Season 1 of She-Hulk has unfortunately ended. It is also the final television show of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). She-Hulk was unique in style and broke many of the MCU’s tropes, making it the perfect show to help end an era, and move onto new projects that are just as exciting.
*Warning: Minor Spoilers Ahead.
The show follows Jen Walters (Tatiana Maslany), an attorney who happens to be the cousin of one of the original Avengers, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) also known as The Hulk. After getting in a car crash together, Jen gets gamma radiation in her blood and becomes a Hulk. Jen is able to control when she switches forms and is still herself when she transforms, unlike Bruce who spent years fighting “the other guy” and only recently gained control of the Hulk form. Despite her new powers which now includes being able to break the fourth wall, Jen doesn’t want to be a superhero and decides to continue being a lawyer.
Jen establishes quickly that this is not a superhero show, but a fun lawyer show and she’s right. While the show can be viewed as a superhero origin show, it is meant to be inspired by lawyer sitcoms and that is most obvious in the shows format; most episodes revolve around a different case that is usually resolved by the end of the episode.Â
The highlight of the show is Tatiana Maslany and her portrayal of Jen Walters. Prior to this show, I had never heard of Maslany, despite her being a Golden Globe winner (won best leading actress for the TV Show Orphan Black). Being able to break the fourth wall is a challenging skill, and can feel awkward if done wrong. However, this is not a problem for Maslany who has an irresistible charm to her that makes her extremely likable and makes talking to the audience feel natural. She also is committed to the role and not afraid of being deemed as silly, which is especially helpful considering she is playing a 6’7” green superhero who has to twerk with Megan Thee Stallion in the 3rd episode.
The show is much less action-heavy compared to other superhero projects and the middle episodes have very low-stake plots making the show much more character-driven. Jen Walters is someone the audience can easily relate to and root for, making her the perfect main character. However, the show would not feel complete without all of the side characters and cameos. From Jen’s coworkers to the peculiar people she has to defend for a new superhero division for her law firm, everyone adds something to the show and keeps every episode exciting.
The most exciting character to join the series is Matt Murdock AKA Daredevil. He’s played by Charlie Cox who started playing Daredevil back in 2015 in his own TV show that originally was a Netflix original (the show has since been moved to Disney +). The audience has been excited for Murdock’s appearance since the initial trailers came out and it manages to live up to the hype. Jen Walters and Matt Murdock are some of the most charming characters in the entire MCU and have great chemistry in every scene. And while every scene Murdock is in is exciting, it manages to not take attention away from She-Hulk, but rather adds to her story.
The one main consistent storyline is Jen Walters learning how to balance being both Jen and She-Hulk. Jen at her new law firm is forced to work in her She-Hulk form which can be distracting for the audience as the CGI is very inconsistent. Jen didn’t want the She-Hulk form, but now she feels as though people around her like more as She-Hulk and starts losing her confidence. This is likely a storyline that is going to continue in future She-Hulk projects, as while Jen did start feeling more comfortable in her She-Hulk form, Jen still is working on her confidence.Â
The show also discusses the issue of how women are more likely to be attacked online. Jen has to deal with many online trolls including a group called “Intelligencia” whose main reason for harassing her is simply because she is a female superhero. This is very reflective of what is happening in real life. Despite being well-received by critics, it has become victim due to review-bombing and has ended up becoming the worst reviewed Marvel show, and it doesn’t deserve it.
Overall, the show is unique in its way of combining different tv show formats, and has a talented cast led by the insanely charismatic and likable Tatiana Maslany. I’m excited to see what season 2 will look like and maybe someday, we’ll get to see her on the big screen (we’re looking at you KEVIN).