Season 1
Episode Guide
- Episode 1 – Review Score: 2/5
- Episode 2 – Review Score: 2/5
- Episode 3 – Review Score: 2/5
- Episode 4 – Review Score: 2.5/5
- Episode 5 – Review Score: 2/5
- Episode 6 – Review Score: 2.5/5
- Episode 7 – Review Score: 1.5/5
- Episode 8 – Review Score: 2.5/5
- Episode 9 – Review Score: 2/5
Warning! This full season review contains massive spoilers for the final episode and individual plot beats.
In recent times, there has been much discussion about the declining quality of Marvel’s content, both within the fandom and on various platforms. Phase Four, in particular, has been a tumultuous journey. The television aspect of this long-standing franchise kicked off with WandaVision and since then, it has been a rollercoaster ride, ranging from mediocre to underwhelming. Finally, the season concludes with She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, a show that promised to offer a refreshing departure from the norm, with its quirky, fourth-wall-breaking legal comedy.
On paper, the premise sounds intriguing, but what we actually get is a show lacking in comedy and devoid of any semblance of legal drama. She-Hulk is a jumbled mess, struggling with its tone and even contradicting its own rules. The protagonist, Jennifer Walters, portrayed as shockingly narcissistic and arrogant, adds to the confusion. Originally intended to be released before Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk faced significant challenges, leading to a delayed launch and subsequent emergency measures to salvage some coherence. Unfortunately, the problems with She-Hulk extend beyond subpar CGI, with issues related to storytelling, narrative flow, logical progression, and character development all being absent or poorly executed.
The central character of the show is Jennifer Walters, a successful lawyer who also happens to be the cousin of Bruce Banner, a.k.a. The Hulk. The initial catalyst for Jen’s transformation into She-Hulk occurs when she and Bruce are involved in a car crash. In order to free Bruce from the wreckage, Jen tears off the car door, inadvertently cutting her arm in the process. As their blood mingles, She-Hulk is born.
Following a near-disastrous incident outside a bar, where Jennifer nearly harms a group of individuals, Bruce intervenes and prevents her from losing control. He takes her to a beach resort to help her harness her newfound powers and teach her the ways of being a Hulk. However, Jennifer resists the idea of using her abilities to help others and save lives, dismissing such actions as fitting the personas of “narcissistic playboys and guys with ‘daddy issues’.” Instead, she decides to focus solely on her career. Interestingly, she is recruited by a prominent firm to work in their superhuman division as She-Hulk, a role which Jennifer initially finds disagreeable.
What follows is a series of episodic chapters that veer away from crime-fighting or courtroom drama. Instead, the focus pivots towards Jennifer attempting to manage her social life. While this may sound acceptable as a source of quirky humor, the show adopts a cynical tone in almost every scenario, with men being belittled, depicted as foolish, or, in the case of the finale, being taught how to behave by a woman.
Moreover, some of these chapters are simply dull. For example, one entire episode revolves around Jennifer anxiously waiting for a text message from a guy she met while heavily intoxicated at a friend’s wedding in the previous chapter. Another episode centers on Jennifer going shopping for clothes, and yet another showcases her donning the She-Hulk persona to enhance her chances of receiving matches on Tinder.
One of the most astonishing aspects of the show is how casually it deals with serious situations, often inadvertently showcasing double standards in Jennifer’s behavior throughout nearly every episode. In one instance, She-Hulk sleeps with a man on their first encounter, only to revert back to being Jennifer in the morning. The man expresses his dissatisfaction with having been deceived and leaves. However, Jennifer places the blame on him, completely oblivious to the fact that she essentially catfished him. I half-expected the crew from MTV’s Catfish to show up!
These incidents occur repeatedly throughout the series, presenting themselves as harmless and quirky moments until we take a step back to examine the underlying implications. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the finale episode.
After eight episodes of Jennifer taking potshots at the audience, including references to the appearance of Wong in one episode providing “Twitter armor for a week” and calling out anyone criticizing the show’s writing, She-Hulk herself breaks the fourth wall and enters the writers’ room. There, she encounters Jessica Gao, the head writer and creator of the show, criticizing the writing within her own show. In this meta twist, Jennifer proceeds to alter her entire reality, even summoning Matt Murdock (Daredevil) without his consent to join her for a family dinner.
This finale episode is one of the most shocking and tone-deaf conclusions I have ever witnessed, and judging from the online reaction, it has sharply divided the fanbase. Of course, if you derive enjoyment from She-Hulk, that is perfectly fine, and it is wonderful that people find joy in this series. In its own unique way, it stands out within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it is undeniably polarizing, similar to the impact of The Last Jedi and Ghostbusters 2016.
Ultimately, the goal of any form of entertainment is to provide enjoyment. If you find that in shows like She-Hulk, I genuinely feel happy for you. However, as a critic tasked with evaluating aspects such as narrative, story, CGI (although this is a minor concern, even if it is subpar), and character development, I must assert that She-Hulk falls short in almost every aspect, making it one of the weakest shows released in 2022.
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