#since literally no video i could find had these two details combined. id find characters with baseball caps but never with a lugia t-shirt

[skeletalheartattack]

so for like, a decade plus, i've been searching for a youtube video i remember seeing back in 2007, and i've finally managed to make some headway:

good news: i've found it

bad news: it's lost media

[daresplaining]

In Anticipation of Jessica Jones Season 3!

    The last season of Jessica Jones and final installment of the Netflix MCU overall is airing tomorrow night (or Friday morning, depending on your time zone). For various reasons, I haven’t had as much time as I’d have liked to blog about it (it would have been nice for Netflix to release the trailer more than a week before the air date, but they’re clearly no longer making an effort to promote their Marvel properties...). However, I am really excited about the upcoming season. Jessica Jones is a comics character I've loved for a long time, and it has been thrilling to watch the live action version of her develop over the years. I was in the audience at NYCC 2015 at the show’s very first panel, when they showed episode one, and I’ll never forget it. Jessica Jones Season 1 remains one of my favorite pieces of television ever, and while I didn’t feel Season 2 was quite as strong, I still loved it, and I’m really excited by what seems to be in store for the final season.

[ID: The handwritten word “Hero?” against a red background.]

    This season seems to be digging into a theme that has been part of this series since the beginning: the question of what makes a hero. Jessica consistently rejects that label and doubts her own heroism, despite all of the good she has done both before and after her experience with Kilgrave. The intense disfunction in her life, as created by her trauma, and her inability to adhere to the technicolor, textbook image of a superhero has defined her journey so far. It would be nice to see her reach a more settled and healthier self-image, as her 616 counterpart has mostly managed to do, but it seems this season will be further prodding this sore point by introducing an antagonist who claims, loudly and publicly, that Jessica is exactly what she fears she is: a bad person. An unworthy person. Not a hero at all.  

[ID: Jessica is standing in her office, talking to Trish. She has several pieces of paper pinned to the wall behind her, including a large photo of a man’s face. She is saying: “Gregory Salinger [sic]. He's smarter than both of us combined.”]

    The new Big Bad is a guy named Gregory Sallinger-- or, as he's known in the comics, Foolkiller. The 616 version of the character is obsessed with the idea of “poetry”, and kills anyone who doesn’t fit his aesthetic sensibilities. In the show, his obsession seems to instead be with the concept of heroism. 

    If you search for “Sallinger” (two Ls) on Netflix, you’ll find a few more hidden promotional videos specifically focused on him. Of all of the MCU Netflix shows, Jessica Jones has been the most willing to veer away from the source material and tell entirely new stories-- mostly because Jessica is a relatively new character and there’s much less source material to work with for her than for, say, Iron Fist. This means comics fans are left constantly guessing, and we have the pleasure of being surprised by the unexpected introduction of characters from throughout the Marvel universe. In the comics, Foolkiller has had run-ins with Hellcat through her time on the Defenders team, so he may be here partially as Trish’s rogue(!). 

[ID: Jessica is standing her office doorway, talking to Trish, who is out in the hall. Jessica says: “I don’t need your help, and you don’t need mine.”]

    Last season ended with the devastating destruction of Jessica and Trish’s relationship. Given how important they are to each other as sisters and co-emotional support systems, it’s safe to assume that they will make amends, but it’s going to take some major changes and development of their dynamic to overcome that level of damage (in case anyone needs reminding, Trish killed Jessica’s mother). Since this is the final season, I hope that they manage to solve things, but no matter what happens, their relationship’s development from this point onward is sure to be highly emotional. I can’t wait. 

[ID: Jessica and Trish hugging.]

    At least there is hope...

[ID: A GIF of a figure dropping from a high overpass at night. It’s Trish, in disguise, wearing a winter hat and with a scarf covering her mouth and nose. She lands on her feet and looks over her shoulder toward the viewer. It’s awesome.]

    Another exciting element to this situation is that after two full seasons, Trish has her powers and we are finally getting a Hellcat origin! While Jessica is every inch a reluctant hero and has mixed feelings about her abilities, Trish has spent her life searching for power-- both literal and metaphorical-- after spending so long under her mother’s abusive control. Trish would do anything to be a superhero, and I am thrilled that it’s finally happening-- both for her sake and for my own selfish, geeky reasons. The glimpses we’ve been given so far of her as proto-Hellcat look absolutely badass. 

    This will also, of course, prompt further exploration of Jessica and Trish’s opposing viewpoints on hero work, which has been a part of their dynamic since the beginning. It may also contribute to their bonding, since Sallinger will likely end up targeting them both.  

[ID: Jeri is sitting at a large desk in a brightly-lit office. Malcolm is standing next to her, wearing a suit and tie. There is an abstract painting in shades of red and white on the wall behind them. They both look serious.] 

    I’m also very excited to see the further development of one of my favorite MCU characters: Jeryn (Jeri) Hogarth. Last season, Jeryn was diagnosed with ALS and her life quickly spiraled into a mess of fear, desperation, and a whole bunch of amoral behavior. In the end, she left her law firm and went solo, taking Malcolm and Foggy (the latter of whom is now, fortunately, back with Matt) with her. I adore the sheer messiness of Jeryn as a person, and the way her unabashed terribleness is mixed with clear signs of pain and remorse, and I am eager to see where she is taken this season. Since unfortunately,  Danny didn’t cure her ALS in Iron Fist Season 2 (*shakes fist* that would have been so good, god dammit...), it will continue to define her journey. This is a great article in which the future of her arc is discussed further-- which will include, it seems, the return of a past love interest.  

    The above article also discusses where Malcolm’s story is headed this season-- though the details are still sparing. It sounds like he will continue his struggle with addiction, along with negotiating his identity through his job with Jeryn’s firm. Malcolm’s journey so far has been heartbreaking, and I really hope that he gets some kind of resolution, for his own sake. He has always been the heart of the show, a brother figure for Jessica, and a hero in his own right, and I’m both excited and nervous to see how his development will be impacted by the events of the season. 

    There are still plenty of questions. Oscar and Vido have been conspicuously absent from the promotional material, so I wonder what’s happened to them. It’s possible (at least, my fingers are crossed) that Luke could have a cameo. And of course, given how heartbreaking it has been to see the other shows cancelled with little resolution, I hope that this season has an ending that feels like an ending-- though I’ll certainly understand if it doesn't. Either way, no matter what happens, I can’t wait to watch. One more day!