Two episodes in and I'm still loving She-Hulk. The breaking the fourth wall stuff is still not overwhelming the show, and I think that is all due to Tatiana Maslany. The record scratch and "Well let me tell you what's going on here" stuff can get so annoying, but Tatiana pulls it off with perfect comedic timing. Literally the last line of this episode, which does break the fourth wall, is delivered so bluntly it just hits. Here is where the surprise (surprise for me at least since I don't watch trailers) character comes in, so leave now if you want that surprise still.
Jen gets a new case defending the Abomination of all people, the superhuman Emil Blonsky who tried to kill the Hulk in the pretty decent 2008 movie. The MCU has largely ignored that movie, really only taking Thunderbolt Ross from it, so it's great to see them going back to what I would argue is one of the better MCU villains. I mean in his own words in this episode he makes the argument that the Government misled him, pumped him full of drugs, then released him. Superhero stories in general have a lot of questionable motives behind villains, and the companies/governments that create the villains rarely get the flack for it. So it's cool to see the MCU once again taking a bit of an anti-government stance, even if it's only a sprinkle of it. It will be interesting to see what arguments Jen makes to try to argue for his parole, especially since that excellent tie in to Shang-Chi shows up here, exposing him as a runaway from prison (even though he came back?). He also casually says he has seven friends now, which is definitely a Thunderbolts tease (though my GOD if it's a Masters of Evil tease instead I'll die). I'm sure MY BOY John Walker and Yelena are part of that team, so it will be interesting to see who the other members are. I love the concept of this being an actual legal show, and not just a superhero one. Time will tell if that is the case, but it looks like they are setting it up to be a courtroom drama, where I hope Jen exposes the heck out of the US Government for trying to create more super soldiers. The other MCU shows (besides Wanda Vision) haven't really had a direct connection to the MCU, rather setting up new characters and trying to set up things for movies literally four years from now. I like this show for celebrating the history of the MCU. The Incredible Hulk may have been a middle of the pack movie, but it was the first movie that shared a connection with Iron Man, and up until now Disney has kind of just ignored it. Give me Ed Norton Maestro NOW. I love the direction this show is taking, and Tatiana Maslany is still killing it as a female lawyer dealing with all the BS that entails, ON TOP OF being a superhero too. This show has a nice feminist theme and about being the "Trophy/Token Hire" at work, so hopefully those themes stick around and this doesn't become a Smash fest. Still very much looking forward to the next episode!
Did you like the 2008 Incredible Hulk movie?
- Yes
- Meh
- No