“With great power, comes great mental illness.” – The Whizzer
Confided in a video message to Trish Talk before he died, The Whizzer’s clever riff on the Spider-Man maxim is also a concise explanation of Jessica’s current state of being. After descending into the bowls of the IGH facility last episode, Jessica finds herself in her natural habitat, a bar, having meaningless sex in a bathroom stall with some rando. She’s not well. But who is mentally healthy in this show?
No one, that’s who.
Malcolm seems to have kicked his addiction to drugs. But as he pleads with Jessica to keep him busy, because idle hands are the devil’s playthings, one can’t help but worry he’ll suffer a relapse.
Meanwhile, after having received some kind of devastating medical diagnosis last episode Jeri’s dealing with it in a completley healthy way. By picking up three hookers and getting high AF on what one assumes is the finest cocaine a top New York lawyer can buy. Carie Anne Moss continues to reveal deeper and frankly sadder layers of Jeri as she continues to unravel.
And our two favorite pseudo-sisters are on the case of figuring out the IGH conspiracy. But do they compare notes and work as a unit? No, of course, they don’t. Because they’re both hell-bent on doing it they’re own way. Jessica crashes Dr. Koslov’s funeral, looking into the doctor’s previous work on enhanced people and getting into fights with funeral guests.
And Trish goes to meet with a director that is definitely a casting couch aficionado. Said dirty director, Max, took advantage of Trish when she was 16. Trish uses Malcolm to record Max admitting to the deed so that she can use his connections to get hospital records and uncover more IGH dirt. While this plot point had to have been written before Me Too and Time’s Up, the creative team behind Jessica Jones manages to be timely and authentic.
Will Simpson reenters the picture, still on Dr. Kozlov’s strength enhancers and silently protecting Trish from afar. Or as normal people call it, stalking. Trish’s investigation into IGH has put her life in danger. While definitely creepy, Simpson’s stalking has helped Trish avoid the same fate as The Whizzer Dr. Koslov.
Like the previous episode, “Freak Accident” is a slow burn. They’re taking their time with this season. The big and flashy threat of Kilgrave has been replaced by a more shadowy enemy in IGH. Which is fine for now. They’ve got thirteen episodes to fill and these Netflix Marvel shows are notorious for slumps in pacing. So, it’s good that they’re not front-loading it.
I was highly amused at their second spin on a classic Spider-Man staple, when Jessica’s ribbed Trish’s concerned boyfriend, Griffin, about his sense of danger, referring to it as his “scroty-sense”. Though there are some B plots building in the background that aren’t exactly riveting. I’m sure someone is really curious about what Pryce Cheng is going to do to get back at Jessica. And will Jessica hook up with her new building Super? Meh, maybe? We’ll see.
Verdict: Three barroom hookups out of four.
