JESSICA JONES
Jessica Jones season three sees the Marvel tv universe bowing out on netflix. ian berriman visits the set and talks to the cast
SFX heads to New York for an on-set exclusive as Marvel’s hardass PI returns for one final Netflix case. Sob!
The Netflix/Marvel tv universe is dead – or, at least, on its last legs, stumbling towards an open grave. We first had reason to suspect it’d come to this when Iron Fist got the chop on 12 October last year. Cancellations for Luke Cage and Daredevil pretty much confirmed it long before official word came in february. Why did the axe fall? there are various theories. the imminent launch of streaming service Disney+ means any continuing Marvel shows on Netflix would effectively act as ads for a competitor’s brand. then there’s audience figures: Netflix don’t reveal them, but some analytics suggest that Daredevil’s US audience fell by 57% between the last two season openers. finally, churn just seems to be part of the streaming giant’s modus operandi, a preference for having shiny new things to lure subscribers, meaning long-running series like Orange Is The New Black are the exception. it’s fallen to super-strong private eye Jessica Jones to take the final bow – something none of the cast seemed to have any inkling of when SFX visited the New York studios on 10 October. Back then, they were full of enthusiasm for the latest run.
MaMa UseD To saY
as is typical for the most female-focused Marvel show, it centres on three fascinating, independent women. first up, the Pi herself. Season two brought tragedy for Jess, as her similarly powered mother was shot dead by adoptive sister trish. after two seasons which dug deep into backstory, the third is, we discover on collaring star Krysten ritter in a break from shooting, more forward-facing.
“in seasons one and two we learn so much about Jessica’s history,” ritter says. “What she’s been through, how that informs who she is, and why she has problems with alcohol and PtSD. When her mother was killed, the last thing she said was, ‘You do give a shit.’ Now Jessica’s trying to figure out, ‘Do i actually care?’”
Picking up maybe six months after that finale, season three takes its lead from alisa Jones’s words: “‘hero’ isn’t a bad word, Jessica. it’s just someone who gives a shit and does something about it.”
“Jessica’s now figuring out her place in the world, and what it means to be a hero,” ritter explains. “She’s coming to terms with the idea that many are called and few are chosen – and she’s been chosen. Because of that, she needs to rise to the occasion. Can she actually show up and be the hero she’s destined to be? that’s what we’re playing with this season.”
She’s risen to the occasion too, as for the first time she’s directing. it’s an achievement ritter, a self-confessed workaholic who’s also written a novel and – as half of indie rock duo ex vivian – released an lP, is hugely proud of.
“it was the most exciting thing that’s ever happened!” she beams. “We had the best time. Nobody knows the show better than i do, and Melissa [rosenberg, showrunner] and i have a great shorthand. i was begging her to direct for a year and a half. finally Melissa convinced Marvel to let me, and i was so thrilled. i brought my a-game and studied.”
Not that much study was required, as ritter had picked up a lot through observation.
“i’m like a sponge,” she says. “i see all the directors come in, and their different styles: what works, what’s efficient, what makes us all be like, ‘Okay…’ So i had this great on-the-job training. everyone was willing to get on the phone and talk through what the experience is like before you get on set – the politics behind the scenes, and the hoops you jump through.”
She’s back behind the camera today, though. Before dashing back to set, she supplies some context on the scene they’re shooting now.
“Jessica does something public to help somebody else,” the star explains. “for the greater good, she sucks it up and goes on camera. Which obviously for her is like getting a root canal!”
WHen one DooR cLoses
it begins with Jessica, trish (rachael taylor) and trish’s pushy mother Dorothy (rebecca De Mornay) walking into Jess’s bedroom after her tv interview... or would, if the door wasn’t sticking. “Shit!” says ritter, struggling with the handle. “it broke! i’m fixing it – i can do it all!” she declares, determined to add yet another string to her bow. “No, it still doesn’t work, sorry.” a crewmember rushes on to tighten it up with a screwdriver. Meanwhile, De Mornay keeps cool by holding up a pocket electric fan.
eventually a slate’s held up – Violet (the show’s cunning cover name), episode eight, scene 23 – for another take. Jessica plonks herself down on a chair, sardonically sighing, “that went well…”
“are you kidding?” replies trish. “they’re gonna play that clip all day long! if you wanted to get the word out, you nailed it.”
the scene’s then stolen by De Mornay’s calculating talent agent. She expresses pride in the pair for “making the city safer”. aw. then quickly moves on to monetising the situation: “i’m thinking action figures, videogames… i will work on drawings for your new costume.”
“Mom, stop!” begs an exasperated trish, as Jessica exits, muttering about “living up to this hero shit”. But Dorothy has dollar signs in her eyes: “We’re gonna be rich!”
as the sequence indicates, though Jessica and trish are initially estranged (shooting someone’s mum in the head will do that...) eventually they come together again. But expect it to take a while.
