Kilgrave's Power of Persuasion - Jessica Jones / The Sandwich Saved Me

**** / ****

Watching Doctor Who, I did recall asking myself one time, what would this incredible actor, David Tennant, be as a villain? And that answer is quite vivid and exciting in Jessica Jones, as his antagonistic, charismatic, reptilian Kilgrave is everything opposite what his beloved Tenth Doctor was. I thought his “big introduction” to Jessica in The Sandwich Saved Me was quite marvelous due to his immediate confidence, that really talky swagger, engaging her with no shortage of bravado. Because of Kilgrave’s own “power of persuasion”, he was able to draw her in right after she beat the living hell out of a couple of thugs on a dark street, rescuing an addict from potential serious injury. Jessica hurling one foul cretin over a car hood and tossing another through a building wall is quite an event but afterward, as Kilgrave just embarks on his new “project”, the way he entertains her following him for a bite to eat—getting a good eyeful of her and realizing how advantageous she could be for him—is even better. It is Tennant just owning the screen and reminding us that sometimes, despite how really damn good Ritter is as a heroine, a superhero is often only as great as the villain he or she is up against. Ritter, don’t get me wrong, can carry this show easily and dominate all the way through each episode, but with Tennant as her adversary in this psychological warfare that she has to endure with setbacks and disappointments Jessica Jones as a superheroine, challenged and tested, is even better. Kilgrave in a phone call to Jessica after she fails to retrieve him, along with cop Will and radio star Trish, due to a firm (who hired security with tasers) rescuing him in the nick of time, certainly rubbing salt on her wounds (JJ didn’t kill him when she had the chance, and to keep her junkie buddy from further manipulation, there is a, not in so many words, agreement to send Kilgrave pictures) with needling and prodding with just the right tone and tenor proves just what kind of opponent our heroine is up against. Jessica got close…but not close enough.

This episode also emphasizes why Jessica cares about addict, Malcolm (Eka Darville), once a promising social worker who cared about his community, reduced to a crippled junkie by Kilgrave. Malcolm appears almost without hope, but Jessica asks him to “save” her. That he, much like her, has been victimized by Kilgrave too long and must somehow fight his influence. Malcolm is the one who had been taking pictures of Jessica, giving them to Kilgrave, perhaps considered a betrayal of trust. But Jessica won’t give up on him, handcuffing him in her bathroom to recover and rehab. Kilgrave tries to use Malcolm’s willingness to spy on her and take pictures despite not always using his power against him as a means to further provoke Jessica emotionally. This is a tough woman that fights her own battles, speaks bluntly and holds little back, eschewing nonsense in favor of getting to the point, but Kilgrave’s handiwork on her left scars and damage Jessica has admitted to, rattled but still willing to go after him, but understandably cautious and realizes how skilled he is. Trish and Will are gung-ho to partner with her, but Jessica tries to talk sense to them about just who they are opposing. When a kidnapping operation goes awry, Kilgrave is just further encouraged to play mind games with Jessica. Her appeal to Malcolm and silence when Kilgrave practically begs for response are real treasures from Ritter, where you see Jessica trying to assuage her desire to help and debating how to protect her friend from the enemy. Her weaknesses Kilgrave knows he can exploit—her friends—and so Jessica is put in a predicament requiring sacrifice. This battle she’s in will take matching wits with Kilgrave…what can she do to get even?

This episode also offers a possible relationship between Will and Trish I found unexpected. Because when under Kilgrave’s influence Will nearly killed her, I certainly wasn’t expecting a scene where he’s giving her cunnilingus in her highly protected apartment. Trish rocked by her failure to help Jessica and Will capture Kilgrave does bother her, but the trio failed not because of their plan of action but of a curveball they couldn’t anticipate…Kilgrave has protection.

Jessica working in an office at the beginning of the episode cracked me up; particularly, when she corals her boss, talking smack and throwing his weight around, into agreeing to fatten up her wallet in favor of keeping quiet about bad behavior involving him. The retaliation towards a pickup artist with designs on Trish, where Jessica beats him in a “punch the bag with a certain force to collect points” game and humiliates him in a bar, afterward just further sweetens her abilities to wreak havoc on the egos of guys she considers repellent. Oh, and before she pummels thugs, Jessica rescues a girl from being blasted by a car while in a sandwich costume handing out pliers! So plenty of additional material giving Jessica backstory and development I much appreciated. And Kilgrave looking at how he’ll “repackage” Jessica (her choice of wardrobe isn’t to his liking), looking at her as if she were a plaything rather than a formidable figure to respect and admire…his obsession with her could be that she is far more than a plaything.