While the latter might not seem very significant to the character's journey, Boe disagrees. Jessica may still be coping with the reality of her rape, but she's clearly finished punishing herself for what happened. She embraces several new hairstyles in the third season — all subtle but significant departures from her usual center-parted curls. "Changing Jessica's hair was a very conscious choice," says Boe. "The third season was the first time you see Jessica really take on the role of being a survivor, and we wanted to convey that through her hair." The goal was to show the audience that Jessica was moving forward and taking control of her narrative, empowering her peers in the process (the gold hair cuffs she's seen wearing a few times do feel like her own personal armor).