She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Is This Not Real Magic?

She-Hulk just committed a robbery!

As much as one loves to see Jen put down grown men who practice magic, Wong and Madisynn is the comedy fillibuster She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 4, “Is This Not Real Magic?” never sees coming.

Together these unlikely friends steal the show, terrorizing their way into our hearts with This Is Us references and comedic longevity that bodes well for this show’s ensemble.

SLAYED (spelled with two N’s and one Y)

She-Hulk is in the business of chaos characters, and Madisynn is the epitome of what an agent of chaos can do for a show when weaponized effectively and without restraint.

I cannot stress how incredible Patty Guggenheim is at the helm of this stereotype sideshow. She comes into this franchise as an unknown, and she all but steals the show with her casual Alexis Rose-style oversharing.

Choose your fighter, because whether it’s The Sopranos spoilers or dark horse comedy like, “He would reap my soul and the souls of all I love. Which honestly is so dramatic, and I hate drama,” you’re getting backstory; you’re getting pop-culture relevance.

It’s a whole performance.

Kudos to She-Hulk for blowing off its superhero show and even its award-winning lead at times to pursue this vessel of chaos magic. She was worth the risk.

Elevating Female Stereotypes

What I love most about Madisynn is we can enjoy her vapidness because she is the elevated party girl archetype from conception.

At first glance, she is a bombastic socialite with a love for cocktail dresses and the party lifestyle. But no matter how far this episode leans on her ditzy persona as a comedy tool, She-Hulk refuses to portray Madisynn as unintelligent.

The episode’s greatest running joke goes out of its way to frame her as someone that can defeat Thanos without spilling her drink. Her stories might seem insane, but if you listen closely, she is taking great liberties to reenact the heroics of half these superhero movies.

A woman’s intelligence is far more complex than type-casting suggests, and it’s incredibly in line with She-Hulk‘s female-empowering themes to take Madisynn’s comedy in such a validating, well-rounded direction.

Friendships We Make Along the Way

Now let us discuss Madisynn and Wongers (iconic nickname)!

We could never predict this unconventional team-up and a round of applause to whoever was bold enough to write it into existence. I mean, a valley girl stumbling into Wong’s private chambers and spoiling The Sopranos for him? That is fan fiction.

Benedict Wong is always solid as the straight-laced sorcerer. He is the perfect canvas for Madisynn to bounce her unhinged dialogue off. Her talkative nature peels back layers of Wong’s personal life while highlighting the kindness that makes him such a compelling tour guide.

And the TV references are impeccable. The Sopranos comes up often, but that Jack and Rebecca Pearson jump-scare takes the award for most niche Marvel cameo.

She-Hulk goes out of its way to domesticate Wong and, in the process, gives us a piece of his character (and confirmation Mandy Moore is canon in the MCU) that we will forever cherish.

Jen’s Cameo Circus

She-Hulk by no means sidelining its leading hulk. On the contrary, it’s astounding how self-aware this show is within its hot pocket of nonsense. And it’s a testament that Wong and Madisynn can thrive magnificently in such a short format.

But it does test the limits of how much Jen can juggle as the ringmaster of this cameo circus.

Her dating storyline helps give her skin in the game, but it still feels like she is watching this episode unfold from the fourth wall. Moving forward, Jen needs threads tying her to the case as more than an observer to justify throwing her into the fight.

That said, Jen’s dating montage and that look of complete betrayal on her face when she realizes she isn’t enough for someone reaffirms this show’s desire to incorporate darker themes without dulling the blade.

In her own words, remember whose show this really is, She-Hulk.

Cracking the Case

Episode 4 opens on a mediocre magician show. In the best possible way, it feels like a serialized episode of iZombie.

This series is finally embracing the weekly case format. While it is only for a brief time, I hope we get several episodes committed to the bit because it gives this dueling lawyer/superhero premise room to toy with the day-to-day of the MCU.

She-Hulk‘s idea of getting meta with casework isn’t Iron Man denting the hood of a car. It’s a fratboy sorcerer terrorizing tourists and Titania trademarking She-Hulk to spite Jen. These legal issues are well thought out, spicey catalysts for chaos.

In the great words of Madisynn King, this episode is “Fun. Then scary. Then Fun again. Then spooky in a fun way.”

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

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