Jessica took a case to find a missing teen named Hope Shlottman and realized that the flashbacks she’d been having weren’t just her PTSD; somehow, Kilgrave survived and had returned. Terrified for her safety, she tried to run but didn’t get far before her conscience forced her to rescue Hope from Kilgrave and return her to her parents. Unbeknownst to Jessica this was exactly what Kilgrave wanted. Hope, still under his control, killed her parents, landing her in prison. This began Jessica’s crusade to reveal the truth about Kilgrave as a super powered monster and save Hope from prison. Along the way she enlisted the help of those around her, including Trish, who nearly wound up dead after Kilgrave sent a cop, Office Will Simpson, to murder her. Breaking free from Kilgrave’s spell, Simpson then joined the fight to bring him down, and also began dating Trish.
In an effort to get Jessica’s attention, Kilgrave had her neighbor kill himself in her bed. This led Jessica to turn herself in to the police in a last-ditch attempt to catch the manipulator using his powers on tape and get him locked away for good. However, Kilgrave showed up at the police station, commanded them to delete the footage of her confession and his presence there, and let her go, before professing his love for Jessica and asking her to come live with him. She did so in order to gain his trust and capture him.
Fixated on getting evidence to prove what Kilgrave could do and free Hope, Jessica used his parents as bait to get a rise out of him while filming their interaction. However, Jeri Hogarth had already cut a deal with the villain to help him escape in return for him taking care of her soon-to-be ex-wife, who was blackmailing her because Jeri had cheated on her. Hogarth’s plan backfired and Kilgrave ended up killing his mother. He later had Jeri attacked by her scorned wife. Nevertheless, the incident taught Jessica that she was now immune to his mind-control.
Simpson, obsessed with exterminating Kilgrave, took military pills that boosted his strength and agility. While they did give him super strength and stamina, they also eliminated his conscience. Under the influence of these pills, Simpson fought both Jess and Trish in order to get to his target before being “reclaimed” by the organization that issued the drugs. Kilgrave had Hope released and used her as leverage to trade for his father, who he needed to help him grow his powers to once again control Jessica. Hope sacrificed herself during the trade and begged Jessica to end their mutual abuser’s life once and for all.
Hellbent on stopping Kilgrave from expanding his powers, Jessica reconnected with Luke Cage who seemingly forgave her for her actions. But when the two finally tracked down the sadistic villain, she discovered that Luke had been under Kilgrave’s control the whole time. In order to save herself, and at Luke’s behest, Jessica shot Luke, incapacitating him.
In an attempt to apprehend Kilgrave once and for all, Trish was captured and Kilgrave used her to test whether or not he could influence Jessica again. Through an effective use of trickery, Jessica gained the upper hand and finally put their story to an end — snapping Kilgrave’s neck with her bare hands.
Now perceived as a super vigilante, Jessica was flooded with case requests and Malcolm, now sober and free from Kilgrave’s control, too, joined Alias investigations to assist her in coping with life post-Kilgrave.