Wow, I almost called the show having its cake and eating it, too, by avoiding Trish killing Salinger but also focusing the final arc of the season on the conflict between Jessica and Trish's vigilantism. But then things were ending too nicely in episode 12 so I knew another shoe was going to drop...and it did.
Trish became an outright villain. Not that the accidental killing of the corrupt cop and the deliberate beating of murdering arson that lead to his death were kosher, but killing a man firmly in police custody is a line no hero would cross (and only so-called anti-heroes like Frank Castle would cross).
As I struggled with my previous post, I'm not sure how I feel about this. I grew tired of Salinger about midway, even if his photographic exploration of pseudo-truth telling through torture (which reminded me of
Firefly's Niska) was somewhat interesting. If nothing else, the sight of Dorothy's portrait disgusted me, which is remarkable considering how much I loathed the character. But Salinger's usefulness ran out relatively quickly despite Melissa Rosenberg's intentions of forcing Jessica to duel with a highly-intelligent non-super. And while I applaud her efforts, I always found the conflict between Jessica and Trish far more compelling.
I don't hold any allegiances to Hellcat in the comics, but I wouldn't be surprised if some fans will be upset with the show turning her into a villain. I'm not entirely sold with it myself, although the idea that child abuse and addiction fueled Trish's rage and compulsion as a vigilante is a compelling one. I just wish the season had done a better job of developing that idea. "Hellcat" did a good job covering the child abuse to some degree with the flashbacks but I don't think it did quite enough. Maybe upon watching all three seasons with all of the Trish character arcs that covered the child abuse and addiction will make a more compelling case that leads to her angry and dark path. I was, at least, grateful that Trish finally confronted her mother about the child abuse this season, even if it didn't seem to sink into Dorothy's head.
I didn't mention them in the previous post, but I enjoyed the story arcs for both Malcolm and Jeri. Malcolm's path as Jeri's fixer lead him to his own dark path and I largely enjoyed how we worked it out by the end. I particularly loved that after all of Jeri's machinations, she was left to die alone with no one to care for her and her reputation is in the shitter. If the show had continued, I'm not sure how her storyline would continue, but since this is the final season, it worked out quite nicely.
I'm disappointed that Jessica and Oscar quietly broke up in between seasons and we only got one scene of him and his son each. I get why that happened (to make room for Erik whose role in this season was more critical) but it's still disappointing. However, on the plus side, I absolutely
loved Jessica's new assistant, Gillian, and her sassy nature (plus, hooray for LGBTQ+ inclusion!). While I'm content with how the show is ending, I am disappointed that we don't get to see her again.
I loved the Luke Cage cameo and how he just happened to show up just when Jessica needed with exactly the kind of advice he had to offer. I was saddened by the hints of what a season 3 of
Luke Cage could've been, but I'm happy we got to see him once last time and with Jessica. I wonder if Mike Colter filmed the scene before or after his show was canceled?
Lastly, David Tennant is a cheeky bugger. He
did say he wasn't in the final season of
Jessica Jones but that didn't mean we wouldn't hear Killgrave one last time. I
love that he had the final line of the series and it was one of mockery, one which convinced Jessica to stick around in New York instead of fleeing to Mexico. The season may not have been perfect but that was the perfect note to end the season and the series on.
