One of the strongest attributes of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law is that it picks and chooses what it wants to borrow from the larger scheme of the MCU. Examining ground-level problems in a superhero-led world? Great! Switching up CGI fights with society-induced conflicts? Refreshing! Bringing superpowered people as case-of-the-week troupes for our hero to solve? Wait a minute.
The greatest strength of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law could also become a major problem. So far, the creators have managed to navigate it quite well, sailing through on Tatiana Maslany’s likeability and hilarious takes on civilian life in MCU’s world. But with four episodes (streaming on Disney+Hotstar) sticking to this format, the cracks are starting to show.
Episode four follows Walters as she tries to win a case against an irresponsible magician and former student at Kamar-Taj (Wong returns!), while also trying to navigate dating in her 30s, both as Jennifer Walters and She-Hulk. Again, the details work really well. Every guy Walters meets has red flags, and the twist at the end really rams home how different her dating life will be as a superhero. Wong also has his own sweet arc in this episode, as the case’s chief witness keeps giving him spoilers for The Sopranos, despite which they manage to forge an unlikely friendship (brownie points for the post-credits scene).
A still from She-Hulk: Attorney At Law Marvel Studios
The humour aside, a lot of the mysticism feels like a subtle nod to the world we live in. The idea of a rogue magician who uses Kamar Taj’s teachings to make money with hacky tricks seems painfully real when one actually thinks about it. Walter’s struggle with seeking a partner who values her as a human, while accepting her alter-ego’s increasing desirability has a sense of relatability with a generation that has only dated through apps.
The rest of the episode promises to be a breezy watch based on Maslany’s charisma itself, but the problem remains that there never are any real stakes. Walters never seems to be at threat, both as Jennifer and She-Hulk, none of the episodic villains seem worthy of becoming the chief antagonist, and there hasn’t been a hint of one either.
While this doesn’t make She-Hulk: Attorney At Law unwatchable by any means, it does hold us back from emotionally investing in the character, largely restricting us to cheerleaders. For all the hard work the writers have done in fleshing out such a great character, Walters deserves a deeper dive into her psyche. Luckily, a nine-episode season still leaves plenty of room for that to happen. And Marvel, will you give us the Daredevil appearance already?
