When Jessica Jones hit Netflix earlier this year, audiences were bowled over by this former-superhero-turned-private-eye. The show is female-led, and female-centred, and essentially spent 13 episodes dealing with the issue of consent – so its critical and popular success was a significant triumph for those who have been clamouring for better representation of women in the media. It also introduced Luke Cage – played by Mike Colter – ahead of that character’s own Netflix series, which arrives in the fall.
Once they had binge-watched Jessica Jones and digested its content, fans held their collective breath and waited for the verdict from Netflix and Marvel Studios. The previous collaboration between the two organizations – Daredevil – received a second season order within days of its first season arriving online. Jessica Jones had to wait a little longer, but the second season order finally came, and audiences began to get excited about what a further 13 episodes might deliver.
The people behind the show are equally excited, it seems, as they explained to Entertainment Tonight at a recent Netflix event. Series star Krysten Ritter touched upon her favourite aspects of the show, and what she hopes to see feature in the plot of future episodes.
“I’m so excited to see what [the writers] come up with. [I’d love] to dig deeper into the psychology of the aftermath of Kilgrave (David Tennant), and maybe we could do a couple big stunts. I’d be down for that.
“I love me some Mike Colter. [Jessica and Luke] are so different, but they both have something kind of broken inside, and they identify with each other because of that. There’s just some magic that happens.
“I love their relationship. I loved it in the original comic books, in [comic series] Alias, and Mike’s a joy to work with. We had a lot of fun.
“…one of the most exciting things about the show, [is] that female friendship [between Jessica and Trish Walker]. At the heart of it, that’s really what it’s about. It’s about that relationship with her very best friend, her sister. I just loved how honest and real it was.”
Rachel Taylor – who plays Jones’ best friend and potential superhero in her own right, Trish Walker – highlighted the relationship between the two women as being central to the narrative, and key to the show’s success.
“I think people really respond to seeing a female friendship that is not perfect. And they’re never talking about shoes or a boyfriend. Their own story is enough to sustain a narrative, and I think that’s really cool.
“They have so much history, these characters together. And a lot of it is just the natural chemistry that I have with Krysten. She’s a hard worker, she’s talented, she’s professional, but she’s a girl’s girl as well. She knows how to have a good time and support other women. I admired her a lot, shooting with her, and learned a lot from her.
“I think there’s so many layers to this character [Trish Walker]. One of the things I’m really looking forward to, aside from all of the potential martial arts or athleticism, is seeing her relationship with her mother unfold a little bit more. I had a really good time working with [Rebecca De Mornay, who played Trish’s overbearing stage mom, Dorothy] and obviously working with Krysten and seeing their friendship unfold in different ways. There’s lots to play with.”
For her part, series creator Melissa Rosenberg made a point of assuring those gathered that season two of Jessica Jones will retain the ethos that so clearly resonated with viewers – which is that the story is personal to Jones. While the action certainly plays out in the same environment as Daredevil does, and Luke Cage will, the Jessica Jones show is not solely obsessed with protecting the city from evil outside influence – this is a show focused on a woman dealing with her own situation, and trying to survive.
“Jessica Jones, her journey is a very personal one, it’s very intimate. So, the guys coming in to take over the city, she doesn’t really care, she’s like ‘Take us down, I just need to pay my rent.’ Whatever we do, it will be personal to her. It will be a personal story.”
This is all very encouraging, as it looks as though cast and creators are united in seeking to build upon all the aspects of Jessica Jones that made it such a challenging, refreshing and satisfying series to watch. The only downside is that the second season is not due to begin production until 2017 – which means we’ll all have to re-binge season one at least twice more before we finally get to see the next chapter.
