She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Ribbit and Rip It

If you’re going to reintroduce one of the most beloved superheroes into the MCU, this is how you do it!

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Episode 8, “Ribbit and Rip It,” gives Matt Murdock the homecoming he deserves. The episode leans on Daredevil‘s greatest hits to ensure the case of Jen’s superhero/lawyer lifestyle is undisputed.

It’s only right we let it go down in infamy for effortlessly (and humorously) framing these legendary lawyers in their best light.

Hell’s Kitchen Homecoming

From grueling hallway fights to self-deprecating blind jokes to mad flirtatious banter, She-Hulk‘s latest episode is a proper homage to the series that set a precedent for Marvel shows.

The eagerness to embrace Netflix’s previous successes is somewhat shocking. But hearing those first few notes of Daredevil‘s iconic theme song as Matt announces his alias, is worth every agonizing breath we’ve taken since 2018. Indeed, that’s the sound of Marvel Studios trying its best not to fuck this up.

The prodigal catholic has returned, and despite being wedged into a lighter genre, there’s no doubt this is our Matt Murdock. Of course, only Defender-era Matt would walk into a courtroom joking about driving himself there.

And to call this a “cameo” for Charlie Cox is an understatement.

Cox slips effortlessly back into Matt’s world with his signature lopsided grin and soft chuckle.

She-Hulk, acknowledging greatness is at work, graciously gives him room to loosen his tie outside the courtroom. All the right tonal decisions are made by keeping the CGI to a minimum and letting Matt’s fist do the talking in a gritty scene reminiscent of the good old days.

The dueling courtroom and hallway scenes, coupled with Jen’s round of questioning, give Cox’s next-level character work the material it is long owed.

To say the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen saved this comedy would undermine everything the penultimate is doing to pivot here. Still, there’s no denying the incorporation of our favorite lawyer is a game changer.

Daredevil is the reigning heavyweight champ, and She-Hulk kindly gets the hell out of his way so Cox can do what he does best — become Matt Murdock.

Matt Murdock’s Slut Era

Ah, yes, Matt’s slut era is alive and well. As it should be because this man loves playing the field, and She-Hulk clearly loved getting to explore that.

Cue Laszlo’s “Most devious bastard in all of New York City” because Matt explaining to Jen that he can hear her heartbeat with that vicious look of his is enough to stop my heart. Its overtly flirty lines like that give Cox no right to be this charming.

The heat coming off Maslany and Cox’s exchanges is electrifying, with neither party willing to drop the lawyer banter as it turns scandalous. However, the little victories like Jen helping Matt find his drink or using each other’s full names (seriously, Jen saying Matthew was so hot) help She-Hulk reach fan-fic levels of success.

Capping off this flirtatious mission with the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen naked and fumbling around with Jen in her bedroom proves that this series might not understand its agenda, but it understands Matt Murdock quite well.

And that walk of shame right into his own series? Perfection, no notes!

She-Killing It

What I love most about this episode is how it incorporates a huge Marvel player into the universe but never once takes away from Jen as our lead.

Matt’s arrival allows Jen to return to her fourth-wall-breaking, wise-cracking self. She gets to navigate new situations in both the courtroom and the streets of California, all while taking nothing seriously. It’s glorious.

And let’s talk banter because the bar was raised today.

Jen’s got killer one-liners to bounce off Daredevil — “Do you pretend to be blind because that is really problematic” and “I’m sorry that I assumed the guy dressed like the devil was the bad one” are standouts. But Matt throws it right back at her, which only seems to delight Jen more.

The show’s original mission has never been more alive than with Jen and Matt as they fight crime and shout legal advice at bad guys.

Born Again

Four years after Daredevil was ripped from our lives, She-Hulk looks to make things right.

In almost every respect, the episode succeeds, becoming a rewatchable masterpiece for its layers of entertaining action, comedy, and character work. It also brings Jen’s mysterious tailor back into the fold with a well-weaved storyline.

Unfortunately, She-Hulk refuses to go out on a high note because this pacing is the actual devil. Jen acknowledging the odd plotting is hilarious, but it doesn’t excuse the last ten minutes for dragging this episode down.

This show thinks it’s clever to demonstrate how angry women are painted as monsters, but we haven’t spent enough time on inner turmoil to give this rage real gravitas. Instead, it feels like another unnecessary beatdown for our lead.

Anyways, they really should give that Daredevil fellow his own show.

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

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