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“Jessica Jones” recap (1.11): One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small

Previously on Jessica Jones: Each week I should just write, “And then it all went to Hell” here. Because, really, that’s what has happened. Kilgrave escapes. Hope kills herself. Jeri gets slashed. Pam accidently kills Wendy. Simpson on-purpose kills the detective.

We start hazy in a flashback of Jessica’s own haziness post her family’s accident. She is in her hospital bed reliving the crash and waking to the voices of a young Trish and her mom arguing about taking Jessica in. You see it wasn’t one of those goodness-of-their-hearts things, but as Trish’s Machiavellian mom explains a way to rehabilitate the image of the young star (then known as Patsy). A barely awake young Jessica overhears them callously talking about her whole family’s death while they’re waiting for a photo op. When they see she is awake Trish’s mom says not to worry, because, “Patsy is going to save you.” Alex, we’ll take “Unwanted Savior Complex” for $1,000, please.

Back in present day, Jessica is covering Hope’s blood-soaked body. In the background, the idiot mob (plus Malcolm) are sputtering and screeching about their suicidal ordeal. Creepy Girl Twin is still angry at Jessica because she apparently isn’t one of those people who learns by experience. Jessica gives everyone a cover story about Hope voluntarily killing herself to explain away the unexplainable to the police. If they don’t all play along, she won’t be able to leave and rip out Kilgrave’s throat. Luckily, everyone goes along—even Creepy Twin Girl. I know I harp on her a lot, but at least, for now, she is actually making some sense. Mental illness is terrible.

Jessica meets up with Trish, who tries to comfort her about trading Kilgrave’s dad, Albert, for Hope. Jess says he is dead anyway and sets out to find his body. She is convinced he will be one of the John Does who comes into the city. So they go on a dead Albert chase around city morgues. This involves some sweet talk and bribing morgue attendants with upscale restaurant reservations. Good thing Trish speaks French. Also, you know, hot.

But the search yields nothing. So Trish and Jessica share a romantic heart-to-heart underneath a lit bridge in the middle of the night. Fine, it’s more like a “we’re grasping at straws here and need some rest” heart-to-heart, but the setting looks straight out of a rom-com.

But Jessica doesn’t go home, she keeps searching through until the morning stopping only to collapse from exhaustion when she hits a dead (Puns! Puns!) end. When she awakes, she sees a man in a purple suit walking away. She gives chase, only to be hit by a car. But don’t worry, she is fine — OK, relatively fine. And it wasn’t Kilgrave anyway. Just another reminder that no matter how many times you knock Jessica Jones down she’ll pick her skinny jeaned butt off the ground and keep going. Just consider her the Energizer bunny of superheroes.

Trish is also still going—on with her radio show. But then Simpson shows up, and she makes some poor flutist keep blowing until the end of her show. Or, who knows, maybe the flutist is thrilled. This could be her big break. We’re making stars here, people—stars!

Simpson, who let’s remember just committed cold-blooded murder, has come to apologize for being an agro asshole and promises he quit the pills program. He seems sorry, but we all know he is just trying to find out where Jessica is. Trish does too, which is why she doesn’t tell him.

Instead, she picks up a black-and-deep purple bruised Jessica. They tend to her injuries with Saran Wrap. Wait, Saran Wrap? Are they baking cookies or tending to broken ribs?

Trish tends to Jessica, bringing her ice packs and taking off her boots. Man, I really wish they’d gone there with these two this season. I really, really do. But, in a way, they did. Because Jessica clearly cares for Trish more than anything else she feels. More than kindergarteners, more than puppies, more than nuns. Though, to be fair, from that list I only care about puppies.

Trish smiles, because she knows Jessica is still looking out for her. And Jessica confirms this by saying, “I can protect the one or two people I care about.” And then Trish teases back, “Two? Someone I don’t know about?” And then Jessica replies, “One, just one.” All of that was verbatim. These two, you guys. These two.

With that we flashback again, this time to a teen Jessica living in the unhappy Walker household. Trish is threatening to quit it all, which does not make Mommy Dearest happy one bit. Jessica hears all this while getting ready in the bathroom and the news makes her snap a hairbrush apart.

Now, I can tell you I’ve snapped a hairbrush in half myself, too. Thick hair problems. So no big deal. But then in frustration, she hits the marble sink, and it cracks in half. Yeah, I’ve never done that. Nor have I then held the 150-pound slab over my head with one hand.

And injured Trish storms into the restroom bleeding from her shoulder (hit by a flying People’s Choice Award, you know, the usual). She sees Jessica’s superpowers and calls her a freak, but in a good way. They settle on the term “gifted,” and Trish says she has to tell her mom. But Jessica convinces her that’s a very bad idea. So they come to a détente about each other’s secrets.

