This is a horror show and the protagonist is, so far, utterly unlikeable.
I will finish the series, but I won't be binge watching.
Never read the comic, I take it? She's actually a very sympathetic character, she's just horribly messed up. I don't think Bendis ever used the term PTSD in the comic, as they did in the first episode (which is all I've had time to watch so far), but that's certainly how he wrote her. And, hey, she could have run away, but she tried to help, despite how messed up she is and how afraid of Killgrave she is. It's a small step towards putting her life back together and perhaps becoming the person she once was.
But, yes, it is a psychological horror show (at least the first episode anyway).
I'm not binge watching either, but that's more because of my lack of time. I mean, I still haven't watched Daredevil yet.
Regardless of her actions, she is unlikable in nearly every way. I'm not saying she isn't sympathetic or compelling. This first episode didn't give the viewer much to like.
The conclusion that this is a horror show is separate from her likability.
From the online feedback I've seen so far, I have a sinking feeling there won't be much of a character arc in this either. That said, I will still be watching, a few episodes a week, because, like you, I have a massive lack of time on my hands. And when I am free, I'm usually with my wife - and she couldn't handle more than a couple of episodes of Daredevil... and so, she isn't watching this.
(You should be watching Daredevil, Eric.)
I think you could arguably state the same about Frank Castle. I disagree for both characters; I hate the notion heroes need to be squeaky clean. Good characters have flaws.
I'm three eps in. I'll say It's well made. But, so far if it weren't for Luke cage and the purple man elements I wanted to turn it off. At least in the first ep and mainly the first 30 min. I didn't find a single character relatable or more importantly remotely likeable. I disliked everyone. Only Luke cage less so. I get the impression whoever made this hates men or made it for people who do. Every opportunity was seized to simply dump on any available male seemingly and for no reason. It was annoying. It's rare for TV/movies to sell me on the cliche tough as nails, hard living, hard drinking, give no fu(&$ and take no shit bad ass Chick... and this was no exception. I get it. She's as bad ass as any man, because she's just like the men in such roles historically. I get it but I don't buy it. The sex scenes were gratuitous and quickly became silly. This didn't feel like the same city as daredevil. Here, I can't figure why everyone in this city hasn't slit their wrists? This is becoming a frequent theme that I'm burnt out on. A miserable city fully of miserable people being miserable to each other. I can only take so much bleakness and depression in supposedly real world environments. They couldcr done better introducing her abilities. Made the reveal of it more entertaining or interesting (not to mention hinted at an explanation) but instead just kindve suddenly there they we. No doubt they'll explain an origin later on but I would've handled it differently. Really the only thing compelling me to continue is the purple man elements. We'll see going forward how it plays out. I might end up really enjoying it. Now I'm only enjoying the main story itself but very little else.
I've never read her series. From what I've read about her series, her origins are revealed as it proceeds. I think giving us everything at once fires the big bullet. One of the things that brought me back was that subplot.
I disagree about it being man-hate. There are times it could be construed in that fashion, but I think it went along with Jones' violation by Kilgrave.
I enjoyed see Jones' fucked up life. I think Supergirl looks unwatchable, but see how she deals with her ordinary life vs. Jones dealing with hers. Jones' seems more real.
All finished. I really enjoyed the second half more as Kilgrave was more involved. This guy makes Loki look like Captain America. Such a despicalble villain. No remorse for his actions. Loved seeing Luke Cage on screen. Definitely nails the contempary look and feel of the character. Looking forward to his series after DD Season 2. If that is the order.
The one knock I have is the current format of thsese series of using a whole arc for one overreaching story. I did like the fact she did have a case for those folks who were looking to kill her. That broke the story up. I think Killgrave did not need all 13 episodes. It seemed drawn out. It was realistic that the fighting except for Patsy was more brawling. Jessica and Luke were not trained fighters. I wonder if they will be more trained in the future. It made me think of how in Iron Man 2 Tony was training to learn how to fight even though he has a suit of armor as a weapon.
I give the show 4 out of 5 frekking swers. I gave Daredevil 4.75 out of 5 frekking swers.
All finished. I really enjoyed the second half more as Kilgrave was more involved. This guy makes Loki look like Captain America. Such a despicalble villain. No remorse for his actions. Loved seeing Luke Cage on screen. Definitely nails the contempary look and feel of the character. Looking forward to his series after DD Season 2. If that is the order.
