SHE-HULK EPISODE 9 & SERIES REVIEW (SPOILERS)

 

            I can’t decide if the She-Hulk finale was pure brilliance or a genius cop-out.

On the other side of the glass.

            Skipping the usual episode recap, we got one done as a remake of the intro to The Incredible Hulk TV series (which was brilliantly handled). Picking up from last episode’s cliffhanger, we find Jen in jail and taking a deal to never be She-Hulk again for her release. With her reputation ruined and job lost, she decides to go to Emil’s (Tim Roth) sanctuary for a bit. However, she happens to pick the night when The Intelligencia is holding a gathering there. It’s discovered that Todd Phelps (Jon Bass), the creepy tech bro Jen had a horrible date with one time and who kept popping up during the show, was the founder of The Intelligencia and had stolen her blood to give himself Hulk powers. And then Titania (Jameela Jamil) crashed the party. And then Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) joined in.

Smashing those 4th walls like it's Matt Murdock.

            And then that’s when everything REALLY went off the rails. Echoing moments from the original run of The Sensational She-Hulk comic series, Jen breaks out of the show through the Disney+ menu to head to the Disney studio lot to confront the She-Hulk writers about the insanely overcomplicated finale. That leads her to confront the one in charge at Marvel Studios: Kevin. No, it’s not Kevin Feige making a cameo; rather, it’s a GLaDOS-like artificial intelligence named K.E.V.I.N. (Knowledge Enhanced Visual Interconnectivity Nexus). Jen proceeds to offer up common fan complaints about how MCU projects all have similar endings or too many plots converging at once.

"Now say: 'The cake is a lie.'"

This resulted in K.E.V.I.N. tossing out his “exciting ending” in favor of a new, quicker one. Todd and his cronies are being arrested; Emil is going back to jail for violating his parole; Daredevil (Charlie Cox) returns to help out too late and gets roped into a family barbecue; Hulk returns (again) at the barbecue and introduces his son, Skaar (Wil Deusner); Jen is a lawyer again prosecuting Todd and declaring she’ll take on guys like him in the courtroom and as a superhero; and Wong (Benedict Wong) returns to bust Emil out to stay at Kamar-Taj.

"Okay, the MCU--I have some notes."

Okay, to my conflict. Every reaction video I’ve seen loved the ULTIMATE 4^th wall break of Jen leaving her show for the Marvel Studios Office, while all the ones who have hated on this show since it came out and some comic guys have not. I, personally, thought it was great. I found every bit of that hilarious; from the sudden Disney+ menu screen to the little faux baseball cap on K.E.V.I.N.’s “head” mimicking Feige’s. This is probably the most I’ve laughed out loud for the entire season. I thought it was a perfect homage to all the times Shulkie was about to step out of her comic to deal with then-scribe John Byrne personally. Also, Tatiana Maslany was all of us, asking the big questions like “X-Men when?” This ending at least made it clear that Marvel has been hearing fans, acknowledge their flaws, and possibly hinting that they’re going to improve going forward (with upcoming schedules shifting and the format of planned projects being changed).

"You want X-Men? I got you, boo."

But then we get the ending. Or, lack thereof, as the series once again attempted to subvert expectations. Jen’s legal troubles? Gone. The whole Josh/blood-stealing plotline? Gone. The Intelligencia? Gone. Titania’s unhealthy obsession with Jen? Gone. For the entire season, later episodes had slowly connected to things established in earlier ones while building up an ongoing subplot even slower than that. But they decide to pull a Monty Python and give us a cop-out ending where everything is dealt with offscreen and hunky dory. We don’t see Jen reassemble her life, despite going off on K.E.V.I.N. about the stakes of the show being her life falling apart just as she was embracing being a Hulk. Titania became pointless. The Intelligencia became pointless. There was no payoff for anything. We didn’t get to see Jen complete her arc. I mean, give us the conclusion to something we’ve been watching! The Skaar reveal, I don’t mind so much because we know there’s a World War Hulk project in development and will likely fill in the gap between the episodes as this did with Shang-Chi.