Jessica wakes from her dreaming to an alert about a fresh unknown body at one of the morgues. When she arrives, she realizes it’s the detective. She assumes, along with Trish, that Kilgrave has doubled back to destroy the evidence. Oh, girl, if only. They agree to meet at Jessica’s place to check the rest of the morgues. But as Trish leaves her apartment, guess who is there. Speak of the show’s other devil.

He keeps badgering her for Jessica’s whereabouts under the guise of wanting to get back together. Gosh, he just continues to be the worst always. Next he says “Jessica keeps getting in the way,” further proving his mayorship of Aggroassholeville. Also, he blames his “boy’s” death on her, because victim blaming is all the rage in Aggroassholeville.

As they’re talking some more “boys” come off the elevator. These fellas belong to Dr. Kozlov, and they want him to come back. But Simpson has other ideas. He pops two red pills and then pops the guys right in front of her in the hallway. Well, I guess the one good thing to come from this is that their relationship is most definitely dunzo now.

Jessica calls Trish and Simpson answers her phone. He assures her Trish is fine (and not locked up in her workout room—rude) while cleaning up his two dead bodies mess (and dumping them in her kitchen—more rude). But of course, it’s all lies because he is hopped up on red pills and unchecked Testosterone. Luckily, our gal Trish Walker is smart and resourceful and good with a dumbbell.

Jess returns home, much worse for wear. But before she can rest there’s a knock at the door. Yep, it’s another unwanted dick for Jessica to dispatch. Simpson is waiting on the other side, his gun drawn. But he puts it away when someone comes into the hallway, and Jessica answers the door. Thanks, random neighbor. Without you, the show would be over.

Simpson comes in all Smuggy McSmuggersons with his eyes dilated to the size of saucers. But Jessica sees right through him. Remember, she is a detective and a good one at that. So she has pieced together that only he could have killed the detective and then found Trish.

Of course, Simpson’s next move is to attack. See Simpson kill, kill Simpson kill. But Jessica is faster and stronger. Unfortunately, she is also injured, which makes their tussle into an, unfortunately, fairer fight. Then Simpson pops two more of his red pills, and it isn’t a fair fight at all anymore. Also, he breaks Carl, again. Dammit, stay in one piece in the house, Carl.

But don’t worry, guys. It’s Patsy! She bashes him with a fire extinguisher giving Jessica time to recover. They escape into the bathroom, but Jessica admits she is too hurt to fight him. And since he seems hell-bent on The Shining himself through the door, Trish pulls out his bottle of red pills. Remember, she was a clever girl and lifted them off him earlier.

Simpson, who has now “Here’s Johnny”-ed a hole into the door sees this and warns her if she takes them she’ll die because her brain will forget to tell her lungs to breathe. Only he has the bottle of blue pills to bring her back down, so naturally he throws them out the window.

Trish pops one anyway and then goes HAM on Simpson. I won’t lie, it’s deeply, deeply satisfying. Also, remind me to sign up for Krav Maga classes ASAP. But then he throws her into the kitchen table. Luckily, Trish has a very good friend named Jessica Jones who slams his head into the fridge until he is unconscious. I won’t lie, that was also deeply, deeply satisfying.

And then it isn’t anymore because the forgetting how to breathe part sets in. Trish struggles for air and Jessica panics. Which seems like a perfect time for another flashback. This one is back to teenage Trish, who is overhearing yet another ugly fight between Trish and her mom. This time, she is trying to force her Patsy to throw up. But Jessica can’t take it anymore, so she breaks her promise and saves Trish.

Now, back in real time, Jessica can’t save her on her own. But she can call an ambulance and have the EMTs save her. So, uh, close enough. With Trish alive and breathing again, Jessica gives her a long, long hug. But, to be honest, our view is obstructed, so they could be making out. Hey, I just report what I see.

Meanwhile, Malcolm is waiting for the support group folks to show up, but only Creepy Girl Twin does. She tells him to stop waiting because no one is coming because humans, on a whole, are “at best assholes, at worst they are zombie assassins.” I mean, she’s not completely wrong. I mean, she’s not right either. We probably shouldn’t all just go kill ourselves.

But her newly nihilistic world rubs off enough on Malcolm that he doesn’t call Jessica to let her know there are people rummaging around her apartment. People in all-black who follow Dr. Kozlov. They remove Simpson, which is actually kind of polite if you think about it.

A sleeping Jessica is watching over a recovering Trish in the hospital when her phone buzzes. It’s Kilgrave back to taunt her. He says he ran into her “boyfriend” and “if you hurry you can say goodbye.” And she does, she arrives just in time to see him and then go boom. Luckily, he has that handy unbreakable skin to protect him. Which, if we’re being honest, looks really cool on fire.

Find more from Dorothy Snarker visit dorothysurrenders.com or @dorothysnarker.

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