Jessica Jones continues the ebb and flow of “disappointingly mediocre” and “almost okay” of its third outing on Netflix with “A.K.A. The Double Half-Wappinger” this week. To quote the folk-punk group Days N Daze I “feel like we’re playing tug of war and I’m the rope and I’m stretched to my limit but you keep on pulling and I’m gonna lose my goddamn mind. I’m gonna lose my mind.”
Whereas I have given some positive reviews to this season and mostly negative ones, this particular episode pulls me in both directions at the same time. Also Scott Buck has not left my apartment and I still cannot figure out why he’s here in the first place but he keeps telling me his ideas for how Dexter could have continued past the last season.
This week was a real mixed bag for everybody’s favorite hard-drinking super-powered resting-bitch-face detective and I’m here to talk about it. As always, beware of spoilers and here are five thoughts on “A.K.A. Sorry Face.”
1. Play to the Base
There’s a decidedly unsubtle jab at the beginning of this episode to toxic fandoms and current-day politics as Sallinger refers to Jessica as a “feminist vindicator.” This seems like an obvious wink-and-a-nod at anyone who has ever had an opinion about people who say absurd terms like “feminazi.” While Sallinger informs Hogarth that he thought it would “play to the base” she retorts with “oh, it is base all right.”
While this moment lacks any real depth in its subtext it is enjoyable but is immediately overturned when Sallinger states that Hogarth needs him more than she needs him. He goes so far as to tell her she had better start proving her worth, and Jeri never really rebuts this. For such a strong character, despite her personal and professional difficulties, to take this from a client is yet another out-of-character moment for this series in what has now become a maddening series of such offenses.
2. Patsy Needs a Meltdown
While this very character comments on the ineffectual use of her later in the episode it is both disappointing and entertaining to see Trish used in the way she is when Jess needs a distraction in Wappinger. As a character, Trish wants to be more assertive and competent, yet much of her personal strengths are in acting and melodrama certainly ensues in this scene. As weird as it may sound this has been one of the better Hellcat moments of Jessica Jones‘s third season.
3. A More Capable Assistant
Aneesh Sheth has competently played the part she has been given in this season, but much of her role has been to play up tropes and stereotypes of her character archetype. In “A.K.A. The Double Half-Wappinger” she is really given breathing room and does nothing but shine. As Malcolm storms in demanding access to Jessica’s intel Gillian takes the dominant stance and blocks his advances.
The phone call to Trish that sees her comment on Malcolm’s facial expressions twice was a treat this week, most especially when she bluntly states “his expression says ‘you’re treating me like a child and it hurts my feelings.'” This is the most likable and respectable her character has been as of yet and I hope to see more of this.
4. Jessica Jones: Earth-Bender
“A.K.A. The Double Half-Wappinger” meanders quite a bit but flexes the muscle that is Jessica Jones‘s greatest strength: making laborious investigations interesting. Tracking Sallinger’s past is a journey that this hour of television makes enthralling in its best bits. While the lead of Sallinger’s younger brother leads nothing of note the case files stolen do yield more information as it is actually Trish who finds their next clue.
When Jessica storms into the backyard of Nathan Silva–a childhood friend of Sallinger’s who went missing–the tension is palpable. But it is Jessica’s handling of her investigation that both brings her back to her character as we know it, but also provides an interesting visual handling of her powers. Watching Jess punch the earth to break it up is clever and makes her powers…more useful than a shovel, I guess? Either way, it makes for a great set-piece, leading to her finding Nathan’s body and furthering the plot.
Continued below5. The Wrestling Match
But here is where “A.K.A. The Double Half-Wappinger” falls on its face, in the center of a ring, with everyone watching. After catching up with Malcolm, who is staking out our antagonist, Jess is spotted by Sallinger who invites her in for a confrontational conversation in which he challenges her to a wrestling match in front of a ring of twelve-year-olds.
And she accepts.
This episode begins with a press conference in which Sallinger calls Jess out, causing the press to hound her in a media frenzy. Why this character would ever accept this challenge in front of a group of parents making cell-phone recordings is baffling. It is incriminating, given that he has already accused her of stalking and assaulting her. It is insulting to the audience, who have watched a P.I. who knows her shit for two-plus seasons. And, for this reviewer, it is a reason to look at my corner chair where Scott Buck is still sitting and ask, “did you give Melissa this idea? Is this your fault?”
He stares at me for a moment, spins the knife he has been playing with for the past few weeks, and smiles. I contemplate calling 9-1-1, but I’m not sure what I would even tell them. A prominent television show-runner has been co-occupying my home with me for at least three weeks and gives me a threatening glance saying it will be for at least five more. After that, I’m not sure what will happen. Maybe I’ll be forced to watch animatics for a second season of Inhumans with my eyes forced open like Alex from A Clockwork Orange. Who’s to say?
Regardless, and God willing, I’ll be here next week to review “A.K.A. Camera Friendly” as our review of the third season of Jessica Jones continues. Please call the police.
