Jessica Jones is a grungy New York PI who clearly has A Past, because Krysten Ritter (who plays her) rarely has to reconfigure her default sullen-cynical expression as she drains another bottle of Wild Budgie bottom-shelf whisky.
That past is tied to a character called Kilgrave (David Tennant), a man who can literally persuade anybody to do anything. Against which, Jessica’s power to leap smallish buildings and throw strong men through walls is not much use.
Yes, this is a superpowers series, but one that keeps them on a tight rein. Which is good, because I’m totally over superheros. The Flash? Meh. Supergirl? Yawn. This series is, in fact, less about biff than about how women get controlled and exploited (sometimes by other women). Though there is also biff, don’t worry. There’s also dry humour and truckloads of intriguing backstory: this could easily be Series 2 instead of Series 1. Well worth a look. 8/10
Available on Netflix.
Mercifully Short Reviews 