Why She-Hulk was a smash: 5 key takeaways following that big finale
We’re asking the important questions: Was that ending clever or a cop-out? What is it teasing about the future of the MCU? And does Marvel read our texts?
TV Features She-Hulk
[Warning: Spoilers for the final episode of She-Hulk are abundant in this story.]
The final episode of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law’s first season really went for it. And while the show’s fourth-wall-smashing finale may be divisive among fans, it’s certainly true to the original comic book (in which She-Hulk herself once threw legendary Marvel writer and artist John Byrne off a building). Now that the show is over—at least for now; we’re all still waiting to learn if Marvel and Disney + will move forward with a second season—we have some final thoughts about what turned out to be one of Marvel’s most fun and original series yet. Here are five key notes regarding She-Hulk.
1. A Marvel show can be ambitious and still be just a TV show
We’ve heard streaming shows described as long, extended films so many times that it’s become a cliché at this point. So it’s refreshing to see a TV series embrace the fact that it’s, well, a TV series. The recreation of the opening credits of the original 1970s show The Incredible Hulk made this point brilliantly by connecting She-Hulk with Marvel’s pre-MCU television history. She-Hulk: Attorney At Law knew from the beginning what it was—“Lawyer show!”—and didn’t try to be anything else.
We haven’t seen that from a Marvel show since WandaVision, and even that series evolved into a cinematic spectacle by the end. She-Hulk’s episodic, week-to-week format put some viewers off, but it makes total sense within this framework. If you remove the expectations associated with being part of the MCU, you’re left with a lighthearted half-hour legal comedy about a woman trying to find balance in her personal and professional life in the midst of an identity crisis. That’s prime sitcom material. Not that it wasn’t ambitious or didn’t take big swings—it was and it did. Turns out, you can do that on television, too.
2. Tatiana Maslany can do anything
A big reason why this show worked was Tatiana Maslany’s total commitment to portraying both versions of Jennifer Walters. Even in CGI form, her expressions and mannerisms came through. She was likable, relatable, empathetic, and funny. The most unbelievable thing in the entire show—which has superhumans, aliens, and interdimensional portals in it—was that Jen couldn’t get a date as herself.
Maslany’s versatility shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who watched Orphan Black (and if you haven’t, you really should). We lost track of how many different characters she played on that show, but just to give you some idea, the official credit on her Emmy nomination in 2018 read, “Tatiana Maslany, as Sarah Manning, Helena, Alison Hendrix, Cosima Niehaus, Rachel Duncan, Krystal Goderitch, Elizabeth (Beth) Childs, Jennifer Fitzsimmons, Katja Obinger, Tony Sawicki, Veera Suominen (M.K.), Camilla Torres and Unnamed Clone.” Every one of those characters was unique and instantly identifiable. Now we can add Jennifer Walters to Maslany’s repertoire. Jen has her own vibe, and we are totally into it.
3. The supporting cast was too good to be overshadowed by cameos
Maslany wasn’t the only cast member who consistently delivered on this series. We especially loved Ginger Gonzaga as Jen’s best friend and assistant Nikki, Josh Segarra as Pug, and Renée Elise Goldsberry as Mallory. Sadly, they didn’t get much screen time, sometimes disappearing for entire episodes. While the cameos and guest stars were fun, they too often took the spotlight away from the regular supporting cast. We’ll forgive Charlie Cox, because he was delightful as both Daredevil and Matt Murdock and it was cool getting to see him again. Being a lawyer, his inclusion in this legal show made sense.
The show could have found a better balance with the rest, though, as it did in the wedding episode. While Jen was off having her own adventure at a friend’s wedding, Mallory and Nikki had to deal with a lawsuit against an immortal douchebag back at the office. More of that, please. If the show gets a second season, we’d really like to learn more about these characters as individuals, not just in service of the main character. Could we get scenes between Mallory and her husband at home? Nikki on a date? A better look at Pug’s sneaker collection? We’d also like to request promoting Griffin Matthews to recurring status as prickly fashion designer Luke Jacobson. Every moment with him was perfection.
4. Hulk’s son could have big implications for the MCU
This probably didn’t mean much if you’re not familiar with the comics, but those who got the reference were probably pointing at the screen like Leonardo DiCaprio in that meme. This was a major bombshell, and it happened so close to the end that we barely had time to process it. Although K.E.V.I.N. told Jen earlier that they were going to save Hulk’s space story for the movies, they did ultimately give us a hint of where things might be going with the reveal of his son, Skaar.
