She-Hulk Attorney At Law Episode Two Review
Article by Kieran Burt
She-Hulk Attorney at Law uses this episode as a way to focus more on Jen than She-Hulk, being a more traditional legal drama than MCU superhero flick. But that works to its advantage, as that is far more interesting. The comedy however doesn’t stick, with the quips not landing.
The show picks up with She-Hulk becoming famous for her actions in the courtroom, being celebrated by everyone. They do make a similar joke to the first Ant-Man, with Jen commenting on the ridiculousness of the name, though Ant-Man felt like it was being less serious and more humorous, whereas Jen took it very seriously that she is just a derivative of the Hulk. It probably would be more funny if it wasn’t true, and if many other superheroes weren’t derivatives of their originals.
But because of her antics in the courtroom, Jen is publicly fired by the law firm, and thus begins a sequence where she gets rejected at many law firms because of her alter ego. Her search is interrupted by a family dinner, which is definitely the funniest part of the show. Here, she is mocked for being fired, and her dad asks only the important questions about Hawkeye. But after a period of intense mocking, Jen’s dad realises that his daughter isn’t OK, and takes her aside to make sure that she is OK, and has a heartfelt conversation with his daughter.
Jen’s job woes finally come to an end, where she is approached by the rival law firm that got her fired, revealing that they want a lawyer for the new superhero legal team they are starting up. And, honestly, this is a great idea. Audiences have seen the Avengers come into contact with the law several times, and obviously the villains that the Avengers catch have an equal right to representation as anyone else.
Jen is horrified when she finds out that she only got the job at the rival law firm because they want the She-Hulk, and not her human form, forcing her to be the She-Hulk at all times during work. This starts Jen off a 4th wall breaking rant, complaining that she was only hired because of She-Hulk and not for her talent. Which again, is the show trying to be funny, but fails because in reality, these types of diversity programmes do exist, and they are highly controversial. It’s not entirely clear if Marvel is making a serious point or is joking about them.
The Department of Damage Control makes a brief appearance, running the prison that Abomination is kept in, and honestly, it’s just confusing. They were initially introduced as a small department picking up rubble back in Spider-man: Homecoming, but seem to have grown in both size and scope, possibly even taking over the operations of S.H.I.E.L.D. Ms Marvel revealed their villainous intent against superheroes, but because their motivations were so poorly defined there, it’s impossible to tell if the agents in that show represent the organisation as a whole, or if they were a rogue faction. Hopefully She-Hulk will be able to explain this a bit, perhaps they will be representing the victims at Emil Blonsky’s parole hearing.
The last parts of the episode give a great setup to both next week’s episode, with a video of Abomination being released, in the underground fight club in Shang Chi. This is the kind of connectivity and planning that viewers of the MCU sign up for, the actions in one film or TV show have unforeseen consequences in another. In this case, Abomination’s actions could have a significant effect on his chance of parole. There is also a loose end that’s sort of tied up from last week, with Hulk being taken back to Sakar, for reasons currently unknown.But a return to Sakar, with its colours and gladiatorial battles is bound to be fun. Here’s hoping Jeff Goldblum shows up again.
It would be really unique that instead of a big finale showdown with the villain like in all of the Marvel shows so far, the ending episode was Blonsky’s parole hearing, and all the build up is about formulating arguments about why he deserves parole. This could even lead into a Thunderbolts tease, with Blonsky winning his case, only to be recruited by La Contessa Valentina De Allegra for that team.
Overall, this episode is a huge step up from last week’s, focusing on the more interesting legal parts of the show, instead of the generic superhero story for the umptheenth time.
focusing much more on the legal aspect of the show, and less of the superhero parts