The one knock I have is the current format of thsese series of using a whole arc for one overreaching story. I did like the fact she did have a case for those folks who were looking to kill her. That broke the story up. I think Killgrave did not need all 13 episodes. It seemed drawn out. It was realistic that the fighting except for Patsy was more brawling. Jessica and Luke were not trained fighters. I wonder if they will be more trained in the future. It made me think of how in Iron Man 2 Tony was training to learn how to fight even though he has a suit of armor as a weapon.
I give the show 4 out of 5 frekking swers. I gave Daredevil 4.75 out of 5 frekking swers.
We don't actually know how much fighting skill Cage has. Reports I've read put this appearance at "the beginning of the middle" of his story. His series will feature before & after.
The one knock I have is the current format of thsese series of using a whole arc for one overreaching story. I did like the fact she did have a case for those folks who were looking to kill her. That broke the story up. I think Killgrave did not need all 13 episodes. It seemed drawn out.
That would be my main complaint as well. A couple more "side-plots" would have been a nice distraction. Don't think I enjoyed this series as much as Daredevil, but it was right up there. I really enjoyed all the characters and thought Krysten Ritter did a much better job than I was expecting (even though I was distracted by her "Joey Ramone" look). Kinda sad I'm all done. But they definitely left it open for more.
Finished it. It was, in my opinion the weakest of the MCU efforts. There were a number of times when it felt like it was trying to hard to create artistic camera work - the upside down sequence from the first episode, for instance. It also felt like it was trying a bit too hard to create a cinematic film noir atmosphere with the voice-over elements and the jazz soundtrack.
I didn't pick up on it at first, but the comment above about the Joey Ramone look was something that I couldn't shake after seeing it - it's pretty much dead on, including the head tilt.
Ultimately, it was a show that was largely populated with unlikeable people. Trish, Malcom and Detective Clemons (Detective Lester Freamon!!!) were really the only characters that I felt any empathy toward. The neighbor chick and her brother reminded me of people that should have been inhabiting Frank Castle's apartment building with Spacker Dave and Bumpo.
I think that it probably would have been much more enjoyable had they cut it back to a 10 episode run or replaced some of the content with just about anything else, including, but not limited to cats interacting with boxes or cucumbers.
I just finished it last night. It was "meh". I had high hopes, as I really liked Daredevil. I thought the "sexy time" in the first half of the season was ridiculous. I wish Jessica showed a little more range emotionally... it was all so flat. Killgrave was good, but in the last few episodes he seemed less scary.
I was a big fan of ALIAS so I was greatly looking forward this this. Overall, I thought the show was alright - it has some really memorable moments, but was probably about three episodes too long. There are several plot contrivances that seem to exist solely to prolong the story, so when it ends it's more a whimper than a bang.
Probably the strongest aspect of the show is Trish and Jess's friendship. So many Marvel properties have barely two female characters, let alone a well developed and engaging female friendship. It was very refreshing to see.
I finally finished the season last night. There were good moments but overall it was..OK..maybe even "meh."
Jessica Jones is a character I only know from Bendis' New Avengers run. In the comics I was introduced to a well adjusted, soon to be married Jessica. The character in the Netflix show was completely unlikable. I don't need the main character to be loveable but some small kernel for me to identify with would be great.
I finally finished the season last night. There were good moments but overall it was..OK..maybe even "meh."
Jessica Jones is a character I only know from Bendis' New Avengers run. In the comics I was introduced to a well adjusted, soon to be married Jessica. The character in the Netflix show was completely unlikable. I don't need the main character to be loveable but some small kernel for me to identify with would be great.
I've never read her first appearance or her series; does the tv series match her initial introduction? I'm only asking because you confirmed your initial introduction was when things were sunshine & rainbows.
Liked it quite a lot. Thought Tennant gave the creepiest and best villain performance I've seen in a long time. In fact I can't think of a better villain in any TV superhero show.
I disagree that Jessica was unlikeable. She never became overtly likeable, but I was definitely rooting for her throughout.
There were some weak spots though. I thought that the heroin addict recovered overnight was a bit silly. I thought, like others, that there two episodes before the last were a bit wheel-spinning. Once we found out Jessica was immune we pretty much knew what was going to happen.
The dynamic between Jessica and Killgrave was fantastic. Every scene with the two together I couldn't take my eyes off.
I was really interested in what was going on with the Simpson character. I hadn't heard of the character but knew there must be some comic tie-in so I looked into it, he's Nuke from Daredevil, a character I hadn't heard of. Will be interested to see where they take his character in the future.
