Jessica sets out to find Dr. Kozlov and makes a startling discovery. Trish recruits Malcolm for backup as she visits a figure from her past.

This season is clearly exploring the “origin” of Jessica Jones and how that ties into the death of The Whizzer. Whether it’s Trish digging deep into files or Jessica following leads, the various plotlines will intersect down the road. But, in that intersection, there’s also an exploration of past trauma. Here we see that in a few ways.

SPOILER!!!!

Jessica learns that whatever program made her and the Whizzer, is also what made Simpson, the psycho from the first season. It also turns out that he’s alive and that Jessica is following the wrong person, someone else wants Trish dead for digging into the mystery. But, where Jessica learns more about the Simpson revelation is interesting, Dr. Kozlov’s funeral. There she must deal with her parent’s death, something that was talked about the first season but not really dealt with beyond her drinking. This season has put that front and center in the focus on her origin. from tragedy, she was created.

With Simpson back, it brings back the experience of Trish from the first season fueling her behavior. It also has a tinge of horror to it, the supernatural killer returning. We also find out something about Trish’s past and her acting career. It paints her mother as even more of a monster and adds depth to the character in some ways and makes the first season more interesting too, at least when it comes to her and Jessica’s relationship with their mother. But, it’s not all doom and gloom for Trish, we get to know her boyfriend more and as presented he seems too good to be true.

But, the trauma explored isn’t just Trish’s that’s dealt with. Something is going on with Jeri and it could very well be the experiences she had in the first season. We see her using drugs, picking up prostitutes, behavior that doesn’t quite seem her and in ways destructive. This season we have a theme and it’ll be explored through our three main female leads.

An interesting episode that feels like more of a detective/noir story than a superhero tale. The season has a bit of a different feel than the first, with no major bad guy so far to battle, instead it’s a shadowy conspiracy. It shakes things up, but not necessarily for the better. While the focus on characters and acting has improved, the plotting remains slow and drawn out. For some that’ll be frustrating, for others they’ll enjoy it, like a mystery novel.

Overall Rating: 7.25

While Jessica deals with a rival PI and a paranoid would-be client, Trish digs up a medical file that could unlock the mystery of Jessica’s powers.

After the traumatic events of the first season, Jessica is back and picking up the pieces of her life, or at least attempting to. It’s clear from the first episode of the second season that trauma and PTSD is still front and center for the series.

The first episode kicks off as somewhat expected. Jessica is attempting to find work and is presented with a bunch of options. They’re all over the place in the sad sack sort of way. One person wants to find the child she gave up, another thinks there’s lizard people wearing human skin in the government (a possible reference to the Skrulls and Secret Invasion?), and one individual who thinks he’s been experimented on and calls himself the Whizzer.

That last individual should cause long time comic fans to perk up as it’s a reference to the classic comic character who debuted in USA Comics #1 back in 1941. It’s also a solid way to transition into the plot of the season, exploring Jessica’s past and the mysterious IGH, the mysterious corporation that experimented on her. Who is IGH? I’m convinced it stands for Inhuman Growth Hormone, but we’ll wait and see. Helping Jessica is Trish who’s attempting to piece together things herself and bringing herself pretty low to do so. There’s also Malcolm who’s back working for Jessica and basically running the Alias detective agency.

And that’s the focus of the first episode, a “where are they now” sort of thing diving into the various characters from the first season and how they’re dealing with the events from it.

Trish is deep in trying to uncover a mystery, in denial of her own issues. Jessica is a little bit better this season but fighting the fact she’s a killer now and people know that about her. She’s attempting to fight the label of that and “super.” Then there’s Jeri who’s the most interesting of them all. She’s dealing with issues of her own. Not only is she traumatized, but she’s also dealing with the internal fallout of her workplace and her partnership is being threatened.

Jessica Jones continues to know what it is focusing on the characters first and the events around them second. While the season dives into the mystery that is Jessica’s power, it’s how she, and her friends, are dealing with events that are the draw.

That’s primarily due to the acting. Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones) is joined by an incredible returning cast that includes Rachael Taylor (Trish Walker), Carrie-Anne Moss (Jeri Hogarth), and Eka Darville (Malcolm Ducasse). All of them add depth to their characters in various ways and keep the show entertaining. There’s also newcomers who in the first episode add new plot threads but so far don’t quite stand out and in some ways clash with those already a part of the series. They represent either romantic foils or business rivals and while all are interesting in their own ways, they don’t quite feel like they belong in the series.

A nice return overall, but not quite the groundbreaking show of before. There’s nice directions, but we’ll have to wait and see where things go from here and how it all plays out before the real final decision on the season.

Overall Rating: 7.75