Ah, Jessica Jones. So dark, so angry, so broken, so unbelievably entertaining.
We don't think anyone was ready for the powerhouse that was Jessica Jones when her show dropped in November of 2015. In season 1 of the insta-hit Netflix show, Jessica's bad behavior and attitude set her apart from her compatriots in Marvel's big screen releases, but her damaged heart - something she tries to shield behind that drinking and brooding - is what makes her truly, well, super.
There are so few characters like her on screen, and even fewer in the Marvel universe. Simply put: we want more. Sure, we had a taste of Jessica in The Defenders, but it wasn't enough.
Luckily, we won't have to wait long. Season two of Jessica Jones drops on March 8 and it cannot come soon enough. While almost no plot points have been released, we know it's going to be as intense as it is personal. Already the Internet is swirling with rumors about what we'll see - some of which seems promising, and some of which we're dreading.
Until we're finally able to binge-watch our latest does of Jessica Jones, here are 11 Season 2 Rumors Confirmed To Be True (And 6 We Hope Aren't).
TRUE: ONLY FEMALE DIRECTORS
If you thought Jessica Jones was a female powerhouse in season 1, just wait until you see what 13 amazing women directors can do with her story.
Yes, the rumor is true: every single episode of the new season will be directed by a woman. In an industry overrun by male directors, this beautiful move was orchestrated by executive producer and showrunner Melissa Rosenberg. Originally, the plan was to reach out to women first and find male directors later, but it blossomed into the idea of a woman-led show directed by an entire lineup of brilliant women directors.
While no names have been released who will be helming these episodes, we're not the only ones excited about the news: “Nothing makes me more proud and emotional and excited. This is f—ing HUGE. @Tallgirlmel thank heavens for you,” said star Krysten Ritter in a now-deleted tweet.
We're right there with you, Krysten!
TRUE: MULTIPLE BAD GUYS
The joy of season one of Jessica Jones was watching our hero spar with her literal personal demon. Kilgrave, played brilliantly and manically by David Tennant, tortured her mentally and physically and, by the end, Jessica's revenge was well earned and well taken.
If Jessica thinks she'll have a moment to rest though, she is in for a shock.
Rosenberg, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, explained that there wasn't going to be just one villain this season. Oh no: “Antagonists, plural. No one is ever going to beat David Tennant as Kilgrave, so you don’t do that. The biggest mistake would be to try to repeat that. You just go, ‘OK, we’re not doing that, so we have this open to us.'”
No information yet on who these villains will be, but the Internet has a few theories, which we'll get to shortly.
TRUE: THE RETURN OF KILGRAVE
We already talked about the wicked joy of watching Kilgrave on screen as he tortured poor Jessica, right up until the moment when she snapped his neck. End of villain. Except, you know, that's never really the end.
There's been no news about how Kilgrave will return for season two, only that it's happening.
Pictures have been released of the two of them together, with Tennant dressed as sharply as always. The rumor is that he'll won't really be around, just more traumatic stress in her mind that Jessica has to deal with. However, with a Marvel show, you never know - as people come back from the dead all the time.
We guess there really is no rest for the wicked.
HOPE NOT: TYPHOID MARY
New to Jessica Jones this season will be Leah Gibson, best known from The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. She'll be joining the show as a regular named Ingrid. Here's all we know about her right now from a casting breakdown: "Early-mid 30’s, 5’8-5’11, female, dark hair, attractive and edgy, has a history of living on the streets. Educated as a nurse, but streetwise. She is attracted to both men and women."
The Internet thinks they know better, though. They believe that Ingrid is the Daredevil villain Typhoid Mary.
Here's the thing about Typhoid Mary: she's a pretty terrible character.
She's got dissociative identity disorder, which, unless you're Gollum and frenemies with yourself, makes for an awful plot device. She's also got a slew of superpowers, including telekinesis and hypnosis. Awesome. We really don't want to have to watch her have a mental breakdown before destroying things with her powers.
That's kind of Jessica's thing. Let's let her have it.
TRUE: ARROW'S WILDCAT JOINS THE SHOW
Want more new people who are going to affect Jessica's world? Well, let us introduce you to J.R. Ramirez!
Formerly of Arrow and Power, Ramirez will become a series regular for the new season.
