By BROOKE MCCLELLAND
TV Reviewer
Netflix can be hit or miss with its original programming whether it’s a tv show or a movie. A lot of the time their programming appears to be a hit, but really isn’t when watching the content. Why? Because Netflix has a very bad tendency to make certain tv shows 13 episodes long, whether there is enough story to fill the episode order or not. Because of this it drags tv shows that have the potential to be great down into being merely “good” or “fine”. The shows in mind are definitely the Marvel Netflix series.
The Marvel Netflix shows are not bad by any means. They have great actors, compelling stories, and amazing characters that we the viewers can get behind, and that’s not strictly limited to the heroes. This series gave us great villains in the form of Wilson Fisk from Daredevil and Killgrave from Jessica Jones. They are by far the most compelling, and fleshed out villains Marvel has to date, not just on Netflix but the big Blockbuster movies included. I mention those two specifically because they both belong to the premier season for their respective shows which still stand as the best of all the Marvel Netflix shows. Despite that, both seasons would have been better off with a shorter episode order.
With the long episode order, and approximately 50 minute run time for each episode, it bogs down every Marvel show because it forces the showrunners to put in filler stories that only exist because there’s not enough of the central story to help get to the endgame. The Punisher series that was recently released late last year is the one that was severely weighed down by the long episode order. To be honest, the show didn’t pick up until the final four episodes, where everything was thrown into a whirlpool of chaos. The middle of the season was pure filler that really didn’t matter towards the central story, or towards the endgame.
These shows are good, but they could be amazing with a tighter script focused on fewer episodes to fill. Netflix seems determined to keep this going even though the latest season of Jessica Jones has proven that a longer episode count is only detrimental to the season and the show’s overall quality.
Netflix just released the second season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones, and it’s exactly what you’d expect from our favorite super powered P.I.. While it doesn’t come close to its first season, it’s still a great watch that really goes out of its way to make a compelling story that is Jessica Jones life. There were many good things about this season that really helped it prevail. For starters, giving the supporting cast more to do, particularly Carrie Ann Moss’s character who truly excels throughout the season. The amazing direction by the amazing directors, who were all in fact women really came in to play. It conveys strong messages throughout, confronting some problems that many people face today that involve prejudice and gender equality. Also, Kristin Ritter’s performance holds the ship together and makes each episode a must see. She truly holds the ship together whenever things started to slip through the cracks, and slip they did.
The biggest gripe about the season is the same gripe about most of the Marvel Netflix shows, it’s too long and there’s not enough story to fill the episodes, especially with the 50 minute runtime for each episode. Another problem was there wasn’t a clear antagonist. At one point it was a doctor, another point it seemed to be Trish, and then at another point it was this monster creature. What made season 1 so great was there was a clear hero versus villain dynamic in the form of Jessica and Killgrave, which brings another problem with the season. There wasn’t enough Killgrave, so many spaces in the season could have been filled with his presence, but wasn’t for obvious and less obvious reasons. When he did finally appear it was absolutely magical and a breath of fresh air before the show reached its end game. The last big gripe about this season is Trish’s storyline. It started out fine, and seemed interesting enough, but then it was completely overdone and made her look like a power hungry maniac, hence why for a second it appeared like she was painted to be the villain after all. Also the ending felt more like a set up for the inevitable third season instead of actually finishing up the season.
Jessica Jones season 2 is not season 1 at all, but it is still worth watching.