Little side note: I don't know if Netflix loves me, or is trying to kill me. This habit of dropping a whole season at once is like escorting an addict into the world's best stocked pharmaceutical heaven and telling them to have at it as long as they can physically hold out. Last night I had to force myself to go to bed.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand...
I'm about halfway through Jessica Jones, and I feel pretty confident saying that if you aren't watching the series, you should be.
In fact, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say at this point we all ought to be prepared to belly up to the table and binge our way through each and every Marvel spin-off Netflix chooses to deliver to us. After their first season of Daredevil, and now the drop of Jessica Jones, it's clear that they're not dicking around with the franchise. Netflix has cast a scornful eye on the lighter fare being offered in the hero genre by network television, and has very purposefully and mindfully chosen another path. They're not going for bubbly or shallow--their heroes have real, gut wrenching pains--and from what I've seen it's paying off big time.
Jessica Jones is fundamentally about the nature of abuse. The show isn't candy coating it, or making it less painful than it really is. Someone at Netflix has done their research--or lived through it themselves--and they aren't pulling any punches. They aren't shying away from the guilt victims can feel, or the way they're made complicit in their own abuse far too frequently. They aren't denying the deep, often compelling bonds that can form between an abuser and their victim. And they aren't reticent about acknowledging how damaging this can all be, even to the strongest of people. Perhaps especially to the strongest of people--the ones who aren't used to feeling helpless and used.
There's no metaphor here--thinly veiled or otherwise. The nature of the abuse is supernatural, but the actual patterns are textbook. Jessica Jones is a very damaged woman, and we can all see why. I have a friend who won't watch the show, because it's too honest for her. I can't blame her. Other people might feel the same.
But--but--I believe that the best art is that which is unafraid to explore dark realities. And by that criteria alone this show is art. Good art. Maybe great art.
How great remains to be seen. I'm watching Jessica pull herself out of the terror and fight back, the way I watched Matt Murdock thread his way between justice and vengeance. I think it's a finer line to walk--harder to convey, and harder to keep compelling without devolving into melodrama. If they can pull it off, though, then Netflix will have given us not just a woman hero, but a hero for women. Someone we can look to not to save us, but to show us how to save ourselves. Not only that, they will have given our entire culture a direct look at the patterns and standards of abuse--not least of which is the one that shows that it's easier to perpetrate abuse when those around you don't want to believe it's true.
Maybe there's a chance it will make a difference. For certain there's a chance that this is going to be great art. And, beyond that, there are all the normal reasons to tune into any show, like great plots, well scripted dialogue, and compelling performances by the leads.
So I think we should all be taking the risk of watching Jessica Jones. I think it's going to be worth it.
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