The writer who loves symbolism in me prefers that Jessica's resistance is in fact emotional (after the trauma she experienced). That's something Kilgrave would never understand, and his efforts to control her again are all physical (increasing his powers).

Albert's use of "virus" might explain why he was making a "vaccine." People had to be inoculated to Kilgrave — rather than Kilgrave himself being "fixed" (which you'd do if it were pheremones).

I wondered about the phone, as well. I presume that Luke was talking to Kilgrave when he claimed he was talking to his former bartender. Maybe it works because he's not giving new orders but Luke is following current ones ("Give me an update on your progress and don't tell Jessica you're talking to me.") That would…

Oh right, the fetus that Kilgrave wouldn't have if Hogarth hadn't sickeningly kept it. The line of bodies that lead directly to her actions is troubling. And nothing she's done has been out of misplaced altruism or even stupidity (Robyn freeing Kilgrave). It was all greed (not wanting to lose her skirt in a divorce…

That's why I liked the changes John Byrne made to Superman, which most depictions in the thirty years since have kept: He wasn't immediately indestructible as a child. His powers developed slowly, so he had the opportunity to experience pain and physical limitations. (It also made it possible for his parents to…

My main issue with Robyn is that it was clear that she and Ruben were in an abusive relationship. Would it really have been played for laughs ("mommy's boy" and "domineering sister") if the genders were reversed? Could we stomach a man saying that he forbade his sister to pay for express shipping?

Luke is super strong. Notice that he lifts the annoying woman in Albert's room with one hand (she is visibly stunned). And without his strength, unbreakable skin would be more a hindrance (no flu shots) than a benefit (broken bones, internal damage…).

Interesting that we haven't see a true "no-holds barred" match-up. Jessica was wounded when she fought Nuke and didn't really want to harm Luke.

That bothered me for a while, as well, and then it occurred to me that based on the limitations of Kilgrave's powers, he has used them fairly savvily — avoiding a paper trail or leaving any real evidence of his abilities. Sure, he doesn't rule the world but that would be very difficult for him to maintain anyway, as…

There is also something "irresistible" about these formulaic "grand gestures." I know women who have "hate/love" relationships with some romance movies for this reason. Jessica trusted Luke when she really shouldn't have (asking someone within the window of Kilgrave's control whether he had been ordered to do anything…

Kilgrave is a perpetual ten year old who never matured past that point. We've discussed in a previous episode thread when empathy develops for children, but I think a more important point to understanding Kilgrave is that he has had mind control powers prior to his going through puberty. That is a frightening concept…

I got the impression that he was less upset about Jessica killing Reva than he was about her stalking him and then sleeping with him without revealing that rather critical bit of information. "Kilgrave make you do that?" I think he could understand her behaving like Kilgrave's puppet but what she did when not under…

I think there's a tendency to define love in strictly positive terms. So an abusive spouse can't possibly "love" the other person. I think love is simply an emotion — both good and bad — so it can be felt by a purely malignant person. It can also be just as selfish and it can be selfless.

He does say that it takes a lot of practice to not control people. I think that's less about morality and more about avoiding messiness. Kilgrave wanted to fly beneath the radar.

I think a psychopath can effectively comprehend human emotions and manipulate them to his own ends. I'm not expert but from what I've read, sociopaths are more impulsive, which Kilgrave does not appear to be, and can leave behind evidence of their actions.

How old is Jessica? If she's Ritter's age, she was barely 9 when NEVERMIND came out and not yet 12 when Cobain died. The music of her teen years would have been much different. Hip/Hop perhaps would have been more "normal" for a white teen in the late '90s. It also would have been a perhaps less generic choice ("Of…

There's a part of me who thinks that a less attractive actor than Tennant might have avoided this "shipping" problem (maybe because I would have loved to play the role).

I do like that the series is avoiding the trap I thought BUFFY fell into with Spike, who was a monster on a leash but Buffy somehow started to tolerate and even like him because he was loyal to her (and only out of obsessive love).

I suppose I never understood how Jessica hoped to *legally* convince the world that Kilgrave had mind control powers. He leaves behind victims, sure, but how do you prove these people didn't do anything of their own volition? The guy who gave up his own kidneys and the doctor who performed the surgery could certainly…

Tennant was the least like what you'd expect for The Doctor — especially if you'd only seen the classic series. Capaldi is older, stern… somewhat like Pertwee and Hartnell. If the series reboot started with him, it would have felt seamless. Smith, while young, had the quirky eccentricity of a centuries old alien. I…