Jessica Jones season 2 review: What the critics are saying about the Netflix show starring Krysten Ritter

The hugely anticipated second season of the hit show is finally available on Netflix

Jessica Jones season 2 is finally available on Netflix, three years after the acclaimed first series debuted on the streaming service.

Season 2 was released on Thursday 8 March, rather than the usual Friday, to coincide with International Women’s Day, and all 13 episodes were directed by women.

The official synopsis reads: “New York City private investigator Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) is beginning to put her life back together after murdering her tormenter, Kilgrave. Now known throughout the city as a super-powered killer, a new case makes her reluctantly confront who she really is while digging deeper into her past to explore the reasons why.”

“It seems like Jones may try to find some answers about the car accident that killed her parents and brother. One she survived as a child, her recovery paid for by a group known as IGH, who also seem responsible for her powers.”

Here’s what the critics are saying about season 2 so far:

Some criticism has been aimed at the “slow start” of the new series while others have praised it for beginning with “intrigue and dramatic subtlety”.

The Guardian gave the new season three stars out of five, commenting: “The finale of season one set the bar high – but a slow and flabby start to the second is slightly worrying”.

Entertainment Weekly similarly wasn’t a fan of the opening episodes; describing the new season as a “slow-starting mess”.

The Telegraph gave the show’s second season four stars and said: “The show does what every good comic book story should: uses a fake world to shine a light on real human problems”.

However, the reviewer did add that “each episode builds to a climax that never quite materialises”.

The Hollywood Reporter said the absence of David Tennant’s season 1 villain Kilgrave, noting: “Krysten Ritter remains superb, but the new season initially lacks the narrative momentum brought by [Kilgrave].”

The Verge agreed with the Hollywood Reporter, writing: ”Without a clear villain in the early going, the show revolves around less compelling plotlines and dour confrontations.”

The New York Times said season 2 was “a presciently timed herald of the #MeToo-Time’s Up revolution”, but agreed that Tennant is sorely missed, suggesting “the early episodes of the season make a lot of room for fairly static character development, with proportionally less attention paid to the traditional genre pleasures, like atmosphere and action, which were central to the first season’s invigorating noir-superhero synthesis”.