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Gladiator II star Denzel Washington has revealed that Sony Pictures is reportedly working on The Equalizer 4 and 5.
Posted in: Disney+, Kaitlyn Booth, Marvel, TV | Tagged: disney, marvel, mcu, Review, she-hulk
She-Hulk Episodes 2 & 3 Review: Trials & Tribulations of Emil Blonsky
When the embargo came down for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, we reviewed the first four episodes, but we kept our reviews of the latter episodes a bit more vague, so there weren't any spoilers. Now episodes two and three are out, which very much lead into each other; it's time to see if they work. In some ways, the best part of She-Hulk is that it still feels like a television show, even if these two episodes are less one-off stories and more like one story told over two episodes.
However, in terms of pacing, this isn't uncommon for a show like this. In fact, some sort of two-parter that just so happens to focus on the return of someone from a previous property and some bigger actors is exactly the sort of thing you'd see from the non-Marvel version of this show. If you step back and strip all of the Marvel-ness out of this show and it was just a comedy lawyer show, would a two-parter be a red flag for pacing issues? No, however, Marvel has really struggled with pacing their television shows. They are paced like a binge drop while released weekly. It leaves audiences feeling unsatisfied if there is no beginning, middle, or end to some sort of part of the story while telling your season-wide story. Despite essentially being a two-parter, these two episodes of She-Hulk didn't feel like a short movie hiding behind the mask of television. It just felt like two episodes of television.
She-Hulk doesn't waste a lot of time jumping into all of the fun stuff and showing us exactly what the fallout is from the events of the first episodes. And those events are something Jen could probably sue for when it comes to wrongful termination, but we'll move past that. The thing that she told Bruce she was terrified of happening just happened, the prospect of losing everything she worked so hard for could be gone until the opportunity to work at GLK&H comes her way. However, while Jen wants to get as far away from the She-Hulk persona as possible, her new boss, Holliway, always exclusively wants the She-Hulk and not Jennifer Walters.
The nature of duality is something that all of the Hulk characters have struggled with. For Bruce, it's almost like an entirely different person living inside of him that he needs to come to terms with. With Jennifer, she doesn't lose any aspects of herself mentally when she shifts. However, she does change physically. The show hasn't explored this yet, but women in law are often told they have to present a certain way, and any deviation from the norm will get them shunned. This burden is, of course, placed even heavier on women of color in law. In these first two episodes, Jennifer is clearly having a hard time dressing the part of a lawyer in the form of She-Hulk because her suits don't look fitted to her form and like they might even be a man's suit. Jennifer still knows how to present herself as Jennifer; she looks comfortable in those outfits. However, that bulky suit is a very obvious visual cue of just how uncomfortable Jen still is in her own skin when it comes to She-Hulk, despite that it seems to be the version of her that everyone wants now.
The real star of these two episodes is the return of not only Emil Blonsky for the first time since [not as bad as you remember, #JusticeForBettyRoss] The Incredible Hulk well over ten years ago. They even make a joke out of the change of casting. The idea of looking at villains in a new light is something that the Marvel universe loves to do, and the way Jennifer goes about the Blonsky case is interesting. Your first instinct is to think this is all an act because this is a comic book show, and he is the villain. That is until you remember the circumstances by which Blonsky got his powers. In his mind, he was the hero of that movie, not Bruce, and he thought he was doing the right thing. He was a soldier who the government essentially tested on, suffered a horrible side effect, and was then thrown in jail for that side effect.
That alternate point of view regarding villains with more complex histories within the scope of a show like She-Hulk that has a more comedic tone makes these two episodes vast improvements from the first. It means you can explore something pretty dark, like how Blonsky ended up where he is and how it is a little tragic and not entirely his fault, while also keeping the tone light. There is also something to be said about showing that prison is supposed to be about rehabilitation, not incarceration when it comes to most crimes. While it would be perfectly in line for a comic book show to have Blonsky turn out to be a bad guy all along, it would be nice to see a reformed villain out there just living his life. Most Marvel villains either die or end up in prison, The Raft will fill up eventually. The conversation about the prison system failing nearly 80% of the time when it comes to recidivism is for another time.
The other aspect of this episode that is really interesting is seeing other cases that Jennifer's coworkers will take on. While there are supervillains running and world-ending idiocy going on every other weekend, there are smaller things going on as well. Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye did an excellent job of exploring those smaller angles, and now She-Hulk is here to look at how the smaller aspects of life would change, such as a shapeshifter from Asgard taking a narcissistic idiot to the bank by pretending to be a superstar. It's a fun little B story and one that we can hope the show continues to explore as we move further into the season. Finally, this also saw the return of Wong, who is the best character and welcome in literally everything. We love you, Benedict, get that paycheck, we love to see you.
The episode teased just a little about what the plot of the season could be about, but when it comes to establishing the tone and what we can explore in She-Hulk, episodes two and three did a pretty good job of that. As always, the looming specter of Marvel pacing and sticking the landing are on the horizon, but it's still a little too early to feel too worried. It continues to be an amusing ride with the potential to have so much to say.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episodes 2 & 3
8.5/10
Episodes two and three of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is a classic two-parter as we explore Jennifer's new job and what being a lawyer for a supervillain would be like.
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