‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ is a great show despite negative discourse

Connor Youngberg, Staff Writer

Illustration by (Connor Youngberg)

Marvel’s “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” wrapped up its first season on Oct. 13, and the audience reaction has been mixed, to say the least. Although the Disney+ show might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I think it’s a refreshing series that is changing the Marvel formula, while also having an immense amount of fun.

One of the most refreshing parts of the show is the fourth wall breaks. Throughout the show, both Jennifer Walters, played by Tatiana Maslany, and her alter-ego, She-Hulk, talk to the audience while directly looking into the camera. As the season progresses, the breaks improve, even predicting a negative reaction from the audience in the last week‘s episode.

The show is so self-aware, which is clearly a reflection of the writers really having fun. The show does not necessarily have a typical main antagonist for a superhero series, but there is a fictitious online site called “Intelligencia” that shows users bashing She-Hulk for being a female superhero.

The site looks just like Reddit, which is funny considering some real-life Reddit threads reflected similar sentiments. I think it is poetic that the people hating on “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” in real life are basically the villains within the show.

Many have been criticizing the show online even before the show’s release, due to disappointing visual effects and the show’s more comedic tone. However, most of the hate stemmed from the third episode’s post-credit scene, which featured She-Hulk and popular hip-hop artist, Megan Thee Stallion, twerking in her office. Many viewers took to Twitter to call the scene cringey.

However, I think this scene was funny and a lot of the criticism feels like people are reaching for a way to hate the show. If it was Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool twerking instead of She-Hulk, I think the audience would have a much different, more positive, reaction. As upsetting as it is, the realization is that some of the audience is reacting more negatively because the show centers around a woman.

People even complained that one of the episodes had spoilers for “The Sopranos.” If you’re watching “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” before “The Sopranos,” a show that was released over 20 years ago, that’s a

you problem.

Maslany was one of the best parts of this show. Her ability to play Walters and She-Hulk was awesome. Her take on the character is nearly identical to her comic book counterpart, flawlessly balancing the superhero and the lawyer aspects of the character. It’s easy to see she is having a lot of fun in the role.

The show also incorporates one of Marvel’s most beloved characters, Daredevil, with Charlie Cox returning to play Matt Murdock from the Netflix series of the same name, as well as “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Many fans were concerned about his inclusion, but the transition was seamless and other fans, like myself, were pleasantly surprised.

My favorite part of this show by far was the finale. When all storylines were coming together in the last episode, She-Hulk pulls the ultimate fourth-wall break and goes somewhere the Marvel Cinematic Universe has never gone before.

I won’t spoil it because it’s something you really have to see for yourself. The episode ends with the show completely abandoning the Marvel formula, with an anti-climactic ending that is actually perfect for the conclusion of the season. To me, the final episode rivaled Loki’s season finale as the best episode of any Marvel show on Disney+.

However, as Marvel always does, they included a scene that gets fans excited for the future of the MCU. When Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner returns to the series after a few episodes gone, he returns with news that will likely set up a future movie.

This show was genuinely awesome to watch each week, ditching the basic superhero story in favor of a lawyer comedy that’s just having fun. I wish this show was getting the praise it deserves, but it’s not. While I understand this humor is not for everybody, I highly recommend checking it out. You might just love it.