jessica-jones-s3-ep13 Television 

Five Thoughts On Jessica Jones‘s “A.K.A. Everything”

By | September 10th, 2019
Posted in Television | % Comments

Greetings, dear readers, and welcome back to our review of Jessica Jones here at Multiversity Comics. I am pleased to report that I escaped my restraints and turned the tables on my would-be captors. It is much easier to bring this edition to you with hands that aren’t duct-taped to an office chair. Isn’t that right, Scott?

Ighmfehk lll yerr!

Yes, well, regardless of what happens I suppose these are our last moments together, aren’t they? Mister Buck has received a gag as I am more than finished hearing him throughout this series but I have decided to welcome our other guest to the proceedings. Ladies and gentlemen, I am ecstatic to be joined this week by showrunner Melissa Rosenberg. Melissa, are you comfortable in your restraints?

I’m comfortable in the knowledge you won’t see the end of this alive.

Well, that’s just cryptic, isn’t it? Regardless, would you like to assist me on this final review?

I’ll assist you down a flight of stairs at top speed once I’m out of this chair.

Alrighty, then. Well, let’s end this outright. Melissa, since we’re at the end of an era with the closing of the NMCU (Netflix Marvel Cinematic Universe) I’d from you, creator and showrunner of Jessica Jones. What are you’re Five Thoughts on “A.K.A. Everything?”

Can I say “I am inevitable?”

It won’t make you look like less of a villain, but sure.

1. It’s My Job

One of my biggest criticisms this season stemmed from Jess suddenly dropping all reluctance to be a hero. She was invested from the first episode in this ideal. She had power and responsibility, and we all know what that equation equals out to. But even with the loss of her mother and the previous exploration of their relationship in the second season this just rings false. I’m not unwilling to see a character evolve but this wasn’t so much a transition as a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. The sudden flip from “I’m no hero” to “I’m supposed to fix this” just never feels right.

We wanted to look forward and really take all of the work that Jessica’s done and let her try to fit it into the world. At the end of Season 2, the last thing that her mother said to her was, “Being a hero is giving a shit and doing something about it,” so now she’s trying to do something about it. So, it all fits very much into our three-season run and the arc of our characters.

But did it come across that way to the audience? Did we feel it?

I feel like it’s three acts of a play, you know? It’s really a complete journey for all the characters, not just Jessica. I have to tell you, I feel incredibly proud of what was done. It did feel like it was a full story. It was a complete story and arc for our character. So that it ended was really right I think. It was serendipitous in a way…I really encourage people to really see this as a 39-hour movie.

Wait…what was that thing you just did?

It’s because you’re pulling from multiple quotes.

That’s…weird.

2. This Thing You Gotta Do

The return of Luke Cage in ways gives a fitting end to this series. While the rest of the episode and season has many flaws this interaction serves as a fan-pleasing bookend. Luke, introduced in the first season of Jessica Jones, shows up to tell Jess that “this thing you gotta do” is right and just. He made the same decision with Willis, his own “brother.” This mirrors the relationship between Jess and Trish.

I always knew I wanted to tell the Kilgrave story, I wanted her background to be coming out of trauma, and I knew I wanted the Luke Cage character.

What about the loose ends, though? We’re left with a lot of ambiguity about Malcolm’s character, and his love triangle with Zaya and Brie. I’m guessing most of this was due to the cancellation of all further Marvel Netflix properties, but a lot of things feel left without a real ending.

we were able to make adjustments to really finish the storytelling, and it ended really quite perfectly, actually.

Continued below

Okay, then. We’ll just agree to disagree there.

3. A Final Confrontation

Jessica’s eventual decision to bring Trish in seems logical, given the story presented, but the build to this feels insane. One does not even need to be a “muh canon” nerd to feel that this was a weird progression, seeing Trish evolve–or perhaps devolve?–from victim to villain.

We would stop and go, wait a minute, didn’t we do that story on Dexter?

So that’s where Scott’s connection comes into the situation?

No, we’ve known each other far longer than that.

Ngheughhhh houlddda heen hurr hlannns huhr heezhion heigh!!!

Oh shut up, Scott. No one wants to hear your Dexter plans.

Of all people, I certainly don’t. Though, a few hours ago they involved me, didn’t they?

Mmmmeighhheee

4. I’m The Bad Guy

So, on this turn of Trish’s character, I would like to note that it is both one of my biggest gripes and simultaneously wound up being on of the more enjoyable elements. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, it feels forced, and yet Rachael Taylor does everything she can with the material given.

Trish has been this moral guide for Jessica. She’s been the moral compass for her because Jessica’s always lived in this nonlinear world of shades of gray while Trish has had much more of the perspective of black and white. So, it’s natural that it would all come together, with Trish having powers. Her idea of what a hero is, is very black and white, good or bad, whereas part of Jessica’s struggle is, how do you know who’s good or bad, and what’s right or wrong? So, it’s a great exploration and culmination of that relationship and those characters.

Is it really, though?

I dunno, you tell me.

*Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” begins to play. Melissa and Scott are suddenly free of their restraints, holding their own little dance party.*

Holy shit. What did Scott dose me with?

5. The End?

The room stops spinning and Scott and Melissa stand over me.

Did you think you were the real narrator of this?

Don’t try to be so edgy-meta, Scott. Our dear reviewer here has tried to hard already.

Was I…in this chair the whole time?

I want to do something different. I always want to reinvent, and figure out what I haven’t done yet and what the possibilities are. I’m over at Warner Bros. now, and so far, I’m really liking the folks over there. It feels really creative. I’ve got some stuff in the works. I love the genre, and I love complex roles for women, in front of and behind the camera, not that I’ll always write in that vein, but I like the equity. Anything that I do is going to be balanced. I love characters. I just love really complex, damaged, interesting, flawed, aspirational characters, as well.

But it was so poorly executed.

Well that’s all subjective isn’t it?

What about what comes next?

Well that is less so.

(This series has been part review, part work of fiction. Melissa Rosenberg has never kidnapped or harmed anyone. Buck, I can’t so much vouch for. This show was not fun to slog through this year, hence my delving into a weird, meta-rabbit hole. The comments from Rosenberg in this installment do actually come from interviews in The Hollywood Reporter, Collider, Deadline, and ComicBook. All depictions of living people are parody, so you can’t sue me. But seriously, Scott Buck is still in my apartment. Someone please call the police)


//TAGS | Jessica Jones

Dexter Buschetelli

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