Jessica Jones - Season 3

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So, I have now finished the third and final season of Jessica Jones on Netflix. This time around, Jessica has to hunt down a serial killer, all while attempting to mend the relationships she had left broken following the events of the show's second season. I suppose I should start with the issues I had throughout the season, because they are honestly very minor problems. Some of the supporting characters act in ways I really don't feel they should act, as it doesn't completely feel like the characters we have come to know throughout the entirety of the series. On the other hand, the ending doesn't really feel like a series finale, so much as a season finale. I have no idea if this third season was written and filmed with the possibility of a fourth season in mind. While I don't particularly mind the show's slower pace, there actually were points where I wanted things to speed up a little bit. Okay, now I should talk about the things I liked. For starters, the actors all do a good job. Naturally, the standout to me is Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones. I like Gregory Sallinger as a villain. Because Sallinger doesn't have superhuman gifts, he brings a very different kind of menace to this show. He forces Jessica to use her intellect more than her brute strength. I also want to compliment the writers on how they handled the character of Trish Walker this season. They took her to a whole new place, and it made sense to me after how unlikable she was during the second season. Her character arc actually makes sense, and feels completely natural. Is this my absolute favorite when it comes the Marvel Netflix seasons? No, but I still think it is genuinely worthwhile. The third and final season of Jessica Jones has some stumbles, but it also has a lot working in its favor as well.

B+

Jessica Jones - Season 2

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In the sophomore season of Jessica Jones, Jessica has to deal with potential new threats as she digs more into her past. Much like the first season of Jessica Jones and The Defenders beforehand, Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones owns this show. You always understand exactly what she's going through. I like the idea of exploring how she got her powers. The character of Trish (played by Rachael Taylor) was incredibly unlikable throughout this season. This is something I found interesting, especially because there are a lot of moments where Rachael Taylor and Krysten Ritter act opposite each other. These two actually work off each other really well. I feel like the main conflict for Jessica Jones this season was much more of an internal conflict. She's in a position with the character who is arguably the main antagonist of the season that feels very different from her relationship with Kilgrave. Getting more into negatives, I feel like there were things that could have easily been handled better with the villain (played by Janet McTeer). There were ways I pictured it going. When it didn't go that way, it didn't feel as much like it was done in a good, surprising way. I saw glimpses of taking things in a better way, but it didn't always deliver. There were characters in this show (mainly a rival investigator) that felt important where they started, but seemed sidelined by the end of the season. It does leave curious as to where a potential third season could take the show. I also couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed in how they wrapped up the stuff with Will Simpson (played again by Will Traval). Overall, I liked Jessica Jones season 2, but I do think it had some glaring problems that needed to be adressed.

B+

Scream: Season 2

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The second season of Scream was one I preferred over the first season in a lot of ways. For the most part, the actors and characters felt much more comfortable in their roles this season. Similar to season one, Brooke, Audrey, and Noah were the characters that jumped out to me the most. Emma was at least tolerable during the first season. This season, you really wonder why she's the main character. She's selfish and whiny. While, she is pretty, this season really wants to prove just how empty this girl's head is. Now, this isn't me slamming the actress. I think she performs fine with what she's given. Emma's just an awful character. The identity of the killer this season was pretty obvious almost from the get-go. However, I did like that this killer was a little more creative compared to what we got out of season 1. It probably helps his case that at almost every turn, Emma shows how phenomenally not smart she is. The amount of kills still could have been upped (this is a lesson I really wish the show runners would have taken to heart from season 1). But, I will give them credit for at least making the kills this season more creative. I like the new additions of Zoe and Stavo. The actors were solid, and the characters were actually pretty decent. The season finale is something I have mixed feelings about entirely because of behind-the-scenes stuff. This ended things with a lot of questions. But, because this season had lower ratings (the time slot changed a few times), season 3 is going to be a complete reboot of the show. It makes me mad mostly because I want these questions answered. But, that doesn't really take away from the episode itself for me because I do think it is a good episode. I also like that the first character to die this season is one of the season 1 survivors because it does make you think anybody really could die. If you haven't seen the show, I won't spoil who it is. Overall, while Scream season 2 still had its glaring flaws, I still feel that this is an improvement over the first season.

B+
  

Scream: Season 1

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In 2015, the Scream franchise was rebranded as a TV show on MTV. My initial reaction to the idea of the show was that my feelings were mixed. On one hand, I actually wanted another movie. Keep in mind, the show was greenlit and started filming and airing well before Wes Craven died. On the other hand, I was kind of glad it was going to be a new cast of characters. They weren't recasting anybody. This kind of exists as its own story. Ultimately, the first season was pretty fun but flawed. The acting in the show was (for the most part) better than it had any right to be. Characters were hit and miss, and most of them didn't feel like they could fully hit their grooves this season, something season 2 simultaneously did better and worse. But, I'll get to that when I review the second season. There were three characters that I honestly enjoyed the hell out of watching by the end of the season. As far as writing, development, and performing goes, Bex-Taylor Klaus as Audrey was probably the best. The other ones I enjoyed were the characters of Brooke and Noah. By the end of the season, I did feel that Jake had gotten a lot stronger overall. But Will, Emma, and Kieran had a little bit of a different reaction from me. These three (especially Kieran) were just kind of meh. The actress playing Emma was fine, but I don't feel that she had a lot to work with. The mystery and story themselves were both decently written, and actually pretty engaging to watch. The kills themselves I had mixed feelings about. A lot of them were very stab-stab. Some of them were creative. But, the biggest issue I have with them is that there wasn't enough of them. Someone might be killed in an episode, and then there would be two or three episodes where no one would die. I know I've said this before, but this is something I think the show Scream Queens handled a lot better. In short, the first season of Scream made for a guilty pleasure show that had its fun elements, but was also deeply, deeply flawed.

