How 'Jessica Jones' Season 3 Can Successfully End the Marvel/Netflix-Verse

Thanos’ Snap didn’t just take down half the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; it also ended the popular spinoff shows on Netflix. With Marvel’s parent company, Disney, ramping up Disney+ as a competitor for the massive streaming service, the tangent continuity will formally come to an end with the upcoming Jessica Jones Season 3. But how can one final season put an end to four years of interwoven, serialized storytelling?

On Wednesday, Netflix revealed that Jessica Jones Season 3 will premiere sometime “in June,” with an exact date yet to be revealed. The upcoming season will be the very final stretch of television for the Marvel/Netflix franchise, which began in 2015 with the first seasons of Daredevil and Jessica Jones.

Little is known about Jessica Jones Season 3, including its story, plot, and even timeline in the MCU. What we do know is that all the principal characters will return, including Rachael Taylor as Trish, Eka Darville as Malcolm, and Carrie-Ann Moss as attorney Jeri Hogarth. And yes, there’s Krysten Ritter, who will also make her directorial debut for an episode.

But short of another Defenders crossover, here’s how Jessica Jones may, and could, bow out of the entire Marvel/Netflix franchise. She may not have started the fight, but Jessica Jones is damn well going to finish it.

Wait, What Happened in Season 2?

For those who can’t remember what happened in a TV show they binged through one year ago, Jessica Jones Season 2 ended with Jessica and Trish’s relationship undone after Trish killed Jessica’s birth mother, Alisa, who was on the verge of killing way more people if the two sisters didn’t stop her.

Trish is also becoming her alter-ego, Hellcat. A brief addiction to the IGH drug left Trish with superhuman reflexes. The end of the season didn’t tease a catsuit for “Patsy,” so it’s 50/50 whether Trish will actually suit up. But expect her newfound powers to become a thing throughout the final season.

Jessica also found something resembling “safe” with Oscar, her building’s new (single) superintendent. He’s no secret superhero or double-agent. He’s just a guy with a kid. While Jessica hesitated to get involved, the events of Season 2 convinced her to try something normal, for once.

Lastly, Malcolm is living the high life as a subordinate of Jeri Hogarth, whose firm has entered a lucrative partnership with a rival attorney, Pryce Cheng. Originally an addict on the streets, Malcolm has found a life of luxury.

With that said, here’s how Jessica Jones Season 3 can successfully put a wrap on the series and the entire Marvel/Netflix saga.

No Crossovers

We should reiterate that any story details for Jessica Jones Season 3 have been kept close to Netflix’s chest. No one but those involved in production knows what’s in store, and the NDAs they’ve signed mean they’re not going to spoil squat.

That said, crossovers should not happen in Season 3 of Jessica Jones. The show has always been Jessica’s, even when Mike Colter’s Luke Cage was a supporting character before starring in his own show. While fans would appreciate one last look at Matt Murdock or Danny Rand or, heck, even Frank Castle, their presence would intrude what should be Jessica’s final hour. So no crossovers, please.

Trish vs. Jessica

The end of Jessica Jones Season 2 saw Jessica and Trish’s relationship fracture after Trish killed Jessica’s birth mother, Alisa. While Alisa was a dangerous individual and probably would have killed a lot of people, Jessica didn’t forgive Trish for what she did.

In the final moments of Season 2, Trish found heightened, cat-like reflexes — leftovers from her addiction to the IGH drug. This is an obvious setup to make Trish into her alter-ego from the comics, Hellcat, though it’s unknown if Trish will actually suit up. It’s even less clear if Trish’s transformation into a “superhero” will encourage her to team up with, or fight, her sister.

No “Snap”

Thanos’ Snap from Avengers: Infinity War was an unwieldy concept even for the movies to write around. While the films had to be unified, it was tonally jarring watching a fun heist comedy like Ant-Man and the Wasp have a post-credits scene where the van Dynes straight-up die.

It’s even more complicated for the TV shows, which is why it wasn’t a thing at all in newer seasons of Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher. You can’t expect showrunners trying to tell their own stories set in a gritty, shared continuity to have to shoehorn in something like alien genocide.

The only reason to have ever mentioned something like Thanos in the Netflix shows is to tease the crossover many fans wanted to see: the Defenders in the final Avengers: Endgame battle. And that battle happened without them. So let Jessica Jones end the way it should end — with Jessica, miserable, just trying to get by.

Marvel’s Jessica Jones begins streaming in June on Netflix.