The creators of Jessica Jones did a lot of things right when dealing with this sensitive and controversial topic. Most mainstream depictions of abusive relationships either sensationalize and romanticize (e.g. Twilight) or gloss over the abuse and chalk it up to a necessary evil of storytelling (e.g. Game of Thrones). This is the subversive way that abuse narratives perpetuate and inform the cycle of abuse. But in Jessica Jones we see an entirely new take on the abuse narrative, one that empowers survivors and gives voice to the very real and lasting effects of whatever they suffered.

From the very first episode we see Jessica struggling to maintain some modicum of control and self-care. She suffers from PTSD, insomnia, paranoia, and uses alcohol and isolation as dangerous coping mechanisms. And from that first episode every survivor of abuse finds a protagonist to whom they can relate. Jessica says it most poignantly when she explains to Trish, one of her closest and only friends,

“I’m not safe anywhere. Every corner I turn I don’t know what’s on the other side. I don’t know WHO is on the other side.”
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In one quote Jessica sums up the fear that never quite leaves you, even as a survivor. There’s always a guard up, always a small part of you that is sure you’re not really safe as long as that person, that abuser, is still out there. And if a super strong, super tough, and good in a fight Jessica Jones is afraid then maybe you’re not so crazy or paranoid after all. 

But this magnificent show goes one step farther than just accurately depicting the dangers of an abusive relationship and the long road to recovery. It also shows us the importance of survivors supporting one another. Jessica spends the entire first season trying to push people away, convinced that she is a danger to them because of her demons and the man who is determined to hurt her. What she consistently fails to understand is that those very people she is trying to protect want nothing more than to do the same for her. It’s easy to tell ourselves that others would be better off without us, but the cast of Jessica Jones reminds us that we have to believe people when they tell us we’re wrong about that.
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In another moment of pure survivor advocacy, Malcolm starts a support group for other survivors of Kilgrave’s powers. He creates a safe space for everyone to share their stories and when Jessica scoffs at the woman Kilgrave forced to smile for hours on end, Malcom reminds her that this isn’t a competition. Everyone suffered and all of them were forced to do things against their will. The degree of the abuse is not important. What is important is that each survivor finds the help they need and takes steps towards recovery.

Jessica Jones takes the abuse narrative to the extreme with a villain that can literally control people, alienating them from their loved ones and anyone who could help them escape. And the truly terrifying thing is that if you’re a survivor, like me, this hyperbole of an abusive relationship doesn’t seem exaggerated at all. In fact, it’s eerily realistic. But the truly wonderful thing is that if you’re a survivor, Jessica Jones gives you hope that you’re not alone and maybe someday you won’t be quite so afraid of what or who is around the corner.

It's no secret that I've been extremely impressed with the fourth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and how this year has managed to fix every issue that the show has ever suffered from. The plot is moving at a brisk pace, the storylines are grittier and more compelling and most importantly, we've had some wonderful mysteries to keep our eye on this year by way of the Ghost Rider and the mysterious events surrounding the Darkhold and Momentum Labs. 

But it's becoming clear now that the show is not content with the progress it has made. Rather than settle in and provide us with a status quo, the series is trying new things left and right, seeing what kind of boundaries it can push in the process and that was never more evident than it was last night, because 'The Good Samaritan' not only pulled the cloak off of season four's two biggest mysteries, it delivered an absolute tour-de-force of an episode. One filled to the brim with action and tense and moments and when all was said and done, the landscape for this season has changed completely and...we're only six episodes in.

But before we begin to speculate on what comes next for Coulson and the gang, let's take a moment and discuss those two grand mysteries and what we learned about them because they were absolutely breathtaking, especially when it comes to the origin story of Robbie Reyes. We've been hearing the same thing from Robbie since we met him, that he made a deal with the devil and that's why he's the vengeful being he is today but the speculation around that has run rampant. Is he an Inhuman or is he something else? Well, that part is still a touch murky, but what we do know is that on that fateful night when he and his brother found themselves under fire...that Robbie did indeed die, and was visited by the good samaritan that the title refers to. This concerned citizen however was a special one for certain, a man by the name of Johnny Blaze who transferred some of his own Rider magic along to Robbie, giving him the chance to set things right once again. 

