The fun premiere episode is already showing to be the more light-hearted and self-aware Marvel Studios series in the vein of the often-cited Ally McBeal and similar lawyer shows from that era.
Once again I need to confirm my observation that people aren’t actually tired of origin stories (only the same origin stories being retold) and as such stories go the origins of Jennifer Walters becoming the titular She-Hulk is a pretty fun one contained in the first episode.
There’s also a lot to fit into 34-minutes so the episode travels at a rather brisk pace but that also matches the tone and somewhat breezier mood of the show. It’s definitely the more comedic of all the MCU shows not only with the types of quirky characters and situations being presented so far (there’s a scene in a bar restroom that I really giggled at and enjoyed) but also in the way Walters breaks the fourth wall. .
Tatiana Maslany has already made this character her own in both normal and hulked out forms, without a need for the audience to “adjust” or get to know her. Again the brisk pacing of the episode encourages that. And bouncing off Mark Ruffalo reprising his Bruce Banner, it gives her an opportunity to throw in a few quips and insights on being a woman today.
The CGI is really good so far with no real qualifiers that most people would be tempted to sneak in there like “for a TV show”. It’s more than just serviceable it’s actually good and convincing but a lot of that has to do with just how personable the two CG characters are.
I mentioned before the self-awareness and that’s where some of the humour comes from. It works well because it feels appropriate for the fourth-wall stuff and it’s how this show does the winking references that other shows attempt in their own way. Seriously, watch the post-credits scene because IF that’s a reliable confessions then my theory all these years has been CONFIRMED!
We haven’t seen a lot of “lawyer show” here as yet and I’m not really a big fan of legal dramas in general let alone shows that are (cynically) geared toward women in that early 2000s feminism sense but it’s still early so we’ll see how that mixes together with the superhero stuff (I know I could make comparisons to Daredevil here but if I’m honest they were my least favourite parts of that show without disliking them outright). However, it’s important to remember this is how Marvel Studios keeps things fresh, by dabbling with genres.
Fun and breezy with a nice dose of female empowerment is how I describe what I’ve seen so far and definitely looking forward to more in coming weeks.
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