#I'm such a fan of the way this show plays with tropes and character archatypes

[neat-crows]

The thing about Jessica Jones is that she is cheesy, and written like a classic noir detective, and talks and sometimes acts like a “strong” female character written by men that think strength in a woman is being able to talk fast, be unempathetic, and have misplaced confidence. She says things like “My only weakness is that occasionally I give a damn” but it works so WELL because it’s completely intentional. 

She walks, talks, and moves through the world in this way because she has the power to. She can walk around confidently, she can talk shit, she can be rude to anyone around her, especially men, and have no reason to fear because she KNOWS she’s stronger than all of them. She never has to truly fear for her safety because of the power she’s been afforded.

Which is why the second she thinks Kilgrave is back she completely falls apart. She’s hyperventilating and crying, she’s running away she’s visibly terrified, because Kilgrave is the only person who’s had power over her, who can hurt her, and she has no protection against. And that’s why that shift works SO well!

Because Jessica is overly confident in every situation, until she has to confront Kilgrave, and we realize it’s not over confidence, it’s that she knows she could protect herself from anyone else. She talks fast and doesn’t let herself be interrupted because she has the power to do so, she never has to worry about a man (or anyone) feeling disrespected and reacting violently. She is mean and hard and often doesn’t treat people well, but that’s a real flaw she has to contend with. If she had treated Malcolm and the support group with more kindness, maybe they wouldn’t have turned on her. This is also important because she genuinely doesn’t see herself as a hero, or TRY to be kind. She tries to do the right thing, but kindness isn’t something she strives for. 

Jessica Jones is such a well written and layered character and she’s so so fascinating and I wish people talked about her more