Other Doctor Lives: Jessica Jones: Season 1, Episode 7 – “Top-Shelf Perverts” (2015)

*Spoilers for past episodes.*

Prime Kilgrave content in this episode. David Tennant is just out here doing the most in another fine episode that features Jessica’s friends coming through for her when she won’t come through for herself.

When Kilgrave escalates matters between them, Jessica hatches a desperate plan to end this once and for all. As she starts to put it into motion, Malcolm and Trish, who think she’s not in her right mind, band together to try and stop her.

I won’t get into the specifics of Jessica’s plan here, other than the fact that it’s high-risk and is guaranteed to put her through the serious wringer. It’s immediately clear why Malcolm, later joined by Trish, isn’t down with her idea, even as it’s also clear why Jessica is so hellbent on carrying it out. Kilgrave is so good at fraying her around the edges with everything he does, and Jessica simply can’t take it anymore—in her mind, she has nothing to lose, and she just needs all of it to stop. It’s about more than that, though. It’s also about Jessica’s determinations to protect others, those she cares about who Kilgrave would target to get to her as well as innocent strangers unfortunate enough to become his collateral damage (despite Jessica’s frequent protestations, she is a hero, and she often puts others before herself.) And she also views this dangerous plan as a kind of punishment for her. Her guilt, whether over things Kilgrave made her do in the past or people he’s hurt due to his obsession with her, leads her to feel this is what she deserves.

Which, obviously, is desperately sad, and I really enjoy seeing Malcolm and Trish working together to try and stop this from happening. Trish and Malcolm are such different characters and their only real link is their mutual connections with Jessica, so just having them in a scene together brings an interesting energy to the proceedings. They’re entertaining together, and both have strong scenes with Jessica trying to reason with her.

Like I said, there’s some good Kilgrave stuff in this episode, including a major scene between him and Jessica. There’s a lot going on here—we get more of Kilgrave’s powers in action, again demonstrating that odd mix of how terrifying he is with how petty he can be (which, given how powerful he is, can just make him more terrifying.) What’s more, we get a slight window into Kilgrave’s view of both himself and his interactions with Jessica, and unsurprisingly, it’s warped.

To borrow from a DC female-led superhero property, Kilgrave seems to think he’s like Mr. Mxyxptlk wooing Supergirl, and even though Mxy putting the moves on Kara is creepy and causes a lot of damage, Kilgrave is in such a different, twisted realm. It’s interesting to see his perception of it, because Tennant plays it like Kilgrave very genuinely does believe that of himself. Using another pop culture example, I think his actual “feelings” for Jessica are more like Hannibal Lector’s for Will Graham on Hannibal. Hannibal “likes” Will in a way and wants him around, but it comes from a very possessive place and what Will wants isn’t really a factor. In trying to explain himself to Jessica, Kilgrave says, “You’re the first thing—excuse me, person—I ever wanted that walked away from me,” and that slip of the tongue is so telling. He has to remind himself that she would want to be thought of as a person rather than a thing because, left to his own devices, that’s how he sees people: as things. It’s all about his own gratification, about what people can do for him. It’s a great glimpse into just how cracked his worldview is.

Big Neurodivergent Energy Books: 1-5

Branching out into books now. Most of the entries on today’s list are middle-grade novels and series, formative reading for a neurodivergent kid who’s looking to see themselves in their books. I loved some of these when I was a kid, and I discovered others a bit later in life. Oh, and I couldn’t resist putting a little Jane Austen in there too!

 

Bridge to Terabithia

It occurs to me that, with characters who could fall within the trope of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, the most nuanced examples can often be read as autistic. Yes, Leslie comes into Jess’s life and makes it better, because she cares about chasing her passions more than what other people think of her, and she encourages Jess to do the same. When I was a kid, I was absolutely enchanted by the thought of a hideaway in the woods where I could create my own imaginary kingdom, where I wouldn’t have to think about any of the boring, frustrating, challenging things about “real” life. And I don’t know about you, but that feels like a big autistic mood to me!

 

Matilda

There have to be a lot of autistic folks who feel they’ve found a champion in the little girl who gets revenge on a bully with the power of her mind—which includes her encyclopedic knowledge from her extensive reading, her logical problem-solving, and her literal telekinesis. Three cheers for this hyperlexic kid with a strong sense of justice who’s misunderstood by her family but loved by the teacher who appreciates her extraordinary mind!

