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[AgentOtaku]

*** SPOILERS *****

Finally finished this last night and thoughts:

Pros

+ The strong female hero (or anti-hero) is certainly welcomed and awesome, but... see cons

+ David Tennet steals the show early on... along with others besides the primary cast (see cons). He's straight up fucking EVIL by the end and I honestly wished he went out a lot more brutally.

+ On location shooting is very welcome

+ When the show goes for dark, it works

+ For most part, the concept of "specials" living with and dealing with normal shit and people, works.

+ Ep 13 (Thanks Rosario)

Cons

- Show is, quite frankly, waaay too long. What could have been a tight 8-10 eps, feels like a slog at 13. There's just felt like so much unnecessary shit that happens that derails the momentum. From the early on episodes of just nothing but JJones brooding and being an asshole to the later episodes where Killgrave pulls a "Sorry Mario, the princess is in the next castle" several times over.

- The acting, is... all over the place. I don't know if people were really pulling for Ritter in particular, but she has more misses than she does hits as far as her performance. I wonder if this is more of a fault of the writing/dialog being surprisingly one-note and mediocre.
Mike Colter is good, though once again, too freaking one-note. It ends up being the supporting cast that makes things more interesting, particularly with Carrie Ann-Moss, Tennet, and Jones' junkie sidekick.

- While this isn't the primary point of the entire show (though, hey, it's still superheros!), the "action" is distractingly bad. Poorly choreographed, staged, shot (exception being Ep.12 I believe with the fight in the apartment). You never feel convinced like Jones is a physically capable force because the actual physicality comes off as... well, like clearly they did't care and just wanted to get it over with.
It could be argued that yeah, sure, she isn't a trained fighter and that's fine. It still looks like they rehearsed action bits once and said it was good enough. I would have rather they didn't have them in there at all to be honest.

So yeah, I'm prepared to get ripped apart here on GAF (judging by a quick glance online, I'm very much in the minority with my opinion it seems), but I could not just ignore blatant flaws, especially coming off of Daredevil.
I really respect how progressive some elements of the series is, but that doesn't excuse some fundamental issues I really think it has.

That being said, I'm still excited to see how they handle S2.

 

[kirblar]

The showrunner previously worked on Dexter, and you get a bunch of the same flaws here that you had there. Your opinion's in line with the mainstream.

 

[Sephzilla]

Yeah, I'd agree that this show felt like it was a couple of episodes too long

 

[AgentOtaku]

The showrunner previously worked on Dexter, and you get a bunch of the same flaws here that you had there. Your opinion's in line with the mainstream.

Yeah, I saw that. Dexter and Twilight folks right?

sheesh...

 

[Plywood]

Should've been a 4 ep 1 hr each type series.

 

[bananafactory]

Huh, I thought it was pretty close to perfect length, maybe 1 episode too long.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

I agree with everything you said. I liked the show at first but on reflection it wasn't that good. Bad pacing, too many conveniences, some awful characters and not enough material to cover 13 episodes properly.

No season 2 would be fine by me.

 

[Jumeira]

I didn't like it at all and quit around ep5. Loved Daredevil though. She's just an unlikeable person, and the series just went nowhere. Will not be coming back.

 

[Eidan]

The show should have dealt more with Jessica doing other cases while keeping the Kilgrave plot in the background until the final episodes. This would have avoided the ridiculous amount of Kilgrave escapes we saw which dragged the story down.

 

[joelseph]

Took a couple episodes to find it's stride but I felt it just right.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Huh, I thought it was pretty close to perfect length, maybe 3 episodes too long.

fify

 

[AgentOtaku]

Should've been a 4 ep 1 hr each type series.

Yep or a tight 2 hour traditional Marvel film.... man, imagine if someone like David Fincher had a hand at this!

 

[lt519]

You aren't wrong, it was a good show just not great. Four episodes too long and the action was laughable when compared to Daredevil. Acting was all over the place. Mostly redeemed by Kilgrave, not sure if next season will be able to stand on a perfomance by the Jessica actress.

