Jessica Jones Season 2 Review: There's A Hole In Your Heart

Last season of "Jessica Jones" was about the effects of trauma and Jessica's battle with Kilgrave (who incidentally was a GREAT villain). See my previous reviews here

In season 2 we learn more about Jessica's back story. This season's villain turns out to be none other than... wait for it... her Mother (played by the EXTREMELY talented Janet McTeer). Alicia Jones is not dead after all. She was given super powers by the doctors who did the same to Jessica.

Unfortunately Alisa is prone to uncontrollable fits of anger and is super strong. She tried to find her daughter years ago but left before revealing herself-- probably a good idea since Alicia killed Jessica's boyfriend. It seems Jessica is the only person that has a chance of calming Alicia down. Meanwhile Jessica continues to struggle with the aftereffects of her time with Kilgrave. She still has a bad case of PTSD and experiences him as hallucinations.

We also learn some of Trish's backstory this season. She has struggled with substance abuse problems for some time. Her controlling fame hungry mother is back in the picture (which helps push her over the edge).

In the finale Alisa and Jessica are heading towards the Canadian border. Jessica is willing to go on the run with her. They talk of teaming up to save lives (in the hopes of balancing out all the harm Alisa has already done). Alisa truly does love her daughter. I expected her to ditch Jessica for her own good and disappear into the sunset.

Instead, Trish ends that plan. For some reason, Trish has taken it upon herself to protect the world from Alisa. Unfortunately that means shooting her in the head while mother and daughter share a tender moment on a Ferris wheel. In Trish's defense, Alicia had made several attempts on her life.

I know the writers want to create conflict to make the story interesting but Trish's decisions dont make much sense.Why would she decide it's her job to kill Alicia? The police could have done the job just fine without her.

Trish is absolutely obsessed with becoming a superhero. We saw the beginnings in season 1 and it's much worse this time around. Why does she want it so much? I'm not buying its just to help people. Trish has an addictive personality and needs something to fixate on. She uses a steroid inhaler to gain temporary powers. Not a good idea for someone who has previous addiction issues.

Trish nearly loses her life after forcing Dr Karl Malus to treat her. Now she's showing signs powers developing. Those who read the comics know that Trish will become Hellcat next season. That is if there IS a season 3. So far, I havent seen anything about renewal. Have I missed it?

At the end of season 2, Jessica and Trish's friendship has been irreparably damaged. Jessica lost her mother and the person she thought of as a sister. It's going to be a long time before these two work things out.

Their are two other side stories this year. One invoices Jeri Hogarth. She is diagnosed with ALS. Her law partners try to push her out of the firm. But Jeri one tough lady. She gets her revenge. We seriously need more of Jeri.

The second side story has Malcolm eventually teaming up with Pryce Chang. Malcolm and Trish share sexy times this season but she is too toxic for him. Remember, Malcolm has a substance abuse problem of his own. At least he's up front with Trish telling her "There's a hole in your heart". That could describe a lot of people on this show. Pyrce and Malcom will work for Jeri. I'm not sure what the rest of the Chang story line was supposed to do except fill time. I could have done without it.

After losing her mother and Trish, Jessica finally lets someone into her heart (a little). She sits down for a family dinner with Oscar and son Vido. She regales them with how she earlier stopped a liquor store robbery. Jessica is a severely flawed person who continually pushed people away but she also deserve a shot at happiness like everyone else.

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). Season 2 was a bit slow at times (especially in the first half of the 13 episode season). Why was all the time spent on Trish's love interest Griffin St Clair since it never went anywhere?

There is lots of online hate for this season. I seriously hope it's not by fanboys who are more interested in fight scenes than character development (especially when it involves mother/daughter relationships).

The reason "Jessica Jones" is my favorite Marvel show is because it deals with adult themes-- trauma, family, and the costs of being a superhero. While there was no "big bad" this season I liked learning about Jessica's past and meeting her mother. Both women were thrust into a situation that they didnt ask for and struggle to adjust. What exactly do you owe society if you have superpowers? It's an interesting question.