Flashbacks shed new light on the aftermath of the family’s car accident and reveal a painful turning point in Jessica’s adult life.

The second season goes deep into the “origin of Jessica Jones” as we learn about what happened to her mother after the car crash and this episode is as close to an origin story as I’d expect for the series. Taking place right after the accident and five years later, we see Jessica and Trish falling out as Trish’ singing career takes off and her drinking and partying gets out of hand.

The episode fills in a lot of gaps to the story of Jessica. We see where things just aren’t going right and she drops out of college. We see her falling into the wrong crowd in a way. We also see the “origin” of her leather jacket and “Alias.”

We also get a lot about her mother’s experience. We see her recovery and the experiments by Dr. Leslie Hanson and Dr. Karl Malus. We see the impact of their work in a negative way and we also see the good too. There’s decisions that are made that make sense for good and bad and the person we thought was a bad guy isn’t so much. But of course she is. She’s prone to violent outbursts and she’s dangerous. And we see how far she’ll go.

Then there’s Trish. We see a lot of bad here. While her going to rehab has been referenced multiple times in the series, we have no idea how bad it really was. This episode lets us see all of it and it’s bad. What’s going on in the “present” might seem like it’s a low for her but her actions here are far worse and out of control.

It’s all an interesting episode that adds a lot to the characters. We see Jessica slide to the character we know. We see Trish out of control. We see Jessica’s mother’s story too. There’s also the loss Jessica experiences. It’s her at her most vulnerable and it’s difficult to not feel some emotion at the ending of the episode as the two reconnect and talk. They’re both at a low point and the emotion flows from Krysten Ritter and Rachael Taylor. It’s the two’s best work of the series.

Overall Rating: 8.45

Jessica gate-crashes an exclusive country club on the hunt for the killer, and Trish’s new addiction begins to spiral out of control.

After the splash of the last episode, Jessica has to dry out her phone and use the photos she snapped to attempt and figure out who the mysterious individuals are. She heads to Oscar after all of it where the two finally get to it. What’s interesting is that paint spills over in which they have sex. But, it’s the color of that paint that stands out. It’s purple. Some nice transitions from last season to this in one simple detail.

Trish saves a woman, hears heightened noises. She’s drugged out at this point, a further slide for the character this season. In the comics she’s eventually a hero and we see a small glimpse of that here but who knows where it’s all going and if we might eventually get that version of the character.

Jeri asks Inez about the IGH experiments. We see lots of scars on her body. This is slightly triggering for Jeri who wants to find out more about what they were trying to do.

Malcolm heads back to his university he was put on academic probation. We learn a lot about him. He had a full ride to the school. He’s from a wealthy family. And he screwed it up due to addiction. We’re seeing his story play out in some ways with Trish this season, an interesting twist to the dynamics we’ve seen before.

Through Malcolm’s work, Jessica was is able to track down an individual who has info that might help her. We learn a bit more about what the mysterious doctor was doing and that some of it might not be completely evil. He’s helped people as well as doing some horrible experiments on others.

But during all of this, there’s Trish who is having withdrawal from what she’s been taking. It further emphasizes that Jessica is now the one in control and Trish is the one spiraling out of it.

But, what’s really interesting in this episode is scenes involving Inez and Jeri. Inez, being a nurse, is able to figure out what’s going on with Jeri. A connection is made and that eventually leads Inez to reveal there might be someone who was experimented on that might be able to help Jeri. Again, it’s these small character moments that really stand out in the series. There’s a real sense of pain and compassion between the two.

Fans will love the Gaydos art on display in the episode, a nice nod to the comics the series is based on. The episode does an excellent job of exploring the characters. And it ends with a hell of a twist that I definitely see coming. As the season has progressed it’s gotten better and has me wanting to see where it all goes.

Overall Rating: 7.95

Backed into a corner, Jessica’s forced to share her intel on the killer. A groggy Trish tries to pull herself together before an important meeting.

Jessica’s in jail… again. This time she decides to cooperate with the police which is a big change from previous interactions. Episode five continues the growth we’ve see of Jessica in the last few episodes. She’s now trusting the police and she puts Malcolm in charge of things while she’s tied up. There’s also a key statement when she says she’s not mad at something. Real growth of a character over multiple episodes!

There’s also bonding between Jeri and Jessica. Jeri’s not doing well and Jessica asks about it and offers a bucket in case she throws up. Again, it’s something simple but important.

There’s also a moment between Jessica and the detective where he talks about what Killgrave did and how Jessica’s killing him helped them with their nightmares. There’s been struggle by Jessica all season dealing with her actions of killing Killgrave. Where she’s called a “killer” multiple times, here she’s given absolution in some ways by a person in power. But, that’s flipped later when Pryce confronts Jessica claiming she killed his friend. There’s an interesting balance being played in how people in what roles view Jessica.

Then there’s Trish who is coming down and her mother thinks she’s off the rails and using again. Through this interaction, it’s clear her mother is in complete control again and Trish is the one this season that needs the real help. That eventually leads to something between Griffin and Trish… we’ll let you enjoy that one without spoilers.

