Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for She-Hulk Episode 7.She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is back this week! Episode 7, "The Retreat," finds Jen Walters (Tatiana Maslany) stranded at Emil Blonsky/Abomination’s (Tim Roth) spiritual retreat after two super-powered residents inadvertently wreck her car. Jen's frustration is only heightened by the absence of her newest romance Josh (Trevor Salter), who hasn’t texted her back after several great dates together.
Among her many stressors, Jen is able to find some unexpected catharsis when she joins one of Blonsky's unconventional group therapy sessions. The episode is filled with fun Easter eggs and a big fourth wall break all leading up to a somewhat predictable twist at the end.
Hulk Smash!
In her office, Jen is glued to her phone even after Nikki (Ginger Gonzaga) bursts in excitement after discovering that Jen is nominated for Female Lawyer of the Year. Unable to get her attention, Nikki asks if she’s scrolling the Intelligencia site that was introduced in last week’s episode. Jen insists she isn’t, stating she doesn’t care about what losers say about her online. She also adds that they wouldn’t say it to her face because they would get "Hulk-smashed." This line might sound familiar because it is a classic Hulk expression seen throughout the comics and MCU. While being a fun Hulk nod, it’s also a sure sign that Jen is finally starting to embrace the Hulk mantle she initially wanted nothing to do with.
The Gala
When Nikki tells Jen about her Female Lawyer of the Year nomination, she also asks if it means they’ll get to attend a gala. The gala mentioned is one seen in several of the She-Hulk trailers and TV spots, showing Jen in another one of Luke’s (Griffin Matthews) custom-made dresses. As to what will happen at the event, not much is known, but chaos is a safe bet. Galas have become somewhat of a Disney+ hallmark for the Marvel TV shows. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, and Ms. Marvel all had scenes set at galas or large events, a perfect setting for their respective villains to stir up some trouble. Considering he still has yet to appear, maybe this is where Jen will meet Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a fellow lawyer.
Textual Evidence
At the very beginning of the episode, Jen is seen texting back and forth with Josh, the groomsman she met at Lulu’s wedding. Displayed on Jen’s phone for a brief moment, their previous texts reveal that Josh might have known where Jen lived before she provided an address. It’s admittedly a bit of a stretch, but the writers of She-Hulk have proven to be quite crafty, so no stone should be left unturned. And seeing as Josh’s intentions aren’t as pure as Jen may have thought, it certainly seems like foreshadowing.
A Muppets Spotting
Continuing its myriad of pop culture references, this episode features The Muppets – at least one of them. Still awaiting that fateful text back from Josh, Jen attempts to distract herself. And what better way to detach from reality than some zany muppet antics? Specifically, Jen is watching The Great Muppet Caper as a jailed Miss Piggy cartoonishly pulls apart the cell bars. She-Hulk’s list of pop culture references continues to grow as The Muppets join Inside Out, Shrek, and Twilight in a beautiful smorgasbord of iconic movies.
Supervillain Support Group
Upon arriving at Blonsky’s retreat and verifying that everything concerning his inhibitor is on the up and up, Blonsky’s parole officer departs. After a brief chat with Blonsky, Jen is on her way out as well before a giant figure smashes into the hood of her car. Jen is immediately on the defense, Hulking out to stop the threat, but it isn’t necessary. It turns out the figure is a former villain named Man-Bull (Nathan Hurd) and he was in the middle of a healthy fight with fellow villain El Aguila (Joseph Castillo-Midyett).
Man-Bull, who is a recovering supervillain in She-Hulk, was originally created back in 1971, created by Gerry Conway and Gene Colan. Born William Taurens, a serum turned him into a looming half-man, half-bull creature, and he spent his first appearance as Man-Bull facing off against Daredevil. El Aguila, Man-Bull’s sparring partner and car wrecker accomplice, is more of a misunderstood vigilante than villain. The El Aguila of She-Hulk doesn’t seem to have a bad bone in his body as he sorely reiterates that he is not a matador (but he did take a couple of matador classes in college). Created by Jo Duffy, Trevor von Eeden, and Dave Cockrum, El Aguila first appeared in 1979 in Power Man and Iron Fist #58. Alejandro Montoya, the alias of El Aguila, is a mutant that sometimes found himself on the wrong side of the Heroes for Hire, even if his intentions were good.
