She-Hulk Episode 8 Review: The Marvel Series Is Back On Track! After Bizarre And Disappointing Weeks
Cast: Tatiana Maslany, Mark Ruffalo, Tim Roth, Benedict Wong
Director: Kat Coiro
Streaming Platform: Disney+
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
For at least a couple of weeks, we have been hoping for a decisive change of gear for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the most recent series by Marvel Studios which, almost by tradition, had suddenly stalled in the central part of the season, stuck in a quagmire of mediocrity. And the answer has finally arrived thanks to an episode that, a certain character we all expected, would say, tries to combine the best of the two different souls of She-Hulk, that is the legal and the more superhero part. He can? Basically yes, although with several flaws it is an episode that raises the show by far, offers various intriguing ideas – and we already know that they will be incredibly divisive – and opens the doors to an ending that is still a bit nebulous, to tell the truth, but enough captivating at least for how it will start.
With just one appointment from the end, we have numerous doubts about the management of the season in general and the terror that for the umpteenth time we may run into a too rapid conclusion does not leave us, yet we cannot remain indifferent to the tsunami of events we have just witnessed. From the moment the first trailer for She-Hulk was released, something caught the attention of fans and hammered the community with each episode released: the presence of Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil. The hero’s return, after his Netflix trilogy and a more than essential participation in The Defenders, was not only eagerly awaited, but also moved the passion of the audience he conquered.
Well, the day has come, and we finally see the hero and lawyer head into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In this eighth and penultimate episode, we see Jennifer working together with the Frog-Man to regain her rights to the malfunctioning costume. The big problem is Luke Jacobson’s competent lawyer. This one, despite not having your eyesight, has a more than accurate nose for winning a case. When what happens in the court clashes with some everyday factors, Daredevil and the main heroine of the series face each other and decide to resolve their differences differently. Avoiding spoilers of what happens from there, all I have to say is that it is the cameo we’ve been waiting for, and it gets even better.
She-Hulk Episode 8 Review: The Story
We find Jen (Tatiana Maslany), who has resolved once and for all peace her dualism with She-Hulk after the spiritual retreat from the Abomination (here you can read our review of She-Hulk Episode 7), forced to accept a case from the child Eugene Patilio, aka Leap-Frog (Brandon Stanley), demanding compensation from tailor Luke Jacobson (Griffin Matthews) for a serious malfunction in the suit he created. Reluctant about the conflict of interest, Jen is persuaded by her boss and Luke’s peevish attitude to find a deal, but things won’t go as planned in court due to an extraordinarily skilled and trained opposing attorney.
We will not name names although it is clear to anyone whom we are talking about, yet at the same time, it would be impossible to discuss the episode without dwelling on this figure, who takes the limelight entirely. The main question remains one and only one: how was it treated compared to the version we admired earlier? Surprisingly well, considering the She-Hulk context which, as a comedy, naturally tends to inflate the comic side of the characters – the Hulk and the Abomination are the most obvious items so far. Indeed, the verbal confrontation between the two in court, however brief, remains one of the best moments of the entire series in our opinion, because they touch on crucial issues such as the Sokovia agreements and the privacy to be granted to superheroes without simplification.
That said, Charlie Cox seemed extremely comfortable coming back and being part of the main core now. He managed to do, in one episode, everything we like to see in the character: his lawyer side, the charismatic and mysteriously charming person who captivates others, the hero and even his addiction to facing henchmen through dark and closed corridors. If you feared and were afraid of his participation there, you can breathe calmly that everything is in its place. What’s more, 80% of the episode is focused on him. Of course, dear readers, the series is from She-Hulk, and she even likes to make that very clear to viewers. However, it is undeniable that the presence of another hero overshadows her and makes us miss watching the older series again. I was also a fan of Daredevil on Netflix (I subscribed to the service exclusively to watch it at the time) and it took me back in time with this nostalgia.
She-Hulk Episode 8 Review and Analysis
Overall, it is a very good and convincing debut, apart from a single instance with a sentence that is too cringe, which gives us a minimum of hope for the future of this character, perhaps not destined to be distorted as we thought. And it is taken for granted that the entire episode benefits from his presence, full of events and free of dead moments as in the first part of the season: something is always happening or is about to happen, Jen breaks the fourth wall at the right moments and with the right and hilarious comments, the relationship with its green counterpart is carried on with discreet ease. She-Hulk should always have been like this, the serious slips of the past few weeks become even more incomprehensible when you then bring such a quality to the screen – for heaven’s sake, quality not excellent, but extremely enjoyable.
Jen also takes the time to mock the many crazy fan theories that flood the internet with every Marvel series in an even more meta fourth-wall exemplary break. The defects remain more than anything else the usual, from a CGI that stands at mediocrity at best to villains who do not manage to affect in the least. On the other hand, we go from death threats to wanting to humiliate her in public because she had intimate relationships, something we all know to be immoral and shameful apparently, no one knows. Mind you, it’s not a pleasant thing, far from it, but it’s not superhero villain material. Treated in this way, threats cannot be taken seriously, and this is not the first time this has happened in a Marvel series or movie.
If 80% is about the Hell’s Kitchen demon, the other 20 fill in a very important gap that must be addressed in the final chapter. Well, there’s only one left for the plot to end and we’ll see where it all ends up. Particularly speaking, I have already given up hope as to what the Hulk himself went to do in space. They should show, but it no longer matters within the context that is being presented there. My biggest concern in She-Hulk is the group known as Intelligencia. At first, they are presented as a major threat, but in the end, it just seems to me as if some random group of 4Chan decided to attack someone in real life with elements of the internet. If this is the great danger she will face in the grand finale, I confess I would be disappointed. It would be easier to engage in a new conflict with Titania which I believe would work better.
If you’ve already watched the episode, I perfectly understood the character’s motivations at the end and I agree with what was presented. I just expected a little more from the villainous group, you know? They just seem to be a distraction to something bigger that might be going on behind the scenes. This is what I believe in and what will motivate me at the end of this season. Well, if not, I admit it wasn’t worth all the hype they showed. Despite this, it was the episode that everyone was waiting for and that will set the tone for many people to remember the character with affection and good humor. Daredevil will return in a series of his own and Echo, while Jennifer will face off against Intelligencia in this last part of the season. With some tips already shown, she has everything to be a big highlight in the future and be an essential part of the next steps of Marvel Studios. All it takes is a dignified final point there for that to happen.
She-Hulk Episode 8 Review: The Last Words
The penultimate date with She-Hulk will be extremely divisive and the reasons are many. On the other hand, it marks the real return of a character we have all been waiting for, a presence that we considered incredibly positive not only for the treatment received but also for the series in general. Yes, he is a somewhat inflated figure at a comic level because he is inserted in a comedy but, apart from a single circumstance with a too cringe phrase, it seemed to us a healthy and convincing return, which gives us hope for the future. The rest of the episode is what She-Hulk was always supposed to be, a set of constant happenings with no dead moments, with successful comic spikes – especially the breakages of the fourth wall – and a Jen who finally, after the spiritual retreat of the last bet, grows and overcomes doubts and uncertainties. There remain some critical issues, first of all, the CGI that never overcomes the mediocrity and above all the inconsistency of the villains, who from death threats and crazy plans now pass to wanting to humiliate her because she had intimate relationships with someone. Certainly, something horrible, mind you, but it’s not superhero villain material or consistent with the rest.
