“She-Hulk” Episode 8 R&R: Toad-ily Devilish in Mustard and Ketchup
“The Condiment King ain’t get sh*t on me!”
by Rob LoAlbo
All photos courtesy Marvel Studios and Disney Plus
So, it finally happened! Aren’t you just as happy as can be? That’s right folks. After weeks of disappointments and buildups, Jen finally made an emotional connection. Hooray! You go grl! Oh wait, you were excited about Daredevil? Yeah, I guess that’s pretty good, too.
But your honor, it’s not my fault. I spoiled everything because that blind defense attorney was just so damn charming.
This week’s case: The Devilishly Handsome Murdock v. Walters
Losing sight is nothing compared to how badly we're developing asthma: he’s really taking our breath away.
FACTS OF THE CASE
So we can officially end the Murdock watch now as our echolocationary street vigilante is finally out and about on the West Side. In a rare showing for Marvel, where the usual amount of horniness existed only on Daredevil’s helmet, our heroes achieve some real intimacy and a very real sexual encounter. (For more on the extreme lack of sexual attraction in the MCU, check out this amazing essay by RS Benedict entitled “Everyone is Beautiful and No One is Horny”). But apparently, there are some real consequences to that behavior according to the villains. Taking a dark turn, Jen is publicly slut shamed. How we got there is what makes this journey interesting.
We start the episode with Leapfrog, someone who has nothing better to do than guard discount Best Buy stores in a Luke Jacobson inflammable suit. (Why Jacobson would do ANYTHING for him is beyond me.) Since he barely matches the definition of “super hero,” Jen is voluntold to defend him in court as he sues their designer, news which of course Luke takes in stride.
“You’ll never get it now. I’ll finish this dress when Frogs fly and Devils walk the earth.”
Determined to get even after Luke rips apart her intended gala dress, Jen has her fashionista day in court with him only to have her wits matched by legendary defense attorney Matt Murdock. Attempting to get a client list, Murdock out-argues and out-sniffs her, discovering that jet fuel was used in the offending boosters, which goes against Jacobson suit instructions. Murdock 1, Walters 0.
Off to lick her greening wounds, Jen winds up at her usual lawyer bar and mends ways with Matt over appletinis, soft jazz, and chemistry that would make my 10th grade science teacher proud. With pickup lines as good as his legal advice, Matt convinces Jen to balance out her life: Jen to the law, Hulk to the jaw (or something like that), giving her ultimate rule of both worlds. (Score: 2-0) Yet conflicting legal appointments pull these two flirty birds apart faster than a white crowd dispersing when Todd screams Wakanda Forever.
But when someone gets the jump on Leapfrog (snicker), Jen finally dons her Jacobson workout duds and hulks to the rescue, only to discover that the attacking someone is the dastardly dressed Daredevil, now in condiment mode. They battle it out, but Jen’s got the sound waves to unmask and take him down. (2-1) Leapfrog kidnaps Luke and sew-forces him to design more suits, but Matt and Jen aren’t far behind, listening in on heartbeats more than Don Johnson ever did. And what’s better than echolocation? HALLWAY FIGHTS! Daredevil is back! (Oh man, Born Again can’t come soon enough!) The two dispense with the goons and pleasantries, going back to Jen’s place to ribbit and rip it.
Not practical at all: too many latches and zippers.
Yet the show doesn’t end there (despite a Marvel first - a female orgasm joke! 2-2! Jen ties it up!), and Jen’s as confused as we are about the tacked on scene. But what would a penultimate episode be without a plot twist? On to the gala where Jen is rep-smeared by Intelligencia and loses control of her rage. Who’s behind it? (My chips are on Todd. Ew.)
EVIDENCE AND TESTIMONIES
Matt may be blind, but when it comes to connecting with Jen, he sees way more than he’s letting on. That devilish smile of his lights up a room and turns on the feels for Jen. When all sound drops out of the scene, the camera zooms, and Matt tells Jen that he can hear her heartbeat speeding up—I got real George Clooney/Jennifer Lopez trapped in the truck together vibes. It’s official: I am shipping Jen and Matt harder than any MCU couple out there. (Which isn’t saying much, since like how many are there really?)
“Ha…ha…ha…that’s funny because Gamora’s dead.”
Maslany and Charlie Cox are a match made in heaven (are there daredevils in heaven?), as both have that giddy, flirty energy that snaps when the dialogue is right (which is better than Paul who has ghastly, farty energy after a night at the local brewery). I am hoping against all hope that he shows up in the last episode, but at least I know that when these two eventually run into each other again (even if it isn’t until Phase 6), they’ve got history that was solidified in parking garage cement.
VERDICT
When Matt announces that he’s Daredevil and Jen claims no one’s heard of him, it sets the stage for his official lowkey entrance into the MCU, which is great. Not all superheroes need to be as well known as Thor and Iron Man (nor do they need to have a musical made about them). It was a REALLY long tease for Matt in this show, but it was worth every musical intro note minute.
Having said that, for a superhero who was all practical stunts in his Netflix days, it was disappointing to see some wonky fight CGI substituted into the mix. Clearly, Netflix money pays the bills and Mickey is a stiff Scrooge.
He actually keeps it all in his shoes.
It’s great that the show doesn’t have a clear villain, other than a male-dominated society that constantly asks what it’s like to be a woman, but the Intelligencia seems a bit on the nose even for this show. I like my She-Hulk fluffy, spunky, and funny, and the show took a possibly too dark turn at the end with Jen revenge porn. Jen reacts reasonably, so the fleeing of the audience in terror seemed a bit much and tonally out of character. Once next week plays out, we’ll see just how dark, or not, that was but for right now it feels like the show might be too often biting the audience hand that feeds it.
WIN, LOSS, or SETTLEMENT
Despite the legal tie, it’s a HUGE win for Jen and the series, as this is the first must-see She-Hulk TV of the series. Yes, the presence of Daredevil significantly improved it, but it’s also seeing Daredevil through Jen’s eyes that made it better. Her growth this season—coming to terms with her identity—is what made us ship not just Jennithew (Mattifer?) but also her relationship happiness, something that she has been denied so much and so deserves.
Line of the Week: “But the question is, is it the kind of twist that’s like, ‘ooh, there’s another Hulk, but this one’s red’ or like ‘I’m getting fridged?’” - Do yourself a favor and look up what “fridged” means. Your welcome.
Star City Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Next Week: The Double Standard of Getting Mad and Smashing: Bruce vs. Jen