Episode 5 takes place around two
time periods, the present, and eighteen months ago. The episode is presented in
layers, flipping back and forth between the two time periods. I, on the other
hand, will just present both plots. It’s a little easier on the noodle.
A year and a half before the show
began, Jessica Jones’ life was fairly simple. She’d just quit an office job she
hated, and manipulated her embezzling boss to give her six week’s severance
pay. Trish insisted that Jessica use her much more open schedule to become a
superhero. She even made a costume for Jessica, straight from the comics, and
came up with her codename, also from the comics, Jewel. Jessica is less than
thrilled with both. Despite this, she still goes out to fight crime, and saves
a young man from being mugged. She shows off her strength, just as Kilgrave
walks by. He assumes control of her instantly, having taken a liking to her
pretty face and immense strength, and so begins her year of hell.
 |
| Who pays attention to a guy that's as high as a kite? |
In the present day plot, Jessica is
greatly disturbed to find out that that young man she saved a year and a half
ago is Malcolm, the drug addict next door. Doing a little sleuthing, she discovers
that until six months ago he’d been a college student at NYU and was working on
becoming a Social Worker. At that six-month marker, he met Kilgrave, who got
him addicted to drugs. She also surmises that the reason why Kilgrave got him
addicted. That people are much more dismissive of drug addicts than normal
folks, and admits that she’s as guilty of this as any one. Jessica swears that she’ll
help Malcolm out, after she gets Kilgrave. The woman has priorities. Jessica,
Trish, and their new buddy Simpson set up a plan to get Kilgrave into a hermetically
sealed room. The soundproof room is a perfect prison for Kilgrave, as his
powers only effect those that hear him directly. The team gets Kilgrave as he
and Malcolm meet, and nearly get him to the chamber, but are stopped just short
of their goal. Kilgrave had paid a security firm to tail him, just in case his powers
got knocked out. Jessica forces Malcolm to quit drugs cold turkey. She handcuffs
him next to the toilet and gives him a tough love speech. In order to protect
Malcolm from Kilgrave, she agrees to send the sick British prick pictures of
herself, every day at 10 am.
Oh, and Hope Shlottmen gets beaten in
prison. Minor thing now, but will be important later.
This episode is good at doing two things.
One, showing us just what Jessica’s life was like before, and how she got stuck
being Kilgrave’s plaything. Two, it shows us Jessica’s ‘real’ self. Though out
the episode, Jessica comes across as pretty callous and cruel, given her willingness
for Malcolm to prolong his suffering so long as she can follow Malcolm to
Kilgrave. While Jessica has never come across as a “nice” person, this is one
of the first times I recall that she let someone deliberately come to harm for
her own benefit. But, after it’s clear that Malcolm’s life is really threatened,
instead of just being crappy, she offers a bit of herself up to Kilgrave as a
prize. Which highlights that, while Jessica may let others hurt themselves, she
wouldn’t allow someone to die for her revenge. Not the best stance to have, but
saves her from just seeming like a cold hearted B-word. I’ll be taking a break
for Thanksgiving, but be back again on Friday.
http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/File:Jessica_Jones_5.jpg
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