In addition to Man-Bull and El Aguila, She-Hulk introduces us to even more D-list characters seeking a change at Blonsky’s retreat. Among them are Porcupine (created by Stan Lee, Ernest Hart, and Don Heck in 1963, Tales to Astonish #48), Saracen (created by Bart Sears in 1998, Blade Vampire Hunter #1), and Wrecker (created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1967, Thor #148). Despite the inclusion of some wildly obscure villains, perhaps the most unexpected is Wrecker (Nick Gomez), who as Jen points out, we’ve seen before.
Previously On…
When Wrecker walks out of the yurt, Jen is shocked to see him. She looks to the audience, addressing us in perhaps the largest fourth wall break yet as she asks if “they previously on’d him” — "they" being the writers and creators of the show. Of course, by "previously on," Jen is referring to the refresher found at the beginning of every episodic show to remind the viewer of last week’s biggest moments. Jen then decides to take it into her own hands to get her point across, calling out her own "previously on" as the words and sting appear at her mention. In the unusual mid-episode refresher, we are re-introduced to the Wrecking Crew, specifically Wrecker, from Episode 3. If you recall, they jumped She-Hulk with the intention of stealing her blood but miserably failed.
This explains why Jen is so angered by Wrecker’s surprise appearance, but the former Wrecking Crew crony explains he just wants to work through their issues. Wrecker then proceeds to explain how he is working on self-improvement and breaking his reliance on his magic crowbar, realizing it gave him “a false sense of power.” Wrecker makes quite the breakthrough as he apologizes to Jen and takes “radical accountability” for his actions.
Abomaste
We’ve discussed Blonsky’s retreat and its residents, but I’ve danced around the place’s name. Though it is never said in the episode, a banner behind Blonsky reveals the name of the retreat to be Abomaste. We've established how much I appreciate a good pun and She-Hulk is full of them, but this is certainly a highlight.
Playing off of Namaste, Blonsky’s choice to name his retreat Abomaste is a stroke of genius. Creating a portmanteau of his alter ego, Abomination, and his current endeavors, Blonsky is merging his dark past and his peaceful present into one clever harmony. Maybe The Abomination really is a thing of the past and Blonsky has truly changed for the better.
A Vampire’s Perspective
During their group session, Jen vents to the medley of reformed villains about her struggle between the public’s perception of her as She-Hulk versus their perception of her as just Jen as well as her awkward situation with Josh. While the group confronts her with the possibility that she has been ghosted, Saracen, (Terrence Clowe) a vampire, suggests that he might have just wanted her blood. It’s clearly a vampire-related joke for us and perhaps a past trauma Saracen has experienced, but it is also some major foreshadowing.
Again, these writers know what they’re doing. I wouldn’t be surprised if they chose Saracen as part of the supervillain support group specifically so they could make this tongue-in-cheek joke. For context, as it is revealed at the end of the episode, Josh is literally only after Jen’s blood. Not quite in the way, Saracen was imagining but the irony works great regardless. Now, why exactly was Josh after Jen’s blood?
Josh’s Sinister Motives
Josh was not to be trusted. It’s sad to think that the only guy who was interested in just Jen was playing her the entire time. As it turns out Josh was only seeing Jen get close enough to extract a blood sample, hence the ghosting. Though his role is still unknown, we know Josh is somehow associated with HulkKing and therefore Intelligencia as that is who he is communicating with. Having fallen asleep after inviting Josh in for the night, he is able to extract the sample and copy Jen's phone to his, taking a picture of her sleeping and sending it to HulkKing (that’s a little excessive, creep) to confirm – or brag? That seems like the gross kind of thing an Intelligencia guy would do.
As we enter the final two episodes, it feels as though we are finally reaching the endgame. HulkKing, whoever he is (The Leader?), now has access to She-Hulk’s blood and is surely going to cause some conflict for Jen, who is already hurting more than enough. While it’s difficult to predict what will happen next, we know that a big gala event (remember bad guys love to strike here) and Daredevil are both in She-Hulk’s future – so prepare for an exciting couple of weeks! She-Hulk premieres new episodes every Thursday on Disney+.