She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season 1 Review

This article contains major spoilers.

Brief Overview

She-Hulk was definitely not the normal type of superhero show we’re used to. That part was abundantly clear from the trailers, promotion material, and everything else. The question of whether or not it paid off is entirely up to you to decide. This entire review is just based on my thoughts, and my thoughts are that it did and it didn’t.

The show had spells of brilliance throughout but ultimately fell flat more times than it did well. It comes to something when there were people that only watched the show purely because of Daredevil. I don’t blame them either. The show had a very weak opening even despite involving Bruce Banner.

There is a lot to go through but I will break down each section and explain my reasonings for giving those ratings. I like to make sure my reviews aren’t just me waffling on for paragraphs, at least this way you get to see what I think about with each major section of the show.

Story – 7/10

I did enjoy the direction of the story, the only reason why I have voted it 7 is due to the fact the story veered off course a fair amount. The story surrounding how Jen got her powers, with the car crash and Bruce’s blood was well done. It generated an amount of intrigue, especially when Bruce is teaching Jen how to harness her new Hulk-like powers.

It boils down to a poor antagonist as well as it only hurts the direction of the show. However, what the show did get right was it did advance well. Each episode pushed the story along until Jen’s eventual meeting with the Kevin robot. Granted, it was slow in parts but that’s one thing I will give the show.

Another thing I really did like about the show, although I believe this may be an unpopular opinion is the lawyer aspects of the season. We saw a lot of the lawyer side of Jen which I did enjoy, it got even more interesting when we saw Jen vs Matt in the courtroom. If we’re to get a second season then I’d love to see this side explored more. I also really want to see her form her own company, this is something we see in the comics. Law Offices of Jennifer Walters.

All in all, the story was good, there were things that could have been better but I was entertained throughout.

Action – 4/10

The show had a glaring issue with the action aspect. This is She-Hulk, a Hulk, we needed a lot more of her in a fight than what we got. Half of the fights we actually got were filled with jokes, I wanted to truly see her go toe to toe with someone seriously. There were a few episodes that didn’t even have any action in them. It’s a shame. I always like to rate a show based on the action because after all, this is a superhero show, not a drama.

Characters – 8/10

Despite the poor CGI which I do get into further detail later on, Jen was a great character. Tatiana Maslany played the role of She-Hulk very well. We did also get some fantastic characters in the show such as Wong, Daredevil, Bruce Banner, and Abomination. Despite Jen breaking the fourth wall by stating it was her show, these extra characters boosted the show a lot, especially Matt Murdoch.

The only major letdown is some of the side characters were forgettable.

To see the full cast list for the show, you can visit IMDB by clicking here.

Entertainment – 7/10

I have already touched on this section a couple of times but I was entertained throughout. I laughed throughout, I enjoyed the direction and the characters we got. The entertainment was let down due to being forced out of the show.

Let me explain.

The fourth wall breaking wasn’t great. It’s a Deadpool thing. The finale was decent don’t get me wrong, it was unique but I just don’t think it works for Jen’s character. It works for Deadpool because it’s Deadpool. I know it’s comic-accurate but I don’t know, it just didn’t work for me. The CGI also took me out of the immersion as well which affected the entertainment value, and that’s only purely because of the immersion sense.

Episodes – 6/10

The length of episodes and the amount were fine, my issue with the episodes was some of them weren’t utilized very well. It took us until the later episodes to figure out what is actually going on. The episodes were filled with either Jen romanticizing any man she spoke to, or her attending events. It needed to pummel through to the actual juicy stuff a lot quicker than it did.

Antagonist – 1/10

What antagonist? That’s why I have rated this 1. I assumed Tatiana was the antagonist but it seemed like it wasn’t. It was Intelligencia, a Reddit-like forum created by Todd. It wasn’t great considering the number of Hulk-like characters they could have used as a villain.

I get it though, the show was light-hearted and unique in parts but I feel like the show could have massively benefited from an actual villain who was out to kill.

Quality – 3/10

CGI. CGI. CGI. It was horrific. Disney is even aware of this as they did try to slide this off in the finale when Jen was speaking to the Kevin robot. However, it’s not funny. This is a Disney+ show, the CGI should not be this bad considering The CW’s Stargirl and Superman & Lois have it nailed. This isn’t a CW show, this is a Marvel show within the MCU, they should have taken better care of this.

I understand though they made adjustments prior to the season coming out it was still so damn bad. There were several sections of the season where She-Hulk looked (beyond being a Hulk) out of place, it took you away from the show. Some of the acting here was less than desirable too. Disney really needs to ensure they get this right if we’re to get a season 2.

Favorite Episode

For me, it’s easily episode 8, Ribbit and Rip it. The return of Daredevil in full form with a suit was everything the MCU needed. Charlie Cox is a treasure to the character, I still adore Disney for bringing him back. It feels like he never lost a step. The episode was jam-packed with action and the only episode of the season to receive a 10/10 rating.

Worst Episode

It was episode 3’s The People vs. Emil Blonsky. It was boring, it had no push on the story and Wong was just wasted sitting in front of a probation panel. Granted, it pushed the episode in the direction that Abomination was released from prison but you could theoretically skip this episode and not miss a thing.

Episodes & Their Ratings

Episode 1: A Normal Amount of Rage – 8.8/10
Episode 2: Superhuman Law – 7/10
Episode 3: The People vs. Emil Blonsky – 4/10
Episode 4: Is This Not Real Magic? – 7.2/10
Episode 5: Mean, Green, and Straight Poured Into These Jeans – 6/10
Episode 6: Just Jen – 6.9/10
Episode 7: The Retreat – 8/10
Episode 8: Ribbit and Rip it – 10/10
Episode 9: Whose Show is This? – 8.8/10

Average rating – 7.4/10

Our Overall Rating 5.1/10

The show had a lot of glaring issues, especially in the CGI and action departments which drastically affected the rating of the show. The show has created a divide between those who loved it and those who hated it. Personally, I didn’t mind it, but 5.1 is a fair reflection of the overall product.

Does It Deserve Another Season?

I would say so, but the show definitely needs to double down, especially the CGI. If they get the CGI stuff sorted, and introduce a proper villain then I see no reason why the show couldn’t smash a second season. There’s a lot the show has done right, it needs to remain level-headed on the positives and work on the negatives to get it right.

Availability

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is available exclusively on Disney+.

Season Trailer