For non-comic-book-readers, Skaar was conceived during the Planet Hulk arc, in which Hulk was banished from Earth, lands on Sakaar, becomes a gladiator, liberates the planet from a ruthless king, and becomes king himself. Some of those plot points were adapted in Thor: Ragnarok, but in the film, Hulk escapes and eventually returns to Earth as Bruce Banner. Now it looks like there were parts of the story we missed. Skaar’s presence could also mean the MCU could be incorporating another comic arc in the future, World War Hulk, a big crossover event involving characters from all over the Marvel universe.
5. The folks at Marvel know what we’ve been saying about them
Okay, so maybe that ending was a bit of a cop-out. It didn’t make much logical sense and rendered some of the season’s ongoing plotlines pointless. But boy, was it fun to watch Jen, and by extension the writers, roast Marvel. She brought up many of the issues fans have been debating for years. After signing the company’s famously extensive non-disclosure agreement (a continuous source of friction between journalists, talent, and the studio) she finally gets an audience with K.E.V.I.N.—the Knowledge Enhanced Visual Interconnectivity Nexus—and a chance to say what we’ve all been thinking.
Among the topics she addresses are:
- Marvel’s algorithmic approach to creating content with massive appeal
- Repeated plots featuring blood and daddy issues
- Setting action scenes at night so you can barely make them out
- Bringing X-Men and mutants into the MCU
- The scant depictions of women’s “needs”
- Being cheap when it comes to visual effects and the grueling schedules it forces on the digital creative teams
Clearly, someone over there has been paying attention. But that’s almost worse, since it doesn’t seem like Marvel has done much to address these issues. Maybe the first step is admitting you have a problem? And the next step, we guess, is joking about it. But then it’s time to actually make some changes. A good start would be giving She-Hulk the second season it very much deserves.
40 Comments
I enjoyed this show, much more so than any other Marvel TV show – some episodes genuinely felt like a breath of fresh air, others felt like they were caving under the pressures of the Marvel machine. Like the article says, it rings hollow for the show to point out the flaws of Marvel’s output and yet have a lot of the season leading up to that… repeat them. An assortment of observations:
– The show would have benefited heavily by being 12 or even 16 episodes long, with the cameo heavy episodes (Wong, Abomination, etc) spread out, and giving more room for more sitcom lawyer fun stuff like Mister Immortal, Leapfrog and…
– Titania, and not just because I love Jameela Jamil. Her entire shtick felt refreshing and unique for a Marvel villain.
– It would have given more breathing room for the Walters stuff, which was quite fun.
– K.E.V.I.N. gave me mad GLaDOS from Portal vibes, not just in design but the meta feeling of it all. GLaDOS is so much better.
– Loved Tatiana Masleny in the role.
– The version of She-Hulk in the 70s Hulk parody… actually looked a lot better than the main She-Hulk depiction.
– Both glad and sad Madisynn didn’t return again in this season. Glad because oversaturation might have ruined her pitch perfect appearance. Sad because Madisynn is (sadly) indeed one of the best things the MCU TV have come up with so far.
– As much as Intelligencia is indeed as genuinely comically absurd as a lot of real world incel stuff, the show might have benefited from showing the more insidious ‘intellectual’ ‘moderate’ side of their contingent. Maybe a Jordan Peterson like ringleader. Might have gotten too dark, though.
Wait, Titania was in this? Seriously, I don’t see the point of her even being in the show, she was so wasted, and there was zero backstory on her.
Agreed. She was in the show for all of five minutes across nine episodes. Criminally underused and squandered.
Kirk is meaning the lead actress not Jameela Jamil’s character.
I’m sure Madisynn has a bright future ahead of her in the MCU. But yeah, hopefully Marvel Studios won’t make the mistake of having too much of her.
I sincerely hope we find out Wongers has been teaching her magic.
I know others have said it, but Trevor Slattery and Madisynn must meet in a future MCU movie.
Definitely needed another episode or two. Or longer episodes.
Jordan Peterson has already been used as the basis for villains twice, including in a current, highly-publicized film. There might be some other dastardly, villainous psychology professors available for originality’s sake. Curious as to why you associate him with incels, and why do you use ‘intellectual’ in quotes? And what aspects of his advice, philosophy, and influence are ‘insidious’?
