Can Jessica Jones Go It Alone?

Season 2 of the action-packed thrill ride that is Jessica Jones dropped early this year and the positive reaction caused Season 3 to be immediately confirmed. Marvel’s Jessica Jones came to an explosive finale last year and has made a critically acclaimed comeback. Jones has, however, always has something or someone to play off. With the closing of season 2, the question now stands, can she finally stand on her own two feet? Warning, if you haven’t seen season 2 yet, shame on you! There will be spoilers, so open a new tab, binge-watch the series then come back to me…I’ll wait.

Season 1 saw Jones battle the mind-control style endless powers of Kilgrave (played by the fantastic David Tennant), but with his death in the finale it became clear that there was no return for this specific killer. Although, as we know, dead is never really dead when you are dealing with Netflix’s Marvel. Season 2 kicked off with Jones battling her age-old issues alone, with the unwanted support of Trish (aka good-girl-turned-bad-turned-good-again) and Ducasse (ex-addict now…employee?!).

It wasn’t long before it became clear that without someone to fight, Jones was just an angry hermit who happened to be able to punch a hole into a wall. Enter villain number 2: Alisa (played by Janet McTeer) was the female counterpart that Jones needed. Badass, ruthless, and just a little morally questionable. A whole article could be written on how amazing it was to finally see two female leads that did something beyond stand and look pretty…I digress!

Season 2 was good, not strong, not amazing, but good. It was captivating and addressed some gaping holes in Jones’ life, but it left us with a wrapped up present of an ending, with a shiny bow and all.

This got me thinking, can Jones survive another season? Well, yes, she can. But can she do it alone? What is Jones when she is not fighting some super evil villain? Without the presence of a clear ‘bad’ guy to fight against, Jones is simply a lost superhero. Debating if she, herself, is on team good or team bad.

We can see that in the start of Season 2, before the arrival of Alisa, Jones spends her time in a moral tug-of-war about her ‘killer’ soul. Even after Alisa slides into the scene, Jones is on a journey of self-discovery entitled “Am I the good guy?” and even debates setting up a two-woman team of slightly corrupt good guys with mummy dearest.

It can be argued that you can’t have a superhero without a supervillain. What is Batman without the Joker, right? Well, he’s that idiot that goes off to try and kill Superman and we all know how the box officer felt about that. But away from DC’s Batman, Marvel is good for creating characters that can hold their own. They can fight the daily battles and the problems around without the need for one specific bad guy! Going back to the Batman metaphor, his villains are varying and sometimes nonexistent: sometimes he’s fighting Gotham, or dealing with a bank robber. Jones doesn’t seem ‘small time baddie’ ready. Jones is always in need of someone powerful, crippling, and dangerous to put in her in her place.

Without the baddie, Jones ping-pongs between doing the right thing, and stealing from a liquor store during a robbery! Perhaps, that is the beauty of her but it also feels like it could be a problem. Will season 3 see the dredging up of another world-dominating baddie who is out for Jones and Jones alone? Will it not become a little repetitive? Can Jones play the superhero role, without always needing a baddie?

Given his absence in season 2, it would be excellent to bring Luke Cage back into the mix. He added the grounding aspect with Jones’ life. With the success of The Defenders, it would be a hope that the two could jump in and out of each other’s respective shows. True to the comics, Cage and Jones had a little moment of passion but could he be the answer to her moral debate?

Then there is Trish! We leave the BFF-turned-wannabe superhero as she discovers that her mad quest for powers may have succeeded. For fans of the Marvel universe comics, Patsy Walker first appeared in a separate comic before integrating into the Avengers and becoming Hellcat. With Trish developing cat-like reflexes, has Hellcat finally been born?

Although exciting, it can spell yet another doubting question of Jones’ inability to survive without a clear supervillain. Will Hellcat become Jones’ new nemesis? The two have left on difficult terms after Trish did the deed on Jones’ mummy; which was needed but probably not a great twist in their friendship.

It would be a real shame for Trish/Hellcat to become the next addition to Jones’ growing pile of baddie corpses just to keep her on the straight and narrow. If done well, Netflix could delve further into the original comic, and have Jones focus on using her powers without the need to have a villain in place.

Personally, I think season 3 is the time to see the end of this good guy/bad guy musing, and bring about a change in Jones. Let’s give Jones a bit more depth and power over her future. She’s learnt and dealt with her past, she’s let people in and she’s opened up. With the arrival of criminal-come-painter Arocho, it seems a good time for her to find her place in the superhero world as a good guy.

The potential for season 3 is great, what with Hogarth’s new enemy quest/illness and Ducasse becoming Cheng’s new apprentice. There are many things for Jones to have to deal with, without the need of a new evildoer to right her wrongs. She’s playing the ‘happy stable’ role now with new beau, so it should be time for an updated Jones. You know, one that doesn’t occasionally forget which side she’s on.