You'll like her when she's angry.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is a 2022 superhero comedy series directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia, created by Jessica Gao, produced by Marvel Studios, and distributed by Disney Platform Distribution. It is based off of various She-Hulk comics by Marvel Comics. The show stars Tatiana Maslany and Ginger Gonzaga. This is the thirty-seventh project in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, being the eighth TV show. It acts as a sequel to The Incredible Hulk, Avengers: Endgame, Daredevil, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Ms. Marvel and will be followed by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Secret Invasion.
"Those with the most power have the most to answer for." - Jennifer Walters
Plot
When a car accident causes her to turn into a Hulk, attorney Jennifer Walters has to manage all of the fame and popularity that comes with being She-Hulk.
Jen's Arc / Episode 8 / Aspects of the Finale / Writing / This Isn't the MCU / Villains / Characters / CGI / Court Cases / Cringe Comedy / What the Hell is This Show?
The Sweet
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is something.
I did enjoy Jen Walters's character arc here. The entire show is about her balancing her life as She-Hulk and Jennifer Walters, and I feel like the show did a solid job of juxtaposing those two. Episode seven in particular fleshed out her character very well. This show is not character-driven at all, but when it decides to focus in on Jen, it's good.
Episode eight of She-Hulk was also fantastic. That is, of course, the episode with Daredevil in it, and he makes everything better. Charlie Cox has still got it as the Man without Fear, and he just elevates that episode to a whole new level. It feels like the only episode that actually belongs inside of the MCU. It also feels like the only episode of this show that is actually in the superhero genre. It's a very good episode, especially when compared to the other eight episodes of this show.
The finale also does some big, crazy things that I appreciated. There's one scene involving a robot that I won't spoil that I found to be really funny. Sometimes, the joke of the finale pushed it too far for me, but there were some really cool things in that episode that I enjoyed. It's very different than what you'd expect from a normal finale of TV, and I appreciated that.
The Sour
I've published two reviews today of movies or shows from franchises I love. It sucks that both reviews are of my least favorite entries in said franchises.
Yes, you read that right. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has officially overtaken Thor as my least favorite thing in the MCU.
To start off, the writing in this show is absolutely abysmal. I cannot believe that these scripts were written by professional screenwriters. The storylines of these episodes are so corny and off-the-wall insane in the worst way. The court cases (which I will get into later) are so, so, so dumb. Some of the characters they introduce as "freaks of the week" are atrocious. The writing in this show is lazy. The dialogue is cringe-worthy. The story is horrific. The characters are all kinds of terrible. And it all stems from the writing. It was the worst writing in a show ever. Genuinely. I don't think I've seen a show that has worse writing than She-Hulk.
This is a legal sitcom. It's a legal sitcom that has terrible court cases and isn't funny at all. So why the hell is this in the MCU? I don't know. It doesn't feel like the MCU. There's barely any action, and the action we get is probably the worst in the franchise. Hulk is in it. Wong is in it. Abomination is in it. And they are all gummed-down versions of themselves. They make Abomination a spiritual goofball that isn't anything like the hard-boiled mercenary from The Incredible Hulk. Wong, THE SORCERER FREAKIN' SUPREME, sits in Kamar-Taj and watches The Sopranos in this. I just refuse to accept that this show takes place in the same universe where Thanos murdered half of all life. I can't accept that.
This show has two villains, both of which are terrible. The first is Jameela Jamil's Titania, this social media influencer with super strength. She's a bit of an obstacle in the middle of the season, and she is just horrible. I think Jameela Jamil is funny. She's a good actress. This is a complete waste of her talent. Titania is this overly plush antagonist that doesn't even really do anything. She's just annoying. The second is the big villain that they build up to throughout the season, leading to a reveal so underwhelming that I actually thought it was fake. When they revealed who the main villain of the season is, I turned to my brother and said "That's not real. That's a misdirect.". It wasn't. And the big bad of the season is horrible.
You know one thing a show needs to be good? Characters. You know something terrible about She-Hulk? The characters. Nikki Ramos, Jen's best friend, is just a shallow sidekick character that has her moments, but is ultimately just annoying. There's another lawyer in the show called Pug that is insanely forgettable. The only memorable thing about his character is how horrible the actor was. I've already touched on Abomination, Wong, and the villains. This show just fails miserably at having any good story elements, including characters.
I've heard people praise the CGI in She-Hulk, and I just don't get it. This show looks like it's a PS2 video game. It looks like they had another layer of effects they needed to add on every single character. She-Hulk herself looked pretty unnatural in most shots, but the other CGI characters were even worse. Abomination looked horrific. Anytime they used green screens or had a character do some flippy-kick thing, it would just look so insanely fake. I could not stand how horrible the visuals were.
The court cases. Oh my God, the court cases. I don't think the writers of this show know what lawyers do or how courts work. There are maybe ten court cases in this show. In almost every one of them, the plaintiff or the defendant will stand up and yell at the judge and nothing will happen to them. In real life, if that happens, they will be expelled from court with possibly more consequences. The cases themselves were also incredibly juvenile and idiotic. God. The writing in this show is just awful.
I also don't know if the writers got this memo, but sitcoms need to be funny. She-Hulk is not funny...at all. Every single one-liner fell flat. There were so many moments that were supposed to make you laugh but just made you cringe instead. For example, episode three has this HILARIOUS situation where a STUPID MAN lawyer sues an Asgardian elf for impersonating Megan Thee Stallion and tricking him into thinking he was dating the actual Megan Thee Stallion. So funny and clever, right? Oh, and while we're at it, why not throw in a scene of Megan Thee Stallion and She-Hulk TWERKING? THAT'S HYSTERICAL!
This show has me at a loss for words. Phase Four has been a mixed bag, but even the worst stuff has something I enjoy. Eternals is an ambitious mess. I don't like it by any means, but it tries to be good. Shang-Chi has a great villain. I don't like Shang-Chi either, but the Mandarin is one of the best villains in the MCU. Ms. Marvel has a great lead character. Love and Thunder has some great elements in it. I've never hated anything in the MCU as much as I hate this show. It isn't funny. It doesn't do a good job at portraying feminist ideas. There's no good characters (Jen's okay, I guess). There's no good action. There's one good episode. The rest are nearly unwatchable.
Final Thoughts and Score
When I watched the first trailer for this show, I was like "What?". That has been my reaction to this show. Marvel. Kevin. What is this? This is not the MCU. This is not what I want to see. This is not the direction you want to go. Make Werewolf by Night. Make Wakanda Forever. Make No Way Home. Hell, even take risks like Eternals that don't pay off. But never, EVER do anything like She-Hulk again.
This is Moldy. Age range is 7+.
SWEET N' SOUR SCALE
Sweet (Great)
Savory (Good) Sour (Bad)
Moldy (Terrible)
"She-Hulk: Attorney at Law"
Fun Factor: 3/10
Acting: 6/10
Story: 1/10
Characters: 1.5/10
Quality: 1.5/10
Created by Jessica Gao
Rated TV-14 for superhero violence and action, language, suggestive material, thematic elements
Premiered on August 17, 2022
Episode runtime: 30 minutes
Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk
Ginger Gonzaga as Nikki Ramos
Jameela Jamil as Mary MacPherran / Titania
Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky / Abomination
Josh Segarra as Augustus "Pug" Pugliese
Renée Elise Goldberry as Mallory Book
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk
Benedict Wong as Wong
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil
Jon Bass as Todd Phelps
Griffin Matthews as Luke Jacobson
Steve Coulter as Holdin Holloway Drew Matthews as Dennis Bukowski