B

The Defenders - Season 1

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The Defenders is the culmination of seasons 1 and 2 of Daredevil, season 1 of Jessica Jones, season 1 of Iron Fist, and season 1 of Luke Cage. In case you are wondering, the only show you really need to see so you don’t feel lost is Daredevil. I only watched part of the first episode of Iron Fist, and I followed the story here just fine. As I have previously stated, this is the culmination of 5 seasons from three different television shows. Sometimes those tones can clash. Normally, these shows have 13 episodes in a season, The Defenders only has 8 episodes. To me, this rushes it a little bit, and I think just a couple more episodes would have been good for fleshing things out. That said, I really did like The Defenders quite a bit. The four leads have good chemistry with one another, and their very different personalities understandably all clash at times. The Hand has been making plays, dipping their hands into events that all four of the main characters have had to deal with in the past. Finn Jones as Danny Rand seemed to struggle in what little I actually got to see in Iron Fist. With The Defenders, he doesn’t have to carry the whole show on his shoulders, something that really made the actor seem uncomfortable with in his own show. Each of the four main characters had a pretty understandable reaction towards the events that drive them all together. Matt Murdock / Daredevil’s been retired for a little while (but has also seemed to want to get back into the swing of things). Luke Cage has just gotten out prison, and wants to try helping one family, but things spiral out of control. Jessica Jones has just been trying put the events of her own show behind her, and is the most skeptical out of all them. Iron Fist has been led to believe that destroying The Hand is his destiny. Sigourney Weaver portrays Alexandra, the head of The Hand. As a villain, she feels right at home with the rest of the Netflix villain catalog. She’s the antagonist, but in many ways, she genuinely believes what she’s doing is right (and has to be done). When you first see her, it’s actually in a very vulnerable place, making her motivations that much more clear and relatable. Overall, The Defenders has its rocky moments, but it’s still a solid enough watch for those who have already been along for the ride. 

B+  

Legends of Tomorrow - Season 2

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The second season of Legends of Tomorrow just finished, so I figured what better time to talk about it. This season picks up pretty much where the first season left off. One thing I will say about Legends of Tomorrow is that I like the way they balance the team aspect a little bit more compared to Arrow and, to a lesser extent, The Flash. I have the cast props because they've almost all played these characters for several years. For the most part, the actors feel comfortable in their roles. Effects from the other shows bleed into this season. My favorite aspect of this is shown through the character of Sara Lance. She is sort of thrust into a new place this season (and I personally really liked what they did with her character). She had a lot of inner troubles that she was fored to deal with this season, and I loved that. There were two new legends thrown into the mix this season. I had mixed reactions to them, to say the least. First, there was Nate Heywood / Citizen Steel. He was a character that I warmed up to almost immediately. He was another good-looking nerdy guy (similar to Ray). But, I don't think he was a carbon copy either. I think he was different and rounded enough to stand out. On the other hand, there was Amaya Jiwe / Vixen. It took me a little while to warm up to her. Part of this came from the fact that there was already an established version of the character running around (a version I personally feel was superior). The villains this season were the Legion of Doom. They were pretty damn entertaining to me.I kind of like that they shake things up a little bit each season with the show. They'll introduce characters, give established characters something of an exit. Usually they'll do it with the possibility that the leaving characters could potentially return, if the desire is there. As with most things dealing with time travel, there were some plot holes that probably could've been smoothed over a little bit better than they were. For the most part, this season felt kind of on par with the first season. It's not perfect, but it's still pretty fun.

B     

Scream Queens: Season 1

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 The second season of Scream Queens just started. So, I thought I would go back and review the first season. In a lot of ways, the show did hit the ground running. The actors are all having fun in their roles. Emma Roberts nails the mean girl stereotype to a tee. Jamie Lee Curtis also deserves as much praise as possible. She plays the university's no-nonsense dean of students, and is equal parts funny, creepy, and suspicious. The creators of the show have said that they grew up with slashers of the 1980s, and I feel it shows. Someone dies in every episode (a point I wish the first season of Scream would have followed), which racks up the average body count a normal slasher flick might have. The use of the Red Devil (the school mascot) as the killer's costume plays to the tropes of 80s slashers as well, much to the show's benefit. Many of the deaths were also fairly creative and violent. Someone gets their face burned with frying oil. Another person gets dismembered with a chainsaw. However, the show's freshman season wasn't perfect. The main flaw of the first season has got to be the tone. A lot of the time, the humor of the series isn't dark enough. Moreover, the tone is just inconsistent. It feels like they just didn't quite know a lot of the time how to make the horror and comedy gel (something the season 2 premiere seemed to fix). While there were characters I enjoyed, some of the others just didn't do anything for me. I felt like they were there for cannon fodder, even if the actors did good in the roles.

B+