"The X-Men movies had a blue mutant restriction...I think we need to talk about a green gamma restriction here."

Okay, overall thoughts. The series as a whole was a bit uneven. It was always entertaining, but didn’t always reach the levels it should have. Maslany slays as the Jade Giantess and has always been the highest point of the show. I absolutely love her father (Mark Linn-Baker) and how supportive he is whenever he appears (best MCU dad!). Many of the side characters were fun, but woefully underutilized due to the short runtime of the episodes. Touted as a “legal comedy”, we really didn’t get a lot of the legal side (and, depending who you talk to, some would say not much of the comedy, either) but there were some interesting cases in what we did get. A lot of deep cut characters made their MCU debut on the show, which is something I hope continues to happen. Let’s get audiences familiar with more than just the A-listers. I had a good time with the show, but it just didn’t feel like any of the ideas were allowed to fully bake. I hear there is a season 2 coming and I hope that, while the tone is kept exactly the same, they make things a bit tighter on the storytelling side. Break all the 4^th walls you want, just give us a story in the process!

"Heard you were doing a Fast and Furious ending. So I brought more family."

One last point: it’s no secret that this series took a lot of shots at toxic fanboy trolls. And, every step of the way, they accurately predicted exactly was they would say and post about the show (especially since this show was done about a year before its release). And, of course, you’ve got the YouTube videos out there saying “they hate men!” or claiming victory for “getting in their heads.” And then you’ve got the people who take umbrage with interviews where cast and crew say this was largely the point—to call these so-called “fans” out. Here’s my take: if that bothered you, then you’re probably one of the guilty ones. I’m a man, and I had no issue with the depiction of men on the show or them stepping in front of the toxicity often attracted by women-led and diverse projects (that’s not to say there isn’t good-faith criticism to be had on these projects; just that it isn’t generally the criticism that ends up being levied). And you know why? Because they were right. Every. Single. Time. You don’t like something? That’s fine. Move on. Why would you stick around? Just to get ammunition to complain? C’mon, life’s too short and, to quote Wong: “We’re truly in an age of peak TV.” Find your own yum instead of yucking everyone else’s.

WEREWOLF BY NIGHT REVIEW (SPOILERS)

 

            This is going to be full of spoilers because I don’t think I can accurately say what I want to say while tiptoeing around plot points, so you’ve been warned.

            Werewolf By Night is the first MCU special and their first official entry into their horror “imprint” (you can arguably state Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was technically the first, but this one had the special Marvel Studios branding, hence my use of “official”). The special centered on the titular werewolf, Jack Russell (Gael Garcia Bernal), as he infiltrated a gathering of monster hunters to mourn the passing of the greatest of their number and their leader, Ulysses Bloodstone (voiced by Richard Dixon). Bloodstone was possessor of the legendary Bloodstone, which he used in his battle against monsters, and those gathered are to compete for the right to become the next wielder. The catch? They had to defeat a terrible monster it would be affixed to in a massive labyrinth garden.

Gentleman Jack.

            This short marked the first time that Jack was seen in live-action, having previously appeared in several cartoons and video games, and the return of Man-Thing (known simply as “Ted”, played by Carey Jones & Jeffrey Ford) since the abysmal Sci-Fi Channel film in 2005. It’s also the debut of Elsa Bloodstone (Laura Donnelly) in anything other than a video game. However, fans of the character may be surprised to see she’s not the foul-mouthed, gun-toting badass she is in the comics. Oh, she’s very badass, pulling out some killer fight moves in the few fight scenes, but this is more Elsa at the beginning of becoming the character in the comics (as stated in some interviews with Donnelly).

This is one Elsa that's not going to let it go.

            Werewolf by Night is Michael Giacchino’s third directorial effort, and the longest so far. And he did an incredible job. The whole special was an homage to the classic Universal monster movies of the 30s and 40s, with its being shot in mostly black and white (with spot coloring on the Bloodstone and full color at the end), the addition of film grain (although it was clearly shot on digital), extensive use of practical effects and sets (more so than other Marvel productions, which I’m sure the overworked VFX community appreciated), the opening and closing titles, and the music, which was also by Giacchino. They even did a retro “special presentation” intro like the networks used to do. The opening introduction to all the characters especially felt like a classic movie; it was only after they entered the garden did the modern start creeping in. And the way they did the werewolf transformation seen in only shadow and Elsa’s reaction to it was a real perfect way to build up the suspense. The werewolf costume and make-up looked great as well.

