She-Hulk: Attorney At Law Episode 1 Was…Okay, I guess

I hate to say it, but I kind of expected this from Episode 1. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has launched to a predictable mediocre start as the critics vs. fans divide on this show has official commenced.

I must say that I’m really disappointed with Episode 1. Everything felt SUPER rushed as the character origin of Jennifer Walters transforming into the She-Hulk was dealt with all in the span of 20-25 minutes.

I know this show is supposed to be a Marvel sitcom with a limited run span, but they really needed to showcase and explore more of Jennifer Walters life prior to becoming a She-Hulk versus the affects said transformation had on her in this episode.

In fact, the episode showed us less than five minutes of Jennifer Walters as just Jennifer Walters (the Captain America discussion scene was the only time we saw Walters as a regular human) before they got her infected with Bruce Banner’s blood. I was expecting to see a little more of Jennifer Walters’ real-life struggles before her transformation and how it would solve or hinder said struggles.

Now, I know the show portrayed some of her new struggles that comes with being a She-Hulk with the whole “vacation in Mexico” plot of the episode, but that was rushed beyond belief. And it didn’t provide any meaningful human struggles that would have made Jenniefer that much more relatable.

The show did try when Bruce Banner told her she would never be able to do the job she loves again and would be forced to seclude herself from society. But they dropped that conflict as quickly as Marvel releases new shows as Walters simply to listen to Banner or take his advice, left the island after a fight between the pair, then went back to her normal life without any consequences.

Yeah, not very relatable.

Anyway, like I said, we never really got to the real Jennifer Walter, a shy, timid lawyer (at least that is her personality from the comics), as she was already the confident, empowering She-Hulk from the get-go.

Okay, I get Marvel couldn’t just copy the She-Hulk backstory from the comics to the show exactly as it involves the most despised and memed Marvel character of all time (everyone’s favorite superhero, Morbius), but they could have included the other parts of the backstory.

Where’s Nicholas Trask and his criminal underworld? Why was Jennifer Walter’s tragic backstory (involving Trask) not mentioned at all? And why did they have her transformation have to be so plot-driven, rather than a natural character decision as it was in the comics (Banner undergoes a blood transfusion for Walters to save her life after being shot by Trask and his criminals).

Nevertheless, those omissions could have been forgiven if they didn’t break my cardinal sin for this show: they made She-Hulk stronger and more competent than regular Hulk instantly.

I can’t begin to describe how disappointed I was when I saw She-Hulk instantly mastering each and every single task and trial Banner put her through. Did the show runners and writers not understand that what made She-Hulk from the comics so great was her struggles and the perseverance she displayed by eventually controlling her powers?

She-Hulk was so overpowered in this episode that she was even able to control the precise moments of her transformations (for the most part).

Walters eventually gets that power (well, something similar) in the comics, but that happens after Morbius saves her from a blood disease. She definitely didn’t get it immediately as shown in Episode 1.

And where was the famous fourth wall breaking comedy? There were maybe three scenes that She-Hulk actually spoke to the audience/broke the fourth wall. That’s not nearly enough for a sitcom and character like She-Hulk.

I don’t want to completely criticize this show as it had some good elements too. I thought Tatiana Maslany’s portrayal of this version of Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk was really good, while her banter with Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) was also solid for the most part. Still, I think if they used Walters’ original backstory, Maslany would have nailed She-Hulk even more.

I thought the CGI was pretty good as well, and the courtroom scene was one of the better aspects of the show until it was obliterated by some unnamed super villain (obviously, she’ll be the antagonist for She-Hulk for the remainder of the show). That’s all I can think of as the show mainly was just that Mexico plot that I really didn’t like.

Nonetheless, the response between the critics and audience on Rotten Tomatoes has gone as expected. With the critics’ outrageously high 86% score for Episode 1 and the audience’s low 66%, these two dividing voices have engaged in yet another pop-culture battle. And, as always, the true answer over how good the show really is lies in the middle.

So, I’d give Episode 1 of She-Hulk Attorney at Law a 7.0/10 and I’m cautiously skeptical where Marvel and the showrunner/writers are going to take this awesome character in Episode 2 and beyond.

Images Source: Featured Image: (Marvel/Disney) (Official Trailer | She-Hulk: Attorney at Law | Disney+ – YouTube)

In Text Image 1: (Marvel/Disney) (Official Trailer | She-Hulk: Attorney at Law | Disney+ – YouTube)

In Text Image 2: (Marvel/Disney) (Official Trailer | She-Hulk: Attorney at Law | Disney+ – YouTube)