[Spoiler]Jessica Jones Watch

[vellavu]

Just finished first 4 episodes...

1. I'm trying hard to ignore the Darla-ness of Jessica's line reading. I can easily imagine Jessca as a Darla possessed Faith. Quite a bit distracting.

2. The credit sequence is great.

3. I don't get why people compare it to Daredevil. Daredevil is about "I happen to have some power so I will find some random villains to beat up", which is a boring superhero vibe. Jessica Jones is much more realistic in character motivation.

4. And yeah. It is also weird to compare Jessica Jones to Buffy except the fact that both have gender-balanced casts. Buffy's characters minus vampires are all people we can relate. Jessica Jones is closer to medical/detective/law dramas in which we watch and appreciate professionals do their job well in awe, instead of studying the interaction and development of characters.

I will post more thoughts after watching more episodes.

 

[Blaze]

I've only seen the first two episodes, but so far I really like it. Some thoughts:

-Nice and diverse cast, good to see more than that one token black character. Although all the blonds look alike lol I have a hard time telling them apart.
-Agreed with the credit sequence, it's great
-I'm loving the themes of mental illness and PTSD, not many shows can do that well, especially when were talking of superheros.
-I like the resident of JJ's building.
-There's a good mixture of humor and drama so far.
-JJ definitely reminds me of Faith, and I can totally see what you mean with Darla too.

 

[thetopher]

I watched the whole 13 episodes and enjoyed the hell out of it. I liked the gritty noir feel, the focus on PTSD and trauma that comes from being violated mentally and physically. The effect it had on Jessica Jones was very well explored. I applaude the (mainly female) writers for having the skill and guts to tackle this issue head on (*glares pointedly at BtVS season 7*)
I liked that there was a strong female friendship at the heart of the story- Jessica and Patsy. Very well captured.
I thought all the casting was top-notch. David Tennant's Kilgrave was brilliant in particular. Krysten Ritter was good (I've only seen her previously on VM) and the guy playing Luke Cage- I'm looking forward to that series when it comes out.
The casting was good. More than one black character and almost everybody had some sort of story arc, even JJ's neighbours.

I also saw the Faith echoes- especially the trauma, reluctant hero/self-destuctive hate stuff. It's probably another reason I found this so compelling.

I don't get why people compare it to Daredevil.

Simply because Daredevil is the other superhero show produced by Netflix. Comparing and contrasting is going to be natural. It's not just about characters or themes, its about casting, story structure, actions scenes, etc
I thought Daredevil was brilliant but JJ was slightly better. Firstly because I wasn't as familiar with the story (DD was always going to have that been there, done that' feel to me because I'd read the grahpic novels.) but also I just found the pacing better. DD started strongly and peaked about two thirds of the way through before the plot seemed to flouder a bit, JJ was subtle to begin with and then just more gripping as the storyline progressed.

 

[Blaze]

Simply because Daredevil is the other superhero show produced by Netflix. Comparing and contrasting is going to be natural. It's not just about characters or themes, its about casting, story structure, actions scenes, etc
I thought Daredevil was brilliant but JJ was slightly better. Firstly because I wasn't as familiar with the story (DD was always going to have that been there, done that' feel to me because I'd read the grahpic novels.) but also I just found the pacing better. DD started strongly and peaked about two thirds of the way through before the plot seemed to flouder a bit, JJ was subtle to begin with and then just more gripping as the storyline progressed.

Interesting (and refreshing) to hear this. Most of the people I've talked to preferred DD more. I haven't seen DD though so I can't comment. But I get the impression that DD is a bit more classical hero stuff, whereas JJ is definitely not. Which is probably why I like it in the first place because in general I'm really not a fan of superhero show/movies. But the themes in JJ are themes that I've long been waiting for to see cover in a mainstream TV show. I gotta applaud the writer's for that. At the same times I feel like it's the same themes that turn off some people from watching the show. When I here people complain that JJ is weak for having PTSD, I just want to rip my hair out, some people are bound to just not get it.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I guess I am in the minority then. I think JJ started out fantastic but then it just hit a wall and turned into the routine superhero show. I think the more screen time Tennant got, the less I started to like it. Not Tennant's performance- he was great, but the story seemed, meh. The tone felt different.

Comparatively, I found nothing really interesting about DD until it went more into the backstory of D'Onofrio. I honestly did not care about the Purpleman's backstory at all and thought it was just a waste. About episode 8 or 9 is where I got disinterested with JJ. About episode 7 or 8 is where I became interested in DD.