“there’s a bit of runway to go for them to get back on the same page,” explains rachael taylor later. “the first order of business is rebuilding trust between the two. it’s a really interesting process of them learning to see things from each other’s side. that was something i was really excited to play: figuring out how trish could see where Jessica was coming from, and seeing if Jessica can discover where trish might have been coming from.”
But the most exciting development in trish’s arc is that this season explores the character’s development of powers – hinted at in the season finale when she dropped her phone, then caught it with her foot – like her comics counterpart did as the hero hellcat.
“it’s been really fun,” taylor says of her role’s upped action quotient. “every season has gone a little further in terms of trish’s physical capabilities, and season three’s a really big jump.”
Jessica’s coming to terms with the idea that many are called and few are chosen, and she’s been chosen
I have a lot of pride in how I play Jessica and how we portrayed her, and a great sense of ownership of her
What taylor finds really satisfying about the storyline, however, is the way it tackles the notion of celebrity.
“running through season three is this idea of fame,” she says. “and watching that play out for both trish and Jessica is really interesting. trish wants very much to be recognised for the things she does. Not just to matter, but to be
known for whatever heroic acts she may do. So there’s some interesting questions about reputation, notoriety, identity. i think that’s very relatable, because andy Warhol’s prediction has come true: we’re all famous for 15 minutes now, because of social media.”
So after years of wishing she was “special” like Jessica, does finally having powers make trish feel complete?
“What’s so clever about Jessica Jones is that superhero powers are really just an allegory,” taylor notes. “You can substitute the word ‘self-esteem’ – or personal power, or your power as a woman – and it still plays. trish is a character marked by a deficit in how she feels about herself because of her upbringing and being a child star, and having to win people’s love rather than feeling she truly deserves it. So i’d be surprised if getting powers would suddenly remedy it all. fundamentally, she feels like she’s not enough. and i think if you truly feel like you’re not enough, there’s nothing you can throw at that to make you enough.”
trish’s star certainly isn’t in the ascendency professionally, as we see on taking a quick tour of two new sets. One is the former radio talk show host’s new workplace: a small set for shopping channel american retail Network. a raised catwalk curves around the back; a rail of sweaters stands waiting to be pimped. expect to see the real walls of the studio when trish is off-camera.
Meanwhile, Jeri hogarth, the ice-queen lawyer now suffering from neurodegenerative disease alS, has a new office, having launched her own firm. We stroll around, taking in the aubergine walls, the abstract painting behind her glass desk (all angry red blocks), and the awards lined up on the mantelpiece. the place screams success. When we catch up with Carrie-anne Moss, she says she’s still adjusting to her new surroundings.
“When i think of Jeri, i think of myself in that other office set,” she reflects. “i have to constantly be like, ‘Who am i in this space?’ it’s so important that she looks like she has it all together. i think it represents everything for Jeri. it’s rebuilding her life, being successful, being on top. it’s everything – especially at this phase in her life, when her health is dwindling. She’s trying to regain her power, while feeling incredibly powerless.”
Jeri has a new employee: Jessica’s former assistant Malcolm (eka Darville). But there’s a more significant person in the picture.
“a new love comes into her life that’s pretty deep and rocks her,” Moss reveals. “it’s someone from her past, and it’s like she represents her innocence. this is that one pure thing she had in her life. an old relationship, like a true love, that Jeri wants to be around again.”
it seems this relationship will reveal a softer side of Jeri, whom we’re so used to seeing in intimidating alpha mode.
“i love when Jeri has that power,” Moss says. “i find it incredible to play! But i have a lot of moments where there’s more vulnerability this season, especially with the relationship stuff: this woman that i had a history with, who knows that i can’t use that way with her. When i get to go back to that more fierce Jeri, i’m like, ‘that feels really good!’”
WRaPPinG UP WiTH THe Joneses
Given the relish with which the cast talk about their roles, it’s not hard to imagine their collective dismay when the axe fell.
“What’s cool about it is she’s not fully formed in season three either,” rachael taylor says of trish assuming her powers. “So i’m excited for audiences to see a little of her journey towards who she becomes.”
Sadly it’s unlikely that we will ever see the culmination of that journey. Or Jeri properly coming to terms with her condition. Or Jessica wholeheartedly embracing heroism.
“Playing a character for this long, she becomes a part of you, in a way,” ritter reflects, “Which is cool. i never thought about that before, because it’s the first time i have played a character for four years. i really have a lot of pride in how i play her and how we portrayed her, and a great sense of ownership for her.”
Both pride and sadness are certainly fully justified, because there aren’t many television shows out there that have succeeded in creating so many well-rounded, capable but flawed female characters. We only have 13 more episodes in which to enjoy spending time with Jessica, trish, Jeri and co. let’s raise a glass to them – or, perhaps more appropriately, knock back some bourbon straight from the bottle…
Jessica Jones season three comes to Netflix in June.