@eggrollko
Here we are, one final time. The Marvel/Netflix experiment that began with so much excitement and anticipation comes to an end, here, with Jessica Jones Season 3. While the ride we went on with Matt, Jessica, Luke, Danny, and Frank wasn’t perfect, it was absolutely enjoyable! My only wish going into this final season of Jessica Jones was that of a satisfying conclusion to Jessica’s journey. At least so that the Marvel/Netflix series could go out on a high note, as to ask any further would only place a burden it could never live up to.
So does Season 3 deliver on that wish? Let’s move on with spoilers ahead…
BEST CHARACTER
This is the easiest section of the bunch. Jessica. No Doubt. While Trish, Malcolm, Dorothy, Salinger, and Hogarth all have standout moments, Jessica Jones is one of the most complex and interesting characters throughout the Marvel/Netflix experiment, falling only behind Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk for me.
That complexity continues in Season 3, as Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) consistently faces increasingly difficult choices and sacrifices to make — particularly in her relationship with Trish (the last person remaining she considers family). Here, Jessica faces a situation akin to S02 with her mother, except that Trish actually becomes what she feared what her mother was: a murderer with no real sense of right or wrong. All of this creates the most fascinating relationship outside of Daredevil‘s characters, adding another layer of tragedy to Jessica that she uses to become stronger.
WORST CHARACTER
This one is not so clear-cut as last season. Everyone in Season 3, for whatever flaws they have, serves a purpose. The weakest characters of the bunch, however, were all of the ones involved in Jeri Hogarth’s (Carrie-Anne Moss) storyline, from Malcolm’s girlfriend to Hogarth’s old flame and her now dead husband to Hogarth herself. While Hogarth’s story was by no means bad, it was the least interesting all of the interweaving threads. So there’s your answer.
BEST SCENE
This has to be, without a doubt, the final fight between Jessica and Trish. It isn’t as violent or intense as many other fights this season, but it’s as personal as a fight can get.
Perhaps the biggest strength of Jessica Jones as a show is that Jess’s fights always feel so personal and nerve-wracking. And this was up there with the best of them, despite not being all that much physically. Jessica refuses to fight and shows Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor) just how far she’d fallen when her bestie finally does the unthinkable and attempts to kill her. The level of acting was so good it was genuinely difficult to watch that moment of realization for Trish– and the absolute sadness in Jessica’s face.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This was the second best season of Jessica Jones. It still doesn’t match up the truly fantastic first season, but S03 even goes some way towards making S02 better by dealing with the consequences of everything that happened. It’s by no means perfect, as it does become almost agonizingly slow at times– a fairly consistent problem with all of the Marvel/Netflix shows.
This being the final season of that experiment leaves so many questions up in the air, yet certainly serves the purpose of closing out Jessica’s journey that began in Season 1. While there are more stories to be told here with this character — and I would absolutely love to see those — Season 3 does provide a satisfying conclusion to this specific story. 4/5 Hellcat Claws.
-Kevin Palma