Yet despite the awesomeness of seeing another Rider and learning more about how Robbie came to gain these powers, all of that was grossly overshadowed by one big reveal. It turns out that the hit on Robbie was meant for another man, his uncle Eli and that all along, we've been wrong about Lucy and what she and her husband had planned for the Darkhold. All they ever wanted was to make the world a better place and to them, the book was an opportunity to fast track an end to all the world's problems. The planet is running out of wood? Not a problem, the book can create more. A country is suffering from famine? Boom, crops for everyone. It was always about making the world a better place in their minds meaning that our true villain, the monster that wants all of the book's power for their own gain...turned out to be Eli. He orchestrated Lucy and her friends being trapped into containment and beat Joe senseless, all to get to the book and unlock its secrets and unfortunately, the ruse he pulled on Coulson and the gang worked so well...he has now become some kind of ultra powerful being that can create matter at will.

Either way, this wild twist to the storyline left us with a few new questions, for starers, are Coulson and Fitz okay since they were nowhere to be found after Eli fired up the Darkhold's creation, and also, what else does Eli have planned for the world now that he has achieved deity status? That is perhaps the scariest of all the questions posed by the show since it's clear Robbie's uncle is more than happy to do whatever it takes to get what he wants, meaning whatever comes next from him...will be ruthless and terrifying. Either way, this episode...was just stunning. Every single second was a thrill ride and I love the fact that once again, the answers are coming fast and furious and the plot continues to move at a breakneck speed. My only complaint? Is that we have to wait until November 29 to find out the next chapter in the story and I will definitely be on my couch when the hour arrives to find out what happened to Coulson and Fitz (I'm pretty sure Robbie is just fine) and discover what our new villain has up his sleeve. Until then.

Regardless of how many different ways we consume comic book stories, we can always take solace in the fact that these tales were always designed to do one particular thing...inspire the outcast that resides in all of us. Because at some point or another, we have all experienced feeling like an outsider in some form or fashion, and so have our favorite superheroes, allowing for us relate to them on a level we never knew we could.  

That's an important element in comic book storytelling to remember because even now, in this era where the superhero reigns supreme in television and film, we are still able to relate to them on that fundamental level we discovered the first time we were introduced to their story and last night on ​The Flash, that need to belong, to be accepted and trusted by friends and family, be it extended or real became quite the focus of the story and well, when all was said and done it made 'Monster' a bittersweet and touching episode because it accomplished so much in the way of character growth and once more, the story focused on our side characters to make that happen.  

Case in point, Harrison Wells, or H.R. as the Earth-19 version of Wells likes to be called. This is a man who spent the night trying to desperately to please the S.T.A.R. Labs group by being as friendly as they come and embracing anything and everything this world has to offer...simply because he was exposed as a fraud on his original earth, and here as well and wanted nothing more than a second chance to prove he was worth something, anything and felt this earth was his best chance to contribute. Heck even Caitlin wanted to feel a sense of self worth by visiting her mother to get help with her new found powers but above all else she wanted to see if she could evoke some kind of emotional reaction out of her mother in order to prove that her condition was more than a mere scientific curiosity and that her mother still cared about her as a person above all else.

But the centerpiece of the night when it came this to this notion came from the most unlikely of characters...Julian. We learned a lot about this young man and why he's filled with such fury and all of it fit in with the central theme, that fact he felt as though he didn't matter to anyone, and that his accomplishments were a joke. His disdain for Barry? Grounded in Barry's privilege and tenure at CCPD since he spent his life working so hard to get somewhere in his career. The snark and dismissiveness he often directs at Meta Humans? Sheer jealously that they do so little with their powers outside of causing trouble and how he wishes he could have such abilities to do some good, and his honesty around all of this arrived when he tried to kill our 'villain' of the week, a kid who made holograms to also feel important and powerful in life, and the Flash came in to pull the kid out of harm's way before the bullet from Julian's gun could do any damage.  

