Warning: This review contains spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode 2.
After the first episode got Jen’s origin story out of the way, the second installment of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has set up the central premise of the show. Upon being let go from her firm for Hulking out during a trial, Jen is hired by a different firm to head up a new division dedicated to representing superhumans in court. This is a great setup for a legal procedural comedy set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and She-Hulk is already realizing the potential of that juicy setup.
Tatiana Maslany continues to carry the series with a hilarious performance as a superhero who has no interest in being a superhero. Maslany has proven to be perfectly cast in this role. She has both the dramatic chops to find the nuance in the duality of Jen and her unwanted She-Hulk persona and the comedic timing to get a laugh out of every one-liner, fourth wall break, and awkward workplace interaction. She has the star power to anchor the series as a compelling lead and the down-to-earth qualities that everyone can relate to.
While the pilot was essentially a half-hour flashback bookended with brief lawyering, the second episode – titled “Superhuman Law” – settles into full-blown sitcom mode with gags about pointless listicles, The Silence of the Lambs, and Jen’s parents using her newfound superhuman strength to help with household chores. This episode avoids the overplayed laughable superhero name gag. After being dubbed the She-Hulk by media outlets, Jen doesn’t get into a long, derivative conversation about how silly the name is. When she hears bar patrons chanting the name “She-Hulk,” Maslany says it all with a sigh and an exasperated look to the camera.
Fans have been promised a bunch of MCU cameo appearances in She-Hulk that will take dramatic characters like Matt Murdock and give them a comedic makeover to suit the tone of the series. In “Superhuman Law,” Tim Roth reprises his role as Emil Blonsky, the villain from The Incredible Hulk, who’s incarcerated in a high-tech maximum-security prison. Blonsky was a vile antagonist in his first appearance, but here, he promises he’s changed and wants Jen’s help to arrange parole. Roth has a lot of fun playing a sillier take on Blonsky who’s gotten into spiritualism and writing terrible yet heartfelt haikus in a bid to make amends with his former enemies.
Director Kat Coiro brings more visual flair to the second episode than the CGI-heavy first one. There’s a great montage in which the camera focuses on Jen with a constantly changing background as she’s rejected for job after job. As the rejections pile up and Jen looks more and more dejected, the backdrops become increasingly drab and washed-out. Note to other MCU filmmmakers: this is how to use bluescreens creatively and not as a crutch.
The fourth wall breaks are being used to interesting effect. This week, there’s a meta nod to the Hulk recasting. Bruce says that the events of The Incredible Hulk were so long ago, “I’m a completely different person now... literally.” Jen glances at the audience and says, “Hah.” This is the first time in a decade that the MCU has acknowledged Edward Norton turning into Mark Ruffalo, and it’s the franchise’s second most on-the-nose reference to recasting (after Don Cheadle’s Rhodey said, “Look it’s me, I’m here, deal with it, let’s move on,” in Iron Man 2). But the fourth-wall-breaking isn’t just an excuse for self-aware winks to the audience. Jen speaks to the camera to express her inner monologue. If Jen is anxious or insecure or frustrated about something, she tells us. After saying something embarrassing to her new boss, she confides in the viewer that she’ll be worrying about what she just said for the rest of the year. This differentiates Jen’s fourth wall breaks from Deadpool’s and goes a long way toward making her so relatable and endearing.
The linear story structure gives this episode a lot more forward momentum than last week’s origin story. Jessica Gao’s script jumps from plot point to plot point, with plenty of comedic conflicts along the way, from Jen’s new boss making her alienating Hulk form a job requirement to the Abomination breaking out of prison and taking part in an underground fight club (as seen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings). From Aaron Sorkin-style workplace walk-and-talks to storytelling conveyed in the cuts between scenes, She-Hulk is always moving.
Unlike some of the dragged-out episodes of Marvel’s hour-long dramas, there’s no filler in the half-hour sitcom episodes of She-Hulk. Whenever a given scene isn’t actively moving the plot forward, it’s because there’s a joke there instead. If the show maintains this momentum for the next seven weeks, then Marvel fans are in for a treat.
The second episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is now streaming on Disney+.