Shadow dance.

            The most interesting aspect of the special was the contrast between the so-called monsters and the monster hunters. Jack did everything he could to avoid hurting anyone, especially after he transformed (except those that deserved it, of course). Ted was acting in self-defense (those who know fear burn at the touch of the Man-Thing). And both of them actively worked to rescue the other. The monster hunters, however, were so eager to win the Bloodstone that they, without hesitation, were willing to slaughter each other to get it. And this was encouraged. So, it begs the question: who exactly were the real monsters?

You, uh, got a little something there...

            My only real negative was the final fight scene when the werewolf was unleashed. The choreography didn’t feel feral enough in parts. Werewolf Jack moved too much like a trained martial artist rather than a reactionary creature. Otherwise, the action was top-notch; with Elsa clearly getting some Black Widow-esque training and some savage finishing moves, and the visceral bloody ends to the Bloodstone goons delivered by the werewolf (this entry was allowed to be gorier than other Marvel projects since it lacked the color to indicate the liquid splashing the camera lens was blood).

Instructions from the dead.

            Overall, Werewolf By Night was fantastic (although I might’ve titled it Bloodstone, all things considered). In its short runtime it managed to accomplish everything it set out to do: introduce the horror side of Marvel, give us several new characters, and homage the classic monster films while giving us something completely new from the MCU. And yes, some of the MCU humor was present, but they were situationally appropriate and didn’t overstep their bounds like many feel it tends to do lately. The costume and special effects were well done, as were the few fight scenes. The lighting was on point, making effective use of the shadows with the lack of color. I hope the largely positive reaction I’ve seen towards this special encourages Marvel Studios to take more chances.

Just call him "Ted".

            Predicting it now: based on some reaction videos I’ve seen, Man-Thing will become the next Groot.

SHE-HULK EPISODE 8 REVIEW

 

Froggy-man, Froggy-man, does whatever a froggy can.

            Okay, let’s just get this out of the way: fans, rejoice! The moment you’ve all been waiting for is here! Yes, it’s the MCU debut of…LEAP-FROG!

The 'Devil, you say?

            No, no, I’m just kidding. Well, I mean, Leap-Frog does appear in the episode, but this is also the episode that finally features Daredevil (Charlie Cox). Now, I have to remind everyone: the Netflix Daredevil was rated TV-MA. She-Hulk is not. So don’t expect all the bone-crunching, bloody stuff you’re used to getting with the character. HOWEVER! That doesn’t diminish his awesomness in the episode. He’s got some slick moves, takes down a ton of guys on his own, and shows Cox hasn’t missed a step since Daredevil stopped filming. I don’t know if this is fully indicative of the MCU Daredevil going forward or if it’s just distilled through the lens of the show like Wong was, but if it is I’m here for it.  

Team-up!

            That said, this episode was just…wow. Keeping in mind we still have one episode to go, I’d call this the best episode of the series thus far. Shulkie gets to meet Matt Murdock when Eugene Patillio, aka Leap-Frog (Brandon Stanley), retains her firm to sue the designer of his costume after he’s injured when it malfunctions. Interestingly, the MCU chose to combine Leap-Frog’s character. In the comics, Leap-Frog was actually Eugene’s father; an engineer who turned to costume villainy when life kept dealing him bad cards (although mentioned as a prominent client of GLK&H, it’s not revealed if the elder Patillio ever donned the costume himself). Humiliated by his father’s past, Eugene decided to take the Leap-Frog suit and become the superhero Frog-Man. The MCU Eugene was reimagined as a spoiled rich kid who wanted to be a hero so badly that he ended up becoming the villain. But, like the comics, he remained as much of a joke as anyone frog-themed not named Throg deserves to be.

