written by Brandon Moore

We open this week on Jessica participating in a court-ordered anger management class that proves to be effeahahaHAHAHA…I’m sorry, I couldn’t keep a straight face thinking about that. Ahh, good times here with episode four.

SPOILER WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT

Jeri is continuing to struggle with the reality of her disease and I swear my heart breaks every time I see it. A woman who has always kept tight control over her life is now faced with something she can’t change, can’t fix, can’t buy a solution for. So she’s grasping for any sense of agency she can in the form of refusing to be bought out of her firm and purchasing illegal pills to aid in…suicide? Oy, this is rough to watch.

Things are going better for Jessica, though. Superintendent Oscar’s son decides to test gravity by hanging out a window and Jessica catches him before he redecorates the sidewalk with his brains. This convinces Oscar to bury the hatchet with a peace offering of alcohol. Clearly he knows his audience. The IGH investigation is also progressing well as Jessica and Trish follow a trail of wigs and hospital records to Inez Green, a former IGH nurse. A testimony about the Mystery Power Woman’s monstrous rage-filled nature exacerbates Jessica’s own anxiety about being a freak. Also, Trish goes full aggro after taking a puff from Simpson’s super-soldier inhaler. TRISH WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

And then we have Pryce. What once was a minor annoyance is now a major problem. Pryce has taken to calling Jessica an “aberration,” which gives me license to fully hate his face. He tries to poach Malcolm away from her by playing into some unknown issues with his father. He even sends in a lackey to sabotage Jessica by stealing all her files, including everything on the IGH investigation. If this guy gets himself killed in a crossfire at some point, I won’t be too heartbroken.

Pryce is going to sacrifice his lackey first, though. Mystery Power Woman swoops in to…take the files, I would assume? Her motivation isn’t totally clear here. Either way, she brutally murders the thief until he dies from it. Jessica gets arrested for the deed. Even Trish, still hopped up on super-soldier enhancers, gets cuffed after ‘roid raging at an officer. Way to go, team.

This is a solid progression episode. Nothing is spectacular, but everything is moving forward at a satisfyingly steady pace. Some problems are resolved while others escalate. Carrie-Anne Moss continues to captivate me whenever she’s on screen. Jessica and Trish working together and bantering is always entertaining. Krysten Ritter convinces me of Jessica’s internal conflicts. Even when she heavy-handedly says “this isn’t me”, she manages to sell it without being over the top. Everything is moving along nicely and I look forward to seeing things come to a head soon.

Also, what’s with Malcolm bringing home all these random women? I mean, no slut-shaming here, go have fun, dude. Some people sow wild oats, but the show is making it seem like he’s working a whole field, yo.

Jessica Jones is available now on Netflix. Brandon can be reached on Twitter @BluThundur.