There are many things oh-so-repulsive about Kilgrave that make him such a well written villain. The obvious character trait is his way of asserting control over everyone. It isn’t simply through his villainous powers. In fact, it isn’t until the very last episode that we see him actually use his powers on Jessica (aside from the flashbacks). Yet, he still attempts to control her mind with the words he chooses to say to her. One such instance is their faceoff in the hospital (1x07).
Jessica tells him to control her instead of the victims he has chosen. He says that he has “absolutely no intention of controlling” her and wants her “to act on [her] own accord”. Yet when she says that he’s been torturing her, he says, “Jessica, I knew you were insecure. That’s just sad. I’m not torturing you. Why would I? I love you”. Although he hasn’t used his powers on her, every word he chooses in that line exerts control over her. He doesn’t just deny torturing her; he makes it seem as if the idea is an absurd thought brought about by her own insecurity, in an attempt to make her doubt herself. He even acts like his actions are out of love.
He constantly degrades her with these statements that he expresses as if they are facts “you didn’t have a life before me” “you’re not capable of love” At some point, he tells her that in order to not use his powers on her, he has to “painstakingly choose every word [he] say[s]”. What this means is that he has to now think of other ways to verbally control her without using his powers.
One thing that I appreciate is that the narrative leaves no room for redemption for this character- which is extremely important because he is trying to win “redemption” from Jessica. There’s no question about how wrong his actions are and how unforgivable he is. Jessica even states it clear as day that he raped her when he controlled her. But the thing that makes him such a frightening villain, and why I think he was written so incredibly well, is how very charming and funny Kilgrave is. He’s extremely charismatic and incredibly sarcastic, but in a comedic way. These are often qualities that are given to an attractive male villain in order to make him a lovable heartthrob (villains like Loki or Moriarty come to mind). This is done intentionally, and it isn’t to appeal to a mob of fangirls.
Like I said before, the narrative leaves no room for redemption. He is so charming and funny for the sole reason of making the audience even more fearful of him. You laugh or smile at something he says and then suddenly realize who it is you’ve just smiled at. It’s a brilliant move because we like to hold this idea that abusers and rapists are clear-cut monsters with a creepy personality that everyone hates. But the reality of this is that it’s not so clear-cut. The casting department sure knew what they were doing when they casted David Tennant who is, apart from being incredibly talented, a widely loved actor, most known for playing a comedically charming heartthrob (Doctor Who).
In the episode AKA WWJD?, Kilgrave meets Jessica’s former neighbor, Elizabeth De Luca, and the three have a conversation about when Jessica lived there. During this interaction, Jessica is extremely standoffish and Kilgrave is funny and polite. From Mrs. De Luca’s point of view, Jessica is the one who should be avoided and Kilgrave is the friendly one who is stuck with her.
This scene, Kilgrave’s character, the casting of David Tennant, these all come together to create the idea that, if this were a stranger you struck up a conversation with on the street, you would really like him. This idea, of course, makes Kilgrave’s character all the more chilling.
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