Shulkie is in a bit of a pickle.

            Now as fun as all that and as awesome as having Daredevil back on screen was, the real meat of the episode happened in the last five minutes. There isn’t much I can say without delving into spoilers, but I will say that The Intelligencia makes their move at the most inopportune time and manages to cause Jen some serious damage. I’m looking forward to the finale to see how things finally all connect together and we learn what the show has been building towards.

SHE-HULK EPISODE 7 REVIEW

 

            So, yeah, Jen has the worst luck with men. That’s just, like, an unfortunate truth at this point. If you hadn’t guessed by that vague statement, Josh (Trevor Salter), the dude from the wedding that seemed very much into Jen and not She-Hulk, ended up disappointing us all (although, honestly, he was suspect from the start). If you want to know how exactly, you’ll need to watch the episode.

Sharing is caring.

            Otherwise, this episode had a singular focus. Jen gets called up by Blonsky’s (Tim Roth) parole officer to accompany him to check out why Blonsky’s inhibitor stopped working. Jen gets stranded there and ends up experiencing what Blonsky’s little paradise has to offer; which allowed her to gain some introspective into herself and start to make some peace with the dichotomy of her existence. I can’t delve much deeper into that without spoiling everything that happens, because that’s all that happens. Which is a lot more entertaining than it sounds, believe me!

Blonsky's gang. But, y'know, not actually a gang. In case the parole board asks.

            We got introduced to a host of new characters, including Man-Bull (Nathan Hurd), El Aguila (Joseph Castillo-Midyett), Saracen (Terrence Clowe) and Porcupine (Jordan Aaron Ford). These guys provided the bulk of the episode’s humor, with their quirkiness and interactions with each other. While not as elaborately done as Ms. Marvel’s, it was fun to see the use of text messages in the episode. Also, the “No Service” gag got me laughing. Plus, episode/comic writer Zeb Wells obviously heard my complaint about the “Previously On” segment by throwing a gag about it in the episode. So, thank you, Zeb! (Obviously I’m kidding—these episodes were done long before I ever decided to start up this blog).

Existential dread.

            She-Hulk has a slowly progressing overlying plot that often gets overshadowed for some by the seemingly disconnected “days in the life of” approach the main stories seem to take. But each episode has been gradually laying pieces as the show chugs along to its finale, even if they aren’t immediately evident. It also has been continually subverting expectations, making it hard to predict what’s going to happen which is, frankly, refreshing. However, there is an odd mixed message as the show simultaneously tries to say that both parts of Jen matter while driving home the point that Shulkie is preferable to just Jen. A bit of a strange dichotomy there.

CH-CH-CHANGES

 

            Disney just recently had their D23 expo where they reveal all the projects they have going on under their various umbrellas. Naturally, that mix included some Marvel Studios stuff. And, just as naturally, a contingent of irate fanboys had to bemoan the fact that some things didn’t match the comics. Differences from the source material is always a contention in any kind of adaptation, but it has been especially prevalent in the world of comics-to-film. And it boggles the mind as to why that is because it’s always been the case.

Superman on the radio!

            Let’s go alllllllllllllllllll the way back. Superman was adapted first to the radio in 1940 with serialized adventures. That show largely did its own thing, having Superman arrive on Earth as a fully grown man (later retconned to be in line with the comics origin), able to fly, and be vulnerable to Kryptonite (introduced as a way to explore Superman’s origins that became a plot device trotted out to give actor Bud Collyer a break). Superman’s first flight in the comics, Superman #10, happened because new artist Leo Nowak assumed that was one of his powers as the way he was depicted leaping looked as if he was flying. Kryptonite didn’t hit the books until Superman #61 in 1949.

This is an official Captain America. No, really.

            Over on the Marvel side of things, Captain America became their first hero adapted with the 1944 Republic serial. However, besides the name and costume, nothing about the character was Captain America. This Cap was District Attorney Grant Gardner (Dick Purcell). If he was a Super Soldier there was no mention of it, he wielded a gun instead of a shield, had a secretary for a partner rather than Bucky, and fought a criminal mastermind rather than the Nazis. Film Historians Jim Harmon and Don Glut would come to speculate that the script was originally written for another character that Republic couldn’t get the rights to so they just dumped Cap into the story with superficial changes.

