Jessica Jones Review: AKA 99 Friends (Season 1 Episode 4)

How do you do it, Jessica Jones? How do you keep surprising me?

It’s a valid question, especially on episode four of a thirteen episode season. One would think the shock factor would only carry this show through one, two episodes at most. We already know the premise: Killgrave is very, very bad. Jessica is very, very strong. Killgrave controls people. He once controlled Jessica, forced her to do things she regrets. She suffers from PTSD and tries to drown her sorrows in alcohol, until one day, something happens that makes her think that, if she doesn’t fight back, no one will. So she decides it’s up to her. She’s going to stop Killgrave.

Sounds heroic, right? Except Jessica Jones is not a hero. This might be billed a superhero show, and, at first glance, it has all the makings of one. Jessica can, after all, sort of fly and walk away relatively okay after being shot point blank in the arm. She bends, but she doesn’t break. She might as well be partying it up with The Avengers, that’s how badass she is.

But, as I said before, Jessica Jones is not a hero. She’s not out to make the world a better place, or even interested in using her powers for “good”. No, Jessica is pretty content to leave the whole inspiring people thing to Captain America. What she is is a a broken woman who finally decided enough is enough. She’s going to fight back. She’s going to be strong. She’s going to save others.

Now that I think about it, that does sound like a hero.

She’s not the only one, though. Trish is a hero in her own right too. And, in a way, so is Will Simpson, the cop who, under Killgrave’s influence, tried to kill Trish just one episode ago. Being a hero, after all, is not about doing the right thing all the time. No, it’s about more. It’s about not giving up. It’s about trying. Even when it’s hard. Even when it hurts.

And boy, does this episode hurt. The truth about Malcom hurts. It wasn’t inconceivable, it didn’t come out of left field, and yet, it hurt more than I expected it too. Just like the conversation between Trish and Simpson was way more emotional than it had any right to be. Maybe it’s because, even after three full episodes, I was still waiting for Jessica Jones to turn around and become, if not like one of her Marvel film-counterparts, at least Daredevil.

I’m done waiting now. This is not that story. And that’s okay. No, that’s more than fine. We got plenty of superhero origin stories. We don’t have enough strong women being strong and badass. We got plenty of victims, yes, but we don’t usually get to see what happens to them after.

And that’s what makes this show different – that’s what makes it groundbreaking. Yes, bad things happened to Jessica Jones. Yes, she’s let those things define her. Yes, she’s messed up. She drinks too much, has issues with trust. She’s afraid. And in that, she’s different. Or at least the show is.

This is not about Jessica the victim. This is about Jessica the survivor. This is about the future. It’s about hope.

Just like every other superhero – but different.

What did you think of this episode of Jessica Jones? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Jessica Jones Season 1 is available on Netflix right now.

Lissete Lanuza Sáenz

Lawyer. Writer. Columnist. Geek. Falls in madly in love with fictional characters. Hates the color yellow, misogyny, and people who are late. Can always be found with a book. Watches an absurd amount of TV every week, often, while eating coffee ice cream. She has no regrets. You can check out her blog here: Absurday. Lissete is a senior writer for Tell-Tale TV. Follow @lizziethat