A Visit From Old in Jessica Jones: Playing With Fire Episode 5

Jessica’s investigation continues in Jessica Jones: Playing With Fire Episode 5. To think that this all started with a case that was meant to be easy on her psyche. Now she’s knee-deep in a mess that will not easily be pushed aside.

Last we saw, Jessica had gotten herself into a sticky situation by following a lead. Determined not to let the case go, she found herself up against a surprisingly strong opponent. Usually, she’s on the other side of that sort of fight.

Jessica Jones: Playing With Fire is an ongoing series from Serial Box. It updates with a new episode every Thursday, allowing fans to read or listen (or both) regularly. It’s also one of three Marvel series currently on the platform.

A Death Needs Solving

Jessica’s stubborn quest continues in Jessica Jones: Playing With Fire Episode 5. The last episode left off at a tense point and was quickly picked up here – with a lot more snark to fill in the gaps.

Written by Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, this episode will make long-term fans of Marvel thrilled. The cameos and references of other famous characters were appreciated and enough to leave readers curious about future possibilities (Jessica Jones/Luke Cage ship, a potential appearance of the Defenders, etc.).

There was something oddly refreshing about this episode. Perhaps it’s the reminder of how poorly Jessica would handle being locked up. Or maybe it was just the opportunity to see her interacting with other known characters. Either way, this was a delightful episode already set up for something more.

As with the rest of this series, episode 5 went a long way in portraying all of the tactics that Jessica would and could deploy as a private eye. After all, she’s got to get her information somehow, and it is brilliant to be able to dive into that side of her world.

Narration

Fryda Wolff continues her narration in Jessica Jones: Playing With Fire Episode 5. She’s nailing the voice and tone for Jessica, this particular mixture of sarcasm, dry wit, and exhaustion. It’s been delightful to see her throw in different proportions of that mixture, based on what is going on.

Two other named characters from Marvel made a cameo in this episode, and it was fascinating to see Wolff’s take on them. Overall, I think she did a great job with both of them, though frankly, I’d love to see (hear) more of them in later episodes. That’s probably just because I enjoy hearing about them, though.

The extra sound elements in this episode felt more subtle and part of the background, but I don’t think that’s bad. It’s proof that they’re adding to the story without ever actually overwhelming it at any point.

Conclusion

Jessica Jones: Playing With 5 Episode 5 was another great addition to Jess’ series. We’re getting a chance to see more of the investigative side of Jessica, alongside more parts of the city she resides in. As always, the more she digs into this case, the less clear the cast itself becomes.

I honestly think that Jessica Jones may be the best Marvel series that Serial Box has put out so far. Considering how fond I am of their Black Widow series, that’s saying something. I strongly recommend Marvel fans to give this (and Black Widow) a try.

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.