Small stakes make for hilarious takes in She-Hulk Ep. 4.
At first it was silly. Then funny. Then silly again. Then sad, but in a funny way.
The Short Take:
We got a scene-stealing cameo this week, but it’s not who you thiiiiiink….
Image Credit: Polygon
[SPOILER WARNING: This legal brief is only for those who have seen the episode.]
The Long Take:
This week’s episode arguably has the lowest stakes and smallest scale story for the series to date. The whole plot had a very adventure-of-the-week vibe, as Jen Walters helps Wong stop a former Kamar-Taj student from irresponsibly using real magic to improve his fake magic show. Meanwhile, Jen goes on a series of dates. That’s it. No big new cameos. No MCU tie-ins. Not even a hint of a major implication. Despite Wong’s dramatic warnings about the multiverse under threat, the world does not appear to be ending.
Thankfully, I’m not the type to think that’s less than, so I had a great time. In fact, I can’t recall the last time I laughed so much in such a short amount of time.
Image Credit: Marvel.com
I’d credit a brand new breakout character, Madisynn King, with about 80% of that.
Madisynn is a great character not because she seems like she “doesn’t belong” in the MCU, though I struggle to think of another Marvel series or film that features a mini-dress wearing woman with a martini glass always in hand. She’s great because she subverts the stereotypes associated with such a person, and she can hang with the best of them, including her new BFF, “Wongers.” When Donny Blaze, the two-bit mystic arts drop-out magician, sends her to a random dimension with demons, she seems like she will be the object of ridicule — too blitzed and ditzy to know what’s going on. But instead of depicting her as confused and terrified throughout the entire escapade, the writers allow her to emerge unscathed and nonplussed. We see her drop into Wong’s living room holding a bloody, still beating heart. She drops it casually on the floor and says, “Where am I? What happened to all the goblins?” When Wong asks her if a “cut-rate magician” sent her, she says, “He sent me to a diff dimench and a talking goat helped me escape a lava pit in exchange for six drops of my blood.” None of this seems to have really traumatized her in the way I would have expected. She makes herself at home on Wong’s couch, spoils an episode of The Sopranos before he’s seen it, and takes a bite out of his biscotti. Her surname must not be a coincidence, for she is a king.
Madisynn’s carefree bravery in the face of what should be strange and terrifying to any “civilian” in the MCU is, unfortunately, bad news for Jen Walters because it makes her a poor witness in the cease and desist case against Donny Blaze. Madisynn is supposed to show how dangerous Blaze’s misuse of the mystic arts is, but, instead of talking about how harrowing her experience was, going to a “fire land” and making a “pact with a demon” (that she “cannot discuss”) to escape, she says, “At first it was fun. Then scary. Then fun again. Then spooky, but in a fun way.” Based on her playful tone of voice, it doesn’t sound like she was in much danger at all. She’s all good times and good vibes. I actually believe that she could be Wong’s bestie because she seems completely comfortable with anything mystical and would, I imagine, be open-minded enough to talk to Wong about his life as Sorcerer Supreme. But also binge-watching television. As someone who just wants someone to yell at my TV alongside me, I found Madisynn (and this new side of Wong) very relatable.
Jen’s dread of dating in her 30s may be equally relatable for many viewers, as we meet a bevy of guys who are self-absorbed, egotistical, entitled, or judgmental. While I fortunately dodged the dating app era and don’t have much of a personal frame of reference, I feel like these bad dates have an authenticity to them, as if the writers were working out frustrations from their own experiences. Some of the obnoxious comments these guys make are too specific to be otherwise. One mentions he had a film premiere at Sundance. Another says he’s a New Yorker “through and through” even though he’s only lived there 14 months. My only quibble is that my sources who have been in the swiping trenches say that matching isn’t as much the problem as is ghosting or actually trying to get a match to turn into a real date. But everyone’s experience may be different; I’d love to hear how close to home these scenes hit for you if you’ve played the dating game recently.
The biggest problem specific to Jen is that if someone swipes on She-Hulk, they’re probably not going to be into “plain old Jen.” The buff yet sensitive pediatric oncologist’s reaction to Jen out of She-Hulk form, for example, indicates that seeing her as a human “ruins” her mystique. I imagine this is going to continue to be a source of inner turmoil because if she can only match with someone as She-Hulk, will she feel like she has to hide her human form from dating partners? Will she feel self-conscious and insecure as a result? I try not to spend too much time reading up on plots from the comics on wikis, but when I was looking up who Pug was a couple weeks ago, I caught a line that said that in some of the comics Pug has a huge crush on Jen and She-Hulk; he’s one of the few people who is attracted to both of her personas. From a storytelling perspective, having a character right under her nose who likes her for exactly who she is — Hulk or no — seems like the logical conclusion to this dating arc.
Image Credit: Collider
Even sadder than the realization that Jen can’t get a date without She-Hulk is the fourth wall breaking of this episode. Picking up the thread from last week in which Gao satirically spotlights sexist criticisms of female superheroes, Jen specifically mentions Twitter, saying that having Wong come back is like giving the show “Twitter armor” for a week. And while I too loved seeing Wong and would not have wanted this episode any other way, it’s depressing to think that Gao felt like the series needed to distract some viewers from the dating subplot with Wong antics. This is the first time since Episode 1 that I sensed insecurity peeking through the biting meta-commentary.
While I did not expect Wong to return so soon, I think his extended role in the series has been delightful. His rapport with Madisynn stands out, but it was also really fun to see Wong and She-Hulk team up to clean up Donny Blaze’s demon mess. The final fight scene reminded me a lot of Harry Potter, specifically in The Chamber of Secrets when Gilderoy Lockhart lets loose some Cornish Pixies on the classroom. I loved the way She-Hulk and Wong got into a set and spike rhythm in which she would fling a demon and he would make sure it made it through the appropriate portal.
Image Credit: Distractify
I did expect, however, to see more of Titania by now. It has been weird getting teases of Titania for so long, but I assume the wait will be over next episode. Showrunner Jessica Gao has said that they changed the order of some of the episodes post-production to front load the show with Bruce Banner, so the Titania delay could be a byproduct of that revision. Once she arrives, she could easily dominate the plot of the rest of the season, considering how much build-up there has been. I know some of the Internet has made fun of Titania’s outfit from Episode 1, but I am excited to see actress Jameela Jamil in the MCU, no matter what costume she’s wearing. I loved her on The Good Place, and her social media posts and interviews give the impression that she has enjoyed hamming it up in this seemingly over-the-top role. Here’s hoping the anticipation pays off.