Season 2 saw our favorite friendship falling apart. By the end of Season 2, Trish spiraled into self-righteousness, seemingly becoming addicted to it as she had once been addicted to substances. In addition, she had tried to transform into a superhero herself, by being experimented upon to gain powers. The experiment put her in a coma, temporarily.
However, Trish’s worst offense was killing Jessica’s mom. True, Jessica’s mom was a criminal, and Trish thought she was protecting Jess by ending her. The fatal bullet delivered during a tender moment between Jessica and her mom made the hurt even worse.
What is Jessica to do? Her adopted sister and best friend (Trish) killed her mother – both being the two people that she loves most. Can she forgive? What about their friendship will remain the same, and what will change?
Hasn’t changed: Love each other
Despite everything, Trish and Jessica have a deep-rooted love for each other. At one point, Dorothy (Trish’s mom and Jessica’s adopted mom) tells Jessica that the two are closer than actual blood sisters. While Jessica may have mixed feelings about Dorothy, she cares for Trish. Jessica isn’t one to let many people in, and she lets Trish in. Matter of fact, villains from previous seasons have exploited that love, often going after Trish to get back at Jessica.
Season 3 starts with Trish trying to reach out to Jessica many times, and Jessica rejecting her. Painful as the rejections are, Trish doesn’t give up, desperate to prove herself to Jessica and to have that friendship again.
Changed: Trust
How would Jessica be able to trust Trish again fully? While she does trust Trish to have her back during fight scenes, she suspects that Trish’s black and white view of the world will cause problems. Also, Jessica will never be fully over Trish’s former betrayal: the killing of Jessica’s mom.
A new character, Erik, is introduced. His superpower is to identify good and bad people. Erik literally gets sick when he is around people who are bad or evil, stating that he feels a void in them. Initially, he identifies Trish as good, which does help Jessica trust her a little. However, she won’t ever trust her like she once did.
Hasn’t Changed: Protect each other
Through the majority of Season 3, we see both sisters trying to protect each other. The first episode opens with Jessica tracking down Trish to help make sure she is all right. Some of the horrible things that Trish does later in the season (the injuring/killing of people) is to protect Jessica. She does one while Jessica is in custody. This proves that Jessica isn’t the killer, releasing her.
Changed: Both have powers
The seesaw of the friendship changes because Trish now has powers. Although she isn’t super strong like Jessica, she has increased agility, claws, balance, reflexes, and eyesight. She becomes Hell Cat and trains to improve upon her powers.
Since they both are on a similar footing with powers, their friendship has to change. While they were in a team in previous seasons, this season shows them as even more of a team. They work together and support each other. At least, that is what happens at first before Trish reaches her breaking point.
Hasn’t Changed: Believe the best of each other
Trish has always seen the best in Jessica, encouraging her to be better and to be the superhero. In many ways, Trish is a Jessica fan, constantly rooting for her. Clearly, Trish admires Jessica, and thinks of her often while they are estranged.
Even when Trish changes more for the worst in Season 3, the death of Dorothy at the hands of a psycho-killer leading her down a dark path, Jessica still believes the best of Trish. At a tender moment between the two sisters after Dorothy’s death, Jessica tells Trish that Trish was the one thing that Dorothy did right.
Changed: Orphans, The Mother’s Impact
In Season 3, Jessica remembers what her mother told her about being a hero. She constantly thinks about what her mother would have been proud or if she is following her mom’s lessons. For all of the problems Jessica’s mom had at controlling worst impulses, the wisdom she gives Jessica is thoughtful and valuable. Even though Jess is an orphan all over again, her time with her mom helped her discover what she could be.
Dorothy dies in Season 3 in a horrible way. We know that Dorothy isn’t the ideal mother and that she harmed Trish, but we also know that Dorothy loved Trish (in her own way). Trish depended on Dorothy, and Dorothy’s view of the world impacted Trish. In the eulogy, Trish recounts her first big gig, and how Dorothy pushed her to succeed. However, the viewer gets the behind-the-scenes back story of the first big gig, and it wasn’t a rosy experience. Trish becomes the villain partly due to the way she was raised.
Hasn’t Changed: Hold each other accountable
These two have been through a lot together, but through it all, they have held each other accountable. When Trish becomes worse in Season 3, Jessica holds her accountable, finding her to both protect her and to protect others.
In Trish’s rage and self-righteousness, she has proven that she is capable of evil deeds. Once committed, there is no going back. Jessica loves her sister still, but she won’t sugar coat it. She also won’t give up on helping Trish, in whatever way she is able.
Changed: The Moral Compass and The Protector
In the past, Trish played the role of the moral compass for Jessica, and Jessica was the protector. Trish’s compass becomes so far off that there is no way she can become the moral compass again. Luckily, with the addition of Erik, Jessica has another moral compass.
Jessica worries about becoming evil, about crossing a line. Trish doesn’t worry about it, thinking that removing evil (regardless of how) is ultimately good. If Trish had once been a moral compass, this season that moral compass has been broken, trampled on, and buried.
They both initially are the protector, but in the end, Jessica stands out as the protector. Even her last act for Trish was to save Trish from becoming worse.
Hasn’t Changed: Know each other’s history
For the most part, Jessica and Trish know each other’s history. They know each other’s challenges and successes. They know what makes each other tick. Because of this, they can push each other to be better. They also listen to each other more than they would to others. They understand each other’s language.
Still, it shocks Jessica that Trish turned into the villain. Later, she realizes that the seeds were sown by Trish’s history. Jessica just hadn’t wanted to see.
Changed: No longer a team
Through most of the season, they were a team, but not in the end. Jessica stays the hero, and Trish becomes the villain. Something snaps in her. Erik senses it. Later, Trish even recognizes it. When she tries to kill her sister, she realizes that she has changed. She looks just as horrified as Jessica.
Additionally, if Jessica is the person that Trish loves most in the world (and Jessica is), what does it say that she almost killed her sister? Despite all this, Jessica and Trish still love and care for each other. We see this in the sad way that Jessica watches her sister being taken away, and Trish’s nod of acknowledgment.
Could Trish get better? Will Jessica keep in touch? Unfortunately, we will never know since this was the final season. Still, the show delivered a great, complicated ending.
