hope they have express shipping in heaven."
The Death Scene
Some say the death scene was anti-climatic, as well as anti-cathartic. I do admit, I expected a bigger showdown and a satisfying, violent death for Kilgrave. But I do think the way Jessica killed Kilgrave was clever and appropriate. In a way, she used his powers against him, allowing him to believe he became strong enough to control her again. She also used his obsession with her, knowing that it was the only way she could catch him off guard. I also liked how she made Kilgrave come to her, instead of her chasing him. She was the one holding all the power this time. The breaking of the neck was clean, and left no room for guessing as to whether he is actually dead or not. A clean break. A pathetic ending is a satisfying ending for someone who was a simply a sadistic man, able to snap in two just as easily as an ordinary human. I do have qualms, however, about the whole plan in general. Using Trish as a decoy was unnecessarily dangerous and really didn't help Jessica catch Kilgrave anyway. Couldn't Jessica have just shot Kilgrave as he was distracted by Trish, instead of trying to jump on him from a balcony? Also, Jessica's plan to trick Kilgrave into thinking she was under his control was pretty lucky considering Kilgrave could have easily ordered Trish to kill herself to test if Jessica would stop her or not. Unless Jessica was willing to sacrifice Trish in order to kill Kilgrave, which would be pretty ballsy.
Hope's Sacrifice
So, so sad. Her death was really the only fitting end for this character. Like she said herself, she had no home to go back to, no loved ones. There was nothing for her. Kilgrave had destroyed her life, and dying was the only way to free herself of him. But it was a heroic sacrifice, because it freed Jessica as well. She died for Jessica, and she died for all the people who would die if Kilgrave was left to roam free in the world.
Trish and Jessica
Their friendship was the heart of the entire show, and was a beautiful thing to watch. No wonder Trish thought of Jessica as a hero. Jessica saved Trish when they were children at Jessica's own expense. Trish looks up to Jessica for her selflessness and strength just as much as Jessica looks up to Trish for her optimism and goodness.
Simpson is a Crazy Man
Simpson turned out to be a really great character, and when I say great, I mean a horrible, misogynistic, and crazy, but really well-done and believable. Even before he took his crazy pills, there were signs that Simpson wasn't really right in the head. He's always been shown to be a controlling character, or rather, someone who wants to be in control all the time. When he became Kilgrave's victim, he suffered a loss of control that he's been trying to gain back ever since, through more and more dangerous methods. At first, he tried to control how Trish felt about him. He couldn't just leave her alone -- he HAD to make her trust him again. He then tries to control Jessica's plans to capture Kilgrave, butting heads with her every plan, insisting that they kill him, or at least capture him his way. He uses Trish's information about Kilgrave's bodyguards, and then keeps her in the dark as he goes after Kilgrave solo. He is always undermining Trish as a person. He wants to keep her safe, no matter what. So he locks her up in her own house. Taking the crazy pills only heightened his controlling tendencies, not created them. He provided a good contrast to Kilgrave's obvious villainy by disguising his vileness as an everyday nice guy. His ending is left as a question mark, presumably to be dealt with if there ever is a season two. Trivia: Simpson is actually the supervillain Nuke in the comics. Also, how awesome was it when Trish beat him up? Trivia: Trish is the superhero Hellcat in the comics.
Hogarth's Redemption
I couldn't help laughing during the scene between Pam and Hogarth in the holding cell, as Hogarth realizes every horrible, selfish thing she's done up to this point has all been for nothing. Did Pam JUST realize that Hogarth was a manipulative, conniving bitch? I guess so. Also, Hogarth really didn't need to confess to Pam that she tried to use Kilgrave to get Wendy to sign the divorce papers. Just say he forced you to bring him to a doctor you idiot! Now's not the time to grow a conscience! Anyway, I really liked how the initially out-of-left-field divorce plotline eventually played into the bigger story. And at the end, Hogarth makes a small step towards redemption as she testifies against Kilgrave, finally acknowledging that he was a real threat in a way she never did for Hope.
Feminsim
This is how you do a feminist show, people! Obviously most of our main characters are females. But not only are they female, they are portrayed as complex, contradictory, and flawed characters. They are strong both physically and mentally, they are vulnerable, they are weak, they are mean, they are kind. They are sexual without being punished or shamed for it. Their gender doesn't define them, but at the same time they own their femininity and use it to their advantage at times. Let's talk about the men, who are generally minor characters compared to the women. Kilgrave is clearly the villain, and at no time does the show waver in its stance that he is an outright rapist. Even though he had a bad childhood, there is no question that it excuses his actions in the present. His delusional thinking that he loves his victims and is not to blame is a real excuse that many rapists in real life use. Simpson was almost the good, strong, noble guy, until he revealed his toxic masculinity and his need to control women, even though he's thinking its for their own good. Malcolm is a genuine good guy, but he doesn't fit the typical role of a strong, masculine character. Instead, he takes on a nurturing role most often relegated to women, where he encourages people to talk about their feelings and attend support groups. Luke Cage is more of the strong, masculine role, and while there's nothing wrong with that, because it's such an obvious character we see all the time, he was a little boring and one-note.
Rape
This might be the only show I can think of that portrays rape as it should be portrayed. First of all, the show didn't feel the need to actually show the rape occurring, as most shows these days do (ahem Game of Thrones) mostly for the shock value. Second of all, most shows have the rape occur to further the man's story -- to either show just how evil the man is, or to show how sad another man might be when seeing the rape occur. It's almost never about the victim. In Jessica Jones, the entire season deals with the aftermath of rape and abuse -- the psychological effects, the physical effects. It puts the emphasis on the victims and their recovery, and not on the men. We almost never see this on television. Usually the victim's pain is brushed aside to focus on other stories, and we never see how rape can affect the victim for their entire lives. The show also depicts the different ways that victims can cope with their trauma -- through therapy, through support groups, through friendship, through drinking. Not all of these methods work for everyone, and it is really the victim's choice to decide how he or she will move forward. Well done, show.
Jessica is Not a Hero
I loved the ending and the return to the film noir genre. Although Kilgrave is dead, the show does a good job emphasizing the fact that his abuse has life-long effects, and that Jessica is not magically fixed all of a sudden. I loved Malcolm becoming her assistant in helping people. And I loved the fact that Jessica knows she is not a hero, but is still willing to give it a try.
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