I know this is a recurring theme in these recaps, but Trish needs to COOL IT. Our girl’s publicity stunt is pulling resources from the very case she says she’s all invested in. Jess is still being all “I don’t know her,†but Costa knows that’s not true.
She pops over to Trish’s ARN set and considers how her friend is such a natural on-camera presence. There she runs into Dorothy, naturally, who has a lot of opinions about how Trish’s “costume is a disaster.†I must say: She is not wrong. Dorothy wants her daughter to dress like a cat — “the internet is gaga for cats†— and perhaps her super-attire will get a bit more in line with her comic-book aesthetic, since what she’s working with now is awfully janky. Dorothy wants to be a publicist for this new crime-fighting duo. At least she’s being supportive?
Salinger goes full classic villain and sends Jess a video on off-brand Snapchat telling her that he is going to kill someone else by 7:00 p.m. tonight. This video could be evidence, but Jess watches it twice and then it vanishes. (I do think they could get a warrant to get non-Snapchat, which almost certainly has the video somewhere on its servers, to release it to the cops, but nobody thinks of that.) Trish scoots out of work by bringing on her mom as a guest host. Very slick.
I like that we see Detective Costa has a healthy personal life, or at least is trying to. He and his husband want to adopt. Jess keeps interrupting to report Salinger’s latest ploy. I am not going to pretend I predicted the ending of this episode, but I will say that this maneuver had “THIS IS A TRAP†written all over it, and I am surprised and a bit disappointed this never occurred to our usually insightful heroine.
Malc gets back to his day job, but his loyalties are revealed by his choice of attire, which is very Alias Investigations. Here he learns that his girlfriend saw the full footage of what happened in his office with Trish but edited it out to save his ass before Hogarth saw. Hogarth’s new assignment for Malcolm is to uncover this masked woman. Considering Malcolm already knows it’s Trish, that’s going to be … awkward.
Jess and Salinger spend most of this episode baiting each other into exposing themselves. Salinger has hired some TaskRabbit to sit in his apartment and watch TV so the cops eyeing his place won’t notice he’s gone. Once that guy is evicted, Jess gets to work sending Salinger a video in return (from the perfect username, “Big Time Wrasslerâ€). She films herself trashing his apartment, smashing his trophies, and crumpling his diplomas. The result? “It turns out vandalism is both fun and effective,†Jess says. This time she records Salinger’s reply video, and I would think his narration is enough to ID him? But I guess not. He has a target, which the gang eventually narrows down to one brunette in a leather jacket: a Jess-alike. Problem is they don’t know who she is, and to find out, Jess calls in an unlikely reinforcement: Dorothy.
Jess is going on camera! Dorothy wants to “zhsush†her with some very pink lipstick. Jess is not feeling it, and neither am I. (I really think AOC red would be more her look, no?) I love this quick little media-training pep talk that Trish and Dorothy give Jess. “Just be yourself but a nicer version!†Trish calls out, helplessly, as Jess takes her seat across from Thembi Wallace.
Jess wants to stick to her talking points: Salinger is a serial killer, and does anyone recognize this brunette? Thembi wants to know if Jess is “breaking the law by aiding and abetting a violent vigilante.†Jess loses her cool, but Dorothy is still calling it a win, just from a getting-the-word-out perspective. She’s dreaming big dreams: “Of course, heroism won’t pay the bills, so we need to monetize it.†Dorothy is thinking action figures. Not the worst idea, tbh. Costa calls to confirm that Jess’s tirade has every brunette in New York pouring into the precinct. “I’ll be here processing all the women you’ve terrified.â€
As Jess and Trish prowl through the cobblestone streets of Tribeca, they spot an AgroChemical truck. Salinger had said this all would end where it began; AgroChemical was the delivery truck that Jess’s family crashed into. They break into the offices and find their girl: Mona Lee. But Salinger isn’t there; he’s back at home, sipping coffee all innocent-like. The only good news is that the Wappinger body is back in Costa’s lab.
Jess is now so famous that paparazzi surround her as she leaves AgroChemical. Trish is probably so jealous of this nightmare situation. She jumps in to protect Jess (mask on, though) and Jess super-jumps them out of the pack. Isn’t Trish easily recognizable, even with just her eyes visible? She’s a celebrity! Trish, BUY A SKI MASK.
Hogarth is officially a woman possessed. She gives this comment to the Bulletin: “Jessica Jones, a former client of mine, is associating with the masked woman who assaulted my client. No one, powered or otherwise, should be above the law … If Jessica Jones knows who this woman is, let her be warned, I’m coming for her.†Look, we all deal with breakups in our own way, but maybe this is not the healthiest strategy for getting over your ex?
Home at Alias, gulping down bourbon, Jess gets a visit from Malcolm, who tells her that Hogarth wants him to unmask Trish, but that he’s not going to do it. So nice to see everybody getting along again! Jess is thinking through Salinger’s threat, how her “hero charade†would “end where it began.†Then it hits her: The accident killed her family. And who is her family now?
Trish gets home to find her mom dead and duct-taped to a chair. Trish screams in anguish and frantically tears at the duct tape, and is definitely not going to listen to Jess, who tells her over the phone to stay put and do nothing. En route to Trish’s, Jess sees some commotion at Salinger’s where, of course, Trish immediately went. Jess breaks in just in time to stop Trish from murdering this murderer — or does she?! Dun dun DUNNNN.