While I did enjoy the show, (1) I agree with the main review that I didn’t realize the meeting with K.E.V.I.N. W.A.S. the climax, so when nothing else happened I was surprised; (2) it is amazing how many plot holes developed in the course of just a few episodes…it’s like they don’t watch the previously on before writing the next episode. Fun show but I sure fucking hope they figure something out about the CGI before they start putting her in the movies…or just before next season.
This was the episode where I figured out the problem with the CGI (inasmuch as there is a problem) . . . I noticed that everything about She-Hulk’s body looked more believable than her face. And then I remembered the recent photos that have turned up online of Maslany posing with the on-set actor that portrays She-Hulk on the show. Which lead me to the (possibly erroneous) inference that they are Luke-Skywalkering Maslany’s face onto her double’s head in post. If that is in fact the method they’re using, then it makes perfect sense that the end result is just as spotty as Luke’s uncanny valley-lookin’ ass on Mandalorian. Disney is relying WAY too much on a technology that’s just not there yet.All that said, I loved every minute of this show and can’t wait for season 2.
Yeah the facial animations were, just bad. It looked like canned animations, or like you said deep fake. I will add that facial animations were the last major hurdle with CG “humans” or “human like” people, it’s the whole uncanny valley thing. Mouth movements when speaking feature a LOT of subtle movements and the like so they were hard to get right fora LONG time, I think Avatar was the first that really nailed the facial animations.
I realized that was it a few episodes ago but..yep, that’s it. and it looks like shit.
I’d prefer if they did exclusively use a body double, but a lot of the animated scenes, and CG clothes show that’s not the case. I’d have been stoked if they just did the show like the old school intro they used in the finale!
“Which lead me to the (possibly erroneous) inference that they are Luke-Skywalkering Maslany’s face onto her double’s head in post.”Malia Nahinu isn’t even as tall as She-Hulk, let alone built like She-Hulk, so they have to be mocaping the body and not just pasting Tatiana’s face on the real Malia’s body.
incel nerds about other MCU things: Nooooo itz nott laik that inn thuh comiczzzzz ;____;Marvel: Ok, we’ll make this show exactly like the comic.incel nerds: nooooooo not like that!!!!
A g-g-g-g-girl!
Females. Amirite?
So how, exactly, was this show “exactly like the comics”?Did they adapt any existing She-Hulk comics or storylines? Were any of the characters accurate representations of their comic book counterparts?No. And no.Because the creators/writers of She-Hulk didn’t read any of the comics. Nor did they care to write accurate versions of any existing characters.There are a lot of comics fans, and specifically She-Hulk fans, who have commented extensively on the failings of this show. While the show may have entertained you, it did not meet their standards for an accurate adaptation of the character.And they are entirely justified in making their displeasure known.
Am I the only that think this is like the muppet episode of Community in season 4? It’s like they trying to make something from the comic but feel odd and lackluster.And they just introduce Hulk son just like that, after she said they should introduce it in movie.I hope in the second season they can polish this 4th breaking wall.
I thought the finale was great and it made me laugh. Sure maybe the VFX joke was tone deaf in light of recent worker complaints, but that finale was conceived well before then.I hope we get a second season. I guess that depends on K.E.V.I.N. and whether he thinks it’s worthwhile.Failing that I hope we get an episode or two of Jen in Daredevil Born Again, those two have a good chemistry.
Yeah I was just saying to my brother that the K.E.V.I.N. VFX joke was tone deaf. It’s shitty of them making light of legitimate worker complaints against them. I got a real “silence you back to your corner” vibe from them making light of the issue.
I’d say that gag was written and shot well before the complaints about working practices came out. Still a bit tone deaf though.
The finale was mostly great. But they needed, in my opinion, to actually play out the ending Jen wrote instead of skipping to what happened after that ending. They pulled a Wayne’s World but without the gimmick of showing all of the surreal options and their consequences while winking at the audience’s imagination.If Jen is coming to terms with She-Hulk and Jen, then why didn’t she use She-Hulk and Jen to solve the ending? If she was going to use the law, how did she get all of those guys to stick around and wait for the cops to show up? It looks like they distracted from not knowing how to end the show by throwing in a discussion of how to end the show.
The VFX joke was actually a budget joke. Subtle difference in target.
“A smash”Viewership numbers were tiny, this show was not popular by any metric.
She-Hulk was exactly the low-stakes comedy the MCU needed. It was such a breath of fresh air compared to the other series. Even Ms Marvel got heavy at times.Although my favorite part was the series-long giant middle finger the show gave to all the internet chuds. It was like the ending of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back when they beat up every 14-year-old who talked shit about them online.