Some how I didn't realize until one of the last episodes that Trish was Patsy Walker. This made me freak out as Hellcat is one of my favorite Marvel characters (doesn't her solo book come out soon?). It made me like the character even more. Not exactly the way I picture Hellcat but I love it just the same. Will love to see her suit up in the future.
Overall I thought it was very good. I enjoyed it more than Daredevil. Looking forward to the future series and seeing where they take things.
For me, the big difference from Daredevil is that it seemed like Daredevil had shorter story lines within an overarching Kingpin story line. JJ just seemed to drag out the same story too long.
Almost 10 years ago I read Alias. And besides the final story with Purple man I loved it. Didn't like how Bendis tried to make it a meta-fictional story.
But I love how they changed the story for the show. Ritter is great as Jessica. And Tennat,who I normally don't like,was great as Kilgrave.
And I really liked how they replaced Ms Marvel with Hellcat.
I would put this up there with the first Avengers film,both Cap films and Punisher Warzone. And from what I saw of Daredevil,this is much better to me.
Never read Alias. And apparently, that's too bad for me because it seems to be a prerequisite for enjoying aka Jessica Jones.
Just finished the final episode the other night, and it remained a gritty, street-level horror show until the very, unoriginal ending. It is far better than Agents of SHIELD, but with so much swearing, gratuitous sex, and stomach-churning violence along with psychological horror from Kilgrave made it impossible to binge. Small doses only. I like my comic book properties with a little fun, and fun was nowhere to be found in this series. It's certainly loaded with subjects like rape, domestic abuse, addiction, adultery, abortion, alcoholism, survivor's guilt, gruesome deaths, and trauma though, if you prefer that sort of subject matter.
I feel like this was a step down from Daredevil. Only Kilgrave was an improvement here. I still would rather the series had focused on a few cases that only Alias Investigations could uniquely crack instead of the singular focus on petulant and repugnant Kilgrave the whole time. There were literally no likable characters in this show, unless you count Luke Cage, and that would be a stretch. Mostly the lead character was surrounded by demented neighbors, unscrupulous lawyers, an abusive mother, a murderous cop, and even an angry doctor for good measure.
As for the lead, she was great for what they gave her, I guess, and her back story was sufficiently explained, but this show seemed to treat her superhero past as a joke and gave us a character who was apparently unpleasant before, during, and after Killgrave. I don't think she was ever likable.
When I would get bored during many of the second half of the season episodes, I found myself asking why I was supposed to care about her. By the time I reached the end of the final episode, watching her drinking and deleting pleas for help in the form of voice mails, I realized there had been absolutely no character arc here. No discernible growth, change, shift, or fall. We're left with the same gloomy, sardonic, boozing, Jessica Jones.
The second season may wind up in my queue, but it will likely never return to the top of my viewing list. Formulaic, dreary, and bleak, but exceptionally well-produced and occasionally compelling. 3 out of 5 stars.
Never read Alias. And apparently, that's too bad for me because it seems to be a prerequisite for enjoying aka Jessica Jones.
Just finished the final episode the other night, and it remained a gritty, street-level horror show until the very, unoriginal ending. It is far better than Agents of SHIELD, but with so much swearing, gratuitous sex, and stomach-churning violence along with psychological horror from Kilgrave made it impossible to binge. Small doses only. I like my comic book properties with a little fun, and fun was nowhere to be found in this series. It's certainly loaded with subjects like rape, domestic abuse, addiction, adultery, abortion, alcoholism, survivor's guilt, gruesome deaths, and trauma though, if you prefer that sort of subject matter.
I feel like this was a step down from Daredevil. Only Kilgrave was an improvement here. I still would rather the series had focused on a few cases that only Alias Investigations could uniquely crack instead of the singular focus on petulant and repugnant Kilgrave the whole time. There were literally no likable characters in this show, unless you count Luke Cage, and that would be a stretch. Mostly the lead character was surrounded by demented neighbors, unscrupulous lawyers, an abusive mother, a murderous cop, and even an angry doctor for good measure.
As for the lead, she was great for what they gave her, I guess, and her back story was sufficiently explained, but this show seemed to treat her superhero past as a joke and gave us a character who was apparently unpleasant before, during, and after Killgrave. I don't think she was ever likable.