The only thing revealed so far is that he will play Oscar, the new superintendent of Jessica' apartment building. Oscar's young son is fascinated with Jessica, especially dealing with her powers, but the single father will keep his distance because of the issues that follows Jessica Jones.
Looking at the trouble that has seemed to surround our hero in the last few years, this probably isn't the worst of ideas. It seems like this new character has a solid superpower of his own as well: damn good parental instincts.
HOPE NOT: WILL GOES FULL NUKE
There hasn't actually been any confirmation that Will Simpson will be back. The closest we got was this tweet, right when Jessica Jones began shooting season two in New York City:
Suspicious. Now, the rumor is that not only will he be back, but he's going to go full-on villain this season, which would be pretty extreme. In the comics, Will Simpson becomes Nuke, a supervillain who went through the same super soldier treatment that made Captain America, only his went horribly wrong and made him crazy.
Also, did we mention that he tattooed an American flag on his face?
Charming and slightly evil Will in season one was a lot of fun. Insane gun-toting vigilante madman for season two? We already have Punisher to fill that hole in our lives. Plus, we already know of one confirmed villain Jessica will have to face again.
TRUE: THE MYSTERIOUS IGH COMPANY WILL BE BACK
In the last season, an overarching shadow plagued both Jessica and Trish in the form of IGH, a shadowy organization who is up to... Well, no one's quite sure, now are they? We know they were supplying Will with his crazy pills and maybe (probably) had something to do with giving Jessica her powers when she was young.
If you were curious about just how evil this org is, you don't have long to wait. The organization will play a role in the new season, with fans speculating that it's going to come up in both Jessica's past and present. Now, there's actually no IGH organization in the comics, so even diehard Jessica Jones fans are as blind as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen about what they're up to. No doubt, we're all about to learn.
HOPE NOT: LOVE FOR JESSICA JONES?
There have been a slew of photos from the new season that have hit the Internet but the ones that confuse us the most are the shots of Jessica... in love?
Sure seems that way with the screen shots of our hero making out with a mystery man and, wait, is she smiling?
A giddy, smiling Jessica Jones is just creepy.
Plus, where is her leather jacket? What is going on here? Has the world gone mad?
We know that Jessica's relationships with friends and family never tend to work out (and often leave a trail of bodies). Perhaps this is a flashback and helps show why our Jessica is always so scowly. A new romance is not what season 2 of Jessica Jones needs.
TRUE: EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT JESSICA'S POWERS
When we first met Jessica Jones, she was a nobody P.I. living in the world's worst office/apartment. However, since then, she's stopped a superpowered madman and helped save the world.
If you think she can keep her anonymity with her new found notoriety, oh, think again. Netflix has released an official logline for the season, which states:
"New York City private investigator Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) is beginning to put her life back together after murdering her tormentor, Kilgrave. Now known throughout the city as a super-powered killer, a new case makes her reluctantly confront who she really is while digging deeper into her past to explore the reasons why."
So Jessica's in the spotlight, which isn't that great for someone who works in the shadows.
HOPE NOT: JESSICA'S ORIGIN STORY REVEALED
You know what ruins a good mysterious character every single time? Too much back story.
The best part of Jessica is what she is now - angry, tormented, headstrong, tough. We really don't need to know more about how she became who she is. The flashbacks we saw in season 1, revealing her parents death and how she came to live with Trish, were enough to establish her back story.
We don't mind if they give a little bit of history. As already stated, her ties to IGH are going to be delved into. However if they go full on Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale on us here and reveal everything, we're going to be as frustrated as we are disappointed.
TRUE: BETTER STORYLINES FOR TRISH, HOGARTH, AND MALCOLM
We're not just getting new and old baddies as Jessica's universe becomes larger, there's going to be a whole slew of familiar and strange faces with more screen time than we've seen before.
In the Entertainment Weekly interview, Ritter lays out who's going to get some attention this year: "You have to expand the world beyond just Jessica’s head. We’re allowing Carrie-Anne Moss and Hogarth’s story line, Rachael Taylor who plays Trish, and Eka Darville who plays Malcolm to have more opportunities for development so our world will feel a little bigger."
If you're worried though that this is going to pull focus from our main girl, Ritter says no: "The show is still totally focused on Jessica, but the supporting players are getting great moments to shine this season."
Let it shine, indeed. There's plenty of room for all.
TRUE: WHO IS THAT AWARD WINNING ACTRESS?
