Krysten Ritter is in pain.
See, I got hit here, so Im still dealing with some, like, residual neck issues.
She shrugs and then she smirks.
Credit: David Giesbrecht/Netflix
Yeah, guess what!
When Jessica gets punched, so doesKrysten.
How Jessica of her to say.
David Giesbrecht/Netflix
So, you know, shes missed her.
The Defenderswas a really fun roller-coaster ride, she explains.
Thisis not like that.
David Giesbrecht/Netflix
(Kilgrave is dead, but Tennant returns in season 2.)
Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg knew all of that would be hard to top.
The bar was set very high with Kilgrave, she says.
David Giesbrecht/Netflix
But you dont want to repeat yourself, so you just turn around and set another bar somewhere else.
That meant building a new, uniquely challenging case for Jessica to pursue: herself.
This time around, shes the mystery cracked open by her victory over Kilgrave.
Finlay Mackay for EW
That is her unsettling reality as we enter season 2, that she took a life.
Is that going to be easier for her now?
Is that who she really is at her core?
Theres a lot of questions in terms of Who am I really?
Trishs focus is on justice for powered people like Jessica, Taylor says.
And though Jessica disapproves of Trishs prying, Ritter was all-in from the first script.
We see Jessica so hard-as-nails, and we never really explain why, she says.
Besides, Jessicas no longer just Jessica Jones, proprietor of Alias Investigations.
Shes nowtheJessica Jones, Known Super-powered Person.
Even steely lawyer Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) will lean on Jessica.
We find out pretty quickly that Jeris life is about to change, Moss teases.
She opens up to Jessica in a surprising way.
And then theresthe mysterious, still-unnamed woman played by two-time Oscar nominee Janet McTeer.
She plays a pivotal role in Jessicas story this season, but thats about all McTeers allowed to say.
It was a very physical character, the actress offers.
To play somebody with her kind ofissueswas something Id never done before.
She pauses, trying to come up with the right, spoiler-free words.
The way she looks at life is a littleskewed.
Theyre strong and weak all at the same time.
(Remember: Trish grew up a child star.)
She said, Why not all 13?
I was like, Oh my God, of course!
And assembling the all-women lineup, it turns out, wasnt hard to do.
It didnt take a lot of effort to fill those slots, Rosenberg says.
It wasnt like we had to give a bunch of women their first break.
It was just being inclusive.
And Ritter, for one, couldnt get enough of working on a female-led set all season.
It does make a different environment, she reflects a few weeks after wrapping the finale.
There was something about the energy thats softer or…something.
We went over schedule by a few weeks, and I was like, Cool!
I was like, I dont care, because I love it so much!
And because Ritter, it seems, can roll with any punch.
Marvels Jessica Jonesreturns March 8 on Netflix.
