Jessica Jones Season 1, Episode 12 "AKA Take a Bloody Number" (USE SPOILER TAGS!)

[Pwoper Nereguar]

A Reminder That This Thread Is Only To Discuss Episode 12: AKA Take a Bloody Number

ANY SPOILERS FOR EPISODES BEYOND THIS ONE MUST BE TAGGED.

The hunt for Kilgrave reunites Jessica with Luke. Trish receives some unexpected information about Simpson and Jessica.

 

[Eddie]

Nuke's doctor works for "IGH"? That couldn't be Inhuman Growth Hormone... could it? You know, like Mutant Growth Hormone? The Inhumans are the Mutants of the MCU after all, and Nuke has ties to Wolverine in the comics (currently impossible to use in the MCU). Probably nothing, but...

 

[TheVileOne]

Nuke's doctor works for "IGH"? That couldn't be Inhuman Growth Hormone... could it? You know, like Mutant Growth Hormone? The Inhumans are the Mutants of the MCU after all, and Nuke has ties to Wolverine in the comics (currently impossible to use in the MCU). Probably nothing, but...

Spoiler

They never specify exactly what it means. All we know is they were probably responsible for the chemicals or whatever in the accident that gave Jessica her powers. They also headed up the research program that gave Simpson his super meds that make him go insane.

 

[flickchick85]

Seems like a decent guess.

 

[Mike Murdock]

^ I was wondering if IGH was a comics thing. I couldn't find anything and a google search kept coming up with some variant of high (so Marvel IGH came up with the high evolutionary).

My review:
Episode 12. AKA Luke Cage can't die. Luke Cage has his own show!

There was a lot this episode. I think my biggest thought from the beginning was how interesting it would be if Luke Cage was a weapon (I've actually thought it since the third or fourth episode since the show seemed to set it up and I'm glad it delivered). I'm looking at my notes. One of the highlights was Luke Cage forgiving Jessica Jones. I was going to say how touching it was. I was going to say how tears welled up in my eyes. Well, I guess I can't say that anymore. Like I said, the fight is the highlight. It was personal and it was powerful. I think the biggest thing was this: I had dismissed the possibility from the beginning. The time limit made me sure (although, in retrospect, perhaps I should have been a bit more suspicious. I guess the show made me used to paranoia so I didn't question it). And the fights didn't disappoint.

Side notes: I wrote some notes that don't really have a place in the review, but I feel like I need to say it. First, I the sheers impailing was very much Daredevil-style violence. I was going to say the show hadn't done that very much. I also wrote "I f***ing hate chinillas." I don't think it was all that relevant, but I had to say it. I think I wanted to suggest the sister was more redeemable this episode, but she wasn't. She sucks and so does Reuben (hate to agree with Killgrave, but milquetoast sums him up pretty well). I'm glad she wasn't subject to his influence, though. Apparently Killgrave's dad sucks on all ends.

Four and a Half. I'm taking a break before the finale to catch up on Doctor Who. Hopefully, the suspense won't kill me. Thankfully, it's not David Tennant. I might be way too creeped out.

ETA: I had a thought about this one but it applies to many others. I feel like super strength is the easiest power on a television budget. Super speed may not be far behind. Even flying seems achievable. I think it works for this one (and it's a step up from Daredevil, which relied on camera pointing and sound design), but I hope Iron Fist has figured out how to add a CGI dragon for an episode.

 

[Ghostcrow13]

I think the easiest power on a budget is Kilgrave's

I actually think super strength is quite hard to make it look natural. The fight looked good. But at other times when they are throwing things or like Luke lifting that lady up it looks a little weird.

 

[Yowza]

Quirky Neighbors:
I think quirky characters like the sister work best in small dose. The beginning when her and Reuben are introduced they seem really strange and something crazy must be going on. I suppose the impression somewhat changes for me when it becomes apparent in later episodes Reuben is mentally disabled and his sister (who has issues as well) takes care of him and sees him and they're sort of dependent on one another in some ways and that's the extent of it.

I liked some of the small touches in earlier episodes such Jessica going into a gas station interacting with the guy at the cash register or prowling about the neighborhood seeing a bunch of random interactions or encountering weird people. I think they should've introduced more neighbor characters throughout the show. Also, taking background characters into the foreground out of nowhere (of course Killgrave helps with this) compliments the shows tonality.

Fight Scene:
I'm going to have to rewatch some of the episodes when I get the chance but I thought the fight could've used some more special effects. I felt if Agents of Shield can pull off the level of special effects they do (not to mention Supergirl) then we should see more special effects on the show. That's the one shortcoming I felt. For me, this was one of the weaker fight scenes I've seen perhaps cause I was just expecting more.

With that being said, cinematography is always great. They way they change angles or camera shots is very well done.

 

[Keyser Soze]

EPISODE 12: AKA TAKE A BLOODY NUMBER
For most of this episode, I found myself thinking, "This feels pretty low-key for a penultimate episode!" It didn't feel like there was too much drama or plot enhancement, and it might have all felt a bit superfluous if not for the fact that Luke Cage was back, and he instantly injects energy and intrigue into proceedings. This was an episode built strongly around the Jessica/Luke relationship and their chemistry, and was all the stronger for it. I love the Jessica and Luke relationship in the comics, but they may have made it even stronger for TV, as while in ALIAS it started as just an uncomplicated sex thing that turned serious after an unexpected pregnancy, here we have layers of tragedy and shared pain to give it added depth and poignancy. There were strong, quite cathartic scenes of forgiveness in this episode, as also demonstrated between Malcolm and Rueben's sister. And that made the climax, which flipped some of that on its head in a cruel way, all the more shocking a turnaround from the low-key build-up. Kilgrave's re-emergence was a threat worthy of a finale, as in a lot of ways you could argue it was Kilgrave at his most vile in how he robbed Jessica of a rare light of hope and self-worth. Definitely awaiting breathlessly to see how it all wraps up.

 

[Infinight888]

This was a comment I made on Youtube (in reply to someone else) 4 weeks ago.

I do see him [Luke] getting mind-controlled at least once. From what little I know about Killgrave, forcing the one Jessica loves to try to kill her is exactly the type of thing he would do. Not to mention the fact that there just aren't a lot of other characters in the show that we know of who are going to be a physical match for Jessica.

Were I willing to speculate further, I would say this will happen in the second to last episode of the season, "Jewel and the Power Man" [the leaked title for this episode at the time]. I think Luke is going to beat the **** out of Jessica (enjoying every moment of it thanks to Killgrave), she'll be covered with blood, but will barely find the strength to come through and knock him out. [BLACKOUT]This will prompt him to run away after what he did to her and go back to Harlem where he'll be in his own series.[/BLACKOUT]

While I was wrong on a couple thing, I think this ended up being a really accurate prediction since it was made before we even had the second trailer.

Edit: Blacked out part of the prediction which turned out to be spoilers for episode 13.

 

[Lencho01]

Really liked this one.

 

[venom892]

Was it just me or did anyone else think this was the best directed episode? It seemed a notch above the rest.

 

[Iceman]

Solid action between JJ & LC.