She-Hulk Ep. 6 cordially invites you to a(nother) green wedding.
Wedding crashed. Hulk smashed.
The Short Take:
More satisfying than last week’s episode, but I liked the lawyerly side bar more than the wedding.
Image Credit: Looper
[SPOILER WARNING: Make sure you’ve seen the episode before filing your motion. (That’s a thing lawyers say, right?)]
The Long Take:
I didn’t realize it was wedding season.
If this week’s headline seems eerily familiar, that’s because I also invoked the idea of a green wedding in my House of the Dragon review last week. In fact, my friend and podcaster extraordinaire, Greg (@eyeoncanon), very reasonably assumed that my HotD review was actually this She-Hulk review because by then the “Just Jen” episode had already been released. The two occasions, of course, could not be more different in tone. And the much happier one didn’t captivate me in the same way that the darker, more violent one did.
I just wasn’t that into the wedding stuff in She-Hulk. Why wasn’t I that into the wedding stuff? It’s not like I don’t like weddings. I went to my cousin’s wedding this past weekend and it was lovely. So perhaps my problem is with Lulu’s wedding in particular, and, even more specifically, how it positions Jen in relation to She-Hulk. During the online dating arc, I understood that we were establishing that Jen feels inferior to She-Hulk, and I was fine with that. The assumption I had, though, was that we would move on and start to work towards the idea that Jen is just as powerful and beautiful in “Just Jen” form.
Image Credit: IGN
Jen’s attendance at this wedding, at least in my estimation, adds insult to injury and not much more. Jen gets compliments and attention when she makes a grand entrance in She-Hulk form, but once Lulu demands that she refrain from hulking out to avoid stealing the spotlight reserved for the bride, no one pays attention to her; even worse, Lulu and others start treating her like wedding venue staff. The groomsman she’s paired off with is a tiny dog. It’s pretty over-the-top in terms of how bad this bridesmaid’s experience is for Jen. And maybe that’s the point. We’ve satirized other aspects of modern life; there’s no reason to spare weddings from a send-up. And yet, this depiction of a wedding seems to go more for pure ridiculousness than broader cultural commentary. Plus, everyone is so mean to Jen. Maybe I tire of watching people be mean to Jen.
Image Credit: Collider
Okay, not everyone. Yes, I know that a handsome stranger befriends her and says really nice things about “just Jen” to her face. I’m not pretending that didn’t happen. But I’m suspicious of what this gentleman’s motives may be. Last week, we learned that Jen/She-Hulk has been receiving nasty and in some cases threatening comments online. And the “previously on” montage preceding this episode very conspicuously reminded us that a.) Bruce destroyed their blood samples in the lab because it’s too dangerous in anyone else’s hands and b.) a group of thugs not only ambushed Jen in the street but tried to collect her blood with a syringe only to discover that her Hulk skin is impenetrable. That incident will very likely come back into play at some point this season. That plus the online threats means that the show wants us to know that Jen is vulnerable, even as She-Hulk.
As others have said before me, the least realistic part of this series so far is that Jennifer Walters cannot get a date on her own. So, someone showing interest in her doesn’t automatically have to be for some other nefarious reason. That said, I do get “too good to be true” vibes from…Jason? Josh? I need to look up his name. Whatever his generic, innocuous alias is, I feel like he’s probably a part of the grander scheme to bottle and exploit Jen’s She-Hulk DNA. I hope I’m wrong and Jen finds some genuine happiness, even if only for a little while, in a future episode.
I have to acknowledge that this wedding did give us more Titania, and gave us a little more insight into her motivations, the lack of which I complained about last week. Like Lulu, it seems as though Titania resents all the attention She-Hulk has been getting. Slightly more nuanced than a general narcissism and craving for attention, though, is her comment about how Jen doesn’t even want this and doesn’t deserve it. What are we to make of that? This suggests an interesting backstory to me. Did Titania work hard or sacrifice something to get her powers, or does she merely refer to all her social media marketing and self-branding here? I’ll also admit that their fight here was fun to watch. I like how Titania refused to attack “just Jen” and waited until she turned into She-Hulk. Her use of the phrase “green up” was especially funny.
Image Credit: Movie News Net
Still, the more lawyer-focused B-plot for the episode was much more my jam. The idea of an immortal being living on Earth getting entangled with multiple divorce cases is exactly the kind of entertaining thought experiment I would hope from an MCU lawyer show. Who wouldn’t use their powers to extend their emotional hang-ups? Star Wars fans, by the way, should recognize David Pasquesi, the actor who plays Mr. Immortal, as he stole some scenes as the Majordomo in The Book of Boba Fett. Perhaps he did so well on that series that they asked him to join the MCU? Either that or he has some sweet character actor contract with Disney+.
Image Credit: Slash Film
Mr. Immortal “killing” himself just to avoid a confrontational, messy break-up is hilarious, but this was really Nikki’s time to shine. I enjoyed watching her paralegal detective work. While each ex gives testimony in the conference room, the camera makes a point to show that she’s furiously taking notes. Then, when she gives a run-down of each settlement, tailor-made to address the gripes from their individual relationship with Mr. Immortal. I’d never thought about lawyers being good listeners before, but Nikki made me realize how valuable a skill it is for attorneys.
I haven’t had a chance to give a shout-out to the actress who plays Nikki, Ginger Gonzaga. I’ve liked her since she first appeared, but the past couple of episodes have given her more to do. She plays goofy yet smart so well, whether she’s supporting Pug’s expensive shoe habit or making Mr. Immortal’s exes feel heard. I hope that she gets to go along for the ride if She-Hulk breaks out of this show into the broader MCU. She’s like Darcy Lewis in that way.
Nikki gets mad props from Mallory Book by the end of this episode. That begs the question: did Jen need to vacate the office for an episode in order for Nikki to get more recognition? Hopefully it’s just a coincidence. I also hope that this isn’t a set-up for Mallory to try to either use Nikki against Jen or try to “steal” her from Jen. Ben Lindbergh has been doing a, dare I say, incredible job breaking down She-Hulk over on the Ringer-Verse feed; I especially like how he brings in real-life lawyers to assess how legally accurate each episode might be. He recently mentioned that in the comics, Mallory Book and Jennifer Walters are often rivals, so a budding adversarial relationship is on the table. I don’t doubt Nikki’s loyalty to Jen — she, after all, decides to ignore Mallory’s request to keep the Internet death threats from her — but if she has the chance to advance at GLK&H at Jen’s expense, how tempted would she be? And could we blame her?
Image Credit: ComicBook.com
Apparently this show makes me very cynical and suspicious. I’m still generally enjoying it — it’s always funny, often clever. I like all the main characters. But I do think that wherever it decides to go from here is crucial for the way the season as a whole will ultimately hang and what impression will remain at its conclusion. This makes me realize that we got that huge Daredevil tease last week and not a whiff of the The Man Without Fear here. Does that mean we’re in for a big neon-lit MCU with a capital M, C, and U episode next week? Will there be some kind of convergence of Daredevil, the super suit Luke made for She-Hulk, whoever is trying to steal She-Hulk’s blood?
We’ll take a brief recess and find out soon enough.