Ten episodes in and I feel like I’m on a hamster wheel where:
- our heroine, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) catches her nemesis, Kilgrave (David Tennant);
- Jones’ Greek chorus of friends, family and/or acquaintances sing, Kill Kilgrave else he will continue to murder people;
- Jones counterpoints with, No, I must not kill him yet somehow he must still pay — wait one while I ponder…;
- Kilgrave escapes — trimming Jones’ chorus by one enroute — and continues his murdering ways;
- Jones catches Kilgrave…
Do this catch-and-release routine once and if the heroine learns from the experience, it’s a learning experience.
Do it twice, and if the heroine prevails in the end, it’s one of those rule-of-three narrative devices.
Do it three times and there’s still three goddamned eps to go in the season, one begins to wonder: are the writers undercover wingnuts highlighting the inherent weakness of liberals in this harsh, harsh world? or have I just been inured by decades of Old Testament-moral-style action films in which all manner of personal, societal and political problems can be resolved in a hail of lead?