Female EmPOWERment

By: Grant Goetcheus
Twitter: @goetcheusg
Email: goetcheusg@Findlay.edu

Jessica Jones season two was released on Thursday, March 8 to coincide with International Women’s Day. In addition, all of the episodes this season are directed by females. This show is amazing, and I encourage all that are reading this to watch it and focus on these well created characters.
SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK:
Jessica Jones is a wonderful show and I loved every minute of both seasons. I think this latest season, however, is the better of the two. This season takes place after the events of the Defenders, where everyone knows that Jessica Jones is a super; she doesn’t like the attention or being called a hero. She hates the powers she was given, and this season talks about her back story. Throughout, we see her continue to struggle with her past and turning to alcohol to solve the problems that she faces.
Coming from season one, she has killed her first person, Kilgrave, and the emotional baggage that he caused. Kilgrave’s power of mind control causes Jones to act in ways she did not want to, and do things she hates. In this season, they talk about the sexual things she did and they mention the word rape. This show is not shy about the issues that women face. They talked about rape last season, and focus more on the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that can come with that during this season. For, although Jones killed Kilgrave, he is still in her mind.
Another issue that is faced this season is sexual assault. Trish Walker is a child star and this season we find out that a director sexually assaulted her when she was young. The show does not shy away from this issue either. Walker also faces another problem, helplessness. She sees the powers that Jones has and she wants those as well. She turns to an unknown drug stimulant that pushes her body where it should not go. She then becomes addicted to the drug and it ruins her. Walker even resorts to undergoing the same experiments that Jones was forced to endure and almost dies. At the end of the season, we see she did end up getting powers.
Another character that faces issues is Jeri Hogarth when she finds out she has ALS. She is now facing a deadly disease and she is powerless to stop it. She is a powerful lawyer, always gets what she wants, and wins all the time. Now, she must face something that she is powerless to stop and her struggles are shown. She searches the back alleys of the Internet for drugs and she gets tricked by another ‘super’ and a nurse. They rob her and make her think she is cured. She then focuses her energy and time on revenge and that is what gives her the strength that she needs to get back to her old self. She blackmails her former partners and takes over half their business away.
In the end, all these women overcame the struggles that they were facing. These women show that even though things are tough, you can make it through.

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