'Jessica Jones' Season 2, Episode 11: 'AKA Three Lives and Counting'

While Jessica is able to regain her composure enough to make the death of the prison inmate look like a suicide, there's no doubt that the act has taken a toll on her psyche.  Even the fact that the guy was a serial killer who was about to add her to his toll does little to assuage her guilt.  Said guilt is so extreme that an imaginary manifestation of Kilgrave even returns to enable her darker tendencies and generally be a nuisance to her.

I'm kind of surprised that it took this long to use the "Kilgrave haunts Jessica" concept.  While it would have been cool to see it pop up throughout the season, having it happen now in these circumstances works quite well.  Tennant himself is fun to watch.  He seems to be having fun with it.  There's a bit of ham, but he can still bring the character in darker directions when the situation calls for it.

It presents an interesting psychological conflict for Jessica as she is forced to come to terms with who she is and what she's been through.  It's not a physical adversary, but it is an imposing one nonetheless.  The episode does a good job of escalating things so that it all culminates in the climax.  Kilgrave starts off as a pain, but eventually, it snowballs into something much more dangerous.

I did find myself wondering who the third life was.  Kilgrave and the guard make two, but for the life of me, I don't know what the third life was.  I probably wouldn't put so much focus on it, but it is the episode's title.  It also plays a big part in Kilgrave's assertion that she's good at it and is getting used to the idea of murder.  I don't think she killed anybody over the course of "The Defenders", but I can't think of any other circumstance where she would have.  On the other hand, the show has gone to great lengths not to mention that chapter in the Marvel Netflix saga, so who knows?

We also get some progression on other fronts as Trish continues her endeavor to get superpowers. It was a little weird to see Mal act so nonchalantly about getting knocked out, tied up and kept in the trunk of a car.  He seems more beat up over the fact that he didn't see Trish's turn coming.  Having Jess rip into him hardly helps matters.

The show had made something of a running gag out of Jessica firing Mal, the show makes it feel like a big moment when Jess cuts all ties with him.  It even covers itself by having Mal declare that he quits.  Granted, the trio had their ups and downs, but it does feel like a "breaking of the fellowship" moment.

It's unclear what's going to happen to Trish.  She's not in good shape by episode's end and things get worse when Alisa finds out about Malus' death.  They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and the episode' final sequence, where a rage filled Alisa busts out to wreak mad vengeance shows that in spades.  It also makes for a great cliffhanger.  It's looking like things are going to get more intense in the season's final episodes. This also works timing wise as the third season is just around the corner.  It'll make for a smooth segue.

All in all, this was a strong episode.  It was very character driven and the plot moved along at a brisk pace.  It never felt like it dragged and made for an engaging episode.  We're down to the final two episodes; it'll be interesting to see where things go from here.

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