Netflix Marvel Universe

[Mommar]

I watched the first episode tonight. I'm definitely intrigued and like what I've seen so far, BUT, I gotta disagree with Mr. March.... at least so far. I liked Daredevil much better right out of the gate.

Chris

The two shows aren't easily comparable are they? DD is more traditional/straightforward action and drama while Jessica Jones is more of a character driven/psychological piece.

[Dobber]

The two shows aren't easily comparable are they? DD is more traditional/straightforward action and drama while Jessica Jones is more of a character driven/psychological piece.

No they really aren't. It will be interesting to see how they will pair with each other...especially when Netflix gets around to making the Defenders. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the first ep. of JJ, and am looking forward to watching more, it's just DD wowed me within the first 5min before the title even roled. I also appreciated the fact that DD didn't seem to use the "sex sells" ideal that most cable shows stoop to, to be "edgy" and JJ SEEMS to be going there...at least in the first ep. That being said, I'm looking forward to watching more tonight. Glad to hear the tension continues to build as the series continues, it did get really good by the end of the first ep.

Chris

Edited November 22, 2015 by Dobber

[Mog]

I'm just three episodes in. . . you'll definitely get more of that SEX SELLS vibe in the next few episodes, Dobber.

But given the characters and the on-going story, I get why it's there.

Been enjoying the story so far.

Not your typical super-hero story, but it's clear to see why Marvel selected this for a live-action adaptation.

[Gakken85]

I'm watching the first episode of JJ just to give a shot and it's pretty boring. Like CSI sassy chick or something.

I don't find her to be a credible badass and the acting isn't amazing. The writing is pretty bland too.

The main character is more annoying than anything. Daredevil is somebody you can sympathize with and care about as a human. Jessica Jones is just walking wish fulfillment for people who want a cheap female "superhero".

It just the same stuff you can get on any network cop show with a bit more sex.

Save the edge and give me a story.

By the time she's riding in the Taxi and they are trying to hook you emotionally, I just kept thinking.. "who cares?"

Edited November 22, 2015 by Gakken85

[Mog]

Your loss, bub.

Kilgrave's a royal a-hole of a villain though.

[EXO]

The sex is actually toned down a lot from the book. I think they put it in there just to match the tone.

I actually kept comparing it to Supergirl more because the show has very similar archetypes. I wouldn't expect a CBS superhero show to have the same dark tone but the super cheesy, super light and corny writing makes me believe it's more within the universe of Two Broke Girls rather than within a superhero one.

This show is awesome though... I'm ready for Luke Cage and Iron Fist!

[Mommar]

The reason why the sex is in there does serve a purpose in the story.

[Gakken85]

That's another thing I don't get. If this guy is like a high level telepath - which I am assume he is - why isn't somebody serious coming after him?

Call the X-men instead of letting some New York hipster try to mess around. haha

[EXO]

That's all explained... and it's a really silly question when it comes to anything in superhero universes... you can ask that about any event. But in this one it's addressed in detail. I'm going to assume that all your comments will be based on not watching the show and you're just here to troll so I'd stop now if I was you.

[miles316]

That's another thing I don't get. If this guy is like a high level telepath - which I am assume he is - why isn't somebody serious coming after him?

Call the X-men instead of letting some New York hipster try to mess around. haha

Killgrave is not a Telepathy He only releases a Chemical/Viral signal that makes people susceptible to his commands, and the only organization that had any experience dealing with people like Killgrave was SHIELD which was destroyed and driven underground.

[Gakken85]

That's all explained... and it's a really silly question when it comes to anything in superhero universes... you can ask that about any event. But in this one it's addressed in detail. I'm going to assume that all your comments will be based on not watching the show and you're just here to troll so I'd stop now if I was you.

Having an opinion that is different from yours isn't trolling. This is a discussion post, not a praise post. Endless praise for a show shouldn't be the chief aim here.

I watched the first episode and didn't like it. The aim of the first episode should be to draw you in and I didn't feel that it did it's job.

Miles - so this is going off the movie universe timeline I guess?

Edited November 23, 2015 by Gakken85

[miles316]

Having an opinion that is different from yours isn't trolling. This is a discussion post, not a praise post. Endless praise for a show shouldn't be the chief aim here.

I watched the first episode and didn't like it. The aim of the first episode should be to draw you in and I didn't feel that it did it's job.

Miles - so this is going off the movie universe timeline I guess?

They will most likely only mention the "Incident" (Avengers 1) and possibly the aftermath of the Inhuman outbreak since it looks like some manifested in NY city.

I think Marvel Netflix season take place during the Six months between Marvel AOS seasons.