The biggest addition to the cast for season two is, without a doubt, Tony winning, Golden Globe winning, and Academy Award-nominated Janet McTeer. She's also the season's biggest mystery so far.
We have no idea who this accoladed actress will be in the new season of Jessica Jones. All Netflix and Marvel have revealed is she's playing an “undisclosed character who will have an enormous impact on Jessica’s life.”
The rumor is she'll be playing Jessica's mother.
Though we briefly saw another actress play Jessica's mother in a flashback in season 1, she could have survived the car crash for unexpected reasons and a physical change could be explained away. Whoever McTeer is playing, she's added a jolt of pure talent to an already strong cast.
HOPE NOT: TRISH IS HELLCAT
We love watching Jessica Jones fight, but we're not actually sure she needs a sidekick. After all, she already kind of has one: her best friend, Trish Walker. However, what we really don't need is Trish fighting villains alongside Jessica like she does in the comics.
In ink, Patricia Walker does get a round of superpowers and goes by Hellcat, eventually teaming up with the Defenders.
Do we need this on the show, though? We say no. Trish is already amazing, using her role as a radio host to investigate issues and dig deeper into secrets. She's also plays Jessica's moral compass, steering her away from the fights she doesn't need to fight. Yes, she took those pills and was awarrior for a hot second in season 1, but we say she's already a strong enough character without any powers.
FACT: JESSICA WILL ALWAYS BE JESSICA
Jessica Jones has claimed that she didn't need anyone and is constantly pushing people away. What we have seen, though, through two different iterations on screen, is that she absolutely does need people around her: whether they're friends or, um, super-friends. She's grown immensely in that time and has developed in a way that really showcases her character.
Don't worry too much, though, we're not going to see a sunshine and butterflies Jessica Jones in season two. She's still broken, just working on it.
"She ends in a very different place than she started off. She’s still going to be Jessica Jones — that is not going to change. She will continue to drink and make mistakes, and accidentally drop people onto train tracks, but something has changed for her," Rosenberg said in an interview with Deadline.
As long as she's still throwing dudes through walls, we're good with all of that.
HOPE NOT: THAT JEWEL COSTUME
A little comic history here: when Jessica Jones first got her powers, she wanted to be a hero - save lives, save the day, save the world, etc. With a bright smile and magenta hair, she designed a white and blue superhero suit, called herself Jewel, and went off to fight crime.
Of course, she then ran into Kilgrave who then kidnapped and mentally tortured her for months.
In season 1, we actually saw the costume.
Trish designed it for her and told her that she should go by Jewel. This of course got an eye-roll from our Jessica and a reply of: "Jewel is a [dancer]'s name." We just can't see Jessica rocking that while and blue spandex, but it could happen, especially since it's already canon. We hope, though, that she'll keep it locked away and continue with the leather.
CONFIRMED: KRYSTEN RITTER IS AS POWERFUL AS HER CHARACTER
Want to know when you have a fantastic hero? When she take a punch so hard she passes out and then keeps on fighting.
No, this isn't in the series. This is real life. In an interview with Women's Health Magazine, Ritter explained how she was hit with an accidental uppercut to the jaw while filing season two and almost bit through her tongue! She then saw all the blood and passed out.
She told the magazine that the crew gave her a hard time once she recovered: "They said, 'Oh, Krysten, you looked like this!' She reenacts it, eyelids fluttering, body sagging as she fainted dead away"
There aren't many superheroes we would taunt, but the absolute last person on that list has to be Jessica Jones. Clearly, those crew members are braver people than us.
FACT: NO INFINITY WAR CROSSOVER
You want it. You're hoping for it. You can see it in your mind.
The Defenders, up on the big screen, fighting alongside the other Marvel heroes in the much anticipated upcoming Avengers: Infinity War. Oh, it would be glorious.
It's just not going to happen.
Rosenberg's response when asked if there would be a crossover, either with the action in the film or on the small screen: “None whatsoever.”
Now, Marvel's pretty good about sneaking in cameos and surprises, so this could be a clever ruse. We might still see a little Jessica Jones/Avengers team up (oh, how sweet it would be.) But for now, lower those hopes, fanboys and girls, and be happy we've got a second season of our favorite grumpy heroine coming soon.
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What are you most excited to see in Jessica Jones season 2? Let us know in the comments!