Before moving on to the full season review, below are links to the (spoiler-filled) reviews of all 13 episodes of Marvel's Jessica Jones

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Note: This is a generally spoiler-free review of the entire first season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones, intended to be safe for those who have not yet begun or finished all 13 episodes of the season. If you’d like to see my specific thoughts on individual episodes or plot points, please check out the episode reviews linked above, which do go into full spoilers.Jessica Jones rules.We’ve had some especially strong comic book TV shows debut in the past year, including the incredibly fun feeling of The Flash and the gritty vibe of Daredevil, but Marvel’s Jessica Jones still manages to bring a completely different, notably successful mood of its own to the table.Based on Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos’ excellent comic book, Alias, Jessica Jones focuses on a seedy side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as our title character makes a living as a private eye, often taking photos of cheating spouses. There’s a huge noir influence here that the show leans into, as Jessica is depicted as a hard drinking, wise-cracking PI with a dark past, in the classic mold.Krysten Ritter has always been an intriguing, quirky presence and shows like Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 proved she was perfect at the quick-witted, sardonic type. But she gives a career-best performance here, completely nailing Jessica’s rough edges – someone who always had a don’t mess with me attitude, but has now been driven to more extreme, anti-social places because of the horrible events she’s experienced. And yet someone who still can’t completely push aside her innate pull to help others in need… and has a couple of superpowers she can use in that regard, if she deems to display them.Daredevil really raised the bar on villains in the MCU with Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, but these interconnected films and TV shows have never seen a bad guy like David Tennant’s Kilgrave. The idea of mind control is an old one, but Jessica Jones, like Alias did, goes to very realistic – and thus especially unsettling – places with the concept.What if someone really could make you do whatever they wanted? And what if the person with this ability was a completely narcissistic sociopath with no morality or code whatsoever? Kilgrave is so scary because he is completely about himself. He doesn’t have aspirations of world domination or becoming a crime boss or getting ahold of an all-powerful artifact. He just makes people do whatever he wants them do in the moment, because that’s what’s on his mind right then. And to hell with their own feelings and lives. At one point, the villain bemoans how awful it must be to not have everyone do your bidding, underlining just how skewed he sees the world. Tennant is excellent here, using his likability and humor to disarm you once in awhile, before quickly reminding you just how awful a man this is.The supporting characters are strong and used well as far as how they interact with Jessica and show different facets of her personality. Carrie-Anne Moss is the ultimate shark of the lawyer world, Jeri Hogarth; someone who treats the law, and perhaps those in her life, like a game she can manipulate to win. Eka Darville is both endearing and sympathetic as Jessica’s drug-addicted neighbor, Malcolm. Wil Traval’s Will Simpson enters the story in an unusual way that helps establish that there is something a bit off about this cop, even as he seeks to help save the day. Mike Colter more than proves he’s worthy of his own TV show (which we’ll get next year) as Luke Cage, and he and Ritter have a cool, sexy chemistry together.Rachael Taylor is notably strong as Trish “Patsy” Walker, a take on the Marvel superhero Patsy Walker/Hellcat. Trish and Jessica’s friendship is a great aspect of the series, and the two actresses do excellent work showing the unlikely bond between these two very different women.I also was really impressed by Erin Moriarty, as Hope, a young woman Jessica is hired to find after she goes missing, who has to go to some very dark, upsetting places, and nails the character’s traumatized reactions.Let me get out of the way complaining about the one aspect of the show that doesn’t work at all – the character Robyn (Colby Minifie). Another of Jessica’s neighbors, she’s introduced as half of a bizarre brother/sister duo, alongside Ruben (Kieran Mulcare).From the start, Robyn is too heightened and farcical, feeling like she’s not a natural part of this world at all. I don’t blame Minifie, who seems to be doing exactly what was asked of her, but the character is just a misfire who always grinds scenes to a halt when she shows up. That’s not a huge deal when she’s on the periphery, but in the second half of the season, Robyn’s presence increases, most notably in an episode where she actually is crucial to some major plot turns. One scene in particular in that episode is the clear worst of the entire series, as it features Robyn at her absolute most insufferable somehow getting several other people to listen to her terrible suggestions, as though she too had Kilgrave’s powers.There’s probably a few too many scenes devoted to Jeri’s marital strife. Though it does get a huge and impactful payoff that ties back into the main plot, we could have gotten the same idea with a bit less screen time to set up what was happening. Also, similar to Daredevil, Jessica Jones feels like it peaks a bit before the actual end of the season. The ninth episode, “Sin Bin,” in the midst of several other great installments, is the clear highlight of the season, with a ton of huge plot points coming together at once and some very exciting character turns taking place. That’s not to say the ending of the season isn’t great too – though one fun extended guest appearance in the finale feels a bit mis-timed – it’s just that the most thrilling moments of the season are a bit earlier.Those issues are present, yes, but overall, Jessica Jones is a true triumph. It’s clearly the most adult Marvel Cinematic Universe story yet, with a notable amount of R rated violence and frank depiction of sexuality. Yet it never feels like these things are there for shock value or gratuitously, but rather to realistically depict the world these characters live in.Notably, Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg doesn’t shy away from dealing with the fact that Kilgrave is a rapist – in many different ways, both mental and physical -- and tackles head on the consequences of what he’s done to so many people and how it changes them. It’s an element the show deals with extremely well, taking the idea of a “supervillain” to its scariest, most evasive place, while making sure to not lose focus on or devalue the people who’ve been victimized by him, as the show consistently depicts how they try (or perhaps don’t try) and move on with their lives after such a life-changing trauma.It’s risky content for a Marvel series in many ways, but Rosenberg and her writers don’t back away from it and make sure to give thee characters their due as they process what has happened with them and decide what they'll do next, in the wake of such a violation.It helps immensely that Jessica, despite the wall she’s built up, retains her empathy for those she encounters who Kilgrave has taken control of. More than once, there’s a lot of weight to Jessica simply telling someone, “I’m sorry this happened to you,” and knowing she means it.