When I would get bored during many of the second half of the season episodes, I found myself asking why I was supposed to care about her. By the time I reached the end of the final episode, watching her drinking and deleting pleas for help in the form of voice mails, I realized there had been absolutely no character arc here. No discernible growth, change, shift, or fall. We're left with the same gloomy, sardonic, boozing, Jessica Jones.
The second season may wind up in my queue, but it will likely never return to the top of my viewing list. Formulaic, dreary, and bleak, but exceptionally well-produced and occasionally compelling. 3 out of 5 stars.
I disagree; I've never read Alias & only have been exposed to Jones through a few scattered issues of New Avengers. My wife knows less about the character & still enjoys the series.
Wasn't DD an ongoing arch to stop crime that morphed into stopping Fisk? Angel, Buffy, Burn Notice, even LOST, had similar formats. There were season & series arcs.
Patsy was pretty like able; I'd like to see her become some version of Hellcat. She seems to have the hero drive Jones doesn't. That's not a knock on Jones, either. To some extent, she reminded me of Snake Plissen, Mad Max, Faith, & Ash; reluctant people who become heroes in some form or another. I think heroes who where gray hats are more interesting then those who wear white hats.
Stepping back and assessing Jones as a whole, her whole attitude makes sense; she has guilty about the death of her family. Also, their deaths resulted with her powers. Shes adopted for publicity, not out of love. Her stepmother is abusive & initially isolated by her stepsister. She already has the groundwork for a person who has trust issues & feels like she doesn't belong. Granted, maybe if 2 elderly farms adopted her, she might have been more super.
Now, as an adult, she's doesn't "fit" into the world (kind of like Kent was portrayed in Man of Steel). She's board with her jobs, but has a knack for investigating. Why would she see helping people anything more then a joke? THEN, she gets mind controlled & manipulated for a period of time. She's raped, kidnapped, & forced to do other actions that violate her free will.
With that kind of a life, her current personality makes perfect sense.
I argue by the end of Man of Steel, there was more of a character development for Kent then the movie detractors. BvS:DoJ will prove one of us correct.
Same with Jones. There was character development. She finally fought her personal demon, won, & can move onto the next chapter. Sure, she initially deleted VMs for help...but if she suddenly embraced an Angel Investigations (we help the helpless) outlook, that would've felt like a drastic rush in development. Season Two will prove one of us wrong.
I definitely didn't enjoy the series as much as DD, but it does seem to fit with the Defenders model they seem to be going with.
Never read Alias. And apparently, that's too bad for me because it seems to be a prerequisite for enjoying aka Jessica Jones.
Just finished the final episode the other night, and it remained a gritty, street-level horror show until the very, unoriginal ending. It is far better than Agents of SHIELD, but with so much swearing, gratuitous sex, and stomach-churning violence along with psychological horror from Kilgrave made it impossible to binge. Small doses only. I like my comic book properties with a little fun, and fun was nowhere to be found in this series. It's certainly loaded with subjects like rape, domestic abuse, addiction, adultery, abortion, alcoholism, survivor's guilt, gruesome deaths, and trauma though, if you prefer that sort of subject matter.
I feel like this was a step down from Daredevil. Only Kilgrave was an improvement here. I still would rather the series had focused on a few cases that only Alias Investigations could uniquely crack instead of the singular focus on petulant and repugnant Kilgrave the whole time. There were literally no likable characters in this show, unless you count Luke Cage, and that would be a stretch. Mostly the lead character was surrounded by demented neighbors, unscrupulous lawyers, an abusive mother, a murderous cop, and even an angry doctor for good measure.
As for the lead, she was great for what they gave her, I guess, and her back story was sufficiently explained, but this show seemed to treat her superhero past as a joke and gave us a character who was apparently unpleasant before, during, and after Killgrave. I don't think she was ever likable.
When I would get bored during many of the second half of the season episodes, I found myself asking why I was supposed to care about her. By the time I reached the end of the final episode, watching her drinking and deleting pleas for help in the form of voice mails, I realized there had been absolutely no character arc here. No discernible growth, change, shift, or fall. We're left with the same gloomy, sardonic, boozing, Jessica Jones.
The second season may wind up in my queue, but it will likely never return to the top of my viewing list. Formulaic, dreary, and bleak, but exceptionally well-produced and occasionally compelling. 3 out of 5 stars.
I disagree; I've never read Alias & only have been exposed to Jones through a few scattered issues of New Avengers. My wife knows less about the character & still enjoys the series.
