She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Series Review

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law follows lawyer Jen Walters as she grapples with her new hulk powers courtesy of her cousin, Bruce Banner as well her day job as a Los Angeles lawyer. Marvel has branded this show as a “case of the week” court dramedy. The question is: is this really a dramedy, or another case of Marvel projects going off the quality rails?

Pros: One of the best parts of the show is its cast and guest stars. While Tatiana Maslany carries the show with her charm and skill, she is supported by others as well. Ginger Gonzaga, as her assistant Nikki Ramos, brings a hilarious point of view to the show as she encourages Walters to embrace her Hulk side, and uses her positivity to help solve law related issues. Renee Elise Goldsberry plays Walter’s lawyer counterpart in Mallory Brook. Goldsberry, by contrast to Ramos, brings a more level-headed, serious approach, a perfect counterpart to Maslany’s 4th wall breaking character. 

In addition to the main cast, the show has a host of guest stars. Much like the comics, almost every episode has at least one guest star from the larger MCU. While some shows may use this as a crutch, She-Hulk uses this as a strength. The show allows the guest stars to bring a real world humor to their characters they don’t often get to use in their main MCU roles. For instance, Wong, Benedict Wong, joins the cast for multiple episodes as he battles his own legal issues. Wong is joined by a new character in Madisynn, Patty Guggenheim, a Florida party girl who is almost always drunk. This combination works as Guggenheim’s fun and flighty character wiggles her way into Wong’s life as he is trying to be the serious Sorcerer Supreme. Their scenes end up being some of the most memorable and hilarious parts of the show. 

Benedict Wong, Patty Guggenheim & Tatiana Maslany in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

Cons: The main issue this show has is it feels the need to inject feminist talking points about how hard it is to be “a woman in a man’s world” and how “differently women are treated compared to men”. This is in stark contrast to the larger MCU where there are many female characters who have not had to go through this. So to have one singular character go through this struggle and have this kind of hate, makes no sense and feels forced on the universe. Furthermore, for many people, including women, the MCU is an escape from the real world where they may deal with sexism on a daily basis. So to have a show from a beloved franchise push this, takes you out of the story instead of selling you on why this show is good. Some of the best episodes end up being the ones where none of this “it’s so hard to be a woman” mentality is present. The show clearly knows how to do female comedy. In episode 4, Walters goes on multiple dates with men from dating apps. These dates are funny and encapsulate what it is like dating as a woman. Walters in criticized and complimented at the same time, deals with men who try to be more than they are, and is called a specimen. These bad dates are contrasted by the one good date who is arguably the “perfect man”, intelligent, secure, and knows when to get the french fries to go. However they sacrifice multiple scenes where they can insert this humor in order to push their agenda.

The show takes on “haters” of the show directly by adding haters in as arguably a minor “villain “ for She-Hulk. Walters is introduced to the world of social media, specifically the “I hate She-Hulk'' sections. While some think that is a smart move by “taking on haters head on'', what it really does is make the show’s weaknesses glaringly obvious. All of these episodes are shot months before they are released to the public, meaning the creators already knew what the issues would be. Instead of making a better show that no one could dislike, they instead double down and play into more feminist mist talking points. 

Renee Elise Goldsberry, Derek Thaler & Ginger Gonzaga in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

Season 2: Despite my criticism of the show, it is still the only Marvel-Disney+ show that is worth having a second season. The bones of this show are excellent. There are many laugh out loud moments, Tatiana Maslany is excellent and endearing as Jen Walters, and it would serve as a medium to interconnect the larger MCU. Having a show filled with cameos works for this format, in that as a lawyer, Walters can be a part of many characters' lives without it changing or affecting an entire cannon. What I would like to see in a second season is primarily dropping the feminist talking points. Let Tatiana Maslany and the cast cook and be the smart, funny characters they have created. 

In a second season, I would also like to see them work on the 4th wall breaking. While it is canon that Walter often breaks the 4th wall, it didn’t seem as natural in the show as it does in Deadpool, for instance. This can be remedied and smoothed out in season 2, and I hope they take the time to do it. 

Furthermore, I would like to see Marvel focus more on the “case of the week” concept that they had pitched the series as. While there are multiple cases in the show, the first season focused more on Jen Walters journey as a Hulk than her life as a lawyer. Given they were introducing a new character and exploring her and her world, this is an understandable route. However in season 2, they should focus more on her lawyer life.

Despite all of the “haters”, the bones of the show are good and are different enough from the larger MCU to be a fresh take on superhero life. If the creators clean up the 4th wall breaking and drop the feminist talking points, this show could easily go for multiple seasons and have a valuable place in the MCU.

Tatiana Maslany, Ginger Gonzaga & Josh Segarra in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law