DIRECTOR: Anu Valia
CAST: Tatiana Maslany, Jameela Jamil, Ginger Gonzaga, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Patti Harrison, David Pasquesi
RUNNING TIME: 31 mins
PREVIOUSLY, ON SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW: With the help of fellow lawyer Mallory Book (Goldsberry), Jennifer Walters (Maslany) has won a copyright lawsuit against superpowered influencer Titania (Jamil) over the unauthorized use of her superhero name She-Hulk, for which Titania swears revenge.
IN THIS EPISODE: Jennifer is invited to be a bridesmaid for an old friend (Harrison), while her ever-loyal paralegal Nikki Ramos (Gonzaga) teams with Book for an unusual divorce case…
NOW FOR THE REVIEW…
Just when things looked like they were finally getting on track in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, everything stops once more so that a fancy wedding can take place. Before you let your frustrations get the better of you, however, that’s not to say this sixth episode – titled Just Jen – is a completely wasted excursion, for there are some long-awaited rematches, curious new developments in the background, and drinking – lots and lots of drinking.
Before the alcohol flows, we learn that Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) – fresh off of winning her copyright lawsuit against vapid influencer Titania (Jameela Jamil) – has been invited out of the blue to be a bridesmaid at the wedding of her old school friend Lulu (Patti Harrison), which she is surprised by given that they’ve barely spoken over the last number of years. Nonetheless, Jennifer shows up in full She-Hulk form, much to the frustration of the bride-to-be and her fellow bridesmaids, who turn out to be almost as backhandedly cruel as Titania, who – much to Jennifer’s frustration – has also shown up to the ceremony, setting the stage for a rematch of sorts. Meanwhile, back at the offices of GLK & H, Jennifer’s paralegal Nikki Ramos (Ginger Gonzaga) is partnered with lawyer Mallory Book (Renée Elise Goldsberry) to work on a divorce case for a superpowered person named Mr. Immortal (David Pasquesi), whose inability to die has led to him faking his death on multiple occasions in order to get out of marriages to his many, many partners, who are now teaming up for legal retribution.
This is yet another one of those episodes where the “A” plot has less bearing than the “B” plot, since it is the latter that offers some intriguing new details within the narrative (including what looks to be the MCU version of QAnon), while our hero is mainly left to be humiliated and get as wasted as possible in a comedic scenario that’s dangerously close to sitcom territory. Again, the on-screen charm and charisma of its central hero makes these scenes tolerable to watch, and there will occasionally be some funny moments that are elevated by the delivery of these performers, but at this point – two-thirds into this nine-episode season – there really needs to be something more substantial going on in the foreground, instead of light filler and cases-of-the-week that are quickly resolved. I appreciate that this series is going for a much different pace and structure than something like Ms. Marvel, but there is such a thing as being too different, to a point where it’s starting to look less developed and concentrated than the other self-contained Marvel shows.
While I do wish that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law would be a lot more preoccupied with forwarding its own narrative rather than relying on the typical Ally McBeal-like legal comedy formula it’s eagerly trying to replicate, I still don’t dislike this show as much as a surprising amount of people online do (mostly trolls, I seem to notice). The show, so far, really is just okay, a light-hearted romp that certainly doesn’t take itself too seriously, nor does it have any grand ambitions to be the next great Marvel product. It has charm to it, especially with Tatiana Maslany’s energetic lead performance which week by week is carrying the show through some of its lesser moments, and as a stylistic call-back to some of those old legal comedy series, whether it’s Ally McBeal or Night Court, it’s clear that the writers and filmmakers have done their research.
It exists as a perfectly fine Marvel product, with this episode especially playing into its own light-hearted charm while also offering some potential new areas of interest for this wider universe (still waiting on that Daredevil cameo, guys…).
SO, TO SUM UP…
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Episode 6 – Just Jen is another light-hearted, sometimes to a fault, episode that contains some decent fun, intriguing new developments, and plenty of boozing.
