When Alias Investigations swung its doors open in November of 2015, Jessica Jones was hailed as the best addition to Marvel’s TV lineup in years – better than even Daredevil – so it comes as no surprise that the show’s sophomore installment has occupied headlines left, right and center.
But now for the million-dollar question: is it any good? In short, yes. While Jessica Jones season 2 is a slow burn that lacks the focus of its critically-adorned predecessor, the natural charisma of Kyrsten Ritter is seemingly enough to bring balance to a 13-episode season hamstrung by pacing issues and a weak replacement for David Tennant’s Kilgrave, who consumed Jessica’s mind all throughout the first season.
And so, what follows is a sample of the critical consensus, beginning with our own thoughts on the show’s second run:
WGTC: Jessica Jones season 2 delves deeper into the past of its hero than ever before, propelled by Krysten Ritter’s brooding but compelling lead performance.
/Film: Equal parts droll, damaged and fierce, Ritter is so damn charismatic that she’s able to carry most of the lopsided season with seeming ease, and almost (almost) distract you from plotting issues.
Empire: Dramatically speaking, it’s a tad disappointing. What made the first season the strongest and smartest of the Marvel/Netflix set was the way it presented itself as less a superhero story with a feminist twist than a smart feminist noir-thriller with a superhero twist. Now, aside from some post-Weinstein-relevant drama with a sleazy filmmaker from Trish’s (Rachael Taylor) child-actor days, the show focuses more on the distrust and prejudice Jessica faces as an outed “super”.
The review round-up continues down below:
Uproxx: Ritter is so charismatic, and so good at toggling between sarcasm and outright pain, that a lot of this is more watchable than it should be, given the glacial pace at which the plot moves and the amount of time spent on lesser characters and filler stories. But the overall trend for this cluster of shows is worrisome. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage all burst out of the gate strong before fading later in their debut seasons. Iron Fist was a miscalculation on every level, while Defenders, The Punisher, and now this new Jessica season haven’t even managed the strong start.
Newsweek: Ritter finds a way to channel her character’s debilitating pain with such raw ferocity you can see the glaze of tear behind her eye and feel the anxious lump in her throat. Her performance alone is captivating enough to keep the first five episodes consistently entertaining, even as the story moves at a snail’s pace. Jessica is finally ready to confront the source of her trauma and out the enemy who has been hiding deep within her troubled past, but you’ll have to trudge through the emotional torture right along with her to find the riveting answers the show promises.
Collider: If you thought that the team-up of The Defenders would have any bearing on the individual character seasons of Marvel’s Netflix heroes, think again. As has been the pattern, each Defender is kept in their own sandbox until it’s time to play together, but then they are swiftly sequestered again. It can be a little disappointing, although when it comes to Jessica Jones, it’s actually a good thing.
And two final reviews to drive the point home:
Polygon: The first season of Jessica Jones captivated me. But after more than two years of anticipation of a second season, the first five episodes of the show’s second season left me disappointed and, worst of all, bored.
IndieWire: There was an undercurrent of terror throughout “Jessica Jones” Season 1 that gave the series a darkness and dynamism which elevated it over previous Marvel series; Season 2 lacks that in its first five episodes. Yet there are still eight to go, which is plenty of time for Jessica to make bad decisions in her fight to do right. And one thing remains unchanged — her story is singularly hers, uncompromising and unapologetically all about what we’ve come to love about this character.
Jessica Jones returns for her second season on March 8th. And no, you read that right; Netflix has bumped tradition to release JJ‘s new installment on a Thursday to coincide with International Women’s Day.