EDIT:
JJ suffered from the same thing that Buffy season one suffered from. How can you make your villain be the ultimate monster when he shows up every week? Tennet's character seemed much more dangerous and evil when he wasn't on screen interacting with JJ. He seemed like a legit threat. Then he turned into just a pouty, hammy, cute villain.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

Finished all of JJ on Thanksgiving. The first 6 eps are great, the middle are a bit mashed together, and the ending was a bit anti-climatic. But overall I thought it was a great story. I could do with out the sex scenes. Too many shows now have useless and unnecessarily graphic sex scenes. But that's just me, it makes me a bit uncomfortable. I did like Luke Cage and the apartment neighbor characters. There were a lot of bitchy women I noticed. lol. JJ does remind me a bit of Faith, and I really like the actress Krysten Ritter, I've seen her pop up in a bunch of stuff and she's always really good.

Tennet's character seemed much more dangerous and evil when he wasn't on screen interacting with JJ. He seemed like a legit threat. Then he turned into just a pouty, hammy, cute villain.

I can kinda agree with this. He was less scary as it went on, maybe if they gave him less screen time. I did like all of his backstory stuff though. I'm glad they didn't turn him into a hero, like I thought it was going to for a minute. Not sure about his obsession with Jessica though.

 

[vellavu]

8 episodes now.

1. Kilgrave is very good so far. A lot of screentime is OK I guess, at least it didn't make Boyd less terrifying and disgusting in Dollhouse.

2. The story of Hogarth is quite detached from the main plot line. And seems that Hogarth is emotionally irrelevant to Jessica either.

3. Will and Malcom are better characters than Luke. Jess/Luke is kinda comic book cliche, but the stories of the cop and the drug addict are honest and original IMO.

But I get the impression that DD is a bit more classical hero stuff, whereas JJ is definitely not.

Yeah. The blind old mentor and the ninja are downright cartoonish. I haven't seen such elements in JJ yet.

 

[Faith]

I watched the entire thing in three days. I wasn't sure of the casting at first as the other things I had seen Krysten in, I wasn't swayed. I found this a lot easier to get into than DD, it took me a while to warm to that.

Definately not a show for the kiddies! Kilgrave, I couldn't quite figure out if he was meant to be English and I kept hearing his Scottish accent or if it was Scottish all along. He definately got more Scottish as it went on. I love watching his dark side, doesn't quite meet the Secret Smile standards.

Already looking forward to season 2.

 

[vellavu]

Finished it.

The ending was really really problematic.

1. I can't feel the tension like I did in the early and middle season.

2. Kilgrave also degenerated to be maniac and suicidal after meeting his parents.

3. It felt like a tight-structured story from the start, but ended up with a main line and several side stories patched in. It would help much if the side stories are also compelling, but they are not.

4. I don't think Kilgrave's problem is too much screentime. The problem is that he is no more villain-y than the nerd Tro. The only thing preventing Jess from killing him is the concern of casualties. The big bad is Jess's morality crisis. Maybe that's the point? Maybe Kilgrave was supposed to be a plot device at first, but the actor stole the show?

5. Anyway still better than Daredevil.

 

[Blaze]

I don't think Kilgrave's problem is too much screentime. The problem is that he is no more villain-y than the nerd Tro. The only thing preventing Jess from killing him is the concern of casualties. The big bad is Jess's morality crisis. Maybe that's the point? Maybe Kilgrave was supposed to be a plot device at first, but the actor stole the show?

I'm only on episode 4, so my opinion might not be super valid at this point (I know, I know, I really need to finish the show). But I always thought it was less about the big bad and more about the representation of the victim and the abuser. Sprinkled in with the effect of PTSD and also explaining why Jess couldn't just go up and kill him, but also couldn't distance herself from him.
 
Mr. Pole, that's disappointing 🙁 I was hoping this wouldn't be just another superhero show. I don't like those.

 

[Samuel Reyes]

I also saw the Faith echoes

Apparently you're not the only one...

https://twitter.com/x/status/667877839702761472

I was checking around the Internet; it seems to be a popular opinion among fans of both Buffy and JJ that Eliza reminds them of Krysten Ritter.

 

[Jules]

I watched this because I'd enjoyed watching Daredevil and I found out there was a character crossover.

I have to admit I'm not a fan. Not that I don't think the acting and storylines aren't good but it's a little bit too dark and gritty for me. I watched every episode but it was a struggle 🙁