Kilgrave has a Secret
Smile, Barty!
‘Main St Birch St Higgins Dr Cobalt Ln
The intro
to the series plays like a Philip Marlowe soundtrack, layered with the comic
book illustrations of something Gotham , but
then explodes into an Equalizer style theme tune that sets the tone for the
entire series.
Jessica
Jones, Marvel’s new superhero is far from advertising this fact. She’s an alcoholic
who lives out her days as a private investigator, living in a seedy apartment,
where lowlifes live on the same floor as her. She has few friends. Keeps many
secrets and is drawn to Luke, the man whose wife she killed through the power
of suggestion by Kilgrave.
Jones is
haunted by the memory of Kilgrave, who controlled her during her time as a
superhero. Escaping his clutches, she sets up a detective agency but still
suffers PTSD resulting from her time with The Purple Man. So much so, that even
to this day, a year or two later she continues to send selfie’s from a variety
of locations to him from her phone.
Kilgrave is
desperate to own her again. To have her in his complete control. So far, aware
of the power of the man that the mere thought of him causes her to recite the
street names from her own neighbourhood, Jessica’s life is one of chaos and turmoil,
blanked out only by the power of liquor.
Jones
reminds me a lot of the Buffy character, Faith. She dresses pretty much the
same. She even looks familiar, and harbours a chip on her shoulder and seems
very destructive in her manner. Dealing with the pressures of who she is, what
crimes she’s committed while under the influence of the Purple Man seems very
reminisce of the vampire slayer.
As of yet
we’re not sure where she gets her powers from. How she’s able to rip off the
door handle and bust any lock without kicking a door in to enter. We’re not
given any introduction into how Luke is able to use a circular saw on his body
and not have any cuts from the abuse.
The lawyer,
Jeri Hogarth finds Jessica investigative work to keep the money coming in. She
is a tall slim and extremely attractive yet controlling individual, who is
currently filing for divorce on her wife. It’s a messy process given she’s
romantically in love with her current secretary. I find her character immensely
interesting and wonder if there’s not some kind of powder keg waiting to
explode, in the fact that somewhere along the line, she’s going to come out as
working for Kilgrave in some form or another. There’s just something about her
character that I don’t trust.
Kilgrave is
very sure of himself. He has intelligence. He’s smooth. Cool. Calm and
collected. He doesn’t get his hands dirty because he has the power of mind
control and manipulates others to do his bidding.
His
character began simply as Kevin Thompson who was experimented on. During this
process he acquired an airborne virus that gave him the powers he has today.
But there is a drug that Jessica discovers in files that can disable his powers
long enough for Jones and her team, to get close enough to him, to take him
out. But it’s getting close enough to
him, that’s the dangerous part.
Kilgrave
feels no remorse in asking someone to see how long it takes them to smash their
head through a solid wooden column. He has no qualms about suggesting that each
cop turn their weapon on another. He has no remorse for suggesting that a
former athlete too scared to leave her bed, should take the .38 special in her
bag and shoot her parents to death in the elevator.
His
interest in Jessica Jones however, intrigues me. What is it about Jones that
appeals to him? Is it her powers? Is she useful to him in his crime spree,
obtaining houses, eating food, and taking control of innocent people? Just who
is the Purple Man?
The first
time I’d ever seen David Tennant had been in the Scottish drama Taking Over the Asylum. From there I was
introduced to the more grown up appeal of the Doctor Tennant who could turn a
smile into a frown and vice versa with a few subtle facial expressions but then
that’s the Doctor. He can be hard and cruel or he can be happy and reckless, as
with any of his incarnations.
David, born
with a Scottish accent, that you only ever expected to hear in his portrayal of
any character, uses an English accent that appeals to most, and works on so
many levels for the characters that he’s portrayed over the years, none more so
than Brendan Block, Barty Crouch and now Kilgrave.
It’s an
educated voice. Cool, slick and with the ability to turn and control those
around him, with simple facial gestures, and those eyes. God, those eyes that
you want to bathe in when he’s the gentle Doctor, but the eyes that you want to
escape from when he becomes the sociopath in Secret Smile, the parcel mouth in
Goblet of Fire and now as Kilgrave in Jessica Jones.
Tennant has
the ability like Jacobi before him in Doctor Who’s Utopia episode, to transform
his character from the mild mannered saint into a devil just by altering the
eyes. If you don’t believe me, go check out Professor Yana when he realised
just who he really was, before Chan Tho forced his regeneration!
The Purple
Man, closing in on Jessica Jones, has finally moved into a house in a quiet
suburb. This time he doesn’t use his powers to manipulate the owner of the
house, he pays him over a million dollars to leave and never come back. With a man who oozes wealth, lives in
expensive accommodation in the city, why on earth would he want a house out in
the leafy suburbs, and why would he want to live in Jessica Jones’ old home
where she grew up?
David
Tennant’s portrayal of Kilgrave is scary. As controlling as Brendan Block was
in Secret Smile, you know you’ve seen this character before, and you know how
destructive he can make his victims. And you also know that whatever terrifying
role Tennant plays, you know you’ll never stop watching him. He’s an addiction.
He plays the ruthless without faltering. There’s no moment in The Purple Man
when you see him as any other character, although having said that, there is a
point in that smile. In that drop of tone where you think you’ve heard the
Doctor, but in the flicker of an eyelid he’s changed, and the unshaven man on
your doorstep is forcing you to watch him commit another individual to commit
murder most foul, without breaking a sweat.
Resources:
Jessica
Jones Wikipedia
Jessica
Jones Netflix serial
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