WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Jessica Jones Season 2, streaming now on Netflix.
Marvel Comics fans have wondered, virtually since Rachael Taylor was cast in the role in early 2015, whether Trish "Patsy" Walker would eventually adopt the superhero identity of Hellcat on Jessica Jones. Although the former child star turned talk-radio host demonstrated in Season 1 that she was willing to put herself in danger, there was little indication she'd don a mask anytime soon. However, her declaration in the Season 2 trailer that "Jessica might not want a sidekick but she needs one" certainly renewed speculation. So, does Trish become Hellcat in the second season?
Short answer: No, she doesn't. Slightly longer answer: No, but she comes awfully damned close -- so much so that if Trish doesn't become a full-fledged vigilante in Season 3, then the producers are simply being cruel. Seriously, they tease the possibility time and again in these new episodes.
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Her storyline is a major part of this season, weaving in and out of Jessica's as she goes to great lengths -- even donning an It's Patsy! get-up to perform at a birthday party -- to uncover new information about her friend's past, and who is responsible for her superpowers. Frequently more invested than Jessica in learning the truth, Trish becomes absolutely obsessed with the mysterious IGH, resorting to blackmail and repeatedly putting her own life at risk in the process. However, it soon becomes clear Trish isn't simply interested in helping her adoptive sister or boosting the sagging ratings of her radio show Trish Talk. No, it's envy fueling her crusade; she desperately wants superpowers of her own.
"Patsy always wanted to be extraordinary," her manipulative mother Dorothy tells Jessica late in the season. "You just showed her what that looks like."
And Trish does become extraordinary, for a while. Will Simpson, whose reliance on a combat enhancer in Season 1 transformed him into an unhinged killer, crops up again, this time to protect Trish from the "monster" murdering people with ties to IGH. Unfortunately, he could've used a protector himself, as he's quickly killed, leaving Jessica and Trish to dispose of his body. But Trish also pockets Wills new inhaler, which enhances is strength and senses in a far more controllable fashion.
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A recovering addict (sober 10 years, she reminds us), Trish soon tries the inhaler, first to help out Jessica, and then because she enjoys the rush and the feeling of power. Although Trish wasn't exactly helpless before -- she's armed and trained in self-defense, after all -- she definitely isn't now. With all of her senses enhanced, she sets out to play vigilante, first looking for trouble on a city bus, and then stepping in to help Malcolm when he's outnumbered. Dressed in yellow and blue, the colors of Hellcat's costume, Trish even claws the faces of one of the assailants.
Despite her insistence, to Malcolm and to herself, the inhaler is very clearly addictive. And when it finally runs dry, Trish seeks to have a private lab identity and replicate the substance within. When that fails, she tracks down Dr. Karl Malus, the biogeneticist whose experiments gave Jessica her powers. Never mind that what Trish wants runs counter to Jessica's own (albeit unwise) plans.
She abducts Malus, and returns with him to the shuttered IGH clinic, where he begins the procedure intended to imbue Trish with enhanced abilities. But after Jessica interrupts, and Malus destroys his former lab (and himself), it appears as if Patsy has lost her last chance to become "extraordinary." Of course, she's lucky that she didn't lose her life, as she's reminded at the hospital. "You just used up two of your nine lives, Miss Walker," observes a nurse, who somehow resists a wink and a nudge.
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Why Trish might risk so much is lost on Jessica, who says, "You single-handedly almost took down IGH with a Patsy wig and a cellphone. How much more of a bad-ass do you need to be?"
It's a valid question, but one that we already know the answer to: as much of a bad-ass as Jessica Jones.
Trish does get to play hero in the season finale, only with a gun instead of brute strength, doing perhaps-irreparable harm to her relationship in the process. In her final scene, Trish displays (dare we say it?) cat-like reflexes when her phone is accidentally knocked from her grasp, and she catches it on her extended foot before kicking it back up into her hand. She may have been incredibly lucky, or else the inhaler or Malus' interrupted procedure (or a combination of the two) has residual effects.
Whatever the case, a presumed third season had better introduce some version of Hellcat; otherwise, the producers are going to have a lot to explain to disappointed fans.
Streaming now on Netflix, Jessica Jones Season 2 stars Krysten Ritter, Rachael Taylor, Carrie-Anne Moss, Eka Darville, J.R. Ramirez and Janet McTeer.