If you haven't begun binge-watching Netflix's newest original series "Jessica Jones," stop whatever it is you're doing and go watch it right now. "Jessica Jones" is the second Marvel series to be released on the streaming platform, after "Daredevil's" release last year. It's a dark, gritty, sometimes funny, always thoughtful, and very different approach on the classic superhero show.
Jessica Jones, played by the wonderfully talented Krysten Ritter, is a tough, wise-cracking private eye who just happens to have super strength. Unlike known heroes such as Captain America or Ironman, she doesn't don a costume to fight crime on a huge scale. She operates in Hell's Kitchen, a borough of New York City that runs rampant with crime after the fallout caused in the first "Avengers" movie.
However, Jessica wasn't always a private eye. She tried being a superhero for a time. I won't spoil the show for you, but we find out pretty quickly that it doesn't work out. Beneath her hard, calloused exterior is a broken woman suffering with PTSD caused by the main villan of the series, Kilgrave (David Tennant). She copes through alcoholism and isolating herself from others. Kilgrave has the ability to control minds and uses this power to force anyone to do anything that he may please. Jessica's PTSD stems from her time as Kilgrave's slave, performing any task that he asked of her. David Tennant gives a truly compelling performance as a terrible man with likable qualities.
"Jessica Jones" showcases many talented performances from Jessica's best friend (Rachael Taylor), drug addict neighbor (Eka Darville), accomplice (Carrie-Ann Moss), the newest victim of Kilgrace (Erin Moriarty), and many others. It is a complex, unapologetic look into the effects of trauma and how far we are willing to go to right the wrongs that have been done to us.
This entire first season of "Jessica Jones" is now streaming on Netflix.