10 Reasons Every Woman Should Watch ‘Jessica Jones’

Netflix has been killing it lately. Between Daredevil, OITNB, Master of None, Bojack Horseman, and more, the streaming service has become one of the best TV channels around, all while giving greater voices to people who have a hard time getting heard in the mainstream. Jessica Jones is one of the best things they’ve done, and maybe the best part of the Marvel Universe. Here’s why everyone owes themselves a look.

1. She doesn’t take B.S. from anyone.

Whether it’s a drunk at the bar hitting on her friend or a junkie too busy with self-loathing to help save lives, Jessica doesn’t take any bull from anybody. She’s going to get the job done, and if you’re not going to help, she doesn’t have time for you.

2. She’s there for her fellow women.

She stands up for her best friend Trish, and we learn she’s been doing it for a long time. She also goes out of her way to bring in her nemesis alive (even though he’s terrifying) because it’s the only way to save the wrongfully-imprisoned Hope.

Related: The Jessica Jones Drinking Game You’ve Been Waiting For

3. She’s a go-getter.

Jessica doesn’t have time for being wishy-washy. She takes what she wants, whether that’s legal help for a client in jail or the neighborhood bartender.

4. She’s her own woman.

Lots of female superheroes are male heroes with longer hair. Think Batgirl, Supergirl, Ms. Marvel, or Spider-Woman. Jessica Jones doesn’t owe her mantle or her legacy to anyone. Even when she did briefly try to do the “costumed hero” thing.

5. It’s a woman’s world.

The vast majority of power players on the show are female. They even made the lawyer from the Iron Fist/Luke Cage comics into a woman, complete with a better name (what kind of name is “Jeryn?”) and a cooler story. The men are mostly just here to be rescued, or dated, or gawked at, or all three.

6. She knows what women have to deal with…

Jessica’s got a pretty traumatic backstory, from losing her family to the trauma that Killgrave put her through. But she also has to deal with what every woman deals with – catcalling, mansplaining, and people constantly underestimating her.

7. But she doesn’t put up with it.

All those catcallers, mansplainers, and misogynists? They don’t get in her way for long before she lifts them with one hand and throws them at or through a wall as casually as she knocks back whiskey.

8. Women deserve their own power fantasy.

Comics have, historically, idealized the human form for both genders. But, as the old argument goes, the men are modeled after what guys want to be, while the women are modeled after what guys want to look at. What women want is seldom considered. Jessica has problems in spades, but she’s also badass in a way that anyone can appreciate. She’s not here to be ogled; she’s here to wreck your day.

9. Women deserve a character study this good.

Just because Jessica can literally punch holes in most of her problems doesn’t mean her life is great. She’s self-destructive, and she’s damaged by trauma in her past. But that trauma isn’t lurid – it’s presented only in terms of its effects on her and her attempts to work through it in spite of the habits she’s developed to avoid it. This is a character study on par with Mad Men or Breaking Bad, and it’s half past time we had more of those with women in the driver’s seat.

10. She’s part of a sea of change.

2015 has been a great year for action fans, but maybe even a better one for gender equality. From Supergirl to Star Wars, badass women are coming to the fore so casually that you could almost be fooled into thinking it’s not a big deal.

It’s especially noticeable in comic-book stuff. Agent May and Agent Carter are bringing the thunder in two generations of SHIELD-related shows, heroes like Wasp and Captain Marvel are finally getting their due in the Marvel Movies, and Wonder Woman is slated to show up in cinemas for the first time in her 74-year history. We’re in the middle of a great moment, and Jessica Jones is a key part of it.

(Featured Image via Jessica Jones)