I'm disappointed they have not shown the Avengers Tower in the NY skyline during JJ since goes allover NY City not just Hell's Kitchen.

Edited November 23, 2015 by miles316

[EXO]

You've already established yourself as someone not interested in the show and you're asking questions you're not willing to see get answered. And you didn't even bother to watch Daredevil close enough to realize that this is all happening within the same universe as the MCU and AoS to realize there's no X-Men in this continuity. I criticize shows that i follow all the time in other threads, as long as I remain someone that's interested, but at the point I say I'm done witha show, I stop commenting. I've seen you troll other show threads before so it'll go without saying that you won't get another warning at all. You'll just be gone.

[EXO]

The only time they showed the Avengers Tower was in one of the teasers but I think they're just trying to keep the smaller pocket separated and free of the constraints that may come up trying to keep tied to the MCU. I do wish they were able to bring in Cap and Carol Danvers like in the book. Also, putting in Stark's building is probably wasted budget for unecessary CG.

[azrael]

I've watched the first 3 episodes, skimmed the rest and will probably actually binge watch the rest over the break. But I'm gonna say, I don't really like it. The tone just feels depressing. Plenty of booze with self-loathing-behavior. It feels like Jessica is sleeping with Luke just to see if they feel anything anymore (think revenge sex). To me, it feels like any bit of happiness is drowned out, then chased down with booze. The story seems OK, but the tone of the show weighs down everything.

[Mommar]

I've watched the first 3 episodes, skimmed the rest and will probably actually binge watch the rest over the break. But I'm gonna say, I don't really like it. The tone just feels depressing. Plenty of booze with self-loathing-behavior. It feels like Jessica is sleeping with Luke just to see if they feel anything anymore (think revenge sex). To me, it feels like any bit of happiness is drowned out, then chased down with booze. The story seems OK, but the tone of the show weighs down everything.

That's the tone of the comic. She's a depressed person. At least in the beginning.

[EXO]

I've watched the first 3 episodes, skimmed the rest and will probably actually binge watch the rest over the break. But I'm gonna say, I don't really like it. The tone just feels depressing. Plenty of booze with self-loathing-behavior. It feels like Jessica is sleeping with Luke just to see if they feel anything anymore (think revenge sex). To me, it feels like any bit of happiness is drowned out, then chased down with booze. The story seems OK, but the tone of the show weighs down everything.

That really is the tone of the show. I guess having read the first few issues helped me with expectations of the show. I didn't finish them because I was just reading while waiting. The book does go into even more morose descriptions of the sex scene and other decisions she makes by way of narration. But the show addresses everything in following episodes.

There's a scene where they show Jessica before and after Kilgrave. While she's always been a dark character because of her parents' death, she wasn't so self destructive and extremely alcoholic. There's also other scenes of other characters having the same effect from being in contact with Kilgrave. And of course you'll see how much of an a-hole the guy is.

[miles316]

I just Finished "Don't trust the B in apt 23" and now I'm in a Show Hole though I liked Richard Dean Anderson being on the last episode.

Edited December 1, 2015 by miles316

[Mr March]

I finished Jessica Jones and it is another solid Marvel show for Netflix, with plenty of style, good story, fun filmmaking, engaging characters and some really smart dialog. However, it does also suffer from some examples of poor dialog, some half-baked characters and some pacing issues.

Krysten Ritter is amazing in the role and really enjoys the benefit of a lot of clever dialog which she puts to excellent use with a droll, snarky delivery. The music is also excellent, really capturing that film-noir feel but also mixing it with some modern styles. The supporting cast is generally strong, especially Carrie Ann Moss as the attorney Jeri Hogarth and Mike Colter as Luke Cage. Moss' Hogarth is a take-charge lesbian lawyer played as a verbal foil to Ritter's Jones and possibly setting up an intriguing "frenemy" relationship between the two characters for future seasons. Colter as Luke Cage is all subtle confidence and strength while having an engaging backstory which expertly colors his rough relationship with Jessia Jones. And of course, David Tennant's inspired turn as the super villian Kilgrave is magnetic even before we ever see him appear on screen. The dreadful build toward his reveal is almost as good as his performance in the rest of the season. The show also downplays the fact that it is a super hero show in some respects. This could just be a result of how the show is written more as a detective tale and thriller and the opportunity for action simply isn't there. The show does regularly remind the audience of Jessica's powers, but it's a rather non-super hero-y for a super hero series. I liken it to Guardians of the Galaxy, which is sold as a super hero film but comes across far more as space opera action/adventure, right down to the very non-super visualization of most of the characters (and obviously, Jessica Jones is far less fantastical in setting and story).