Wasn't DD an ongoing arch to stop crime that morphed into stopping Fisk? Angel, Buffy, Burn Notice, even LOST, had similar formats. There were season & series arcs.
Patsy was pretty like able; I'd like to see her become some version of Hellcat. She seems to have the hero drive Jones doesn't. That's not a knock on Jones, either. To some extent, she reminded me of Snake Plissen, Mad Max, Faith, & Ash; reluctant people who become heroes in some form or another. I think heroes who where gray hats are more interesting then those who wear white hats.
Stepping back and assessing Jones as a whole, her whole attitude makes sense; she has guilty about the death of her family. Also, their deaths resulted with her powers. Shes adopted for publicity, not out of love. Her stepmother is abusive & initially isolated by her stepsister. She already has the groundwork for a person who has trust issues & feels like she doesn't belong. Granted, maybe if 2 elderly farms adopted her, she might have been more super.
Now, as an adult, she's doesn't "fit" into the world (kind of like Kent was portrayed in Man of Steel). She's board with her jobs, but has a knack for investigating. Why would she see helping people anything more then a joke? THEN, she gets mind controlled & manipulated for a period of time. She's raped, kidnapped, & forced to do other actions that violate her free will.
With that kind of a life, her current personality makes perfect sense.
I argue by the end of Man of Steel, there was more of a character development for Kent then the movie detractors. BvS:DoJ will prove one of us correct.
Same with Jones. There was character development. She finally fought her personal demon, won, & can move onto the next chapter. Sure, she initially deleted VMs for help...but if she suddenly embraced an Angel Investigations (we help the helpless) outlook, that would've felt like a drastic rush in development. Season Two will prove one of us wrong.
I definitely didn't enjoy the series as much as DD, but it does seem to fit with the Defenders model they seem to be going with.
M
While her attitude or personality "makes sense," it was still an abysmal affair by almost every definition. Even if you had been there to help intelligently prepare my expectations for the series, @Matt, I think the show's pacing was sloppy, her powers/abilities felt underwhelming, the supporting characters were generally annoying (sans Trish and Kilgrave), and the second half of the show was utterly anti-climactic. Great production and acting (for the main characters at least), but then came the lame reference to Jewel which felt kind of like a slap in the face to her comic-fans, but again, no need to read the Alias run, since you'll get more from her Wikipedia page (which I understand you prefer?) with this character.
Unfortunately, for me, the bulk of this series felt like they were trying to plant too many seeds for future seasons and shows. And is Detective Clemmons this series' Ben Ulrich? Has that become a trope at Marvel? But, while I almost completely disagree with you, I sincerely thank for including multiple references to your ongoing defense of Man of Steel. That made me smile. And JJ is a near-perfect companion piece to MoS with a similar moroseness and even that neck-snappy ending. Alas, both properties could've used a bit more levity, for my tastes at least.
Again, S02 it will probably wind up in my queue, but not at the top of my watch list, and this season will definitely NOT be on my 're-watch' list. I realize I'm probably in the minority here, as there is no shortage of raves to be found for this series. Just wasn't to my tastes.
Never read Alias. And apparently, that's too bad for me because it seems to be a prerequisite for enjoying aka Jessica Jones.
Just finished the final episode the other night, and it remained a gritty, street-level horror show until the very, unoriginal ending. It is far better than Agents of SHIELD, but with so much swearing, gratuitous sex, and stomach-churning violence along with psychological horror from Kilgrave made it impossible to binge. Small doses only. I like my comic book properties with a little fun, and fun was nowhere to be found in this series. It's certainly loaded with subjects like rape, domestic abuse, addiction, adultery, abortion, alcoholism, survivor's guilt, gruesome deaths, and trauma though, if you prefer that sort of subject matter.
I feel like this was a step down from Daredevil. Only Kilgrave was an improvement here. I still would rather the series had focused on a few cases that only Alias Investigations could uniquely crack instead of the singular focus on petulant and repugnant Kilgrave the whole time. There were literally no likable characters in this show, unless you count Luke Cage, and that would be a stretch. Mostly the lead character was surrounded by demented neighbors, unscrupulous lawyers, an abusive mother, a murderous cop, and even an angry doctor for good measure.
As for the lead, she was great for what they gave her, I guess, and her back story was sufficiently explained, but this show seemed to treat her superhero past as a joke and gave us a character who was apparently unpleasant before, during, and after Killgrave. I don't think she was ever likable.
