“She-Hulk” Episode 3 R&R: Jennifer Thee Walters
Twerking hard or hardly twerking? Walters kills it at the office either way.
by Rob LoAlbo
All photos courtesy Marvel Studios and Disney Plus
With cameos galore (it’s not a gimmick, I swear) and the jokes getting zanier, the pace is ramping up as we are now one third of the way through the show and there’s no clear storyline for the series or big villain to face. Is this necessarily a bad thing, though? Is Marvel managing to break their meh streak with something unconventional or is this headed for a giant green splat?
I’m not in contempt, YOU are, because these spoilers are so good they’re a crime!
This week’s case: Dual Plotlines v. Walters
FACTS OF THE CASE
After finding out that Blonsky escaped to participate in underground fight club (something of which, we don’t talk about), she confronts him but he claims to have been sprung against his will by the current sorcerer supreme. Nikki apparently takes a great thirst trap (I had to look up what that is: thank you Urban Dictionary), so Wong is on his way to the stand. While Emil cools off in the slammer, She-Hulk’s news saturation is heating up. Everyone has something to say about the not-so-jolly green giantess, and the show uses this opportunity to address a great deal of the toxic male fandom around a female-centered superhero show, poking its big green finger into the social media eye of it. (FYI - If Marvel shows aren’t starring a male superhero, MCU fandom has been review bombing IMDB, as shown with “Ms. Marvel” at 6.2, “She-Hulk” currently at 5.0, but Moon Knight at 7.3—?!?)
“Come at me, trolls. I still scored higher than Shaq’s superhero movie ‘Steel’ (2.9 btw).”
Wanting to duck the spotlight, Jennifer avoids the big news interview like the plague, but what she can’t avoid is her past in the form of creepy Bro-ho Dennis from her old law firm. A Light Elf from New Asagard shapeshifted into Megan Thee Stallion and managed to bilk him out of a ton of money and a Volkswagen Passat loan. (Don’t laugh—I owned one. They are mad expensive in repairs alone.) He won’t accept her help, so Pug takes the case, cleverly using Jennifer as a character witness and Runa as a running joke—she keeps changing into other people and toying with the case, garnering a decent number of laughs. Jen witness slams his reputation, testifying as to how delusional he is, and the judge awards him the spoils.
Wong finally shows up and lets Jennifer know that Abomination’s release was part of his sorcerer supreme training, but will the parole board buy it? Maybe if Wong shows up to the hearing and Emil’s pen pal cult can keep it down. They nail a defense and explain away the break, but it’s Emil who seals it with a controlled morph into Zen-Abomination. The board agrees to a controlled release, and Jen realizes that she can control the media flow by giving them what they want: an interview. But as the media tends to, she wants to talk legalese and they just want beauty tips. (Paul has that same exact problem: whenever he wants to talk about his philosophical beliefs, people just ask him about his hair.)
“Tonight at 11: Jennifer Walters—mousse, blow-out, or natural bounce? We ask the tough questions!”
Post court, Jen is attacked in an alley by The Wrecking Crew (comic accurate, look it up) who are handily defeated as they usually are. They report to a “Boss” which hints at The Leader from 2008’s Hulk film. Will Tim Blake Nelson be our next cameo, further tying that film into continuity? Will the cameo gimmick play on? Next week may tell!
EVIDENCE AND TESTIMONIES
With the show wrapping up last week’s Blonsky plotline and introducing an episode-contained court case, it proved adept at handling multiple plotlines at once. Despite a few scene bumps that sometimes either went on for too long or could have been trimmed for flow, it’s finding a rhythm that is quick enough to support the rapid fire pacing of the jokes and long enough to flesh out the story. That Gao is holding to a ½ hour procedural format is wise, as is sticking to the sitcom format—even if this week’s episode rab a bit longer than it should have.
Focusing on the sadness that is Blonsky’s prison crocs: that’s at least another 2-3 minutes added to the runtime.
Jokes and visual gags significantly improved, at times feeling like a Police Squad! episode with Megan Thee Stallion as a punchline. The fun now is trying to catch all of the jokes as they fly past us. I found myself lol-ing a few times and missing some the first go around. (Did you catch Wong’s LinkedIn profile showing that he was a full-time Target Sales Associate for 9 years?) The problem, as I mentioned on this week’s podcast about the MCU, is that sometimes these shows and movies suffer from overindulgence. Where a Megan Thee Stallion sight gag worked once, they stretched it too thin. Twerking aside, the scene took the air out of the joke. With comedy, less is more.
VERDICT
Maslany continues to shine as the straight man, displaying great comic timing and tendencies. She can really sell a bit well (see Wong giving testimony and her trying to recover from his sudden disappearance). Still, the She-Hulk look detracts from her comedic abilities with its Princess Fiona look, so the less we see of her in that form, the better.
Gao also needs to avoid real drama, or worse, fan-service schmaltz. Don’t worry about giving comedic figures dignity. In a zany comedy, we are meant to laugh at them. There were too many moments where we were prompted to feel something for a character or situation (as evidenced by the camera closeups or swelling music), but sitcoms don’t work that way. The times of Sam and Diane in a dramatic moment were few and far between, and the comedy worked as a result. Prioritize laughter, not cheesy moments.
“You don’t need a judge to decide. I hereby rule this moment, funny!”
At least the lack of overall storyline and villain means that comedy is a priority. Hopefully the show will continue to break the Fiege mold and conform more to sitcom history by focusing on the episode instead of the story arc.
And thankfully, Jen’s family was a no show.
WIN, LOSS, or SETTLEMENT
It’s not a huge win, but it’s a win nonetheless. At this point the jury has voted and although they’re not unanimous, they still have majority rule. With quicker pacing, continuously great work from Maslany, better understanding of what to do with her in the show, and the presence of more real jokes and gags than quips and forced humor, the show is improving. I can’t quite increase my rating, but at least I’m laughing more and enjoying the lead.
Star City Rating: 3½ out of 5
Next Week: Walters is out and loving the green spotlight, but who will that attract in the process?