What is it they say? The best-laid plans of Hulks and attorneys often go awry? OK, maybe that's not quite right, but that is certainly where we find ourselves at the start of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 2, "Superhuman Law." After hulking out to stop "superpowered influencer" Titania (Jameela Jamil) from crushing the jury during an important trial, Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) is thrust headfirst into the superhero life, whether she likes it or not.
She and Nikki (Ginger Gonzaga) head to a post-trial celebration at a bar packed with lawyers, all of whom want to see the "She-Hulk" who tore apart the courtroom. Much as she hates the nickname, Jen obliges and transforms. She tells Nikki she is still very resistant to the idea of being an Avengers-style superhero, unwilling to put her career and aspirations behind her as she is neither a billionaire nor a narcissist — which does beg the question, does she consider Bruce (Mark Ruffalo) a narcissist, since he's no billionaire?
Her ruminations are interrupted when her boss approaches her to deliver a one-two punch of bad news. As much as he commends her for doing the right thing in saving the jury, her actions have caused the defense, GLK&H, to declare a mistrial, saying that Jen's actions biased the jury in her favor. With Jen a liability because of this, she is let go from her job.
Following a series of interviews at increasingly less prestigious law firms, she attends a disaster of a family dinner where every aspect of her life is up for public scrutiny. Her appearance, her unemployment, her single-ness, her age. Jen is down, but not out for long, as her pity party is interrupted by Mr. Holloway (Steve Coulter), the opposing lawyer for GLK&H, who offers her a job as the head of a new division at the firm. The job turns out to be with the new superhero law division, where Jen is expected to appear in all professional settings as She-Hulk. Things start off well enough, with Nikki pointing out all the perks of her position, and her new colleague Pug (Josh Segarra) showing up with a welcome basket. It's all too good to be true though when she learns her first task is to represent none other than Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) at his upcoming parole hearing.
This isn't the first time the events of The Incredible Hulk have been referenced in the MCU. Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) has appeared in several of the films, most recently in Black Widow. Bruce tells Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) in The Avengers that the last time he was in New York, he destroyed Harlem, an event that is again referenced in She-Hulk when Jen has her first meeting with Blonsky. Blonsky, however, maintains that despite that incident he is a changed man. He wins Jen over to his side and persuades her to accept the job as his legal representation by pointing out that he was injected with serum and ordered to hunt Bruce down on the government's orders. The same government that now holds Bruce up as a hero while leaving Blonsky in prison.
Perhaps it's the meta nature of this series, but I'm really enjoying the commentary on the nature of superheroes in this world. Much as I love Ms. Marvel, in that series being a superhero in the traditional flashy power sense was something to be aspired to. And that makes sense, Kamala (Iman Vellani) is young. Of course she thinks being able to do what Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) does is the coolest thing ever. But Jen is an adult. She has lived over 30 years with wants and aspirations of her own and has had the mantle of hero thrust on her in a way she does not want. It's never something she would have chosen for herself. Naturally, she is skeptical and snarky about the whole thing.
Most of the other Avengers got their powers as an unintended side effect of something they agreed to, but the undercurrent of tragedy in Jen's story is that her life was changed purely because she did the right thing and pulled an injured family member out of a car wreck. It wasn't a necessary blood transfusion to save her life, it was purely an accident. If she is skeptical about what it means to be a traditional superhero, it's because she never really had the chance to consider how enhanced abilities would change her life. She never had the agency to make that decision for herself.
A quick phone call with Bruce eases her concerns about representing Blonsky. After all, Bruce tells her, that's all in the past and anyway, he's literally a completely different person. Come for the veiled Edward Norton reference, stay for Maslany looking right into the camera and uttering a single dry "ha." Mere seconds after accepting the assignment, Jen turns on the news to see footage of Blonsky, despite his insistence that he just wants to live an honest life, having broken out of prison and taken off to Macau, where he was spotted participating in an illegal fighting ring, lining up the events of She-Hulk with those of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Poor Jen Walters has her work cut out for her.
Although this episode really ramped things up in terms of the larger superhero lore of the show, I was impressed how much personal character stuff they still managed to fit in the relatively short run time. Director Kat Coiro and writer/showrunner Jessica Gao once again continue their explanation of what it can feel like being a woman — particularly an unmarried woman in her 30s —in this day and age. For all that Jen is extremely qualified and good at what she does, she is prized for the optics of hiring her, in the case of GLK&H, or has her skills attributed to the men in her family, in the case of coworker Dennis (Drew Matthews) or even her name "She-Hulk" deriving from Bruce's Hulk.
I'd call the way her family treats her stereotypical if there weren't so many shades of truth to that experience for so many, particularly the unsolicited suggestions on how she might change her appearance. I can't help but wonder if this is something the show will continue to explore. I honestly hope it does, especially if Jen is going to spend a significant amount of time as She-Hulk. Her aunt might think her superhero form has "more desirable" hair, but speaking as someone who is 6'0", the world at large and the romantic world, in particular, is not generally kind to or made for tall women. Nikki wasn't wrong when she pointed out that Jen's new, higher salary would be instrumental in helping her buy professional clothes in She-Hulk size. If this is a road they continue down, I can only hope she isn't portrayed as clumsy or oafish for her size. Goodness knows taller women have no issue feeling that way on their own without Marvel helping them get there.
As packed with plot as this episode was, I ultimately feel like it fell a little short. The Titania cliffhanger was not referenced at all, except to give the character a name, and as of right now it's not clear what role she will play in the story. With an episode coming in at under 28 minutes, there was almost certainly time to touch on it a little more.
Rating: B+
The first two episodes of She-Hulk are streaming now on Disney+.