When I would get bored during many of the second half of the season episodes, I found myself asking why I was supposed to care about her. By the time I reached the end of the final episode, watching her drinking and deleting pleas for help in the form of voice mails, I realized there had been absolutely no character arc here. No discernible growth, change, shift, or fall. We're left with the same gloomy, sardonic, boozing, Jessica Jones.
The second season may wind up in my queue, but it will likely never return to the top of my viewing list. Formulaic, dreary, and bleak, but exceptionally well-produced and occasionally compelling. 3 out of 5 stars.
I disagree; I've never read Alias & only have been exposed to Jones through a few scattered issues of New Avengers. My wife knows less about the character & still enjoys the series.
Wasn't DD an ongoing arch to stop crime that morphed into stopping Fisk? Angel, Buffy, Burn Notice, even LOST, had similar formats. There were season & series arcs.
Patsy was pretty like able; I'd like to see her become some version of Hellcat. She seems to have the hero drive Jones doesn't. That's not a knock on Jones, either. To some extent, she reminded me of Snake Plissen, Mad Max, Faith, & Ash; reluctant people who become heroes in some form or another. I think heroes who where gray hats are more interesting then those who wear white hats.
Stepping back and assessing Jones as a whole, her whole attitude makes sense; she has guilty about the death of her family. Also, their deaths resulted with her powers. Shes adopted for publicity, not out of love. Her stepmother is abusive & initially isolated by her stepsister. She already has the groundwork for a person who has trust issues & feels like she doesn't belong. Granted, maybe if 2 elderly farms adopted her, she might have been more super.
Now, as an adult, she's doesn't "fit" into the world (kind of like Kent was portrayed in Man of Steel). She's board with her jobs, but has a knack for investigating. Why would she see helping people anything more then a joke? THEN, she gets mind controlled & manipulated for a period of time. She's raped, kidnapped, & forced to do other actions that violate her free will.
With that kind of a life, her current personality makes perfect sense.
I argue by the end of Man of Steel, there was more of a character development for Kent then the movie detractors. BvS:DoJ will prove one of us correct.
Same with Jones. There was character development. She finally fought her personal demon, won, & can move onto the next chapter. Sure, she initially deleted VMs for help...but if she suddenly embraced an Angel Investigations (we help the helpless) outlook, that would've felt like a drastic rush in development. Season Two will prove one of us wrong.
I definitely didn't enjoy the series as much as DD, but it does seem to fit with the Defenders model they seem to be going with.
M
While her attitude or personality "makes sense," it was still an abysmal affair by almost every definition. Even if you had been there to help intelligently prepare my expectations for the series, @Matt, I think the show's pacing was sloppy, her powers/abilities felt underwhelming, the supporting characters were generally annoying (sans Trish and Kilgrave), and the second half of the show was utterly anti-climactic. Great production and acting (for the main characters at least), but then came the lame reference to Jewel which felt kind of like a slap in the face to her comic-fans, but again, no need to read the Alias run, since you'll get more from her Wikipedia page (which I understand you prefer?) with this character.
Unfortunately, for me, the bulk of this series felt like they were trying to plant too many seeds for future seasons and shows. And is Detective Clemmons this series' Ben Ulrich? Has that become a trope at Marvel? But, while I almost completely disagree with you, I sincerely thank for including multiple references to your ongoing defense of Man of Steel. That made me smile. And JJ is a near-perfect companion piece to MoS with a similar moroseness and even that neck-snappy ending. Alas, both properties could've used a bit more levity, for my tastes at least.
Again, S02 it will probably wind up in my queue, but not at the top of my watch list, and this season will definitely NOT be on my 're-watch' list. I realize I'm probably in the minority here, as there is no shortage of raves to be found for this series. Just wasn't to my tastes.
Isn't the fact Jones doesn't use "Jewel" current a "slap in the face"? At least to the notion of using that name. Will Luke Cage using "Luke Cage" instead of "Power-Man" be a slap in the face?
That's a misconception, any good investigator will tell you to use multiple sources. Wikipedia is only 1 point of reference I use. It's a good starting point. Forums, articles, websites are great sources to further the background. If something seem extremely interesting (GI Joe & Transformers as examples), I'll get the actual material.
Regardless, my wife isn't using anything other then the series & enjoys it just the same.
Comments
Every time I hear the theme song I want to start singing the opening to Bored to Death
M
I disagree about it being man-hate. There are times it could be construed in that fashion, but I think it went along with Jones' violation by Kilgrave.