The discussion of powers does lead into one of the critcisms I have for the show; the action. The series does have one or two interesting action sequences, but by far the action is passable at best and noticeably bad at worst. The show - despite being about a super strong hero - is not written as an action adventure, so the such scenes are less frequent. But I do feel as though the creators were very uninterested in the action, almost as if they never wanted to film the sequences or were forced to do so because of the producers/studio. The result is uninspired, though perhaps it may not have been so noticable on it's own. However, one can't help but compare Jessica Jones to Netflix's other super hero series Daredevil, a show which - although sometimes over-indulging in too many action scenes - nonetheless delivered some of the most engaging and artfully shot action sequences in television history. One can't be blamed for feeling disappointed.

The dialog in the show is generally one of the greatest strengths of the writing. Most of the best lines are saved for Ritter's abrasive Jessica Jones, who dispenses funny and witty one-liners whether she's suffering no fools or bowing to the absurdity around her. The best dialog scenes often include Jessica and Hogarth or Jessica and Kilgrave, but dramatically there are numerous compelling exchanges between Jessia and Cage and Jessica and her estranged best friend Trish Walker (played by Rachael Taylor). Despite a few eye-rolling (and borderline offensive) girl-power pieces of dialog, the show also offers some subtle feminist themes as well. The super power of the antagonist Kilgrave is functionally a manifestation of invisible privelage (specifically, male privelage) and also informs the wonderful character depth for Tennant's Kilgrave. Jessica struggles often parallel women's struggles, from PTSD and rape to more subtle challenges like her own agency and gender inequality. I am not surprised in the least the predictable backlash against the show from the internet's misogynist quarters, which means it's hitting all the right buttons to face an issue many would just as soon try to shout down. I found the subtext topical and subversive, the kind of commentary we got when shows like Star Trek The Next Generation were still airing. I also think this commentary is incredibly important given that Jessica Jones is a super hero property from Marvel, a studio that has been justly criticized for their lack of female film representation for years.

Overall, Jessica Jones is a hit. I'm definitely onboard for the next season. As expected, comparisons to Daredevil are inevitable, but the two shows have their own strengths. I'll be watching both, even if I tend to prefer the execution of Daredevil a little more in spite of Jessica Jones' stronger story. 4 out of 5.

[SuperSenpai]

I'm about halfway through JJ. The first episode didn't quite "grab" me, but I forged on ahead with the understanding that these Marvel Netflix shows are all about the long game. Three or four episodes in, my opinion of the show turned considerably more favorable. It's generally well-written and acted, and it's definitely more in the vein of a psychological crime thriller than superhero show. Looking forward to the rest of the season.

My only complaints are that so far, JJ isn't really that likable of a character. If anything, I feel sorry for her as she's obviously an incredibly damaged young woman, but I don't really find myself rooting for her. I find my interest in her to be purely utilitarian in that she basically serves as a protagonist to move the story along. Also, while I understand that physical appearance doesn't necessarily have any bearing on super powers, for a super hero that has super strength, I would have found an actress that's a little more athletic-looking to be more convincing. It's like Superman -- if he's an alien whose strength has nothing to do with actual muscle mass, then he doesn't technically need to be played by an actor with a muscular physique... but the muscular physique helps to sell the notion that he's a super strong character.

[Raptor One]

Yea the first episode really is the weakest of the bunch. It's not till the end of it that things start to pick up.

As for the complaints about her physical appearance, I'll just say that her character has never really been about that. Just like Spidey in many incarnations is depicted as an extremely slim (if well toned) kid, but is still super strong. Also a part of her character is how people assume she's weak just because she's a woman who isn't physically imposing, so her strength isn't really supposed to be obvious on the surface.

I do agree about the action sequences though. The hand to hand fights were fine, but anything involving jumping and all that was pretty weak.

[myk]

Making Jessica athletic looking would have been a mistake. Honestly, I think Ritter is actually TOO attractive for the "damaged woman" that she's supposed to portray, but I get that no one wants to watch a show about ugly people so I think she's a good choice: not drop dead gorgeous and unbelievable, yet not so ugly you can't watch the first five minutes of the show...

[ErikElvis]

5 episodes into Jessica jones and am really liking it so far. I gave up on daredevil I. 4eps. I just couldn't get into it

[SuperSenpai]

I didn't say that JJ should be athletic-looking, I said that she should be "a little more" athletic-looking. I'm not saying that she should look as strong as she appears (because then she'd look like a hulking mass of muscle, whether man or woman), just that I would have preferred an actress that didn't look so frail. The actress that plays her friend, Trish Walker, even she (who looks fit but still fairly normal) has the physicality to sell the role a better.

