Rachael Taylor on her story arc on Marvel’s Jessica Jones

Rachael Taylor talks about her character Trish Walker on the Netflix series Marvel's Jessica Jones

We were invited to visit the Marvel's Jessica Jones set in New York City to take a look behind-the-scenes and chat with the cast about the final season.

Rachael Taylor has been playing Trish Walker, Jessica's (Krysten Ritter) best friend, for three seasons. In season 2, we last saw Jessica and Trish have a falling out, and things didn't look too good for them.

We chatted with Rachael about Trish's story arc, what makes her tick, defining the term superheroes and what fans can expect in season 3. ~Marriska Fernandes

What can we expect to see with Trish's story arc this season?
We find Trish at a place where we left off in season 2. She’s dealing with the ramifications of her actions, which was killing Jess’ mother. Season 3 is really about looking at that friendship more deeply and also the limitations of that friendship as well. There’s a bit of runway for them to get back on the same page. It’s my hope, because I love working with Krysten, and love playing different facets of that friendship, that they team up and get back on the same page. There is a lot of healing that needs to take place between the two women.

I think that the first order of business is rebuilding some trust between the two women. It’s a really interesting process of them learning to see things from each other’s sides. That was something I was really excited to play going into season 3, which is figuring out how Trish could see where Jessica was coming from and maybe potentially having Jessica discover where Trish might have been coming from and did what she did at the end of season 2. There’s a lot of process that goes on between the two.

Trish’s big goal was to get superpowers in season 2. Will she finally feel satisfied this season?
Well, what’s so clever about Jessica Jones and all of the Marvel shows is that the superhero powers are just an allegory. We don’t hang a lantern on "if you have superhero powers then all is well." Trish’s true quest in season 2, I think, was to matter. She feels that who she is as a woman is not enough. If you truly feel "not enough" there is nothing you can throw at that to make you enough. I don’t think superhero powers are going to be the thing either. That’s just my opinion.

I think Trish is a character marked by a certain deficit in how she feels about herself because of her upbringing and being a child star and having to win other people’s love, than believing she truly deserves it. That’s a really interesting character to play, but I would be surprised if her getting powers would be the thing that would suddenly remedy all. Also, knowing the show that I’m on, we play flawed characters. None of these women -- Jessica, Trish or Jeri Hogarth [played by Carrie-Anne Moss] -- are perfect. They all have powers in some areas and deficiencies in other areas. That kind of keeps it exciting.

The costume designer told us Trish has to wear a different costume this season because she's famous. So how are you coping with the new costume change?
What’s interesting about it is that Trish is a public person to some extent and we saw that kind of come up in season 2 and season 1 as well. There’s that interesting theme running through season 3, which is the idea of fame and notoriety and reputation, and watching that play out for Trish and Jessica is really interesting. And bizarrely that’s an idea that’s more relatable than we give it credit for. Andy Warhol’s prediction has come true and we are all famous for 15 minutes now because of social media and how we trade information with each other. So I think there’s some interesting questions there about reputation, fame, identity and for Trish, I think under a deep dark place she wants very much to be recognized for the things that she does and so I think that sets up a very interesting scenario for her in terms of not just to matter, but to be known for whatever heroic acts she may or may not do.

What’s the learning curve been like this season?
It’s been really fun. Also every season of Jessica Jones it has gone on a little bit further in terms of Trish’s physical capabilities and season 3 is a really big jump. One of the exciting things is we have a new stunt coordinator by the name of Clayton Barber, who you’ve met. He’s really fantastic and super talented. I worked really hard with him to kind of create a language for the way Trish moves in season 3 that feels like a bit of acceleration from where she’s been. What’s cool about it is she’s not fully formed in season 3 either. I’m excited for audiences to see a little bit of her journey towards who she becomes.

Marvel's Jessica Jones season three premieres on Netflix on June 14. Click here to read our interview with Krysten Ritter. ~Marriska Fernandes