What's equally irritating in the Golden Age of television as in earlier television eras is that many major TV projects appear brilliant at the very beginning only to quickly sink into "soap" and mediocrity. Something similar happened with Netflix's television branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, whose series at the start—Daredevil and Jessica Jones—appeared as a genuine refreshment compared to what are now tired, off-the-peg cinematic productions. Several years and spin-off series later, it can be said that disappointments were inevitable, given how difficult it is to maintain such a level of quality. This also applies to the second season of Jessica Jones, probably the best of all Netflix's Marvel superhero series, which isn't actually bad in itself but represents a noticeable decline compared to the first season.
At the beginning of the second season, the titular protagonist (Krysten Ritter), although she has defeated her main enemy and tormentor Kilgrave, finds herself in just as miserable a situation as at the start of the first season. Perpetually in a bad mood, forced to live in a building with alcoholics, drug addicts, and the destitute, and earning a living as a private detective whose clients represent the dregs of New York society, Jessica Jones still hasn't overcome her severe psychological traumas nor stopped seeking solace at the bottom of a bottle. To make matters worse, all this is compounded by guilt over having taken someone's life, and the words of comfort from her friend Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor) ring rather hollow as she insists that her victim got what they deserved. Ultimately, she's forced to return to her work routine, and one client leads her to IGH, a mysterious organisation responsible for secret and illegal experiments through which she gained her superhuman powers as a child. She and Trish begin an investigation that will cause Jessica to confront Alisa (Janet McTeer), a mysterious woman endowed with superhuman strength but also prone to destructive rage fits that lead her to kill people around her. This conflict, however, reveals that she and Jessica share not only superhuman powers or how they acquired them, but also a surprising connection that will complicate everything. Meanwhile, Trish, partly due to another unhappy love affair, turns to drugs again, but this time in a way that leads her to the unhealthy idea that she must acquire superhero status like Jessica, while Jessica's lawyer Jennie Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) faces a serious illness but also machinations from her firm's partner.
It was clear from the start that the second season of Jessica Jones would have an extremely difficult time surpassing the first, not least because it no longer features Kilgrave, who was not only one of the most monstrous and memorable villains in television history but also a character who provided the plot with a solid foundation and focus. Although Kilgrave briefly appears in one episode as a vision/internal voice of the main heroine—which is essentially fan service that fans of the series and David Tennant won't mind—this void isn't adequately filled, and not because of the character of Alisa, masterfully portrayed by Janet McTeer, but due to a lack of script focus and skill. The second season lacks a proper, first-class villain, but it's also burdened with a series of subplots that the series' authors failed to weave into a cohesive whole. There were also pacing issues, largely caused by the attempt to stretch the season across 13 episodes when 10, or perhaps even 8, would have been quite sufficient. Thus, the first few episodes seem rather dull, with real events only beginning to happen around the middle, when Jessica Jones starts resembling the series that won us over in the first season. The finale itself is burdened with melodramatic twists, some of which are rather predictable. An additional problem is that some characters aren't well-developed, meaning they frequently have to behave like idiots to serve the needs of continuing or complicating the plot. This is precisely why the biggest disappointment is the character of Pryce Cheng (Terry Chen), a private detective who represents Jessica's main professional rival, about whom it's unclear on what basis he has built such an elite reputation.
On the other hand, some subplots work very well, including the one with Jennie Hogarth, which seems somewhat lost in Jessica Jones and could function as an episode of a standalone TV series or Marvel spin-off, saved by Carrie-Anne Moss's excellent performance and the rather intelligent way it's resolved. Special praise is deserved by the seventh episode, which for the first time shows young Jessica and Trish's life through flashbacks, and the eleventh episode in which Jessica must simultaneously battle ghosts from the past and resolve some rather current problems in the present. Acting is generally excellent, including Ritter's, who brilliantly handles rather uninspired lines and plot elements, making them feel fresh. Most impressive, however, is Taylor, who has ensured that what was a supporting role in the first season now appears as a character who could surpass Jessica Jones or, as suggested by the final episode, perhaps even earn her own new series. The success is all the greater since Trish is the only character who has undergone significant change compared to the first season, and that change is for the worse—from a likeable sidekick she's transformed into an irritating drug-addled wreck, yet someone capable of monstrous and unforgivable deeds whom viewers will still want to see in the third season.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
(Note: The text in the original Croatian version is available here.)
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