She-Hulk Ep. 2 plays in the MCU sandbox.

Its Easter eggs do more than wink at fans.

The Short Take:

Yup. It’s a fun lawyer show. 

Image Credit: Forbes

[Since we’re in week 2 and this episode was only 23 minutes, I’m giving a SPOILER WARNING from the start. Mild spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as well.]

The Long Take:

I was wrong. All that hand-wringing I did last week was entirely unnecessary. 

She-Hulk knows exactly what kind of show it is and makes no apologies for it. There was a confidence, a self-assuredness here that put me at ease. Jen Walters is a talented lawyer who now has to deal with being a high-profile superhero, and, by the end of this episode, she also becomes a talented lawyer for other super humans. That’s the show.

Most of the episode features Jen trying to get a law job, getting an offer for law job, scoping out her fancy new corner office, meeting with a new client in prison, and then discovering bad press about said client that could torpedo her case. There is a brief phone call with Smart Hulk in there, but it’s, again, mainly focused on whether or not she’s going to take on a client (who at one point tried to kill her cousin). If you are not on board with the Attorney at Law part of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (or Attorney for Hire, as the opening title says after she’d been fired — a big chuckle from me on that one), then you can go back to all that other epic Avengers stuff. Which is still great. It’s just not this.

I maintain that I was right about Disney+ dropping two episodes instead of one. I think my review last week would have been much more relaxed had I seen Episode 2 immediately after Episode 1. That’s partly because the show is so relaxed in its second installment. There’s a breeziness to the humor and the sitcom-esque set-ups that allowed me to tag along for the ride She-Hulk is on and enjoy. 

That does not mean that this series, thus far, is fluff or devoid of substance. I don’t usually discuss Easter Eggs, as there are plenty of other sites that can cover those better than I. But the ones in this episode served, for me, a higher purpose. Rather than just being fun but largely inconsequential winks and nods to the fans in the know, all the Easter eggs in She-Hulk establish the MCU as a vast yet single world, where lots of stories co-exist. Hasn’t that been every MCU film and series so far, you ask? To an extent, yes, but more often than not we get very focused connections to other upcoming stories, to create narrative momentum and work towards a bigger event during which many characters’ individual storylines converge. 

Being a “fun lawyer show” relieves this series of that burden, I think. Some characters or plot points from She-Hulk could still very well feed into the narrative arc of the Multiverse Saga (which, in case you missed it, is the name of the next big story that Phases 4, 5, and 6 will tell), but, more than anything, this episode gave me a sense of what the average person in this world must think about all of these different stories happening around them and in a relatively short span of time. With apologies to Peter Parker, standard MCU storytelling feels more like a web formed by a series of connections between a series of points — A to B, B to C, C to D, and so forth. She-Hulk’s approach to the MCU feels more like light radiating in a room, with everything touching everything else at the same time. Or a Borg collective, if that Trek reference resonates. There’s a simultaneity and totality here that I haven’t sensed in other MCU films and series.

The best example of this is the listicle Jen reads as a way to wallow in her unemployment, “10 Off-Beat Jobs for a Fresh Start.” A pause button happy viewer might notice that other linked articles on the side menu reference Wolverine — “Man fights with metal claws in bar brawl” — and the end of Eternals — “Why there is a giant statue of a man sticking out of the ocean.” I know, I know. Wolverine means mutants and X-Men! I can’t contain my excitement either. But, for me, the bigger takeaway here was that these are just two of many bizarre events that are happening in the same world as She-Hulk, and “normal” people are trying to make sense of it all. 

Meanwhile, Jen’s interest in Captain America continues to be a running joke, with this priceless photo set as her home screen.

And when her best friend and paralegal, Nikki, suggests she join the Avengers, Jen points out that they probably don’t have healthcare, maternity leave, or a pension plan. “Are they even paid?" she asks. Again, we’re bringing a civilian’s practical perspective to this superhero world.

Image Credit: Marvel.com

In taking this approach, She-Hulk makes the entire MCU its playground. A sandbox full of endless possibilities. 

Last week, Jomi and Steve over at Mint Edition (one of the many heads of the ever-growing Ringer-Verse feed dragon) mentioned last week that they are excited to see a revolving door of Marvel characters in Jen’s office or courtroom. This episode gives us a taste of how delightful that would be. In addition to all the laughs, the lawyer show format can be a great way to dig into some of the always complicated, sometimes hypocritical morality of superherodom. Emil Blonsky, in his defense pitch to Jen, says that the US Government injected him with a variation of the super soldier serum they gave Steve Rogers. Why wouldn’t that reasonably lead him to believe he was a good guy like Captain America? Why does everyone regard Hulk as a hero and Abomination as the villain when they were both wrecking stuff? (He’s describing the plot of the 2008 Edward Norton Hulk film, in case you very understandably forgot that movie was part of the MCU. It came out right after Iron Man.) Imagine hearing this same kind of first person testimony from all kinds of other villains, antiheroes, and even heroes who get themselves into a spot of trouble. 

