Warning! This review contains spoilers for episode 5 ofShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Marvel Studios’She-Hulk: Attorney at Lawis back with its action-free, sitcom-heavy fifth episode, “Mean, Green, and Straight Poured Into These Jeans,” now streaming on Disney+. Following on from last week’s cliffhanger, supervillain influencer Titania has trademarked the name “She-Hulk” – a name that Jen didn’t even want in the first place – and is suing Jen for using it. Rather than defending herself or recruiting the services of Matt Murdock, Jen hires her standoffish colleague Mallory Book to represent her in a countersuit.
Last week’s episodesmartly dovetailed its A-plot and B-plotas Jen’s disastrous dating life finally yielded some success and Wong interrupted a romantic moment to summon Jen to battle some demons at a magic show. Written by Dana Schwartz, this week’s episode has another disconnected A-plot and B-plot that have nothing to do with one another. The A-plot is disappointingly uneventful and the B-plot takes a while to get going.
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Ginger Gonzaga gets a chance to shine playing Nikki Ramos as more than just a supportive friend lending an ear, but Pug acts bizarrely out of character. Up to this point, he’s been the likable everyman voice of reason dryly reacting to comically exaggerated personalities like failed playboy Dennis Bukowski andshapeshifting elf Runa. But in this episode, he affects a weird put-on accent as he brags about his “drip broker” connecting him to an underground superhero merch hook-up.
Jameela Jamil gets more of a spotlight than any previous episode as Titania’s rivalry with She-Hulk intensifies. But their fight from the pilot episode isn’t even mentioned. Titania spends most of the episode in front of a judge, letting her corporate lawyer speak for her. The A-plot is largely confined to a courtroom as Jen tries to prove that she was using the name She-Hulk long before Titania registered it as a trademark. Rather than bringing up the fact that Titania recently attacked She-Hulk in the midst of a trial, the case gets caught up in dry semantics.
This episode once againuses the court as a comedic settingto humiliate Jen. The title “Mean, Green, and Straight Poured Into These Jeans” is taken from Jen’s embarrassing dating profile, made all the more embarrassing when it’s read aloud by Book in front of a court of law. Book’s burgeoning friendship with Jen would’ve been much more effective if her cold-heartedness was more prevalent in previous episodes. Here, she slowly warms to Jen, but it’s unclear that she was cold to begin with.
The B-plot takes off when it sticks to what the show does best: using comedy to explore untapped corners ofthis superhero-filled comic book universe. The storyline finds its feet when Pug gets his Iron Man sneakers and bows out, relinquishing the spotlight to Luke Jacobson, the Edna Mode of the MCU. Luke is a flamboyant fashion designer who specializes in superhero suits. Played brilliantly by guest star Griffin Matthews, Luke is just as eccentric and lovable as E.
Last week’s episode was so successful because it had plenty of gags that landed and culminated in a thrilling action sequence in which She-Hulkteamed up with Wongto ward off a demonic invasion. This week’s episode has no action whatsoever and very few of its gags land. If the show is going to lean this heavily into the sitcom format and keep the action that sparing, then the sitcom parts need to be a lot funnier.
This is the first episode directed by Anu Valia afterKat Coiro defined the style of the series. Valia is a solid director when it comes to actors and pacing, but her direction is missing the little stylistic flourishes that made Coiro’s episodes pop. This installment does adhere to one annoying trend from Coiro’s tenure. Every episode feels like it’s teasing something big for next week, but then next week comes and there’s another tease for the following week.
Still, the show is doing a great job with its character development as Jen undergoes her second origin story. Every superhero essentially has two origin stories. The first one shows how they got their powers; the second, more nuanced origin story details their journey to accepting those powers and figuring out how to use them most effectively. Long after being bitten by a radioactive spider, Peter Parker matured and turned down a spot on the Avengers so he could remain a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man for a while. Long after becoming a sorcerer, Stephen Strange learned how to give up control and trust his cohorts.She-Hulkgot Jen’s first origin story out of the way in the pilot episode. But the rest of the season has been gradually following Jen frominitially rejecting her She-Hulk formto eventually embracing it. Every week, there’s more and more about being She-Hulk that she enjoys: “The amazing hair, no hangover, walking home with headphones on without being afraid.”
There’s no comedic tag in the middle of the end credits this time – which, up to this point, has been one of the highlights of the series – but the tantalizing final shot makes up for it. The show finallyteases Daredevil’s appearanceas Luke prepares a new golden horned mask for the Man Without Fear. Hopefully, with Charlie Cox back in the role of Daredevil, next week’s episode will be a lot more exciting.