The original live-action Marvel.

            Okay, let’s jump ahead to when comics were in-demand for adaptation: the 1970s, where you had The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Shazam! and Wonder Woman on TV, and Doctor Strange and Captain America in made-for-TV movies. Well, Nicholas Hammond’s Spidey didn’t travel by web-slinging or wisecrack, and wore his utility belt and single web-shooter outside of his costume. He also never fought any supervillains (except one with telekinetic powers, but he wasn’t from the comics). Lou Ferrigno’s Hulk wasn’t pursued by the army, didn’t cause mass-destruction, and wasn’t impervious to harm from things like bullets. Shazam didn’t get his powers from a wizard, but rather the six beings that embodied his abilities: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury, as well as traveled around in an RV with his mentor figure (named Mentor, played by Les Tremayne). Again, no supervillains. Now while the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman was comics-accurate as far the character herself goes, the series itself also failed to utilize any of her villains and depicted Diana Prince as a secret agent (or Steve Trevor’s secretary during WWII in the first season). In Doctor Strange, Peter Hooten’s character as a psychiatrist rather than a surgeon, and his foray into magic came from an inherited ring rather than destroying his hands in an accident. And for the two Captain America films, the WWII element was removed entirely in favor of a modern setting, Reb Brown’s Steve Rogers was a former Marine-turned-traveling artist, and his murdered father, whose patriotic attitude earned him the nickname “Captain America”, developed the FLAG formula (Full Latent Ability Gain) that turned him into a superhero. This Cap did use a shield, but it was rendered see-through to double as the windshield to his motorcycle.

What were you expecting? A little Jewish girl from Illinois?

            But wait, you say; what about in the 90s with those cartoons everyone loved? Good point! Those were, to date, the closest to ever come to actually closely resembling the source material. BUT! Changes were still made. X-Men and Spider-Man would mix and match story elements, such as the coming of Bishop being integrated into the Days of Future Past storyline; being sent back to the past instead of Kitty Pryde to prevent the mutant imprisonment and massacres. And the beloved Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy? You can start from the fact Spidey had organic web-shooters up to the fact they retconned it so that Sandman accidentally killed Uncle Ben by the time the third film rolled around.

Try adapting this short story into a 100% accurate feature film!

            So what’s the point? The point is this: comic books are their own medium. They can be endlessly continuous or self-contained and limited. They’re not beholden to the laws of physics or budgetary concerns (beyond, y’know, what the creative team is paid—which is hopefully fairly!). When adapting comics to another medium, compromises have to be made. Fictional characters are eternal, actors are not. While it’s easy to just recast like the James Bond franchise, sometimes that’s not an option and, let’s face it, people will still complain because it’s not long their favorite actor (assuming they liked them in the first place). Costumes sometimes have to sacrifice accuracy for functionality. Sure, many talented cosplayers bring them exactly from the page to reality, but how many of those can actually handle rigorous movement without falling apart? Rights issues are another thing. As you may well know Marvel had to sell off a bunch of rights to stave off bankruptcy, which meant certain characters have been unavailable requiring their replacement with another character that could fill the void.

Even Watchmen changed the ending.

            And the biggest reason? It’s damn hard to condense what’s a serialized story into just 2 ½ hours. TV shows make a more comparable format for the adaptation of ongoing comics, but as they keep on insisting to make movies and people want to go, they’re going to have to find a way to tell as close of a similar story as possible with a definitive beginning, middle and end.  

The future is full.

            The long and short of it is the comics are the comics, the movies and shows are the movies and shows. They each come with their own benefits and drawbacks, and while similar will never fully compare to each other. If it bothers you that much, just consider them alternate universe versions. That’s a big thing now, right? Whatever the case, just sit back and enjoy. Comic fans are being fed and fed well this decade. Whereas we only got dribs and drabs since the Golden Age, we’re getting a bunch of movies and shows every year. Enjoy it the feast before the inevitable famine returns.

