Marvel's Jessica Jones Season 2 Review: 6 Ups And 4 Downs

Ups...

6. The Supporting Cast Gets More To Do, And Jeri Really Excels

The first season of Jessica Jones included some impressive supporting turns, but they were more in the background as the story of Jessica and Kilgrave really dominated.

Season 2 attempts to shake things up a bit, giving Malcolm, Trish, and Jeri - the three big returning players from Season 1 - their own individual arcs and fleshing out their characters further.

There are some bad decisions made by these characters, who we learn are all just as flawed as Jessica (even if she herself doesn't realise it), but it does at times make for arresting television. There was a concern that Malcolm, who is now working at Alias Investigations, would have little to do, but instead he gets to serve as the closest thing this show can have to a moral compass, and it's interesting to see him striking out on his own as the season progresses. His brief entanglement with Trish makes a degree of sense, and it's great to see Malcolm avoid relapsing and strive to stay clean (although it doesn't work out so well for Trish, despite Rachael Taylor's best efforts).

Newcomer Oscar (J.R. Ramirez) fares well too, serving as a likeable love interesting for Jessica, someone who dangles the possibility of happiness in front of her if she's brave enough to take it. The other supporting newcomer, Leah Gibson, admittedly has much less to do as Inez.

Best of all in this regard, though, is Carrie-Anne Moss' Jeri, who learns early on that she has ALS, for which there's no cure. We saw her run the full gamut of emotions, from wanting a quick way out to trying to enjoy life, to some moments of quiet devastation - like when she learns Shane, the supposed healer, is a fake - and then finally gets her big, mic-drop moment in the finale as she gets one over on her former partners and takes control of a new company.