Marvel’s Jessica Jones season 2 isn’t heading to Netflix until next year but we still have an idea of what’s to come after watching her in action in The Defenders. Krysten Ritter returned with aplomb as the feisty no-BS private investigator, and while a lot of the narrative focused on Daredevil and Iron Fist’s history with Elektra and the Hand, there was a lot to take away about Jessica.
Alias Investigations is up and running again, with a now sober Malcolm working as Jess’s some-times assistant, after she dispatched with Kilgrave in the final episode of Jessica Jones season 1 by snapping his neck. The Purple Man is mentioned a couple of times during The Defenders but Jessica quickly shut down any mention of him - no doubt over the thought of him having any sort of lingering presence in her life as well as the fact he controlled her every move and raped her for years. No sexual assault survivor would want to be reminded of their attacker.
Of course, David Tennant is confirmed to appear in season 2, which means we can expect Jones to be harbouring ill feelings and potentially post-traumatic stress from her most recent experiences with the mind controller. Here’s hoping that Kilgrave will only appear in flashback form rather than being back from the dead as Jessica doesn’t need that sort of drama after coming out of her self-imposed isolation in The Defenders.
The four hero team-up forced Jones to accept her super powers and work with others, after years of flying solo and wishing she’d never been burdened with her extraordinary gifts. The season didn’t begin that way, as Jessica’s distaste for people telling her what to do as well as learning of the Hand and the mystical powers they yield made her want to be less involved than she already was. “I want zero to do with this ancient organization, I just want to crack my case,” she tells Daredevil.
This reluctance isn’t because she is a selfish person, either; her solo season proved that she was the architect of her own isolation, out of fear of hurting the people that she loved and others around her. She’s reluctant because it means trusting other people, people that she barely knows and who seem to come with just as much trouble as she does. And as the famous Winston Churchill (and later, of course, Spider-Man) line goes, “with great power comes great responsibility,” and now that she’s a Defender she has to wield the power she’s long tried to suppress and be responsible for Matt, Luke and Danny too.
Now that Jessica’s accepted that super part of her identity, we’ll hopefully see more of her powers in season 2 and discover just how powerful she is really is. We know she has super strength, and while it was restrained in JJ season 1 she flexed her muscles pretty well in The Defenders while flipping dumpsters and holding that lift in the final episode, containing Luke and Danny, just by the cables. It was during that moment that we saw Jessica utilise her jumping ability too.
In the comics, Jones can actually fly but after leaving her superhero life that particular aspects of her power begins to degenerate. Only when she becomes active with the New Avengers is she able to fly again, which may be something we see in JJ season 2. Maybe Ritter’s Jessica does have the power to fly but because she has limited the use of her abilities the most she can do is jump really high. In Netflix’s Marvel Universe, which has tried to ground as much of their heroes powers in reality, it's unclear if we'll ever see something quite that fantastical, but if Danny Rand can wield the power of the Iron Fist after punching a dragon in a mystical realm, then surely it’s not too much of a push to allow Jessica to take to the skies. Maybe they can begin to hint at that in season 2.
There’s also the issue of Jessica and Luke’s relationship that could be further explored in season 2, as their bond grew stronger in The Defenders and it ended with the two hinting at a future meet-up. She said in season 1 that Cage was the first person she “ever pictured a future with,” and though he’s pretty loved up with Claire Temple in Defenders, their connection is still there. As we know from the comic books, the pair end up having a child together so we could potentially see this storyline play out on screen, though, at the moment, the writers seem more focused on getting Jessica to a happier place on her own by looking at her past rather than a romantic future.
As Ritter told Bustle, season 2 will explore "more of why Jessica is the way she’s is" which means we’ll likely learn more about her family, the car accident that gave her powers and her brief stint as a superhero, but don’t expect scenes with Jessica rocking a Jewel outfit. She made it pretty clear in season 1 that she thought Trish’s handiwork looked more suited to a stripper, so, for now, we’ll just have to make do with the leather jacket, jeans, boots and her trademark sassy attitude. Her BFF/foster sister will certainly be back in the second season, along with Malcolm, Jeri Hogarth and Foggy (hopefully) when she needs a friend and a little legal back up. And we can be pretty sure that Jessica Jones will need both.