I watched the first episode of the latest Netflix original Jessica Jones and was equal parts impressed and stressed out. I realized this was one Netflix offering I was not going to be able to watch all at once, because its depiction of PTSD and abuse is at times visceral and disturbing. Thanks to warnings I read online before viewing the show, I was aware that the series might be hard to watch, but I still found myself getting anxious as the story unfolded. But unlike other shows that seem to delight in depicting women in distress, I’m not turned off watching it just because the content sometimes makes me uncomfortable. In fact, I’m determined to finish the season as soon as possible because I sincerely want to see Jessica take Kilgrave down. I trust Jessica Jones to do right by survivors of assault and abuse, and that’s incredibly important for a female-led superhero show.

Krysten Ritter as Jessica is wonderful; a no-nonsense private investigator with super powers and lingering nightmares, she is simultaneously untouchable and deeply vulnerable. She is determined to work through her trauma on her own terms, having been to therapy for her experience with Kilgrave and finding it ultimately unhelpful (though she continues to use a calming technique offered to her by her therapist, naming streets from her hometown when she suffers a traumatic flashback or anxiety attack.) Like a true antihero, Jessica’s chilly exterior masks a brave and caring soul who is sympathetic to Kilgrave’s other victims and dedicated to his apprehension. In fact, her characterization reminds me of another beloved female character who deals with the victims of abuse and trauma, Olivia Benson of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Though Jones drinks a little more heavily than Benson, they are both survivors who are committed to protecting others and helping victims heal.

It is important that Jessica Jones treats the subject matter of rape, assault, abuse, and PTSD as seriously as it does because these are issues that are often invisible in our society. Survivors of abuse are often silenced and blamed when they should be believed and supported, and their stories deserve much more nuance and humanity than they are currently given. While it would be overly optimistic to insinuate that the tides of opinion could be immediately changed by a Marvel show on Netflix, the story of a woman with super-strength who survived her life being controlled by someone else and by escaping inspired hope in others is nonetheless an excellent start to a desperately-needed cultural conversation on victim-blaming and sexual assault. Jessica Jones gives me hope because it is clear that the show’s subject matter is not being used for a quick shock or to give the Marvel universe more “gritty” or “dark” appeal, it is being done with care and privileging the perspective and development of the survivor.

I’m going to continue watching Jessica Jones, a little at a time. I want to really appreciate the work that is being put in by the actors, writers, and showrunners to tell the story of survivors everywhere with honesty and compassion. It is a story that has been long overdue, and which must keep being told until the lesson is learned. One popular superhero show won’t solve everything, but it can’t hurt either.