Jessica Jones, Episode 11: AKA I’ve Got the Blues

And now, a conundrum. AKA I’ve Got the Blues is an episode that focuses on Jessica and Trish’s relationship but also features a whole lot of Evil Simpson (a plotline that, as I mentioned in my last recap, really bugs me) and doesn’t move the Kilgrave needle forward hardly at all. So what wins out: The “I heart female friendship” Jenny or the “get a damn move on with the plot already” Jenny?

Let me tell you what tipped the balance.

Patricia. Come on. Jessica just got hit by a truck. When someone is in great pain and sadness, you do not waft a blanket gently atop them. They will never feel secure in that case! You have to unfold the blanket and check that it covers all exposed parts of them below the neck, and then you have to tuck it in at the sides and bottom so they feel safe and secure. OTHERWISE WHAT IS YOUR LOVE WORTH.¹

We finally get the Trish-and-Jessica origin story we’ve all been waiting for, and a reminder that Jessica Jones goes light on flashbacks but makes ’em count. Little Jessica, fresh from the car accident that killed her family, is just starting to discover her powers. Little Trish is rebelling against her TV show, her wig, and her abusive mother. It’s an angry-girl match made in heaven.

While I do not, as previously mentioned, care for the way in which Simpson’s storyline was handled, the show still does such a great job with the tension between him and Trish. Simpson comes to Trish’s work (red flag!) to apologize for scaring her, minimize what he actually did, and Find Jessica Prime Directive. Par for the Jessica Jones course, Trish doesn’t let Simpson control the narrative. When he says he was an asshole to her, she says, “I deal with assholes every day. You were violent and scary,” and she does her level best to keep him out of her office and away from Jessica.

Of course, this doesn’t work. Simpson lurks at Jessica’s office, pretending to still be her ally, and Jessica — who still has bruised ribs from getting hit by a truck while hunting half-heartedly for Kilgrave — pretends to believe him. They are not very good pretenders. Throwing each other through walls ensues.

Did I mention Simpson’s started taking these mysterious red pills that give him super strength? Well, he has. They have some weird side effects, such as saying the same words twice in very quick succession, and being extra-violent and scary. This is how he is able to throw Jessica through a wall. Trish shows up to save the day, but she and injured Jessica are no match for Superpowered!Simpson, until Trish takes one of Simpson’s pills.

“Without the blues to bring you down, you’ll die!” Simpson warns her. Trish coolly stabs him and says “Worth it,” and then she and Jessica tag-team beating the living shit out of him. And like — okay. I don’t think ladies on TV always have to be able to beat people up in order for them to count as strong. But also, it was fun to have this moment for Trish. As the greatest badass of our time and my favorite character on this show, I love her having the opportunity to be the heroine for Jessica that she’s always wanted to be. Her throat closes up and she has to be rushed to the hospital, cause Simpson’s red pills are shady af, but hey.

End of episode, Jessica gets a text from Kilgrave threatening Luke Cake. She gets to his bar just in time for it to spectacularly blow up. Luke Cage is okay, though; he has unbreakable skin. Mike Colter looks quite as attractive when on fire as at any other time. Big surprise.

“But Jenny,” I hear you say, “doesn’t Jessica spend any time at all in this episode hunting for Kilgrave?” She does, a bit, checking morgues for dead people of Albert’s age. It’s not, let’s say, her most dedicated Kilgrave-finding effort.

So, like, 9/10 on feelings. 2/10 on plot.

Jessica breaks things: Her ribs, walking into a truck. A pane of glass at the morgue as she’s trying to get in to see the John Doe who’s been brought in. A lamp on her desk when she kicks the desk into Simpson. Surprisingly few other things during her fight with Simpson, but that’s mainly because he’s doing most of the breaking.