The fourth episode of Jessica Jones is called “99 Friends.” Like all the episode titles, this one will make sense by the end of the show. Jessica starts off at the subway, a picture clenched in her hands. After finding out last episode that Kilgrave had someone spying on her, she is both kind of freaked out and trying to find out who’s doing it. The one thing she’s relieved about is that there are no pictures of Luke, so he should be safe. 

When Jessica eventually gets home, she has yet another surprise, in the form of a new client. Audrey Eastman, a well-dressed woman, wants to hire Jessica to find proof that her husband is cheating on her. This sounds like it’s right up Jessica’s alley, but, since she’s in the middle of dealing with Kilgrave, she’s suspicious. Initially, Eastman sounds legitimate. She even tells Jessica that the referral came through Hogarth’s firm.

As if she doesn’t have enough balls in the air, Jessica gets a frantic call from Trish. The cop from last time, Sergeant Simpson, is trying to break into her apartment. Trish is understandably worried that Simpson is still under Kilgrave’s sway. Jessica has another interpretation of what’s going on. Jessica brings Simpson in on at least some of what’s actually going on.

Jessica’s next worry is getting Kilgrave off Trish’s back. She comes up with a plan that Trish doesn’t like. Trish, however, is now convinced that she doesn’t want to be in Kilgrave’s sights, and agrees. Later, after Jessica overreacts to a man taking pictures out on the street, Jessica tells Trish about the pictures of her.

Still not satisfied about her new client, Jessica goes to Hogarth in her usual polite and tactful way. This goes about as well as you’d think. Hogarth isn’t willing to share secrets with Jessica. They do have an amusing back-and-forth about trust and paranoia, which ends with one of Jessica’s better lines of the series so far.

In a few short scenes, there are some interesting developments. Jessica follows Mrs. Eastman, trying to figure out if she’s under Kilgrave’s influence or not. Jessica also gets a very good idea about how to determine who is stalking her on Kilgrave’s behalf, and calls in a favor with a new ally. Hogarth and her new girlfriend Pam have a run-in with Hogarth’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Wendy. The confrontation says a lot about Hogarth, and how deeply she’s hurt Wendy.

Jessica’s case keeps getting stranger. She follows Eastman and learns she has a very strange hobby, which surprises even jaded Jessica. It doesn’t, however, prove anything about Eastman being connected to Kilgrave one way or the other. At Hogarth’s office, a lot of people are coming in to be interviewed following Trish’s broadcast about Hope. A lot of them are obviously nutjobs, but Jessica manages to sort out a few real ones. She has them exchange information, hoping to get something out of them later. There’s a very disturbing exchange between Jessica and Hogarth which shows they have very different views on some aspects of what’s going on.

Sergeant Simpson turns up with something for Jessica. Unfortunately, he and Malcolm don’t have a great first meeting. Kilgrave’s control has left some mental scars on Simpson, just like everyone else Kilgrave has abused and bent to his will. On that front, Jessica has a very disturbing encounter with a little girl.

While Jessica is the main character, the show doesn’t revolve solely around her. Simpson and Trish share a scene that shows Simpson as an honorable man trying to make sense of what happened to him under Kilgrave’s spell. I think it’s a very nicely done bit of character work for both of them. They get more screen time together later, and some really entertaining dialogue.

Jessica, meanwhile, ends up finding out what’s going on with Mrs. Eastman, and it’s a big surprise. I shows some believable backlash from the events of Avengers, without being a major tie-in to the movie. The meaning behind “99 Friends” is revealed here, and it’s a very tense, interesting scene that both shows some of why people like Jessica and Luke don’t go public, and also gives an idea of the limits of Jessica’s powers.

After this surprising scene, Jessica heads home to regroup, and change. Considering how many clothes she loses to damage, wounds, and blood, I have to wonder both how much she spends on wardrobe and how many beat-up jeans and tank tops she owns. Hogarth calls to tell Jessica about the support group of Kilgrave’s victims, and suggest that she go. There are some very disturbing, even tragic stories. Near the end of the meeting, Jessica gets a clue as to who the spy is. It’s a big surprise that she might very well have been happier not knowing.

What I liked: One of the things the writers are doing amazingly well is conveying the sense of Kilgrave’s menace even when he’s not around. His presence is almost everywhere in this episode, but you never actually see him. The scenes with Trish and Simpson were nicely done, amusing and revealing of character. The damage Kilgrave causes in his victims is believable but really terrifying when you stop to think about it. What was happening with Audrey Eastman was a very interesting look at the negative side of having big heroes like the Avengers around.

What I didn’t: Really, not much. Jessica is a resourceful, determined woman. She’s been badly hurt and has a lot of tragedy she’s trying to overcome. She has a very dark outlook on life, but it’s understandable with what she’s been through. I wish she wasn’t so hard on her friends, but that, too, makes sense.

I’ll give this one a high 4 out of 5. It’s a dark drama, but that’s so very fitting for Jessica being a noir type of hero.