At the same time I don’t want to get my hopes up. The season could focus just on Emil Blonksy’s case the entire time. By the end, we might find out that this whole show was just using him to introduce an idea or event for one of the big tentpole films down the line. Or Emil’s parole could be wrapped up by the end of the next episode and then we move on to another corner of the MCU. Who knows! Either way, the potential here is very exciting.

The most obvious Leo pointing a finger at the TV meme Easter egg moment, with the more traditional “hey this is all connected but what does it mean” vibe is the leaked underground fight ring footage of Abomination and Wong from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (so much for the dark web, I guess).

Image Credit: The Direct

The big question now is how much can we trust what Emil says? To the general public and the parole board, Abomination’s return to fighting form may indicate a lack of remorse or disingenuous reform. But we, as diligent MCU fans, know that there’s something else going on beneath the surface because in Shang-Chi we see that Wong is training Emil in some way. He mentions Emil holding his punches “next time.” During the fight, he uses portals to cause Abomination to punch himself (it’s hilarious), but in the locker room afterwards, he hands him a paper cup full of water, like he’s taking care of him.  

There’s more than meets the eye to Jen’s interview with Emil as well. Emil greets Jen with “namaste” and then goes on to explain that he can (and will) choose not to turn into Abomination anymore. Has he worked with Bruce on dialectical behavioral therapy too? The namaste would be too coincidental if it were completely random and not a reference to the yoga scene on the island last week, right? 

Who are the seven soul mate pen pals, and how much good vs. no good are they up to? I would assume they’re the Thunderbolts. That would fit, considering Emil’s story about being hired by the Government to attack Hulk back in the day. Who hired him in The Incredible Hulk? Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, that’s who. The phenomenal actor who played Ross, William Hurt, passed away this year, unfortunately, so it’s likely Julia Louis Dreyfus’ Val will take on that role, and perhaps name her team after Ross in memoriam.

No matter who is in charge, the Thunderbolts will likely be a Suicide-Squad-esque team of villains or anti-heroes who band together for a mercenary paycheck. Wyatt Russell or US Agent was similarly maligned after his service, and has already been recruited by Val. Kevin Feige announced a Thunderbolts film at San Diego Comic Con a little over a month ago. 

Here’s my best guess at who could be in the Thunderbolts: 

1. Yelena Belova/Black Widow

2. Wyatt Russell/US Agent

3. Baron Zemo

4. Emil Blonsky/Abomination

5. Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier? (Or is he too “good” now? Or will he be the babysitter character?) 

6. ?

7. ?

This already seems like a fun bunch. Anyone have any thoughts about who might fill those last two spots?

I may be getting ahead of myself. And contradicting myself. I did argue earlier that She-Hulk is largely unconcerned with being a perfect puzzle piece in the MCU, and yet here I am theorizing about the Thunderbolts.

I guess what I mean is that all of this doesn’t seem to actually have any bearing on the story She-Hulk is telling about She-Hulk. I especially appreciated the family comedy this episode introduced. Like Ms. Marvel, this episode had a great dinner table scene where a very relatable evaluation of younger family members and their achievements stresses Jen out. Everything in this scene was endearing — from her mother giving out her number to strangers to her relatives implying that her cousin Ched getting promoted at Best Buy is somehow more impressive than her becoming a superhero. 

Image Credit: The Daily Dot

Shout-out to Mark Linn-Baker as Jen’s dad. As a kid who watched a lot of Perfect Strangers re-runs, I was so happy to recognize him here. He plays the very supportive but a little goofy father perfectly. Can we get him together with Kamala Khan’s father, because I think they would be best buds. The end-credits scene in which She-Hulk helps him around the house was adorable, and I found the “I know you want to stay hydrated” joke very funny. 

Note that this was an end-credits scene full of mundane activities — and no MCU gasps — and it was still great. I find myself caring about even Jen’s “small” (but still valid and important!) problems, like how she’ll “spend the rest of the year worrying” about the question her new boss asked her. Or whether or not her coworkers will assume she was not qualified and only got hired as a publicity stunt for the firm. Even Abomination showing up on the news right before his parole presents as a “smaller” work problem. How is Jen going to finagle her way out of this one?

I’m here for all the lawyering and finagling now. All the Thunderbolts, World War Hulk, or whatever else speculation is great, but it’s just gravy.