Also I get character flaws, but being an idiot doesn't count. The ways in which they extended the plot through pure idiocy was amazing.

 

[joelseph]

I didn't like it at all and quit around ep5. Loved Daredevil though. She's just an unlikeable person, and the series just went nowhere. Will not be coming back.

I found JJ had a much more classic BMB feel compared to DD.

 

[BewareTheBatsie]

Yeah, I saw that. Dexter and Twilight folks right?

sheesh...

The creator worked on the best seasons of Dexter, in my opinion. Everyone generally agrees the show went downhill after season 4 ended and she worked on the show until season 4.

 

[AgentOtaku]

The show should have dealt more with Jessica doing other cases while keeping the Kilgrave plot in the background until the final episodes. This would have avoided the ridiculous amount of Kilgrave escapes we saw which dragged the story down.

That Kilgrave shit on the back end is the epitome of padding.

That and yeah, Jones is almost completely unlikable and, as I said, Ritter's acting (which has zero charisma), does her no favors.
It's even worse because she is against a far more despicable person that ends up being more interesting than her. Kind of a classic comic book problem really, but still.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

There just needed to be more meat on the bone than Killgrave if they wanted to have a long season. Jessica barely works any other cases during the course of the season. Killgrave was introduced too early and just became the main focus for too much screentime.

Would have been better if Killgrave was operating from the shadows for longer, and Jessica was slowly uncovering him while working cases and stuff. I hated that most of her "detective work" was just her angrily walking behind some people in broad daylight.

That one pissy chick, the sister of the guy Killgrave murdered in her apartment was one of the worst characters in a TV show I've seen in ages, she almost ruined the show for me.

 

[smokeandmirrors]

David Tennant definitely was the best on that show by a mile.

 

[Playsage]

I agree with everything you said. I liked the show at first but on reflection it wasn't that good. Bad pacing, too many conveniences, some awful characters and not enough material to cover 13 episodes properly.

No season 2 would be fine by me.

.

 

[foxtrot3d]

Yeah, I saw that. Dexter and Twilight folks right?

sheesh...

That explains a lot. OP I agree with pretty much everything you said.

 

[GekigangerV]

*** SPOILERS *****

- Show is, quite frankly, waaay too long. What could have been a tight 8-10 eps, feels like a slog at 13. There's just felt like so much unnecessary shit that happens that derails the momentum. From the early on episodes of just nothing but JJones brooding and being an asshole to the later episodes where Killgrave pulls a "Sorry Mario, the princess is in the next castle" several times over.


- While this isn't the primary point of the entire show (though, hey, it's still superheros!), the "action" is distractingly bad. Poorly choreographed, staged, shot (exception being Ep.12 I believe with the fight in the apartment). You never feel convinced like Jones is a physically capable force because the actual physicality comes off as... well, like clearly they did't care and just wanted to get it over with.
It could be argued that yeah, sure, she isn't a trained fighter and that's fine. It still looks like they rehearsed action bits once and said it was good enough. I would have rather they didn't have them in there at all to be honest.

So yeah, I'm prepared to get ripped apart here on GAF (judging by a quick glance online, I'm very much in the minority with my opinion it seems), but I could not just ignore blatant flaws, especially coming off of Daredevil.
I really respect how progressive some elements of the series is, but that doesn't excuse some fundamental issues I really think it has.

That being said, I'm still excited to see how they handle S2.

I felt they could have broken the series into 6 episode seasons. First being the capture of Kilgrave and then jump into the group behind Nuke as I don't think that story will be able to carry another 13 episode season then the return of Kilgrave and his wrist to boost his powers.

The action was really bad, like not too far from Drax and Ronan from GOTG and I felt it was a contradiction for Jessica to have super strength but normal vulnerability.

 

[beta_fuse]

I totally agree with most of what OP said. 3-4 episodes too long and the fight scenes were pretty terrible. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed it and hope they can improve on these problems for season 2.

 

[WickedLaharl]

Everything involving the police officer should have been cut. I don't care if he was in the comics or not he was just so bad in this show.

