She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 2 Review: Superhuman Law

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 2, “Superhuman Law,” is holding its punches as a courtroom procedural, but that’s where the restraint stops with this fourth-wall-breaking ballbuster.

After all, the Avengers can decimate a city and still keep their shiny campus, but Jen saves a few jury members from a flying bench, and she gets fired in a public bar.

That privilege is a catalyst for this secondary career pilot that isn’t afraid to get candid about being saddled with a trash film on its second outing. As long as She-Hulk exists, Incredible Hulk‘s mediocrity will not claim another victim.

Keep It In The Family

Sadly, yes, this episode is still heavy on the setup, and the weekly courtroom case studies are still absent. This leaves the plot beyond our titular heroine to twiddle its thumbs until the big Wong reveal.

This second installment builds a solid foundation for the case study format to succeed moving forward. ‘Superhuman Law” is setting up for the punchline, and I am excited to see how it all lands.

We stan supportive relationships in this fandom, and we are getting them.

Gone are the days when, to be a hero, the person would have to isolate themselves from everyone they love. Instead, Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk prove why including family and friend dynamics in the superhero lifestyle can be so rewarding.

Jennifer’s family dinners are filler in the grand scheme of things. However, seeing her mother criticizing her dating life as her father calls Clint Barton “that Hawkeye guy” makes me appreciate this super sitcom for prioritizing tropes over trauma.

Our Newly Re-Employed Queen

In a phase that has introduced a staggering amount of loveable characters, Jen Walters may be the most spectacular menace to society yet.

The special effects quality may waver, but Tatiana Maslany’s devotion to the role does not. She hits every comedic beat dead. Her combination of professional confidence and self-aware humor seems to solidify more with each episode, allowing Jen’s humor to become this show’s most exhilarating catalyst.

The thought of Matthew “orphan complex” Murdock having to match this scorched earth comedy is exhilarating. Plus, Jen’s chaotic energy is distracting enough to mask the growing pains this sitcom is experiencing early on.

She is the MCU’s Jake Peralta, and you can do no wrong with Jake Peralta energy.

Best of all, Maslany touches on the stereotypical stick-in-the-mud alter-ego, but she doesn’t let that label define Jen.

Jen is a stickler for the law, but that’s one facet of her. She is also a fangirl with Captain America’s ass on her phone lock screen; a grown woman who says things like ‘balling on a budget.” She-Hulk is willing to devote time to the little quirks too.

There’s an important balancing act with surface-level fan references and sharp-edged plotting. On the one hand, Jen’s meta existence affords us valuable nods to Wolverine, the Eternals, and Shang-Chi (to name a few!)

Yet, witnessing Jen shift in and out of her hulk form at the whim of others is a staggering commentary on the expectations women face in society. Jen can control her anger but ultimately cannot control a man using her job as leverage against her.

You broke more than the fourth wall with that one, She-Hulk.

An Incredible Return

She-Hulk gives The Incredible Hulk fans a dose of healing Andrew Garfield closure. And given we’ve spent years mocking this film’s existence, it feels honorable to do so in the form of a sitcom send-off.

Jen makes a spectacle of Emil’s film recapping by poking holes throughout (as one should). Bruce acknowledges he is a “different person now, literally” — a lightning-fast nod to Edward Norton and more than I ever expected from Marvel.

It’s precisely the right amount of time to spend on the first MCU film no one remembers.

Perhaps Jen’s affectionate wall-breaking has rubbed off on me, but this episode leaves me wanting more of the Abomination. It effortlessly reshapes this unremarkable, B-list villain into a disarming slideshow with compelling depth and hilarious red flags I cannot get enough of.

Yes, Tim Roth’s Emil is a lovely addition to this equation — the oddest of statements to say in 2022, I know.

But it’s true. This Emil is funny, and engaging. Hell, he’s captivating as he spins his super soldier sob story into something digestible.

A few years removed from his mindless tirade, this version of Roth is comfortable in his quirks and sinister in his quiet thumb-twiddling reflections. You cannot tell if he’s being truthful or merely bidding his time until it’s too late.

It is the role with teeth Roth was never afforded the first go around.

He is an example of how a fresh lens can elevate material and breath new life into a baddie that had no business being so serious. WandaVision grazed this potential, and now She-Hulk is ready to beat the joke dead with Emil’s seven wives.

Best of all, this is a comedy, and Jen isn’t required to acknowledge this villain’s red flags beyond a few pointed jokes. The plot holes are not just self-aware; they are self-sufficient.

This is Marvel at its most fun!

—

What did you think of this episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

New episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law stream Thursdays on Disney+.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Fan Expo Canada 2022 Preview: The ‘Stranger Things’ Cast Turns Toronto Upside Down