This fantastic episode was all we needed after the disappointing previous one. It shows Jessica doing what she does best, while also showing Trish and Salinger at their best and most intense edges. Erik and Malcolm get their time in the spotlight as well, with everything feeling natural and truly well written.

As expected, Jessica is mad at Erik for helping Trish. We still can’t fully understand why he chose to help her, but Jessica seems to forgive him quickly anyways. She knows he is just as messed up as she is, and that is part of what makes their relationship so interesting to watch.

Speaking of relationships, Malcolm gets quite a bit of time to look back and talk about his previous ones. First, when Erik enters his place to talk about Jessica’s plan to get Trish, and Brianna comes in right after him. Like Erik, the audience can’t quite grasp what is keeping them together, with the whole thing feeling more like it’s about interest than anything else. Later on, he comes face to face with Trish, with whom he used to sleep. He talks about what he’s going through and what went wrong with his former girlfriend, and it’s great that this season is giving Malcolm quite a bit of time to think about who he is and what should he do. He’s an awesome character and deserves the best.

His conversation with Trish felt truly important for her too. Not only do they know each other well, but they have as much in common as they have differences. She used to be rich and he had nothing, but both have struggled with some kind of addiction and complicated pasts. He’s probably the only character with whom Trish relates at this point, and that’s why she chose to share the story of her father with him.

As much as this season is about Trish, the true MVPs of this episode were Jessica and Salinger. We’ll get to him in a bit, but how relieving it is to see Jessica doing what she does best, catching bad guys while barely using her powers, saving her family and understanding that justice and vengeance are two different things, especially for the people who make them happen. She spent most of the episode trying to save her own enemy just to stop Trish from corrupting herself and killing again. That’s exactly what a hero would do, and she is definitely one by now, even if she doesn’t like the idea.

Her plan to catch Salinger was simply brilliant. Salinger got a taste of his own medicine this episode, when he said that it must be maddening to be predictable, only to find out Jessica predicted every move of his. It was a fantastic part of the script, and it might have been the highlight of the episode. If Salinger seemed in control despite being tied up to a hospital bed when Trish visited him, this time it’s Jessica that shows to be on top of things despite being in the same situation.

Their dialogue was another great moment of the episode, and perhaps of the season as a whole. These two people have been studying each other for a while now, and both have a glimpse into the other’s truth that maybe not even their closest people have had. Salinger mentioning how Jessica actually wants to be a hero and prove that her family didn’t die in vain showed how good of a profiler he can be. Jessica, in turn, saying that he was nothing but a murderer trying to justify his actions made clear that she is not far behind.

Finally, by the end of the episode we learned that neither Malcom nor Jessica were able to talk Trish out of her new murdering ways, and even Salinger facing justice could not calm her bloodlust. She was too far gone. Against every advice she got and absolutely sure of what she wanted, she managed to get to Salinger and kill him, Ryan Gosling in Drive style. Jessica’s horror was not towards the serial killer’s fate, but towards what had become of her sister and knowing she will most likely lose her. Loneliness, once more, seems to be Jessica Jones’ fate.

VERDICT

5 worms in a fishbowl out of 5

A.K.A. Lotta Worms serves as an amazing and thrilling preparation for the series finale. Season three has been all about Trish, her new powers and old traumas, and Salinger served as a mere (yet incredible) catalyst of her rage. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to kill him and let the finale be about Jessica dealing with the real problem as of now, which is her sister. As we come closer to the end, it’s become clear that these 13 episodes are as much of a third season of Jessica Jones as they are a first season of Hellcat.

ONE-SHOTS

  • Why isn’t there more praise for Rachael Taylor‘s performance this year? Trish has been better than she ever were, and that is a merit of the script and of the actress as well. Her character was not very interesting back in season one, but Taylor’s performance has become better and better as time went by.
  • Malcom’s relationship with Brianna doesn’t work at all. They clearly feel nothing for each other, with her using him so she can have a place to stay and him using her to feel better about himself and for the ocasional sex. Where are they going with this? Both deserve better.
  • Erik’s powers are amazing. It’s always so cool to hear him explain exactly how they work and what he feels. Too bad we won’t get more of this character, as Benjamin Walker makes this version of Mind-Wave a very charismatic one.