If anything, these little side stories were a wonderful way to tie the audience into this particular episode because let's be honest, we all felt something for one if not all of these folks last night because we've all been there. We've all been the new guy that felt out of place or desired to belong and some folks work hard for their parent's approval and well, I'm really enjoying how The Flash is taking chances with stories like these, giving us something a little more personal and thoughtful. It's making this season incredibly compelling since it is keeping the audience on its toes and in the process, it's actually making Barry larger than life since he's starting to become a hero that is moving beyond his pain and inspiring everyone around him and it's wonderful to finally see him come into his own. Either way, I adored this episode for its throwback to classic superhero storytelling and for reminding the audience that we're all in this together and that sometimes a little kindness can make anyone a hero. Until next time.

I've always found it fascinating when a television show takes a moment to point out its own flaws. After all, it's rare to see that kind of self awareness from a television show and it's not a bad thing since it means that a series is willing to acknowledge its glaring mistakes, and all we can hope for is that they are planning on improving upon them, and oddly enough, Supergirl went through a moment of storytelling self enlightenment this week.

That moment arrived when Supergirl was able to confront our big bad of the evening, Roulette, when the Girl of Steel was taunted and called out for consistently locking up aliens rather than doing anything to help them and well...Roulette's not wrong. Season one of this show was all about bringing down an alien of the week and dealing with Kryptonians along the way and well...it was for all intents and purposes a flaw in the series because we've never really had the opportunity to understand the alien plight on earth, why they're here and why they're on the run. It's something the show has clearly been trying to course correct all season long with the discussion of alien rights but last night, the alien struggle storyline advanced leaps and bounds and quite frankly, the show made up for its mistakes with a stunningly smart episode in 'Survivors'. 

This is a story that took us into the alien side of life on earth, showing us that not every being that crash landed here has been blessed like the last children of Krypton. Many of them are trying desperately to make a living and survive like the humans they live alongside and well, their abilities and/or strength must always be kept a secret since unless you're wearing an S on your chest, you're branded as something to be reviled. It's a stunning picture to paint for a show this hopeful and lighthearted, but while this idea was jarring to say the least, it was necessary because there is an underground group, led by the mysterious Roulette who take advantage of the despair and fear by allowing for aliens to duke it out in their own fight club. Giving them the opportunity to deal with their own internal rage for being an outcast and make some money by entertaining National City's elite in the ring.

This led to a fascinating storyline between J'onn and M'gann where we learned that while J'onn tries hard on a daily basis to honor those he lost on Mars so many centuries ago, M'gann is someone who will do anything and everything to forget, and is suffering severely from survivor's remorse. Her pain for what happened on Mars has turned to pure anger and she deals with it by dishing out violence. Granted there was quite the twist to her character when all was said and done, since we learned she is actually a White Martian, the species responsible for all the genocide on Mars, but it's clear she is the one that rose up and refused to kill. All of that aside however, this storyline was indicative of one grander theme, the fact that aliens and humans alike are all in this together on our tiny little planet and it was wonderful to watch Kara and everyone at the DEO learn and realize that not all aliens are criminal monsters and that perhaps demonstrating a little understanding to one another's plight...might go a long way in making life on a planet far from home a little easier. 

If anything, it's quite amazing to see that this series is continuing to delve into real world topics, such as immigration in this case, week after week all of a sudden, because it's usually something comic book shows tend to shy away from. But not Supergirl. This is a series that fully realizes it has the opportunity to do something incredibly special with a strong female lead and it's a welcome change to see a show about a superhero challenge all of us on a fundamental level and I'm curious to see what else they plan on tackling in the weeks to come. Especially considering now that a White Martian has befriended a Green one unexpectedly and one also has to wonder what will come of the discovery of these ugly fight clubs and whether or not Kara's request from Lena Luthor, will come back to haunt her. Time will tell, but one way or another I'll be in my seat and ready to watch since Supergirl is quickly assembling one intelligent season filled to the brim with thoughtful stories. Until next time.