Alright, Let’s Talk About Trish Walker
AKA The Actual Worst.
For those of you who enjoyed the second season of Jessica Jones, I commend you because it was a lot for me, from the casual racism to the inability to make me care about IGN or Jessica’s mommy issues. In fact, the only saving graces have been Jeri’s storyline and just the fantastic acting from Kristen Ritter who is always amazing. However, the worst and I mean worst part of this season has been Trish.
[Spoilers for Jessica Jones S.2]
From the moment that Trish places the ashes of Jessica’s dead family (well most of them) on her desk I was waiting for Jessica to punch Trish in the face.
Throughout the season, Trish grows into this terrible, toxic person who is so obsessed with getting this big story about IGH and growing past the bubble she believes people have put her in, that she actively destroys the people around her. All while saying it is for some noble journey.
It starts with the urns on the desk and the next step is her starting to use Simpson’s inhaler in “AKA God Help the Hobo” in order to be more “useful.” Here’s the thing about Trish’s whole, “I want to have powers” storyline … I get it. I also want to have powers and if I had a friend with powers, yes I’d be jealous and yes I would wish I had them, but Trish allows that small amount of jealousy to go into full-on envy. She ignores how Jessica’s powers have made life harder, that they came along with the death of her parents, and that for Jessica they are a constant reminder of a life she lost.
Trish, however, makes it all about herself and her own hero’s journey. That combined with being an addict, cause Trish not only to endlessly seek out IGN and powers but steamroll the people in her way, especially Malcolm.
When she gives Malcolm the inhaler, that’s when I lost it. Because yes, Malcolm is a grown-up and he did take it, but Malcolm is less than a year sober and as an addict, Trish should have never brought that kind of stuff around him. Not only is it irresponsible, but it doesn’t work with the idea of Trish that we’ve seen before. The Trish who was responsible, caring, and not an idiot.
In “AKA Three Lives and Counting,” when Trish asks to get the same procedure that Jessica got in order to receive powers, I knew that I was done with her. Not only does she put her life on the line, but she completely turns on Jessica for stopping it. Who is this person?
All throughout the season, I kept repeating the line from Black Swan, “What happened to my sweet girl?” There was something lost with Trish and it went beyond anything I could have expected when she kills Jessica’s mom, Alisa.
Nevermind that the Alisa v. Trish story was poorly done from the beginning, but Trish killing Alisa in front of Jessica was just so heartless and so cruel, the idea that we should be excited that the procedure works and she has powers is, to be quite frank, insulting. Why would the audience want her to have anything?
Also, from the way they end things, it doesn’t look like Trish has suffered in any way from what she did, so it’s not even as if this is the beginning of some grand anti-hero storyline. Trish is preparing to be a Defender. Like it or not.
Where is Jessica and Trish’s friendship gonna go from here? We know they are going to be friends again, they have to be, but this is a dark path to go down. Plus, whatever conclusion they come to won’t be good enough. Even if Trish knew that Alisa had to die, killing her in front of Jessica makes Trish a horrible person.
Was all that worth giving Trish powers? Is that worth giving us Hellcat?
What did you guys think? Are you still holding out hope for Trish? What were your thoughts on season two?
(image: Netflix)
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