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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 331808" data-attributes="member: 23">Jessica Jones AKA Sorry Face / AKA The Double Half-Wappinger / AKA Camera Friendly / AKA I Did Something Today / AKA Hero Pants / AKA Hellcat Here we are, just a couple of episodes away from rounding off the Netflix series. Given the cancellation of one Marvel Netflix series after another I was expecting the energy levels to be low by the end of this season. In actual fact, Jessica is the most appropriate of series on which to end. If things are bleak and cynical, it only adds fuel to the qualities that make Jessica - and I’m going to say it - my favourite of all the title characters in this franchise. On paper, this season’s main villain arc is effectively a repackaging of previous Jessica Jones seasons. And it seems less challenging. The key antagonist is not super and has no personal history with Jessica. He’s simply a sociopathic serial killer. Or as simple as sociopathic serial killers get, anyway. I’ve never watched Dexter, but I suspect Salinger is a Dexter type. Indeed, other themes from that series appear to have been borrowed, with Erik and Trish hunting down bad people who have got away with their crimes or sins. There’s a psychology to this season that’s quite compelling, with the lines between good and bad, hero and villain becoming blurred as justifications are made and lines crossed.And it’s not just Trish and Erik who fit this theme. There’s Jeri dancing between ruthless and vulnerable, her actions justified by what her hearts wants and the fact that her lifespan has an end date. She remains a Defenders Saga favourite. Carrie Anne Moss is delivering a truly knockout performance and while it’s probably not what she’ll be remembered for (unless Jeri makes it into the MCU proper), to me this feels like her role of a lifetime. Malcolm, too, has had choices to make. His loyalties torn and tested by the fact that he knows too much about Jeri, Jessica and Trish. He’s cheated on his lover/colleague Zaya with Erik’s sex worker sister, but found that he couldn’t “cheat” on Jessica for profit, status or even to keep his job. It hasn’t been the most compelling arc this season (reminding me in some ways of that time Melrose Place’s Billy briefly joined the dark side), but his decision to Do The Right Thing felt well-earned and satisfying enough. Trish was the main reason I wasn’t looking forward to this season. I’ve had my problems with this interpretation of Patsy Walker, and it seemed clear this was going to be a Trish-heavy season. As it turns out, I feel invested. I have to work hard to treat this Trish as an all-new, created-for-TV character and not compare, but her obsession and especially the slowly healing fracture between Trish and Jessica has been compelling (it struck me as I watched one of the latest episodes that I could’t pinpoint a specific moment where forgiveness and healing happened. The season started with Jessica hating Trish and me fully backing Jessica, and has gone to them working together and close again, and me feeling glad for them) and I can’t deny that Rachael Taylor has done some great work with some challenging storylines.Dorothy’s demise was an incredibly impactful twist that has elevated this story into one with incredibly high stakes. It’s clear that this is the moment that has sealed Salinger’s fate, because Hollywood justice will not allow him to live. But, it’s also thrown a brilliant obstacle into that predictable outcome by the fact that the world knows that Jessica and her female vigilante friend are hunting down Salinger, who has framed himself as the victim. If he dies, all fingers will point at Jessica. As with the framing of Frank for murder in the previous Netflix season, it’s a twist on a classic comic trope, with this one seeming particularly insurmountable. The game of mental chess between Jessica and Salinger is fascinating, and I’ve enjoyed every moment the scales have shifted up and down with Salinger gaining each time Jessica briefly wins the upper hand. I can’t wait to see how it wraps up.</blockquote>

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