From the Queue // Jessica Jones & iZombie

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! It was pretty cold in Minneapolis, so Little One and I spent the weekend hiding out from the cold with coffee (for me) and books. Although, hiding out from the cold was probably more for my benefit. Little One appeared to enjoy our jaunts outside, while I shivered as I watched her roll in the snow.

I’ve watched a couple of TV shows this month and I thought I’d talk about them today. Have you watched either of these? What were your thoughts?

// Jessica Jones

This is one of Netflix’s new shows, about a woman with a special power who doesn’t want to be a superhero. She’s traumatized by something in her past and works as a PI until her past catches up with her.

I… have mixed feelings about this one. I liked it a lot at the beginning, but then it got a bit too violent for me. Here’s what I loved:

• The suspense. One thing that kept me interested was knowing that something happened, but not knowing what. They revealed snapshots in a super creepy way that caught me by surprise. It worked really well to build the suspense. I couldn’t turn away for awhile, because I wanted to know what would happen next.
• The characters. I grew attached to so many of them and was on the edge of my seat sometimes as I waited for what would happen next.
• The villain. I guess this was a love that turned a little lukewarm. He’s a terrifying villain because of his ability and I seriously wondered if anyone actually had any hope of stopping him. But as the series went on, I found parts of his story to be a little lacking.

What I didn’t like… the violence was a bit much, for me at least. I know this won’t be true for everyone. I went from not being able to turn away from the screen to not actually watching. I’d work on things while listening and look up when it sounded safe to watch.

That being said, I continued watching (well, listening) because I had to know what was going to happen and I’ll definitely tune in for season two.

// iZombie

When a medical student with a promising future is turned into a zombie, she starts working at a morgue so that she has access to the brains that will help her keep some semblance of humanity.

I’ve had this in my queue since it was “new on Netflix” and a friend finally convinced me that I should watch it sooner rather than later. I was hooked after the first episode! I wasn’t surprised when I saw Rob Thomas’s name in the credits, although I was surprised it took a few episodes for me to notice. What I loved:

• The characters. Liv, Ravi, Major… I loved them all. Liv is a fantastic heroine. I love that she’s making the best of becoming a zombie, but that she also struggles with her existence. I mean, who wouldn’t? It makes her relatable. I love her friendship with Ravi and their banter. I loved that there’s awkwardness and tension in some of the relationships that would be strained based on what has happened, but I still felt the love between the characters, like with Liv and Major and Liv and her roommate. I even grew so attached to some of the side characters that I’ve already had my heart broken once by this show.
• The crime-solving. I love shows about people who solve crimes, but sometimes they start to feel the same. This show definitely has a unique angle and feels different than anything else out there.
• The writing. This show was able to make me laugh, draw me into the action, and break my heart… sometimes all in the same episode.

WHAT HAVE YOU WATCHED RECENTLY?

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