I was lucky enough to be one of the first people in the world to see the first episode of Marvel’s Jessica Jones last Saturday (along with everyone else at the Main Stage at New York Comic-Con). I thought you guys might want to hear some spoiler-free impressions!

First off, I loved it. Anyone thinking there is no way Netflix and Marvel could reach the same level as Daredevil, or even surpass it, are wrong. We do not have a failure on our hands, but another well crafted story of one of Marvel’s lesser-known personas, Jessica Jones.

The show manages to keep that same gritty and grounded feeling that Daredevil captured, yet it feels different and unique unto itself. While still dark and heavy, there’s Jessica’s sass and sarcasm cut through that density, leaving room for levity.

Daredevil pushed the boundaries of the non-movie MCU with its brutal violence. Jessica Jones shows glimpses of that violence, but it’s not as frequent as in Daredevil. Instead, the show focuses on darker psychological topics. With Killgrave as the main villain, that’s no surprise — sexual assault and manipulation were alluded to in the premiere. And sex is another boundary Jessica Jones pushes, with an intense, intimate sex scene right in the first episode (I won’t spoil who it involves, but you may have heard by now).

Any Krysten Ritter doubters out there? That should change after the premiere; you can see the deep, troubled past hiding under her sassy, no-BS personality. She carries the role well, and I can’t wait to see her flex those acting muscles. Jessica’s powers are never the focus, and are only subtlety shown (with one exception). It’s certainly intriguing to have a superhero show not go power-crazy.

Without going into detail, there’s another “Marvel Netflix character” in this episode, and it’s awesome to see [character] and Jessica Jones grace the same frame. From the little I’ve seen, I can already tell [character] is going to be significant.

Then there’s David Tennant. Everyone wants to know about his portrayal of the “Purple Man,” a.k.a. Killgrave, and the easy comparison is to Daredevil’s Kingpin. His presence is very much felt, but you get only quick glimpses of him. But based off what little was in the first episode, Killgrave is enormously creepy. I can’t wait to see Tennant’s full performance.

I can’t talk much about the supporting characters, as they didn’t feature heavily here. That said, any major details would include massive spoilers, so I’ll avoid that for everyone’s sake!

Jessica Jones is going to be another awesome, well done Netflix series reaching the heights of Daredevil. Make sure you’re in front of your TV/streaming device on November 20! I know I’ll be there.

Article by contributor Russ Milheim.