Jessica and Jeri are working well together this episode which leads to Jessica needing help protecting their lead, Inez. She needs a safe house to stash her in. Here we have Malcolm taking the lead in some ways, not only getting Jessica a new laptop but also responsibility for their witness. There’s an interaction between the two that not only adds depth to Malcolm but also how Inez sees him. It’s some interesting focus on character.

We’re also introduced to a new character who was framed for murder. Through him we learn more of what IGH has been doing, which sounds like DNA splicing of some sort. This leads Jessica to head to the acquarium where she crosses the path of suspects.

The episode’s heart again is Jessica and how she’s growing as a character. She’s trusting more and not shutting people off as much. She’s also fully into finding out about her past and discovering the truth, something she was hesitant before.

Out of all the episodes, this one has the most meat. A lot goes on here and there’s movement in many different ways as far as plots and characters. A slow start of the season feels like it’s picking up momentum here.

Overall Rating: 7.9

Between anger management classes and tabloid scandals, Jessica and Trish track down a third patient linked to IGH. Oscar extends an olive branch.

Due to her actions earlier in the season, Jessica is finally at her support group. The scene shows off the various forms of anger, the causes, the trauma, it again expands on the focus of the season on the topic. It’s also interesting in the inclusion of a veteran as that ties into regular scenes in the Punisher’s series, where vets regularly met to talk. There’s also a little humor mixed in as Jessica does her bull in a china shop routine and pretty much ruins the group.

Pryce Chang continues to be a pain, this time going after Malcom and attempting to hire him. I have no idea where this plotline is going but overall it feels a bit out of place for the season and a little of a distraction in some ways. It’d have been good to get the ball rolling and maybe bring back later, but at this point Chang just seems like an alpha ass. There is some interesting stuff with Chang quoting Malcolm’s father which shows the character does his research. I have a feel that’ll be what comes out of it all.

The big thing I think revolves around a few scenes with Jessica. She goes after Max, the sleezy director who molested Trish. She says “there’s nothing she wouldn’t do” to find out the truth about her origin, a shift in her attitude. Jeri also wants to hire Jessica to find dirt on her partners. That’s a big deal as it’s the first we’ve seen of Jeri trusting someone completely and asking for help. It’s a complete flip from how she treated Foggy. There’s also a scene between Jessica and the super Oscar. There’s chemistry there and she says that she likes Oscar’s kid. Jessica lets her guard down a little.

There’s also Griffin being up to something. It’s clearly a fake out to get us to not trust the character. That’s a little too obvious.

Finally, we get some more information on the mysterious program that changed Jessica but that all feels secondary in a way.

While the moments are subtle, there’s a lot of important character development in this episode which is focused on Jessica and small shifts in her attitude. It’s these subtle moments and development that’s really driving the enjoyment of the season.

Overall Rating: 7.5

As her visions intensify, Jessica visits an abandoned clinic, where she stumbles on a new lead. Jeri faces an ultimatum after her secret gets out.

Where do you go when you want to dump a body? The vacation spot you used to go with your parents and also contemplated going to kill yourself!!! Yeah, the third episode of the second season of Jessica Jones starts off dark with a revelation about Jessica that adds so much to her. There’s the fact she admits she contemplated killing herself, which means she’s opening up but it also explains the place she was in for the first season and before.

Jessica also has trouble at home when the new super announces he is evicting her, primarily because she has powers and he doesn’t want her around due to the danger to him and his kid. Or it could be the fact that he has a questionable past and is doing shady things currently too. What’s interesting here is that there’s talk of discrimination and a backlash against those with superpowers. It’s a nice nod to what’s going on in the cinematic universe, subtle but part of the bigger picture. J. R. Ramirez is the new addition to the cast as Oscar Arocho and he provides a tough but at the same time somewhat sympathetic person for Jessica to go up against and interact with. There’s solid chemistry between the two.

But, the drama isn’t all about Jessica this season. Jeri is having issues with her law firm and we learn that her partners are attempting to force her out due to her actions of last season and what they needed to do to cover it up. There’s clearly more going on with her and how the season plays out will be interesting. What;s really good is the inclusion of Foggy into it as he attempts to be a sympathetic ally to her but she’s having none of it. She has a wall and is lashing out in numerous ways and that includes those that should be her friend. But, when it comes to Jessica, Jeri has a soft spot. Pryce Cheng, the rival detective played by Terry Chen, wants to sue Jessica and be represented by Jeri. And sadly Jeri sees it as a way to win Jessica over. Friendships are clearly difficult for her and I’m expecting this is where her growth this season will happen.

We also get a bit more about Trish and her boyfriend Griffin, played by Hal Ozsan. Shocker, he’s actually a good person, at least we’re told he is. But, of course he’s up to something.

Through all of the detective work though, we get closer to the “big bad” as Jessica heads to meet Dr. Leslie Hanson (after pulling something over on Trish so she can’t go), one of the people with knowledge about the program that gave her powers. But, of course, things aren’t as they seem and the person turns out to be one of the main villains of the series… probably.

A drawn out villain isn’t so bad, and neither is the slow pace, as long as the series really focuses on the characters and their relationships. The acting is what makes it all stand out as our heroines deal with a new threat and their own demons.

Overall Rating: 7.25