The mixture of real-world issues and fantastical MCU hijinks wrapped up in a humorous Cloak of Levitation mostly works well in Is This Not Real Magic?
The realism comes in the form of Jennifer’s dating life. She has a couple of dates, one, in particular, that’s a disaster, but it’s not the end of the world. Jennifer’s more confident in her status as She-Hulk, but also trying to forge her own path as Jen. Once her attempt at just being Jen on a dating site goes wrong, she changes up the approach and makes one as She-Hulk. Tatiana Maslany continues to thrive as Jen.
Wong returns to the series as a client. There’s a rank-and-file magician who is opening portals and sending volunteers to demonic hellscapes. One of these volunteers is Madisynn. A drunk woman who has a habit of being transported to several worlds, making deals with demons to return to our dimension and spoiling classic HBO shows. Patty Guggenheim is hilarious as Madisynn. She may be a drunk but she’s a harmless, funny, almost innocent and completely unfiltered drunk
She-Hulk isn’t a flawless show. There’s nothing wrong with the action sequences. However, nothing consequential happens in them either. The action scenes simply don’t have stakes, so they seem unnecessary. The magician aspect only worked in the courtroom opposite Wong.
All in all, Is this Not Real Magic? isn’t the best episode of the series. However, it’s a strong episode with plenty of comedy. I just wish there was a little more dramatic heft to balance out the comedic highs.
With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the elements that stood out in Is this Real Magic? There may be some minor spoilers. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is available to stream on Disney Plus.
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Is this Real Magic?
Donny Blaze is a rank-and-file magician. His act instills no life in the audience. Then, Donny pulls out a sling ring and asks for a volunteer.
Madisynn volunteers and Donny opens a portal. Donny sends Madisynn to another dimension that looks like hell. She’s able to make a deal with a devilish fellow and winds up in Wong’s apartment.
He quickly figures out the problem and portals over to Jennifer’s office. He wants to prevent Donny from using this power as a cheap parlor trick. Unfortunately, the vows every member takes to value the mystic arts aren’t written down. Jennifer has to figure out a legal precedent to stop Donny’s act.
The interactions between Jennifer and Wong are terrific.
Cease and Desist or go to hell
Jennifer delivers a cease and desist order to Donny. Wong threatens to place Donny in the mirror dimension.
Jennifer takes Donny to court. One of her witnesses is Madisynn. She drunkenly recaps the whole ordeal for the courtroom. Her testimony appears to backfire on Jennifer. Madisynn’s connection with Wong and her blissful nature undermines the serious problem Jennifer is accusing Donny of creating.
The judge rules Donny can continue with his act until she renders her verdict. Donny once again creates a portal during his show. He accidentally summons demons that look like flying monkeys for The Wizard of Oz. Wong and She-Hulk are forced to return the beasts back to their dimension. Donny agrees to the cease and desist request.
The demons were not a threat to She-Hulk, which undermines the action sequence. However, I thought the courtroom scene had some great comedic moments. Everything Madisynn did in this sequence was hilarious. From giving her drink to the bailiff to her detailing how she made a deal with a goat-headed demon, was really good comedy. I also like Donny’s lawyer was also a magician.
Dating in the MCU
Meanwhile, Jennifer is trying online dating. First, she creates a profile just for Jennifer Walters. She doesn’t receive much interest at first. The one match she does make turns out to be a disaster.
Later, she does make a profile for She-Hulk. She receives a bunch of matches. All but one of her dates is a disaster. One of the consistent themes in the men is how they were into the superficial nature of She-Hulk. One dude talks about how much she can bench. Another wants to know about her abilities. None of them care about Jennifer, the person, except Arthur.
He seems completely into Jennifer. Arthur asks the right questions, he’s empathetic and completely understanding when She-Hulk has to help Wong. All of her scenes with Arthur are as She-Hulk. After sleeping with Arthur, she walks around her place in human form. Arthur is a different person when he encounters Jen.
She’s even made breakfast for Arthur. However, he’s completely shut down and says he has to leave. Jennifer is bummed, but before she can process Arthur’s abrupt exit. A process server shows up with papers. Titania is suing Jennifer over the She-Hulk trademark.
The dudes were all such shallow morons, it was tough to buy any drama or find the comedy in these scenes. Hopefully, the writing will be sharper in the dating subplot as there’s plenty of storytelling potential.
Is This Real Magic Final Thoughts
The comedy in the courtroom scenes, the chemistry between Wong and Jennifer as well as Guggenheim’s breakout performance as Madisynn help carry this episode. The drama, action sequences and dating were underwhelming.
The Review
Is This Real Magic?
PROS
- Patty Guggenheim is hilarious as Madisynn.
- The chemistry between Tatiana Maslany and Benedict Wong sizzles in every scene.
- The courtroom scene is comedy gold.
- Wong watching an HBO show and an NBC show was quite interesting.
CONS
- The male suitors were one-note morons.
- The magician wasn't interesting outside of the courtroom scene.
- Action scenes lacked stakes.