All of the fight scenes were awful as well.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Yup.

I was with the show until episode 7 or so when Jessica goes nuts and then shacks up with Kilgrave (though that led to a few good scenes). From there until the endgame of episodes 11-13, the show is at its worst, with everyone but Kilgrave going entirely out of character just to contort the plot into a place where the ending can be set up. The discussion group of Kilgrave victims charging Jessica's apartment with 2x4's was the low point of the show, just totally off the rails.

They spent way too much time on the lawyer's divorce, given the payoff. And waaaaay too much time on the cop, only to set up the villain in the next season. Both could have been handled much more deftly, served the same functions in the story (alliance with Kilgrave and insight into Jessica's powers, respectively) without chewing up multiple episodes's worth of screen time.

That said, I really loved the world and the characters. I want to see more of Jones and, um, the bar owner whose name I'm spacing off. Kilgrave's actor crushed it. Fight choreography needs work, but the potential is there and they had some fun moments. Chop out 3-4 episodes and it could have been nearly perfect, but was still quite worthwhile in the end.

The showrunner previously worked on Dexter, and you get a bunch of the same flaws here that you had there. Your opinion's in line with the mainstream.

Oh geez. That explains a lot.

 

[Plywood]

Yep or a tight 2 hour traditional Marvel film.... man, imagine if someone like David Fincher had a hand at this!

Didn't know I wanted it until you said it.

 

[SJRB]

Unfortunately the show makes a massive nosedive once Kilgrave escapes the isolation cell. The finale is also extremely unrewarding. And unfortunately the fight sequences were horrendous, the fight with Cage was just cringeworthy.

I also hate how random Jessica's powers seem to be. One moment she's lifting up a car, the next she's pinned down by a 60-year-old and heavily wounded detective.


I loved the episode where Jessice and Kilgrave go solve that hostage situation though, probably my favourite.

 

[Anton Sugar]

I was pretty shocked when, at episode 6 or 7, I realized it was 13 episodes long. It felt like it should be 8--maybe 10, max.

And yeah, a lot of the later fight choreography was stupid bad and boringly staged/shot.

Agree with everything in the OP, but looking forward to Season 2.

 

[Himynameischris]

Felt the same way and when eps 5 came around and I noticed that it was 13 I stopped watching for a few weeks...it was just so boring. When I started up again I just binged through it during winter break and I'm ok with it never coming back. Daredevil was leagues better and I still enjoy shows like AoS and Gotham but JJ I'm ok with this single run.

 

[PsychBat!]

Holy shit, it's like you're me!

Jokes aside, I do agree with what you said and you kept it civil. Cheers

Spoiler

and hope that MCU GAF doesn't tear you a new one.

Only thing though, I think what happened 10th episode was when the show just took a step back and nearly ruined the pacing, plot progression, and character development that was built in previous episodes.

 

[rootbeerafloat]

Yeah, I watched this a couple of weeks ago. Kinda disappointing. They should have cut out Simpson and most of the Patsy stuff and had her actually work some cases, or made it ten episodes. Felt like shounen filler.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

I loved JJ. Sure it has faults (nothing is perfect anyway) but overall I thought it was great and something different from just another superhero show. Looking forward to season 2.

 

[Briarios]

Personally, I loved it ... I get what they were trying to do, and I approve. I thought the length was just right, as well. Looking forward to the next season quite a bit.

But, opinions, you know ... It wasn't your cup of tea, that's cool. Not every endeavor will speak the same to everyone.

 

[Donos]

the fight when she drugged killgrave the first time and they had him in the van but his goons came to rescue ... omg it was so bad how they "overpowered" her and rescued killgrave. bad bad action and right there it didn't feel like she really had super strength. i think i stopped around ep 9 or so. lost interest but still want to finish this.

 

[KillGore]

David as the villain was great, he is what kept me watching the show.

 

[Anton Sugar]

the fight when she drugged killgrave the first time and they had him in the van but his goons came to rescue ... omg it was so bad how they "overpowered" her and rescued killgrave. bad bad action and right there it didn't feel like she really had super strength. i think i stopped around ep 9 or so. lost interest but still want to finish this.