I took the Skaar thing as a joke and not setting anything up, given how the episode/season ended.
This show had a ton of great elements mixed into a really, severely underbaked narrative. I don’t mind so much things like the show’s extremely flimsy grasp of any part of the legal profession (although it is annoying that their approach seeemed to be “we learned everything we know from watching Law & Order, but we don’t remember most of it”—even more grating that Jen insists this is a “legal comedy”), but there were tons of character and narrative inconsistencies, and dropped/half-assed plot elements that just undermine the story at every turn.Like, everything they show us about Jen’s character at first tells us that she would not be okay with causing wanton property damage; in fact she’s actively worried about it. Then later in the show, she destroys cars, buildings, and parking lots with abandon, and not only does she never suffer any consequences for it (except when, suddenly, smashing a bunch of TVs means she’s a threat to all humanity), the show never even mentions it. There’s plenty of good moments, but why do they need to pull us out of the story with “wait, what?” moments like this every five minutes?
I have a theory about the Mephisto and now The Leader thing. Both of those happened during female led superhero shows. I think it’s just a product of misogynist dudes wishing they were watching something else. I find it so funny that those enraged fans dont even realize that they ARE intelligencia lol. Great show.
Is this show actually a lawyer show? (i.e. The lawyering is the A plot every episode). Or is it a a lawyer show the way Daredevil is a lawyer show, where the lawyering is rare and also makes absolutely no sense? I see a lot of people compare it to Ally McBeal but I’m not sure any of them have actually *seen* Ally McBeal.
The actual legal scenes are underwhelming, although maybe this is an accurate portrayal of how the law works in the MCU?
It’s more like Arrested Development than Ally McBeal. The inclusion of lawyer stuff exists solely for the gag, and not for the realistic representation of it.
This show, and no show that ever came before it, was like Ally McBeal. That show is 1 of 1.
It didn’t always wow me, but it wasn’t the tire fire it could’ve been.
She-Hulk’s characterization & the tone was spot on. Unfortunately
her enemies weren’t challenging enough. I wish it pushed things even
further & experimented with the format even more.
It’d be hilarious if Skaar never reappears.
Titania & Mallory were underused.https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com/2022/10/13/did-she-hulk-attorney-at-law-pass-the-bar/
I loved the show but it seems like the youtube reviewers that their algorithm keeps giving me hate it. A glance that has probably doomed me to even more bad recs shows that lot of them seem to have been taking the show way too seriously. For a show that outright states it’s not going to be like the rest at the start, there were a lot of people who only cared about the blood storyline and not about Jennifer’s struggles to define herself. If anything, I think the show could’ve used a bit more lawyer storylines prior to the wedding episode.
Fun show, but feels half done. All the storylines petered out with no resolution, and the same with the characters. This could be the mid season break and it would make sense, but to end the season like that doesnt. Very disappointing to me the way it ended. All the marvel shows have felt too short, but this one was especially egregious since it didnt even come close to feeling finished.
/comic book nerd when I was a kid (80s-90s) but never read she-hulk.
Should’ve been Alison Brie
Not only did Maslany play all of those Orphan Black characters uniquely, she also played some of them pretending to be others, and she was able to subtly let the audience know while fooling the other characters in the show.
She really is outstanding.And, yeah, why Jen as Jen wasn’t getting dates confused the hell out of me too.
“Why She-Hulk was a smash…”Sadly, it wasn’t. It’ll go down as the most divisive show in the MCU. It has a 5.1 rating on IMDB and a 35% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, which also makes it the lowest publicly rated property in the MCU. I know a lot of that is from review bombing, but LotR: Rings of Power suffered a similar fate, and it sits higher at a 6.9 rating on IMDB and a 39% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That should say something about She-Hulks’s public appreciation, establishing a clear antithesis to the notion that it was somehow a smash hit.There are people who enjoyed it, sure. But half of its audience clearly didn’t. So when people recite “Marvel’s algorithmic approach to creating content with massive appeal” when talking about She-Hulk, it has to be remembered that this show is an example where breaking the mold didn’t work and created a perfect storm of mass dissention within the MCU’s viewing audience. In a way, this should server as a lesson that any such algorithm they had was vastly superior than what they tried to do with She-Hulk. That’s why, IMO, Jen’s “roast” of the MCU fell a bit flat in the finale… The show simply didn’t live up to earning a voice for those criticisms.