Jessica Jones Review: AKA You’re a Winner (Season 1 Episode 6)

Well, Jessica Jones sure gets dark in a hurry, doesn’t it?

(And I don’t mean literally dark, though that’s also true. Watching this show at night is a very creepy experience indeed. If possible, I suggest you binge during the day. With all the lights on. I’m not sure, but it seems to me like that might dilute the effect)

It wasn’t exactly rainbows and sunshine before, but in case you thought you were watching anything but a gloomy and dreary show that refuses to make excuses for how gloomy and dreary it can get, then this episode of Jessica Jones put those expectations to rest.

After all, how worse can it get than the very real confirmation of what we always assumed happened to Hope (and Jessica) in the form of a child, an abortion, our first real look at Killgrave in action, oh, yes, and the whole business with Luke’s dead wife.

First, there’s Hope. For a show whose villain is ostensibly someone who can control others, the show has shied away from using the word rape to describe what happened to both Jessica and Hope. And yet, just because they’re not saying it, doesn’t mean it’s not true. Neither of those women actually wanted to sleep with Killgrave. Their control was taken away. They did not consent, because they could not.

They were raped. Plain and simple.

We get our confirmation when Hope reveals she’s pregnant, and she doesn’t want to keep the child. She wants it out, and she wants it out fast. Now, if this were any other show, this decision would be met by at least one moralistic voice. Here Jessica just makes sure Hope knows what she’s doing, and then helps her get it done. That’s it. As simple as that. If anything, you don’t have to wonder what side of the spectrum Jessica Jones stands on this particular subject. After this episode, it’s clear that they’re pro-choice.

Maybe you could even call it pro-woman.

Not because women are better, or have more rights. Jessica clearly did Luke wrong, and she clearly made things even more of a mess by continuing a relationship with him without revealing the truth about his wife. Just because Jessica is the main character here doesn’t mean she’s always right. Luke’s anger is justified. So is his walking away. And, when he inevitably comes back, he’ll have a right to that too. Because this is not about him, or Jessica, it’s not even about Hope.

It’s about Killgrave, and how to stop him.

Comic book villains come in all forms and shapes, but rarely has there been one so hard to dismiss. David Tennant doesn’t play Killgrave as the type of bad guy who only goes after superheroes, no. He plays him as the type of evil you can encounter any day on the street. Sure, he might be fixated on Jessica, but that doesn’t mean he won’t come after you.

Those are the stakes. We know them. Jessica knows them. Luke will come to understand them soon. This is war – and in a fight like this, it’s not every man (and woman) for himself, it’s all together at once.

It’s the only way to win.

Other things to note:

• Malcolm is the best wing-man ever.
• Luke’s whole “I don’t hurt dogs” thing was almost, well… cute.
• Hogarth is the smartest of them all, I swear.

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.