The chemistry between Tatiana Maslany and Mark Ruffalo shines in the MCU’s latest Disney Plus series, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Everything else about the premiere feels rushed.
She-Hulk’s premiere episode is an origin story and a rather boring one. Jennifer Walters goes on a vacation with her cousin Bruce Banner. They end up in an accident that results in Walters acquiring Hulk powers. The CGI of She-Hulk is better than the trailers, but not great. However, it’s actually the lack of character development once Jennifer becomes She-Hulk that’s the biggest distraction.
She essentially has a handle on the transformation from the get-go. Bruce constantly says she needs to learn to balance the two sides, when she clearly can handle the rigors, does get repetitive as well. I did enjoy Jennifer’s explanation of how she has always had to handle her anger in a heavily masculine field. There needed to be something for Jennifer to struggle against once she becomes a Hulk and there’s really nothing yet.
The only source of conflict really is simply Jennifer not wanting to be a hero. She just wants to excel as a lawyer. There are some physical skirmishes between these cousins, but I needed some deeper for Jennifer to overcome. A suitable obstacle would have made for a solid character arc. By the end of the pilot, Jennifer is essentially just stronger, taller and green. I need more than a cosmetic change to be fully engaged in Jennifer’s journey. I’m still interested thanks to the strong dialogue and Maslany’s performance.
Jessica Gao‘s dialogue is quite clever and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. Unfortunately, the pace is too fast at times. There are few scenes that really stick out. The best and most comedic moment in the episode is the mid-credits scene. If you don’t love dialogue exchanges about Steve Rogers dying as a virgin, then this show and post-credit scene probably isn’t for you.
Luckily, Maslany and Ruffalo are effortlessly charming as gamma cousins. Every scene between Bruce and Jennifer is a ton of fun to watch. The performances by Maslany and Ruffalo are enough to make the pilot a success, just not a hulk-smashing one.
With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the elements that stood in A Normal Amount of Rage. There may be some minor spoilers. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is available to stream on Disney Plus.
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Becoming the She-Hulk
The premiere doesn’t waste time showing how Jennifer Walters transforms into She-Hulk.
Jennifer and Bruce are on vacation together. They are driving around Mexico and talking about the former Captain America’s virginity. Suddenly, a spaceship descends right in front of them. Jennifer flips the car in an effort to avoid hitting the spaceship.
Jennifer regains consciousness first. She cuts herself on a jagged piece of metal from the car. She unbuckles Bruce’s seat belt. Bruce also has a cut and since he’s slightly above Jennifer, the blood drips into Jennifer’s cut. She instantly transforms into She-Hulk.
She runs off into the jungle. This is the only time when Jennifer isn’t in control as She-Hulk. When Jennifer regains control, she finds a dingy-looking bar. Jennifer heads to the restroom to clean up.
Suddenly, a bunch of women enter the bathroom. In a clever twist, the women are totally supportive of Jennifer. They give her a nice coat, apply makeup to cover the bruises and tell her she’s too good for him. It’s hilarious and may actually be my favorite moment in the episode.
A Normal Amount of Rage
Jennifer eventually wakes up in Bruce’s island compound. He decided to train Jennifer on how to become a Hulk, which he has spent the last 15 years of his life tracking. Remember, when Hulk couldn’t speak in Avengers? When Jennifer turns into She-Hulk, she’s still just Jennifer Walters.
From the moment she breaks out of Bruce’s containment chamber, she insists she’s in control and that’s exactly what she is. Anger and rage are triggers for the transformation. However, once she transforms, she’s completely in control. Almost immediately, she’s able to keep up with Bruce.
I actually really like that she excelled at controlling her anger and even surpasses some of the things Bruce can do physically as the Hulk. Later in the episode, she explains why she’s good at controlling her anger. As a woman in society, she has to control her emotions. If she gets angry at a male colleague for being sexist, then she could lose her job.
My only issue is I wish there was something that was impeding Jennifer that she had to overcome in adapting to her lifestyle. This origin episode would have worked better later in the season. For instance, if she suffered a setback later in the season, the origin could have been used to showcase Jennifer’s overconfidence.
Attorney at Law
The majority of the episode is devoted to the pilot. The only lawyer-related storyline comes at the end of the episode.
Jennifer is in court on a case. One of the other attorneys is giving an opening statement. Suddenly, Titania busts through the courtroom. Nikki urges Jennifer to transform. Jennifer transforms and knocks Titania out with one hit.
That’s pretty much it as far as the legal storyline is concerned. Hopefully, the law side of the thing takes precedent going forward. A lawyer representing powered individuals is a unique concept that should work thanks to the snappy dialogue on display in the premiere.
She-Hulk Final Thoughts
Maslany is a smashing success in this role and Ruffalo’s calm demeanor with just a hint of jealousy is a perfect sparring partner. I wish the origin story was more interesting or had been saved for a later episode of the series. However, with Maslany leading the way there’s plenty of promise moving forward.
The Review
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Review Score
PROS
- Tatiana Maslany is perfect as Jennifer Walters.
- Mark Ruffalo's calm demeanor is a great fit opposite Maslany.
- Clever twist with the scene at the bar.
- Jessica Gao's script is full of great dialogue.
CONS
- Rushed origin story.
- Besides turning green, some sort of obstacle for Jennifer to overcome would have helped.
- CGI is passable at best.
