Jessica Jones and the tragedy of Trish Walker

Both fortunately and unfortunately, returning to New York City with Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again revitalized the long-buried urge to revisit my favorite of Marvel’s Defenders: Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter). Since the series wrapped back in 2019, I have been loath to do so because, in my opinion, one of the greatest stains on the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe—though there are many—is the final season of Jessica Jones (formerly of Netflix, now streaming on Disney). In particular, the direction taken with the much beloved Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor), especially in those final few episodes, and how so much of what made the show fantastic was utterly demolished before fading to black.

Rewatching was somewhat easier to handle whilst knowing what’s ultimately to come, but it’s still painful to see the tragedy unfold, first slowly and then like the carpet being ripped out from under your feet. When the final season premiered, I, like many devoted fans, was both gutted and furious about this turn of events, yelling from the rooftops about this being an “out of character” turn for Trish. This time around, with mostly fresh but admittedly still biased eyes, I saw the groundwork laid out in advance for much of Trish’s story; that said, I firmly believe—and will die on the hill—that Trish’s destination was unnecessary. It did not align with the character we had come to know and didn’t do the writing, story, characters, or the show’s legacy any favors.

Truthfully, I can see what the writers were aiming for, but I don’t believe what we saw on-screen accomplished those lofty goals. There are quite a few jumps in Trish’s story that we, the audience, are expected to forgive and forget. Each step forward with her feels such a dramatic shift, almost an entirely new spin on the character. (Perhaps this is because Jessica Jones didn’t necessarily know what to do with Trish, particularly in the first two seasons, or was so focused on the endgame that, eventually, certain things just became items on a checklist.) Nonetheless, turning Trish into a cold-blooded murderer and essentially having her suffer a mental break after the death of her abusive mother was wholly unnecessary.

There were elements of the final season that I truly loved. For example, Jessica and Trish working side-by-side with their respective abilities to stop Sallinger (Jeremy Bobb). Most of all, exploring the fascinating central question of what it means to be a hero, using Jessica and Trish as counterpoints. Jessica, with her bad temperament and ongoing alcoholism issues, is confronted with the evils of humanity (often on accident) and reluctantly gets involved versus a newly powered Trish who is fulfilling her dreams of becoming the hero she desperately needed as a child and had consistently begged Jessica to be. It would’ve been incredible if it hadn’t been taken too far and at the cost of the final person our protagonist Jessica could call family.

There were other avenues to explore the traits that made Jessica a hero and to give Trish a much-needed reality check on what a hero should be. Trish had given Jessica so much shit for how she used her powers and hesitated about going out looking for trouble and people to save, impressing upon Jessica all of the ways Trish thought Jessica was failing and didn’t “deserve” her powers. Honestly, I’m not even opposed to Trish having killed those terrible men or even Jessica’s mother Alisa (Janet McTeer); it’s that she loses all sense of herself in doing so, going so far as to attack Jessica (potentially trying to kill her) in the series finale, shoving a knife through Jessica’s hand before she’s apprehended by the police.

The shift from misguided wannabe hero to unhinged vigilante didn’t feel like a natural turn for Trish. At the very least, Dorothy’s murder being the catalyst wasn’t a compelling enough reason for this shift due to their complex history and the years of abuse Dorothy had inflicted upon her. I believe the last-minute addition to Trish’s lore in the penultimate episode was a final attempt to justify it, as Trish revealed to Malcolm (Eka Darville) that her father abused Dorothy until Trish painted herself with her mother’s blood and ran to the neighbor’s house, telling the neighbor and the police that he had abused her. Thus, her father was arrested and she never saw him again, and the series doubles down by stating this was the moment that ultimately led Trish onto her current path.

It would’ve been far more interesting to see Trish come to her senses and realize she’s “the bad guy” before her relationship with Jessica is destroyed and she’s in police custody. This story could’ve been shifted to strengthen the bond between Jessica and Trish, giving the latter a deeper appreciation for everything Jessica had done and Jessica’s unending struggle to find a balance between justice and vengeance. Trish could have ended the series with a stronger sense of herself and her capabilities, potentially losing her powers (somehow) by the end as she realized she was not suited for them. Instead, we were left with the worst ending imaginable, all but destroying the fabric of the show. Plus, considering Trish does come to her senses, it was unnecessary for her to be shipped off to the Raft and exiled from humanity for the rest of her life when even Alisa, who had been a much deadlier threat with an enormous kill count, was allowed to remain in a standard prison.

It is undeniable that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has an atrocious history with women in both its film and television projects. Trish Walker is just another on that long list. Her story is one of Marvel TV’s greatest tragedies, leaving us with the complete decimation of a woman who had endured and overcome so much in her life and could have been a beautiful example of overcoming past trauma alongside her sister. Since Daredevil returned for another season, here’s hoping Jessica Jones comes back to our screens soon and fixes this mess, actually doing right by Trish Walker this time around.