I enjoyed see Jones' fucked up life. I think Supergirl looks unwatchable, but see how she deals with her ordinary life vs. Jones dealing with hers. Jones' seems more real.
M
All finished. I really enjoyed the second half more as Kilgrave was more involved. This guy makes Loki look like Captain America. Such a despicalble villain. No remorse for his actions. Loved seeing Luke Cage on screen. Definitely nails the contempary look and feel of the character. Looking forward to his series after DD Season 2. If that is the order.
The one knock I have is the current format of thsese series of using a whole arc for one overreaching story. I did like the fact she did have a case for those folks who were looking to kill her. That broke the story up. I think Killgrave did not need all 13 episodes. It seemed drawn out. It was realistic that the fighting except for Patsy was more brawling. Jessica and Luke were not trained fighters. I wonder if they will be more trained in the future. It made me think of how in Iron Man 2 Tony was training to learn how to fight even though he has a suit of armor as a weapon.
I give the show 4 out of 5 frekking swers. I gave Daredevil 4.75 out of 5 frekking swers.
M
Don't think I enjoyed this series as much as Daredevil, but it was right up there. I really enjoyed all the characters and thought Krysten Ritter did a much better job than I was expecting (even though I was distracted by her "Joey Ramone" look). Kinda sad I'm all done. But they definitely left it open for more.
M
M
I didn't pick up on it at first, but the comment above about the Joey Ramone look was something that I couldn't shake after seeing it - it's pretty much dead on, including the head tilt.
Ultimately, it was a show that was largely populated with unlikeable people. Trish, Malcom and Detective Clemons (Detective Lester Freamon!!!) were really the only characters that I felt any empathy toward. The neighbor chick and her brother reminded me of people that should have been inhabiting Frank Castle's apartment building with Spacker Dave and Bumpo.
I think that it probably would have been much more enjoyable had they cut it back to a 10 episode run or replaced some of the content with just about anything else, including, but not limited to cats interacting with boxes or cucumbers.
3 out of 5.
*Note that I say this as someone that spends a lot of time reading grimdark.
Probably the strongest aspect of the show is Trish and Jess's friendship. So many Marvel properties have barely two female characters, let alone a well developed and engaging female friendship. It was very refreshing to see.
Jessica Jones is a character I only know from Bendis' New Avengers run. In the comics I was introduced to a well adjusted, soon to be married Jessica. The character in the Netflix show was completely unlikable. I don't need the main character to be loveable but some small kernel for me to identify with would be great.
Liked it quite a lot. Thought Tennant gave the creepiest and best villain performance I've seen in a long time. In fact I can't think of a better villain in any TV superhero show.
I disagree that Jessica was unlikeable. She never became overtly likeable, but I was definitely rooting for her throughout.
There were some weak spots though. I thought that the heroin addict recovered overnight was a bit silly. I thought, like others, that there two episodes before the last were a bit wheel-spinning. Once we found out Jessica was immune we pretty much knew what was going to happen.
The dynamic between Jessica and Killgrave was fantastic. Every scene with the two together I couldn't take my eyes off.
I was really interested in what was going on with the Simpson character. I hadn't heard of the character but knew there must be some comic tie-in so I looked into it, he's Nuke from Daredevil, a character I hadn't heard of. Will be interested to see where they take his character in the future.
Some how I didn't realize until one of the last episodes that Trish was Patsy Walker. This made me freak out as Hellcat is one of my favorite Marvel characters (doesn't her solo book come out soon?). It made me like the character even more. Not exactly the way I picture Hellcat but I love it just the same. Will love to see her suit up in the future.
Overall I thought it was very good. I enjoyed it more than Daredevil. Looking forward to the future series and seeing where they take things.
Almost 10 years ago I read Alias. And besides the final story with Purple man I loved it. Didn't like how Bendis tried to make it a meta-fictional story.
But I love how they changed the story for the show. Ritter is great as Jessica. And Tennat,who I normally don't like,was great as Kilgrave.
And I really liked how they replaced Ms Marvel with Hellcat.
I would put this up there with the first Avengers film,both Cap films and Punisher Warzone. And from what I saw of Daredevil,this is much better to me.
