How One Episode of 'Jessica Jones' Sets Up the Future of Marvel's Cinematic Universe

What do Jessica Jones' "99 Friends" mean for the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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There's been a lot of lip service about Marvel's Jessica Jones being "the Marvel show for people who don't care about Marvel." While that claim is partially true, the Krysten Ritter-led vehicle is still a Marvel product, and while this series a) finds Jessica Jones figuring out her so-called superhero life while b) helping expand Marvel's Hells Kitchen for the Luke Cage / Iron Fist / Defenders series on Netflix, the show is very aware of the Universe it's set in. No episode of Jessica Jones properly puts that into perspective like the fourth, "AKA 99 Friends."

It's a tale that could be seen as more of a standalone than some of the others, although there's enough "Where's Kilgrave?" going on to keep those who pay attention to those kinds of things more than happy. But there's a nugget of a scene towards the end of the episode that focuses on the bigger picture, and begs the question, "Where exactly do these Netflix properties end up in the larger scale of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?"

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. IF YOU'VE NOT BINGED ON JESSICA JONES YET, AND WANT TO LIVE LIFE SPOILER-FREE, STOP READING NOW.

A Quick "AKA 99 Friends" Synopsis

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This episode focuses on a new client Jessica picks up, Audrey Eastman. Like the majority of Jessica's investigative work, she's asked to track a suspected cheater of a husband (side note: imagine Jessica Jones on Cheaters). Audrey was sketch city when she first meets with Jessica, a vibe that Jessica picked up on immediately. Given her PTSD and paranoia stemming from all of the Kilgrave insanity, she immediately starts to suspect that Audrey's under Kilgrave's control, and is out to get her.

Her suspicions aren't lessened when she finds out Audrey is packing heat and conducting target practice.

Fast-forward to late in the episode, where Jessica tracks Audrey's husband down to an apartment... that Audrey's already in. The tables turn, with Audrey pulling a gun on Jessica Jones, wanting to exact revenge on a super-powered being for "The Incident" that took her parents. Jessica is enraged that Audrey (or anyone) would attempt to take out their pain on someone else, and demolishes a room before getting into something that we want to highlight further:

"99. You wanted to know how many of us there are? The last time I counted, I had 99 gifted friends, in this borough alone."

"The Incident"

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Marvel's Other "Civil War"

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Captain America's Civil War

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