Review: Jessica Jones - 1.06 "You're A Winner!"

In which Luke Cage takes up too much screentime and says things like, "You let me be inside you!"

Is Luke capable of making a facial expression that isn't stoic? 

You might have noticed that I stopped adding "AKA" in front of every episode title. That's because I decided that it's a pretty dumb gimmick as far as episode titles go. I mean, that, and I forgot to add it. We're not all perfect, okay?

Most of this episode centers on a case Luke brings to Jessica -- he wants her to find a guy called Antoine at his sister Serena's request. Luke is bent on finding him not for any personal connection to the family, but because Serena supposedly has some dirt on Reva's death. Jessica finally fesses up, and Luke punches a bus. In more tragic news, we find out that Hope is pregnant and is trying to get a miscarriage, while Kilgrave continues to be one creepy bastard.

I understand that having Luke get closer and closer to finding the truth about Reva all the while having Jessica look more and more freaked out ramps up the tension for the final reveal. But miscommunication is one of my pet peeves in terms of plot devices -- having a character be in the dark for the sake of conflict feels like lazy storytelling to me, especially when the audience has already been in the know for a while.

I'm not a huge fan of Luke Cage, if you couldn't tell already. When you dislike a character, it's difficult to distinguish whether it's the actor's fault for not playing the role better, or if it's really the writing/directing's fault for holding back the actor and not giving opportunities to show range. I'll admit that I might have been too hard on Krysten Ritter in the past few episodes for this reason. The tepid one-liners and the continuous barrage of sullen looks belies her dynamic acting range, shown in spades this episode as she switches from contempt, to lust, to fear, to remorse with ease and conviction. It might even be a wise move on the part of the writers to characterize Jessica as somewhat dour and unlikeable, only to have her change and develop by the end of the season. Time will only tell.

Unfortunately, I don't think that's the case with Mike Colter. Yes, it's a pretty tall order for any actor to imbue a sense of realism and emotion when you're saying lines like, "You let me be inside you." But there are plenty of other instances where the writers gave Luke an opportunity to be charismatic, and instead, he just comes off as stoic. All. The. Time. The stoicism lends itself well when he's throwing douchebags around like a badass, but not in scenes where he needs to show grief, humor, or affection.

That's partly why I don't buy the "relationship" between Jessica and Luke. I understand that there is a connection there -- they are superpowered beings who can really be with each other physically. But, that's all it is -- physical. Have we seen any evidence for either Luke or Jessica to be attracted to one another for a different reason? Jessica was initially stalking him from the guilt of killing his wife. And then the first night they actually meet in the bar, they have sex. Because they're both hot. Only a few days later do they realize that they both have super strength, another physical perk. Look, there's definitely nothing wrong with a purely physical relationship. I'm perfectly fine if all they do is have sex and fight bad guys together. But when the show tries to make them into something more, I ain't buying it. The cuddling scene was just awkward -- I didn't feel like they earned enough relationship development to earn a scene where they care about each other so much that they're content to simply be in each other's presence. Anyway, your mileage may vary.

Oh Luke. Staring at Jessica after you've just had sex isn't endearing -- it's creepy. Especially if you do it with a really blank expression.

So, is Jessica Jones, in fact, a piece of shit? In this case, unfortunately, I have to agree with Luke. She's not a terrible person for killing Reva -- both the audience and Luke understand that Kilgrave was ultimately responsible (also, pretty timely for Luke to start believing in Kilgrave). Yes, it's pretty disturbing for Luke knowing that it was Jessica who killed his wife, just like Trish initially had trouble trusting Simpson after he strangled her. What's really got Luke pissed off, though, is that she held this really vital piece of information about his personal life from him, and willingly embarked on a sexual relationship with him while still withholding that knowledge. As cheesy as that "inside you" line was, it does emphasize that he felt violated by Jessica -- and that was her doing, not Kilgrave's.

Kudos to Ritter's acting in this scene

Let's talk about how awesome Malcolm is, shall we? From protecting Jessica to dealing with his trauma in a healthy way, Malcolm has undergone a huge transformation after giving up his addiction. I love how he tells Jessica that going to the survivors group and talking about personal trauma is not a competition. A lot of people use that reason to avoid talking about their abuse -- they feel like they're not justified to talk about it because they know someone has had it worse. But that shouldn't invalidate your own feelings and stand in the way of seeking help and getting better. I also thought he was really smart in suggesting that the survivors group pool their information together to profile Kilgrave, and Jessica was kind of an ass to dismiss his idea.

More of this duo please

Oh, god, Hope is so much more tragic than I thought. This story has left allegory and fantasy land and has become an outright depiction of a serial rapist and rape survivors. Erin Moriarty is killing it as Hope, adding nuance to both her utter despair as well as her desire to live and survive. "Some assholes would call Hope selfish," Jessica intones about Hope's abortion. I'm glad the show is dismissing those who want to take away the right of rape survivors to have an abortion. You have to wonder how many of Kilgrave's other victims were left pregnant, and if there are currently little Kilgrave babies running around. Spooky. Also spooky? Hogarth wanting to keep the dead fetus, possibly to obtain its powers for her own ends.

My question is whether or not David Tennant's phenomenal acting as a serial rapist will forever ruin the 10th Doctor for me. 

And then there is Kilgrave. God, Kilgrave is scary in his element. The poker scene was chilling. I had to look away from the screen when he told the burly guy to bash his head through the pole. Not that it helped, because I could still hear the nauseating sound effects. The reveal at the end of the episode that Kilgrave bought Jessica's childhood house was so well done.The street names she's been using as a litany against fear is now tainted by Kilgrave's presence. It's almost as if he's insinuating himself into her childhood, so that her entire life is now entwined with his - past, present, and future.

Other Thoughts:

• Malcolm's question at the survivors group is an interesting one. "It's the question of who I am. He turned me into an addict, a liar, a thief. He did that. But I don't know if it was in me to begin with, or is a part of who I am now?" A question that Jessica, Hope, and all Kilgrave survivors must be struggling with.
• "I know a lot about holding on to shit. It'll only hurt you and everyone around you." 
• If Jessica couldn't figure out on her own that Luke was going to kill that bus driver, she's dumber than I thought.
• Even though it's frustrating at times to not fully understand anyone's powers on this show, I kind of like how it shifts the emphasis from the logistics and pseudo-science of powers to the actual effects and consequences of the powers. 
• Kilgrave is such a bastard. But it still made me chuckle when he yelled at everyone to be quiet in the cafe.
• Jessica's radio host voice was hilarious and pretty close to Ritter's actual speaking voice.
• "What's a Kilgrave?" Heh.
• I don't know how Pam has put up with the cold and calculated bitch that is Hogarth for so long.
• "Take it down a notch, Jones." Luke is such a condescending turd in the scene with the loan shark henchmen. 
• Reva left a message for Luke, telling him where she buried the flash drive. She must have discovered Kilgrave's secret or something. How did she find out? And why not just tell Luke in person?
• "I prefer repression." No shit, Jessica.
• "Wish I had grown up somehwere excessevily normal like this." Perhaps this implies that Kilgrave had a bad upbringing? Still doesn't excuse the fact that he is pure EVIL.
• Luke: "I don't hurt dogs." Heh. I wonder what he did with them then...
• Heehee, I had to laugh when Luke realized Jessica was bailing on him at the warehouse yet again.