The inconsistencies in her strength/powers drove me nuts. If she can jump so high/fast that Spec Ops dudes think she can fly, she should have no problem EVER catching Kilgrave when he's in eyesight.

 

[Sesuadra]

While watching it I loved it. But with distance I saw the flaws.

Way to long is actually the biggest. 9-10 episodes would have been perfect.

 

[MilkBeard]

It was an interesting setup, but the writing is bad. Characters blatantly going out of character to push the plot, one note personalities, and situations that just don't really hold much weight.
I was hoping for something better. Jessica's character is like a high school kid, with little depth and growth. Having an antihero main character could have worked really well. And the fact that she has super strength gave the writers an opportunity to make some really interesting situations. I feel like they failed on that mark.

 

[AgentOtaku]

On Fatman on Batman, either Kevin Smith or Mark Bernard said they thought this was better than DareDevil.....

:/

 

[SchrodingerC]

The show is definitely more divisive than Daredevil due to its writing and consistency issues. The show has some pretty low moments(the entirety of 1,000 cuts), but when JJ reaches its highest moments they can outweigh the bad.

 

[Froli]

Yep yep agreed. What do you expect from someone who is heavily involved with Twilight and Dexter's horrible seasons.

So please for the next season, it would be great to have a new showrunner, writters and better budget.

 

[Azih]

Yeah. Three episodes less and it would have been perfect. Support group taking out Jones was just a stretch in multiple ways.

Still liked it better than Daredevil because of the characters.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

I agree, but I also still enjoyed it. I think if they were going to pad it out, they should have done more standalone case episodes. Like 3 or 4 of them. It has them, but they're usually a small portion of episodes that are still "Get Kilgrave!" focused.

It's one of those instances where knowing that they were developing for streaming might have hurt the quality.

 

[Discotheque]

Bad writing bad acting poor plotting

Just a bad show overall that started off with mad potential

Iron Fist will potentially be even worse considering they're dipping in that dexter pool again

Daredevil was much better tbh. Even if it also felt longer than it should

 

[Funky Papa]

Bad writing bad acting poor plotting

Just a bad show overall that started off with mad potential

Incidentally, it was also one of the two MCU products with a villain worth a damn (the other being Kingpin) and then

Spoiler

they go and kill him at the finale instead of keeping him around so Cage can use him as his personal punching bag.

I enjoyed Daredevil for what it was and some of the latest episodes of AoS have been very enjoyable, but Jessica Jones soured me big time on TV Marvel. There's so much wasted potential.

 

[funkystudent]

Jessica is just a unlikeable protagonist. A shorter season would just mean less time with her. It wouldn't make the time with her any better though.

They really need to rethink their approach with the character in s2.

 

[Funky Papa]

Jessica being an unlikeable douchebag is ok. That's kind of what she is at first in the comics. The problem with TV JJ is that her character had no nuance to speak of and she barely evolved through the season.

They took the most complex and life-like character of the entire Marvel universe and turned her into a displeasing noir caricature.

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

The show was also pretty boring from a visual standpoint. Cinematography was unremarkable from what I can remember.

 

[dyergram]

Found the show quite boring fell asleep a couple of times meaning there was a few episodes I had to watch 2-3 times. Series had its moments but for the most part I found it operated at least it ended in a half decent way can't help feeling Jessica could of just shot kill grave on MULTIPLE occasions. Also the whole origin story but should of been episode one I mean wtf...

 

[The Llama]

The show should have dealt more with Jessica doing other cases while keeping the Kilgrave plot in the background until the final episodes. This would have avoided the ridiculous amount of Kilgrave escapes we saw which dragged the story down.

This, this, and more THIS. Though I'm also slightly biased because this is what I expected the show would actually be like, but yeah.

 

[Rhaknar]

Yup pretty much. Too long and too much focus on 1 arc. Needed more smaller cases.

Still really liled it tho, the first half is amazing and Luke Cage is an amazing casting.