With the third season of Jessica Jones premiering on Netflix, the Netflix era of Marvel television officially comes to an end. It’s possible audiences will see these characters again one day, but season three marks the end of this chapter for Jessica and her associates.
Suffering from the tragic loss of her family as a teenager and her own kidnapping at the hands of a supervillain as an adult, Jessica Jones has been through a lot. Her series focused on how different people dealt with trauma, but also what being a hero really means. Fans will miss Jessica’s hard drinking and sarcastic nature. If they can’t get enough of her, they can always rewatch the 10 best episodes of Jessica Jones.
S3E11 AKA Hellcat
In “AKA Hellcat,” the audience gets to see Trish embrace her powers in a much darker way. We watched Trish evolve from a sister jealous of Jessica’s powers to a wannabe hero to a vigilante that crossed the line. This episode allows us to see some events from Trish’s point of view instead of Jessica’s, and it does a great job at getting the audience into her rapidly unraveling head.
The only reason this particular episode doesn’t rank higher is because the writers stuck a huge reveal about Trish’s powers so late in the game. Her being able to claw her enemies would have been a great piece of knowledge to have earlier in the season as the audience watched her devolve.
S2E07 AKA I Want Your Cray Cray
This particular episode isn’t the most well crafted of Jessica Jones stories, but season two, in particular, didn’t land as well with fans as one or three. The best thing about “AKA I Want Your Cray Cray” was it filling in the backstory of Jessica and Trish’s relationship.
Audience members got to see just what kind of pop star Trish was (a Britney Spears wannabe), and what she was like when she was an addict. They also got to see what position that put Jessica in. It filled in a lot of blanks for fans who hoped for more than hints to their backstory.
S3E13 AKA Everything
The season three finale probably wasn’t intended as the series finale of Jessica Jones, but it certainly worked. Not only did “AKA Everything” bring the conflict between Jessica and Trish to a head, and tied up a ton of storylines, but it brought back a familiar face in Luke Cage, and gave us a (mostly) satisfying conclusion to the series.
Jessica spent so much of season three focused on a serial killer and her relationship with Trish that the trauma from Kilgrave even took a backseat - until she decided to leave town. The final moments of the episode show that she’s still dealing with it and that she’s not really ready to leave New York behind.
S2E11 AKA Three Lives And Counting
In a season that focused largely on Jessica in a post-Kilgrave world, “AKA Three Lives And Counting” showed the audience that trauma never truly leaves.
Despite being able to face Kilgrave head on at the end of the first season, Jessica still had the ghost of him in her head. In this case, the episode saw Kilgrave as the embodiment of Jessica’s own self-doubts. Every time she thought badly about herself, it was Kilgrave as the face of fear and disappointment. The writers made a great decision to get inside Jessica’s head and bring David Tennant back for another turn as the villain.
S3E12 AKA A Lotta Worms
Part of the reason so many of the final stretch of episodes of season three make the cut is because of the pacing. The speed of the series ramps up in a way that leaves you hooked - even if you already know what’s coming.
Jessica Jones has never been a classic superhero, but this episode takes a classic superhero turn with the villain. Salinger is caught and sent to prison, only for the reveal that there’s an even bigger problem than a serial killer who likes cameras. Trish has become a problem that needs fixing. This left the audience to speculate about how she can be saved or stopped in the series finale.
S1E10 AKA 1,000 Cuts
Near the end of the first season, the team behind Jessica Jones proved they knew how to showcase serious tension to the audience. Not only did this episode feature the scene between Jeri Hogarth and her ex-wife that gave the episode its name, but it also featured a tense showdown between Kilgrave and Jessica featuring several recurring players.
Jessica didn’t have to make a choice between saving innocent lives and following the villain here. Instead, she had to choose between multiple innocent lives. Hope went out on her own terms, motivating Jessica to finally bring Kilgrave’s reign of terror to an end.
S3E08 AKA Camera Friendly
This particular episode marked the turning point for season three. All of Jessica’s investigating into the villain of the season hadn’t done any good. She finally decided to take matters into her own hands with unexpected help from Trish’s mother.
“AKA Camera Friendly” also featured a crossroads for Trish and Malcolm. Trish had to figure out how to balance her celebrity life with her life as a potential superhero. Malcolm had to figure out just where he stood at Jeri Hogarth’s firm - and whether that was where he wanted to be. Of course, there’s also that heart-stopping ending. It promised if this episode was on network television, the audience would have been screaming in anger all over social media.
S1E08 AKA WWJD
At this point in season one, the audience already knows Kilgrave is a villain who wants to rewrite his own history to make himself seem like a good guy. This episode really hammers home just how creepy he can be.
Not only does Kilgrave decide to play house with Jessica in her childhood home, but he also painstakingly recreates it, right down to the family photos and 90s CDs. Jessica plays along with some ground rules, wanting to see if Kilgrave can change. It allows the audience to ask the question of whether he can be redeemed. He can’t, but it’s an interesting process to watch Jessica try to teach him ethical behavior.
S1E09 AKA Sin Bin
At some point in the season of a Marvel series on Netflix, it’s important for the audience to realize that the hero never really had the upper hand. “AKA Sin Bin” is that episode for the first season of Jessica Jones.
This is the episode where the audience goes in believing in Jessica’s plan. It’s solid, and all she has to do is pull it off. The problem comes in her trusting Jeri Hogarth to go along with her plan. Jeri getting in the way for selfish reasons becomes a theme as the seasons continue. This was the first time Jeri caused real chaos for Jessica and her allies.
S1E13 AKA Smile
The first season of Jessica Jones was such a huge departure from superhero television. Culminating the season in Jessica breaking free from the man who had manipulated and abused her was a must. “AKA Smile” managed it beautifully. It remains the best episode of the series.
Jessica lived her life moving from one trauma to the next. Her experience with Kilgrave wasn’t something she could just get over, but the season one finale provided her with a point to begin moving forward. As she realized his power truly didn’t work on her anymore, she saved herself, her best friend, and the city from him. It was a powerful cap to the events of the season.