After a long hiatus, Cypher Sessions is back and ready to start posting a good deal more (read: NaPoWriMo is coming!). But that’s a few days down the road. Right now, we have a special guest contributor to our Cypher Flicks section of our website, who is going to get into the very popular Jessica Jones series on Netflix. We are always interested in gaining perspectives on movies and shows we have unfortunately not had the time to examine, and the below contribution from our guest (and QuickSix Alum) Phil “PhuturePhil” Barker is definitely a very thorough and interesting analysis of the state of things in the Jessica Jones universe. Without further ado, let’s get into his A Wishlist for Jessica Jones Season 2:

Many fans of the Marvel/Netflix paring were excited to hear news that Jessica Jones was picked up for a second season during Netflix’s TCA winter press tour.  Season 1 was released to high praise from fans and critics alike.  Blending the superhero genre with themes of noir and psychological conflict created an interesting and nuanced series that quickly became a personal favorite of 2015.  The first season also showcased several great character relationships and strong performances between many of the shows cast including Jessica Jones, Trish Walker, Luke Cage, and the ever menacing Kilgrave.  Jessica Jones followed Daredevil’s success on honoring the source material while re-imagining it to fit the modern Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

So this brings us to what exactly season 2 could hold for our favorite reluctant hero.  Here are some ideas of stories and themes I would like to see included in this upcoming season.

**Season 1 spoilers ahead so read at your own risk. **

Embrace the Unknown

Season 1 showcased Jessica Jones’ main comic book foe, the dangerous and vile Kilgrave.  With such a wonderful performance from David Tenant, many were quick to hail him as one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s’ best villains to date.  Jessica killing Kilgrave at the end of the season effectively creates a blank slate for the character and show runners to explore in season 2.  Many of Jessica’s self-contained comic stories were pulled and adapted to fit the first season’s trajectory.  With so much of her comic history covered, many wonder who or where to take the character next.  I believe that is a benefit to the show runners as they can begin to shape her story using elements and themes set up in the greater MCU.

Diving into Jessica’s history and the mysterious IGH seems to be a given for season 2, which would also bring Trish Walker back into the fold.  Season 1 closed with Trish intensifying her investigation of the shadowy organization.  Season 2 also has the potential to explore Jessica’s state of mind after decisively ending her tormentor Kilgrave.  With Jessica showing signs of PTSD after first breaking from Kilgrave’s control, it would be interesting to expand on that thread of how she deals with her trauma after finally defeating her biggest foe.  The slight after effects of his control could also lead to possible appearances from Tennant in hallucination type sequences.  He could truly be a foe who continues to haunt Jessica past his final physical encounter.

Using All the Tools in the Toolbox

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has been quoted in past interviews and press junkets as saying that the wealth of characters in the MCU “are tools in the toolbox” for utilizing when story beats and plot lines call for it.  I believe this is one of the greatest possibilities of shared cinematic universes as it can lead to unlikely characters becoming useful in other stories.  Recent events such as the Sony/Marvel Spider-Man deal have the potential to breathe new life into all corners of the MCU due to Spidey’s extensive supporting cast and villains.  For example take a character such as Tombstone, who is a Spider-Man associated villain, but is very unlikely to show up in the new Spider-Man films.  He could be re-imagined and fit comfortably into the Netflix corner as an antagonist to Jessica Jones or Luke Cage.  With him would also bring the potential to show the underworld of the MCU, such as the Maggia, that’s hardly been touched with only subtle references in other series.  Having such a wealth of characters leads to plenty of narrative possibilities and unique combinations.

Continue to Populate Her World

Jessica Jones in the comics has some very interesting relationships and interactions with a large amount of characters in the Marvel Universe.  As a private investigator and reluctant hero, she has done everything from go on dates with Scott Lang (the second Ant-Man) to discovering Steve Rogers was Captain America (when he was hiding his identity at the time).  Even her working with Ben Urich and the Daily Bugle has led to some enjoyable moments.  Continuing to add more characters into Jessica’s daily life could lead to some very interesting and memorable interactions.  The MCU is brimming with talented actors and actresses, with more joining the fold every year.  Taking advantage of these characters in ways that serve the narrative and story of Jessica are key.  The focus should always be on Jessica and her world, but adding small threads or characters that can contribute new flavors to her story would be the icing on my Jessica Jones season 2 cake.

The Defenders are Coming!

 Each of the original four Marvel/Netflix series announced (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist) will all lead into a Defenders team up mini-series.  While we don’t know when JJ season 2 will film or where it will fall on the in-universe timeline, this second season could possibly depict the aftermath of that team up on Jessica and her character interactions with the rest of the Defenders team.  This potential to continue building and fleshing out the Netflix corner of the MCU has my hopes and hype set high.   

Phil ‘PhuturePhil’ Barker is a guest contributor.  You can find him on twitter @PhuturePhil.

Many thanks to our guest contributor Phil Barker, and if you are interested in Jessica Jones, you can watch the entire first season on Netflix right now. That’s going to do it for this edition of Cypher Flicks, stay tuned for more articles just like this, and if you feel strongly one way on the other on this or any article posted, comment in the comments section below. Until next time, thanks for reading and as always…Peace!