Just finished the final episode the other night, and it remained a gritty, street-level horror show until the very, unoriginal ending. It is far better than Agents of SHIELD, but with so much swearing, gratuitous sex, and stomach-churning violence along with psychological horror from Kilgrave made it impossible to binge. Small doses only. I like my comic book properties with a little fun, and fun was nowhere to be found in this series. It's certainly loaded with subjects like rape, domestic abuse, addiction, adultery, abortion, alcoholism, survivor's guilt, gruesome deaths, and trauma though, if you prefer that sort of subject matter.
I feel like this was a step down from Daredevil. Only Kilgrave was an improvement here. I still would rather the series had focused on a few cases that only Alias Investigations could uniquely crack instead of the singular focus on petulant and repugnant Kilgrave the whole time. There were literally no likable characters in this show, unless you count Luke Cage, and that would be a stretch. Mostly the lead character was surrounded by demented neighbors, unscrupulous lawyers, an abusive mother, a murderous cop, and even an angry doctor for good measure.
As for the lead, she was great for what they gave her, I guess, and her back story was sufficiently explained, but this show seemed to treat her superhero past as a joke and gave us a character who was apparently unpleasant before, during, and after Killgrave. I don't think she was ever likable.
When I would get bored during many of the second half of the season episodes, I found myself asking why I was supposed to care about her. By the time I reached the end of the final episode, watching her drinking and deleting pleas for help in the form of voice mails, I realized there had been absolutely no character arc here. No discernible growth, change, shift, or fall. We're left with the same gloomy, sardonic, boozing, Jessica Jones.
The second season may wind up in my queue, but it will likely never return to the top of my viewing list. Formulaic, dreary, and bleak, but exceptionally well-produced and occasionally compelling. 3 out of 5 stars.
Wasn't DD an ongoing arch to stop crime that morphed into stopping Fisk? Angel, Buffy, Burn Notice, even LOST, had similar formats. There were season & series arcs.
Patsy was pretty like able; I'd like to see her become some version of Hellcat. She seems to have the hero drive Jones doesn't. That's not a knock on Jones, either. To some extent, she reminded me of Snake Plissen, Mad Max, Faith, & Ash; reluctant people who become heroes in some form or another. I think heroes who where gray hats are more interesting then those who wear white hats.
Stepping back and assessing Jones as a whole, her whole attitude makes sense; she has guilty about the death of her family. Also, their deaths resulted with her powers. Shes adopted for publicity, not out of love. Her stepmother is abusive & initially isolated by her stepsister. She already has the groundwork for a person who has trust issues & feels like she doesn't belong. Granted, maybe if 2 elderly farms adopted her, she might have been more super.
Now, as an adult, she's doesn't "fit" into the world (kind of like Kent was portrayed in Man of Steel). She's board with her jobs, but has a knack for investigating. Why would she see helping people anything more then a joke? THEN, she gets mind controlled & manipulated for a period of time. She's raped, kidnapped, & forced to do other actions that violate her free will.
With that kind of a life, her current personality makes perfect sense.
I argue by the end of Man of Steel, there was more of a character development for Kent then the movie detractors. BvS:DoJ will prove one of us correct.
Same with Jones. There was character development. She finally fought her personal demon, won, & can move onto the next chapter. Sure, she initially deleted VMs for help...but if she suddenly embraced an Angel Investigations (we help the helpless) outlook, that would've felt like a drastic rush in development. Season Two will prove one of us wrong.
I definitely didn't enjoy the series as much as DD, but it does seem to fit with the Defenders model they seem to be going with.
M
Unfortunately, for me, the bulk of this series felt like they were trying to plant too many seeds for future seasons and shows. And is Detective Clemmons this series' Ben Ulrich? Has that become a trope at Marvel? But, while I almost completely disagree with you, I sincerely thank for including multiple references to your ongoing defense of Man of Steel. That made me smile. And JJ is a near-perfect companion piece to MoS with a similar moroseness and even that neck-snappy ending. Alas, both properties could've used a bit more levity, for my tastes at least.
Again, S02 it will probably wind up in my queue, but not at the top of my watch list, and this season will definitely NOT be on my 're-watch' list. I realize I'm probably in the minority here, as there is no shortage of raves to be found for this series. Just wasn't to my tastes.
That's a misconception, any good investigator will tell you to use multiple sources. Wikipedia is only 1 point of reference I use. It's a good starting point. Forums, articles, websites are great sources to further the background. If something seem extremely interesting (GI Joe & Transformers as examples), I'll get the actual material.
Regardless, my wife isn't using anything other then the series & enjoys it just the same.
M