SHE-HULK EPISODE 4 REVIEW

 

A boating outfit and a cat with a matching hat? Swipe right on that!

            Dating in your 30s, amirite? 

"And for my next trick: an express portal to a hell dimension!"

            This is one of those episodes where you really need to turn your brain off and just enjoy. Why do I say that? Well, we get Wong back for another bit of crossover fun, and this time he goes to Shulkie in order to get a magician who flunked out of Kamar-Taj (the magical training ground from Doctor Strange) to stop using a sling ring (the ring that opens up the circular sparkling portals in the MCU) in his hokey magic act before he does something that could potentially disrupt the universe. The “turn your brain off” part comes into play when you logically figure the “sorcerer supreme” could have dealt with this rogue element in any number of ways (such as sling ringing into the culprit’s room at night and snatching back the ring or, as suggested in the episode itself, casting him into the mirror dimension) without relying on Shulkie or the American court system. Especially as seen in the show’s climactic fight scene. But the tone of the show seems to affect everything it touches and Wong is played more as the straight-man in a comedy routine. Particularly when he ends up constantly paired with drunk party girl Madisynn King (Patty Guggenheim). Yeah, I can’t get too much into that without spoilers, but you’ll likely find her annoying endearing (and speaking of spoilers: if you haven’t watched The Sopranos yet and plan to, you may not wanna watch this episode first).

Sexy fun time.

            We seemed to get a lot more Shulkie this episode. A lonely Jennifer attempts to hit the dating circuit with an online profile, but finds her human side either gets ignored or ends up with a total loser. So she makes a profile for her bigger half and discovers the joys of dating as a modern adult (read: mind-numbingly horrible). It does start Jen on the road to embracing her other self and starting to feel more comfortable in her gamma-irradiated skin, while at the same time paints the bummer picture that her world couldn’t give a crap less about plain, ol’, ordinary her (outside of family and friends, ‘natch!).

Maidsynn being...helpful?

            And can we just give it up for supportive superhero families? We’re getting back-to-back portrayals with the previous (and excellent) Ms. Marvel and the Khans, and now Mark Linn-Baker’s Morris Walters. From the one-on-one moment back in the first episode, to attempting to protect his superhero daughter from future attacks complete with a shovel to hide the bodies. Good families for the win!

"Okay, Twitter--say hello to my little friend!"

            Overall, another fun episode, although one you really can’t think too hard about. I did especially enjoy the little dig at online trolls like they did with the last episode. I’m also looking forward to seeing how all of these seemingly unconnected events find a way to intersect as the show goes on. With Jameela Jamil’s Titania set to return in the next episode after being largely absent since the first, it looks like the callbacks are beginning.

SHE-HULK EPISODE 2 REVIEW

 

            Now that’s more like it! Any complaint I had about Episode 1 was obliterated for Episode 2 (although my new complaint is you have a fourth wall-breaking character and you didn’t take advantage of that for the “Previously On” segment? C’mon!).

Jen's new normal.

            As I figured, they rushed through She-Hulk’s origin to get it out of the way. The second episode was much better paced. I enjoyed the story and the multiple excellent jokes (including a particular subtle “literally” joke) so much that I didn’t realize how quickly the time went by.

Starting to regret life choices.

            There isn’t much I can say that doesn’t fall into super spoilery territory as the story beats were minimal and concise. It is cool to see The Incredible Hulk become more integrated into the MCU, what with an episode of What If? depicting a scene from the film and now Tim Roth’s Abomination appearing in two Phase 4 projects. I guess that means either Universal’s stranglehold on the Hulk rights is beginning to lessen or Marvel legal has figured out ways they can reference it that won’t bring about lawsuits. I don’t know, I’m not familiar with the whole situation beyond the fact Marvel couldn’t do another solo Hulk movie if they wanted to.

Tim Roth returns!

