Jessica Jones - Customer Service is Standing By

 Seeing how a desire to be avenger is taking Trish further and further down a dark road, her intentions are clearly novel, but just throwing herself at folks, even if they are bad news, the results could be tragic. As much as she wants to be a (super) heroine, the ramifications of that obsession rears its ugly head when a drug mama bear and her thug boys toss their current patsy, Erik (Benjamin Walker), into the pool with large weights rope-tied to his ankles for him to drown. Yes, without Trish's help, Erik would have perished...even though he delivered the money that he owed them. Still it wasn't without cost...mama bear lands stomach-first on a shovel, impaled and not long for the world it would seem. Jessica realizes that Erik can "feel darkness" of people, sense that they have done something very bad. Erik needs Jessica's help to pay a major debt or suffer the wrath of his debtors. Jessica and Erik go about collecting blackmail money but she doesn't just let them off the hook. A kiddie porn photographer/videographer is locked by Jessica into his bathroom as she calls the cops to "come help him". He's arrested for his depraved sick deeds. The second is a company boss who stole from her employees' pension funds (millions!), with Jessica informing the corporate cubicle victims of what has been done to them. The third is the one who stabbed Jessica, a Harvard grad, "shutterbug" (photographs in B&W for his wall), sports athlete (with plenty of medals and trophies laid out in cases and on shelves) multi-graduate (plenty of certificates and degrees on walls), book-reading (plenty of books from intellectuals of different types) psychopath who is quite full of himself and tells her that she's no match for him. So her fresh third season foe is revealed and at the very end of the episode a victim is on his couch with his throat split open and bleeding out while the killer, Sallinger (Jeremy Bobb), eats a piece of apple. Jessica calls into Trish's fashion show, a QVC type show where you can buy her line of clothes negotiating a partnership...that might not have been wise.

Erik is an interesting addition to the series at this point. He has severe headaches as a result of his empathic power, while Jessica challenges him to assist her in catching bad people. Erik would prefer to pay his debts, grift wherever he can, and booze away the headaches that give him such pain. Jessica belittles him for using his power for such petty reasons instead of lending his talents to a city in need of it. It isn't as much a gift to him as a curse, because the power hurts him.

The subplot with Jeri Hogarth and a former lover, Kith (Sarita Choudhury), a musician and current member of a quartet, is more of a soap opera love triangle. Jeri wants her all to herself, paying Malcolm to dig up dirt on Kith's husband. Malcolm finds it in a charity he's skimming to pay for girlfriends and their nice things. Jeri still can't quite face what awaits her due to her illness. Malcolm wants to get that money, so he negotiates himself a nice contract with perks. Meanwhile, Trish looks to exploit Malcolm's work and pursue those clients Jeri represents. Kith masturbating Hogarth at a concert, wanting Jeri to actually "cede some control", not agreeing to join an orchestra, the power attorney seems to have met her match. This might why Jeri desires her so much. 3/5