No matter how much she wants to hide in the shadows or be cloaked in anonymity, Jessica Jones is going to have to face up to the fact that she is a hero. She was meant to do something right and just, something humane. We've seen throughout these early episodes that even though her world is very dark and dangerous, she brings a bit of light to the proceedings. She doesn't want to get innocent civilians in the way of her fight against Kilgrave. She will hold back on killing them. She will seek alternatives to safeguard the lives of those in danger.

               

 

The irony is that saving one person from getting beaten to a pulp led to her being controlled by Kilgrave. He's intrigued by her in their first meeting. He wants to use her, as he does with everyone else. It's not really love or affection but objectification. He is curious about her the way a child would be curious about a new toy. And yet, even with all of the pain that Kilgrave caused her, she hesitates when it comes to facing down Kilgrave in the present. She had the chance to end it all in that van, with him unconscious. That hesitation proves costly, and I get the feeling she's only had a taste of what Kilgrave can do to those around her.

 

Everything about Jessica's actions towards Kilgrave has a rushed feeling. She needs to capture him, prove that he's vulnerable to the anesthesia, but she needs him alive. The purpose of that is not entirely spelled out in this episode, but I have to think that she's being influenced by her friends to gravitate towards the hero lifestyle. Being a hero means that you don't kill unless you have to, or you're forced to do so. If she does resort to murder, she'd be no better than Kilgrave when he forces other people to do his bidding.

 

 

But back to the plan to capture Kilgrave. It's sort of thought out between Jessica, Simpson, and Trish. They cover themselves as much as they can possibly do, with Trish being the getaway driver (I like that Trish has to constantly defend herself to everyone about her driving skills), Simpson taking the paralyzing shot on Kilgrave, and Jessica doing all of the physical work. I kept waiting for Jessica to exert full command of the operation, but that would have likely been met with some resistance from the other two. Trish wants to prove that she can help her friend in this little hero gig. It ends up with her getting in way over her head. The same goes for Simpson, who seems a little too eager to relive his days as a Spec Ops commando and forgets that he's a police officer. Jessica wants to show to herself that she can face her fear of Kilgrave and affirm the fact that she may be a hero after all.

 

There was no real chance that the plan would work. They couldn't have planned for every contingency, and as such, Jessica had to improvise at the last second in order for Simpson to neutralize Kilgrave. The first real face-to-face meeting between Jessica and Kilgrave in the present time has real effectiveness and weight to it because of both the stakes involved and that look of shock on Kilgrave's face. We only got a glimpse of that look in "AKA It's Called Whiskey" before Kilgrave was gone from the apartment. It's much more prolonged her, and gives the team a brief victory in the face of overwhelming odds. Only, the victory is short-lived because of course, Kilgrave would hire a team of bodyguards to make sure he would remain safe from any attack on his person. Jessica fights off as many of them as she can, but it's of no use. Kilgrave is whisked away to another unknown location within the city and the cat-and-mouse game continues.

 

 

We're seeing the possibility that Kilgrave's defenses and vulnerabilities are being exposed with each passing episode, though. It started with the revelation of the sufentanil as a method to neutralize his powers. Jessica gathered information on him by cobbling together the survivor group. It continued with his using Malcolm to get pictures of Jessica for the creepy picture room. Malcolm and the picture room have now been removed from the game, although Kilgrave and Jessica make a new arrangement at the end of the episode whereby she sends him one picture of herself at a designated time (note that she doesn't smile in the picture, defying his orders). It still doesn't change the fact that he's a big threat and a danger to those who encounter him. His arrangement with Malcolm left him in the open, though there is now the question of how Jessica will come at him the next time. She should be more prepared. What will the next confrontation cost her though?