Anyway, for hardcore MCU fans, this episode ties into Shang-Chi while referencing Eternals and firmly establishes the show’s place in the Phase 4 timeline. This will likely also lead into the expected appearance by Benedict Wong as his character, well, Wong as established by the various trailers for the show. Loved the introduction to Jen’s family (don’t recall if we ever saw much of them in the comics—at least not in any of the comics I’ve actually read), and as a tall person of some considerable strength I totally felt the end credits scene. And I’m loving Tatiana Maslany, especially her voice. It’s a good fit for the character! If she has any interest in voice work, I wouldn’t mind her continuing on as the voice of Shulkie in other projects.

"Yes, I'll be representing Marvel in all matters relating to The Incredible Hulk."

Overall, this episode was a marked improvement over the last, and if this is indicative of how the rest of the series is going to go this could be on track to take my top spot in the Disney+ spin-offs (y’know, if I played favorites. Which I don’t.). Also, keep an eye out for an X-Men Easter egg!

SHE-HULK EPISODE 1 REVIEW

 

            TL;DR, I liked it, but I didn’t love it. TS;WR (too short; wanna read)? Okay, here’s my thoughts (may contain slight spoilers, be warned!):

"Oh, look--another internet rando with a hot take."

            Let me start off by saying I was looking forward to this show. A lot of people had trouble with the marketing, but I thought it made it look quite good and each new promo got me anxious for the premiere date to roll around.

Silent judgement for "M-SHE-U" critics.

            So, the good. Tatiana Maslany, I think, is going to be a good voice for the character. She looks like she’s having fun and I hear she’s uber talented (as of this writing, I have yet to see Orphan Black. I’m behind on EVERYTHING, sue me!). Her interactions with Mark Ruffalo were fun, and any concerns over the CGI and continuity and nerfing of Hulk from the “M-SHE-U” crowd were proven to be non-existent. It looks like it’s going to be fun without veering too far into the silly, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes. Also, I laughed much harder at that post-credit scene than I should’ve. That alone was worth the price of admission.

"Wake up! We only have 9 episodes!"

            That said, I often hear the criticism of Marvel’s Disney+ shows being that they have pacing issues. To a point I agree—most of their shows go along at a good pace in the beginning then seem to need to rush everything at the end to fit the prescribed episode limit with their story (they show signs of improvement on that front with each subsequent entry). However, this was the first where I’d say the beginning had some pacing issues. This debut episode attempted to get all of the origin stuff out of the way right away, so it went through everything quickly. The introduction; the inciting incident (which hopefully will be explored more later); going to Bruce’s private estate to “train”; returning to the world as a Hulk. That third thing took up the bulk of the episode, and was arguably the best part.

Zen and the art of Hulking.

            I feel like a lot of moments were short-changed as a result. Jen’s transformation into She-Hulk was extremely abrupt. I also feel like we didn’t get enough time to get to know Jen pre-Hulk to fully appreciate her new circumstances. This isn’t like the comic’s Jen—she’s not the mousy, self-doubting lawyer who discovers new confidence as a Hulk and therefore always wants to remain that way. Her personality was pretty much already set from the beginning, and it seems like she’ll just be adjusting to her new stature. I also feel like they kinda “yadda yadda’ed” the pseudo-science that explained why she was different from Bruce in her Hulk-ness. “Oh, you’re a different kind of Hulk, but we won’t get into any specifics about that.” And that ending was rather…abrupt.

It's a lawyer show.

            Ideally, this episode should have been split into two. Begin with a look into Jen’s pre-Hulk life before she reconnects with Bruce. Have the inciting incident expose Jen to Bruce’s blood. Have the transformation be more gradual, keeping up the mystery over what kind of Hulk she is. Then end with her “asking” to be trained, with the rest of the episode’s events happening in the next episode.  

A real power suit.

             But, that’s just me. As I said, the episode was fine. It got in, did its job, and hopefully cleared up the rest of the way for the series to be what it needs to be. If the remainder of the episodes can live up to the promise of the marketing, I will be completely satisfied. I look forward to each coming week, and patiently wait for them to add her to the Marvel’s Avengers video game. Let’s make it happen already, people!