Jessica Jones is my pick for best series in the MCU. If you were only going to watch one, this would be it. You don’t need to see Daredevil to watch it (unless you’re OCD like I am), however a character from that series does pop up down the line and I think some reference is made to the end of that series’ first season. But don’t let that scare you away from a gripping, deeply engrossing series.
JJ has a noir feel (one of my favorite genres) which is embodied in the private eye investigator title character. There’s some voiceover but it lends to the overall ambience. The pilot takes its time to introduce the major players and Kilgrave (deliciously played by David Tennant) is a ghostly figure who haunts Jessica as she takes on a new case of a missing girl. From that case, and from Jessica’s hard drinking, we feel the after effects of our villain before we ever properly see him on the screen. It’s evocative and highly effective in both creating a mystery and showing us what our heroine is up against.
The casting is top notch. Ritter conveys so much without having to tell us what goes through her head. This is a woman who suffered a great trauma and is working her way through it (for better or worse). There’s a moment where she tries to comfort a worried father but it’s fleeting and she goes back to her sarcastic, dour persona when it does not immediately pay off. Colter is all charm as Luke Cage (who later gets his own series) and Taylor is great as the sister trying to help while being kept at arm’s length.
I can’t say it enough. Please watch this show if you have the chance. Like most Netflix series, it can be a little padded at 13 episodes but it’s a rich and worthwhile experience. There are powerful female characters (which is a missing ingredient in the MCU), a fantastic villain and a film noir atmosphere that evokes the seedy underbelly of films past.
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