Last week, in the premiere episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, we saw Jennifer Walters turn into a hulk after getting into an accident with her cousin, Bruce Banner. Desperate to get back to her life, she returned a bit too early and had a run in with a super-powered individual, forcing her to reveal her hulk self to the public. Now, life is about to change in a lot of ways for Jen.
This week’s episode opens with news reports from Jen’s run in with who we now know is Titania, a super-powered influencer. One of the reports features an interview with a witness and results in the coining of the name She-Hulk. Jen and Nikki stand outside a bar where they can hear the patrons chanting for She-Hulk, a name Jen is not totally on board with.
Reluctantly she agrees to give the people what they want and enters the bar as She-Hulk. After a brief run in with Dennis, Jen complains about the idea of becoming a superhero and shoots down Nikki’s proposal of her becobeingmign an Avenger. They’re interrupted when Jen’s boss comes over and lets Jen know he has to let her go because the arrival of She-Hulk caused her case to be ruled a mistrial.
Jen sleeps through a message from Bruce, who half-heartedly promises not to gloat if she wants to talk. Remember, Bruce warned her about returning to her life now that she’s a hulk. Jen goes through a series of interviews with different law firms who reject her because they don’t want the distraction of the She-Hulk.
Nikki tries to help her look for jobs while simultaneously trying to cheer her up. Things get worse for Jen though when she receives an invite to a family dinner. There’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it gag thrown in here, as the background on Jen’s phone is a picture of Captain America’s um… backside. She begs Nikki to go with her to the family dinner but she refuses.
Jen arrives at her parents house for the family dinner and her father immediately informs her that he’s already told everyone she was fired and no one will bring it up. That doesn’t last long though and she is quickly bombarded with questions about super heroes. Her dad comforts her a bit before she leaves.
Later, Jen drinks alone at the bar before being approached by Holden Holliway of GLK&H. He offers to buy her a drink and quickly offers her a job as the head of their new SuperHuman Law Division. She accepts but only if she can hire her own paralegal. Hollliway agrees and tells her she starts Monday.
Jen arrives at GLK&H and is greeted by Holliway, who informs her that it’s not actually Jen he wants, but rather She-Hulk. Jen transforms into She-Hulk and understandably gets a lot of looks as she tours the office. She ignores Holliway and talks directly to the audience about how unfair this situation is to her. Holliway asks her a question and Jen scrambles for a neutral answer which Holliway finds interesting. Jen lets us know she’ll be worrying about whatever it is she just said.
Jen enters her office where Nikki is already waiting for her. She complains to her friend about the situation but Nikki points out how nice the office is and how much money she’s making. They are then interrupted but Pug, who is also working in the Superhuman Law Division and brought them a welcome basket. Both Pug and Holliway are characters from the comics, created by Dan Slott in his 2004 “She-Hulk” run.
Jen later meets with Holliway again as he assigns her first case: the parole of Emil Blonsky. Jen argues she has a conflict of interest because Blonsky, as the Abomination, tried to kill her cousin. He informs her that Blonsky signed a conflict waiver and specifically asked to retain her as his lawyer. She still protests but Holliway informs her that if she does not take the case she doesn’t have a job. She agrees to meet with Blonsky before she decides.
Jen heads into a Department of Damage Control facility to meet with Blonsky and his cell looks very familiar to the one we saw him return to in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It quickly becomes apparent that Blonsky has turned over a new leaf and simply wants to live with his “seven soulmates” whom he met through the prison pen pal program. He tells her he chooses not to be the Abomination any more and he is truly remorseful for his actions. It’s clear Jen is starting to think Blonsky has a real case for parole and she believes he is reformed.
Back at home, Jen calls Bruce to check with him if he is ok with her taking the case. Bruce explains that the fight with Abomination was a long time ago and he is “a completely different person now, literally.” This is of course a reference to the fact that Bruce Banner was played by Ed Norton in The Incredible Hulk, and not Mark Ruffalo, who has played the character ever since. Jen even looks directly into the camera and gives a half-hearted laugh right after. They agree she should take the job before he laughs at her new super hero name. He then lets her know he won’t be visiting any time soon as we see he’s on a Sakaaran ship that blasts into space, ending their call. Another nod to the potential “Planet Hulk” and “World War Hulk” stories that could eventually be told in the MCU.
Jen calls Holliway to let him know that she has agreed to take the case. He’s glad to hear her decision but also tells her to turn on the news. Jen hangs up the phone and turns on the TV to see reports of Blonsky escaping prison to take part in an underground fight club, again, like we saw in Shang-Chi when he fought Wong. Jen simply looks into the camera and says “that sucks” as the episode comes to a close.
There is another tag in this week’s episode, though this one likely won’t create quite as much buzz as last week’s. Jen helps her father with some chores around the house that require a bit of muscle. It’s one more good chuckle to slap onto the end of the episode.
While the story angle for the Hulk himself may be the most popular topic of conversation out of this week’s episode, the story progresses quickly for Jen Walters. The introduction of Abomination certainly makes things very interesting and the connection to Shang-Chi are fun to see as well. It’s also another hilarious episode in what is likely going to be the funniest Marvel project ever when it’s all said and done.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is now streaming on Disney+.