We’re a little over a week away from the much-awaited sophomore season of Jessica Jones meaning the initial reviews for the season are now here. Some lucky people of the press were given an early sneak peak of the season’s first couple of episodes and their reactions to it somewhat vary. Check some of ’em out right here!
Set to be released on Netflix on International Women’s Day (fittingly, every episode of Jessica Jones this season is directed by women), this season is more noir than the first – slowly spending time on characterisations, Jessica’s origin story and how she has changed since the events of season one. Pacing quibbles aside, this is a darkly enjoyable return for Jessica Jones, thanks to the strong scripts, slick direction and Ritter’s gripping performance. And with the promised return of the mesmerising Tennant as Kilgrave later in the season, it can only get better. – Digital Spy
Much like the first season of The Punisher, season 2 of Jessica Jones opts to pit Jessica against a mystery — in this case, who gave her the abilities she was given, and why — instead of a traditional villain. Ritter’s performance is good enough to carry the show on her shoulders over the first five episodes, but whether she can do so over the remaining eight episodes (or will even need to) will likely play the biggest role in how the season is ultimately viewed by critics and audiences. – Digital Trends
In telling this story, the show is ramping up all the elements that made it stand-out from the other Marvel shows – mainly the noir aspect. There is another reality somewhere that features Jessica Jones as a 1940s black & white audience favorite. That’s how noirish this season feels. – Forbes
The episodes available to press presented a show that told its story too slowly, and a story that was difficult to become invested in. I can admit: I’m going to stick it out until the end, because of the goodwill Jessica Jones bought with its first season. And also because the fifth episode showed a bit of an upswing, by finally giving our villain the time and space to be properly frightening to the world. – Polygon
Ritter is so charismatic, and so good at toggling between sarcasm and outright pain, that a lot of this is more watchable than it should be, given the glacial pace at which the plot moves and the amount of time spent on lesser characters and filler stories. But the overall trend for this cluster of shows is worrisome. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage all burst out of the gate strong before fading later in their debut seasons. Iron Fist was a miscalculation on every level, while Defenders, The Punisher, and now this new Jessica season haven’t even managed the strong start. – UPROXX
While the season 2 character arcs are all solid and intriguing, that same sense of being diving deep into these characters also creates Jessica Jones season 2’s biggest problem: pacing. By now, the series has a well-established neo-Noir influence, but season 2 indulges in those genre tropes a whole lot more than season 1, in a way that not a lot of viewers may initially warm to. The ominous atmosphere of season 2 creates a certain amount of narrative drive, but the elevation of atmosphere over narrative also makes the primary storyline boringly plodding. It’s only at the end of episode 5 that something even resembling “major conflict” finally starts to jump off, as the main plot and character build-up finally converge and begin to gain traction. – CB
What do you think of these reviews? Could we be getting a sophomore slump with the same pacing issues all the Netflix shows seem to have? Let us know in the comments below!
