In last night's episode of Daredevil: Born Again, Krysten Ritter reprised her role as Jessica Jones for a team-up with the Man Without Fear. Along the way, we discovered that the private eye is now a mother to Danielle, Jessica and Luke Cage's daughter in the comics.
"Requiem" didn't reveal where Cage is, but Entertainment Weekly has dropped a spoiler by mentioning in its coverage that Power Man is "off somewhere on a mission for Mr. Charles."
That's not hugely surprising, but it raises some interesting questions about what exactly Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is up to in the MCU. We know Matthew Lillard's character is working for her, and this implies that the CIA is forcing superpowered individuals to serve their country.
Discussing her long-awaited MCU return, Ritter told the site, "There was some talk about me appearing in the first season. I think it's like two-and-a-half years ago that we first started hearing a whiff about it. So I was so excited. They were bringing back a lot of characters and I was like, I wonder if I could bring back Jessica. I have everything ready. I'll be ready."
"When I first had my initial comeback meeting with Marvel, we sat at the big table and they asked me, 'What did I want to explore? What about the character really inspires me to wanna come back?'" she continued. "I always thought the fact that she has a kid is a really interesting, exciting character development."
"As a mom myself, I just thought what an amazing opportunity for Jessica to have, just even more layers and more to play. For someone like Jessica who doesn't have a family and she's a loner in the world, to give her the gift of a child and what a healing experience and transformative experience that could be for her was very, very exciting to me," Ritter added.
Explaining that Jessica was always a reluctant hero in her Netflix series, the actress said that adding Danielle to the mix creates a "fierceness" and a "mama bear that comes out and gives her real strength and power."
However, being a mother comes with a caveat. Jessica's powers are no longer firing on all cylinders and cut in and out. According to Ritter, "After you have a kid, a lot changes. You go through so much. It's like a caterpillar experience. Having the metaphor of her powers going in and out, like, 'Who am I? Where is this going?' and then ultimately feeling bigger and badder than ever is a really interesting character journey."
Despite these struggles, we know that Jessica will return in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3. Set photos have shown her alongside Mike Colter's Luke Cage and Finn Jones' Iron Fist, promising fans a long-awaited Defenders reunion.
Unsurprisingly, even after being photographed in New York in full costume as the character, Ritter wasn't willing to risk Marvel's wrath (unlike Colter, who recently dropped a huge Season 3 reveal).
"I'm not gonna comment on those. I think Marvel should announce whatever," she said. "I'm just not gonna. I don't know about them! I don't think I was there! [Laughs]"
Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming weekly on Disney+.