Strap in for the sophomore slump.

This review is based on the first five episodes of season 2 of Jessica Jones. Spoilers below for the first season.

Jessica Jones‘ first season remains one of the best of the MCU Netflix shows. The first season was the perfect blend of a moody detective show, comic action thriller, and a psychological drama paired with a remarkable villain. My only complaint was the length of the series and felt it dragged on a few episodes too long. The second season feels like a step back with the same pacing issues. It’s like going from Batman: The Dark Knight to the Batman Begins. This second season is Jesicca’s origin story for better or for worse.

The second seasons picks up after The Defenders miniseries, which teamed the title character up with other Netflix Marvel Heroes Luke Cage, Daredevil, and Iron Fist. Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) has built up a reputation around town for murdering Kilgrave in season 1 and is attempting to get her life back on track. It’s not soon before she stumbles upon new information about her past that kicks off the plot of season 2.

The first episode sees the return of the familiar characters like Trish (Rachael Taylor), recovering addict Malcolm (Eka Darville) and lawyer Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) including a new fun deep dive superhero who was once an Avenger in the comics. And that’s what I like most about this season. There is a lot of references to the overreaching MCU universe and deep cut comic book characters. It makes the story a tad more interesting because these first five episodes are a slow burn.

Other new characters include Oscar (JR Ramirez), Pryce Cheng (Terry Chen) who for some reason wants to buy Jessica’s failing business and a mysterious character played by Janet McTeer.

Everyone in Jessica’s world is going through some heavy shit but it’s fascinating to see Hogarth’s fall from grace. Her storyline so far is the best part of the show but its very disconnected from the overall narrative. The acting in this show is top notch but Carrie-Anne Moss is at the top of her game. She’s incredibly complex and I’m interested to see how her story comes together later on.

For a superhero show, there’s been very little action in the first five episodes. There’s no famous hallway scene or long one shot thus far. It’s also worth noting the color purple that hung over the series in the first season has been removed for more neutral tones. It’s still very hard to tell where the series is going and how good the rest of the episodes will be at this point. I am excited for more, and to see the menacing Kilgrave return and will be back with a full review once all episodes have gone out for review.

Right now the season is shrouded in mystery and it’s hasn’t been as quick as Jones’ mouth. I’m hoping it picks up in the next eight episodes because as of right now the story is progressing too slowly with little to invest in. The series needs a villain and it looks like one has emerged from the shadows at the tail end of episode 5. We will know soon enough, these first 5 episodes did wet my appetite and I crave more.

Jessica Jones season 2 premieres March 8 on Netflix.