[Vepariga]

I got about 5 eps into Jessica Jones and It still does nothing for me, I cant get with the characters, doesnt work for me.

I'll just wait for Daredevil season 2.

[myk]

I didn't say that JJ should be athletic-looking, I said that she should be "a little more" athletic-looking. I'm not saying that she should look as strong as she appears (because then she'd look like a hulking mass of muscle, whether man or woman), just that I would have preferred an actress that didn't look so frail. The actress that plays her friend, Trish Walker, even she (who looks fit but still fairly normal) has the physicality to sell the role a better.

We'll just have to agree to disagree; I think Ritter is ideal for the role...

[Raptor One]

I was disappointed in Ritter's casting because I just don't think she looks much like Jessica as depicted in Alias (way too skinny for one thing). But she nailed it in terms of personality and physicality, which is far more important than comic-accurate looks

[areaseven]

[Duke Togo]

I enjoyed watching JJ, and Marvel is doing a solid job building its non-Avengers storyline on Netflix. I eagerly await DD season 2, and the addition of the Punisher.

[Mog]

I finished watching the rest of Jessica Jones last weekend and am finally getting a chance to write down my thoughts.

My impressions: it's not an out-of-the-park homerun, but it's one hell of a solid triple.

The series is spot-on with most of its characters. Malcolm and Hogarth were characters that could have easily been short-changed, but the actors made them solid and memorable as hell. I may be disgusted by the questionable lawyer techniques Hogarth uses, but damn, you can't question their effectiveness.

And considering how Agent Carter had a villain with a similar power (and that power felt stale after three or four episodes), it's a damn good sign that Kilgrave was such a good and engaging villain throughout the series.

My only complaints are that the Simpson/Nuke bits (after he gets the wonder-drugs) didn't work for me. For a guy who was broken up about losing his boys to that bombing, a guy who himself is a cop, and one who had been personally "Kilgrave'd," it didn't feel right when he killed the detective. It felt like a plot convenience more than something the character would actually be motivated to do.

This also ties in to another nit I had with the series: on two occasions, it seemed like Kilgrave got away because of the most extraordinary of circumstances (or plot conveniences, take your pick). I mean, seriously, none of the support group members thought to rein in that stupid nosey neighbor, Clare, before she went up to Kilgrave?!

The other times don't bother me as much, but these two instances just rubbed me the wrong way.

Instead of the Nuke bits, I would have rather had the creators focused more on the origin of Jessica's powers, maybe more background into who she was before the accident. This would have been a nice tie-back to Jessica's past, giving us a better and more stark contrast into the person Jessica was before Kilgrave.

From what I've seen, it's pretty clear in the comics that Jessica went from an optimistic super-hero into the sullen girl with serious issues after Kilgrave. But in this series, you really don't see too much of a contrast between pre-Kilgrave Jessica and post-Kilgrave Jessica, other than the copious amounts of alcohol consumed.

But despite these misgivings, I still did enjoy watching the series. It's not as ridiculously good as Daredevil was (but I think that has to do with all the memorable characters and long comics backstory and history Daredevil has), but it's still a good entry into the MCU/television universe.

I'm curious to see where they take the Luke Cage story now.

[CoryHolmes]

Kilgrave is a human stain that needs to be obliterated from the face of the Earth.

I love how the show took a comic book supervillain and made him so... so... slimy. He's not a world-conquering Doom, or a racial apocalypse of the likes of Magneto, but Kilgrave is just so VILE. Utterly evil, completely without remorse or redemption of any sense of morals, and yet he's not nearly as over-the-top as some other villains.

Jessica is also not your average comicbook hero, which is just as awesome. I love playing "spot the bottle" in the episodes, and occasionally toy with the idea of making it into a drinking game Luke Cage is unbearably cool, and I can't wait to see what he gets with his own series.

While the show isn't as grabbing as Daredevil, I'm finding that I enjoy the overall plot far more than DD.

[Big s]

I agree that the action wasn't as good as daredevil, but I think after watching the series all to the end I enjoyed it just a bit better. These marvel Netflix shows blow away the network super hero shows from both dc and marvel. I can't wait for more.

I know daredevil season 2 is coming in a few months, but is there a schedule for any other additional shows for this defenders tie in Netflix stuff.

[sh9000]

[azrael]

Spoil'd for size.

I still hate the cowl but now it looks worst in daylight.

[Dobber]

Ugh, to me it makes him look like he's congested.

Chris