 

Pride and Prejudice

It makes sense that neurodivergent coding would jump out in a social satire, even one from the 1800s. It isn’t much a stretch to take an ADHD interpretation of Lydia or Mrs. Bennet, or an autistic read of Mr. Collins. Of course, though, this is mainly about the one and only Mr. Darcy, the most autistic Eligible Bachelor you’ve ever met. Given the age of the source material, it’s impressive just how many autistic buttons he presses for me, from his difficulty in unfamiliar social situations to his penchant for plain honesty over flattery to his tendency to say the impolite thing while doing the caring thing. So much love! 

 

A Series of Unfortunate Events

I already talked about the Netflix show, which feels so autistic in large part because it’s such an effective adaptation of the books. Oh, how I love Lemony Snicket stopping in the middle of the action to clarify things, define words, or reflect on the illogical nature of an expression. Nearly every character is happily obsessed with a particular subject that they’ve made their life’s pursuit, and I love that the Baudelaires process their emotions in such analytical ways. From the first book, I was utterly taken with this series, and I absolutely knew it was for me.

 

Time Quintet

Oh, Meg and Charles Wallace Murry, my beloveds! Incredibly smart, unable to fit in, willing to accept the impossible. I can totally see the Murry home as a place where it’s safe to be autistic in a hostile world, with only the twins masking reliably. Whereas Calvin might be the lone autistic in his family, high-masking to the point where he’s easily accepted by others, but he comes alive when he meets people like him. I love Meg for her anger, her insecurities, and her obstinate square-peg-in-a-round-hole-ness. These books were so formative for me growing up!

A Little TLC(w): The New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre: Season 1, Episode 29 (1986)

*Episode premise spoilers.*

The love polygon stuff is even stronger here than in the last episode, and Zhang Wuji is very much caught in the middle of it. We also get significant character reappearances and extended backstory flashbacks!

Zhang Wuji, Zhao Min, and Zhao disguise themselves to follow Granny Golden Flower, who’s captured Zhou Zhiruo. She’s also after the Dragon Sabre, but they’re surprised to learn that she’s already found it. They discover that she’s brought Wuji’s godfather Xie Xun to the island where she makes her home, and she’s trying to convince him to lend her the sabre. But there are even more enemies on their tail.

There have been several episodes of the show that feature lengthy flashbacks for older-generation characters, and here, we get the lowdown on Granny Golden Flower. Xie Xun tells the young people about her origins, her history with Ming sect, and the reason she now has additional heat on her. We get some good information, and I continue to be very curious about Zhao; I feel like the camera lingers too much on her reactions for her not to be mixed up in all this somehow.

Back when Zhang Wuji was rolling with Zhu’er, he was under an assumed name. At that time, he found out that she’d been in love with him since their first encounter at Master Hu’s, but also that she thought he was dead. Zhu’er didn’t make much of a showing in the love polygon in the last episode, but she makes up for that in a big way here. When Xie Xun asks why she treats him so well, she simply answers, “You are his godfather. In this world, only you and I remember him.” Not to mention, she babbles some serious love-confession stuff while delirious.

Zhao Min, unsurprisingly, is the other possible love interest who really comes in hot here. When she learns that Zhu’er still admires the scar from when Zhang Wuji bit her to get away during their first meeting, the girl bites him and then puts poison in the wound so it’ll leave a more prominent scar. She’s down bad, and she’s such a loose cannon, I love it!

Not as much specifically for Zhao and Zhou Zhiruo in this episode, but all four women are in the same place with Zhang Wuji, and their feelings for him are more out in the open. That’s obviously tough for Wuji. I’m not positive whether he’s attracted to all of them, but regardless, he certainly doesn’t want to hurt anyone. In a way, whatever his own feelings are, he’s put them on hold for the moment to try and juggle everyone else’s. I love how gentle he is when he realizes that Zhao Min got reckless with her safety after seeing him interact with Zhu’er. Very softly, he tells her, “I know you are very good to me. But please don’t do that again.” And I like that, just as he’s a pretty collaborative leader of Ming, he isn’t outright calling the shots here either. When a new plan of action is proposed, he’s quick to ask, “Ladies, what do you think?”

My favorite part of Tony Leung Chiu-wai’s performance this week are the scenes where he encounters Xie Xun under his disguised persona. We’ve seen this sort of thing from him before, when Zhang Wuji was using an alias and ran into Wudang. In these scenes, it’s clear how conflicted he is, how much he longs to reveal himself and get the reunion he’s been craving for like fifteen years. When this happened in earlier episodes, he was the only one who knew who he really was, but now, he has Zhao Min beside him, warning him not to give himself away. It all results in Leung putting his soulful eyes to excellent use!