Why She-Hulk was a smash: 5 key takeaways following that big finale

[Warning: Spoilers for the final episode of She-Hulk are abundant in this story.]

The final episode of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law’s first season really went for it. And while the show’s fourth-wall-smashing finale may be divisive among fans, it’s certainly true to the original comic book (in which She-Hulk herself once threw legendary Marvel writer and artist John Byrne off a building). Now that the show is over—at least for now; we’re all still waiting to learn if Marvel and Disney + will move forward with a second season—we have some final thoughts about what turned out to be one of Marvel’s most fun and original series yet. Here are five key notes regarding She-Hulk.

1. A Marvel show can be ambitious and still be just a TV show

We’ve heard streaming shows described as long, extended films so many times that it’s become a cliché at this point. So it’s refreshing to see a TV series embrace the fact that it’s, well, a TV series. The recreation of the opening credits of the original 1970s show The Incredible Hulk made this point brilliantly by connecting She-Hulk with Marvel’s pre-MCU television history. She-Hulk: Attorney At Law knew from the beginning what it was—“Lawyer show!”—and didn’t try to be anything else.

We haven’t seen that from a Marvel show since WandaVision, and even that series evolved into a cinematic spectacle by the end. She-Hulk’s episodic, week-to-week format put some viewers off, but it makes total sense within this framework. If you remove the expectations associated with being part of the MCU, you’re left with a lighthearted half-hour legal comedy about a woman trying to find balance in her personal and professional life in the midst of an identity crisis. That’s prime sitcom material. Not that it wasn’t ambitious or didn’t take big swings—it was and it did. Turns out, you can do that on television, too.

2. Tatiana Maslany can do anything

A big reason why this show worked was Tatiana Maslany’s total commitment to portraying both versions of Jennifer Walters. Even in CGI form, her expressions and mannerisms came through. She was likable, relatable, empathetic, and funny. The most unbelievable thing in the entire show—which has superhumans, aliens, and interdimensional portals in it—was that Jen couldn’t get a date as herself.

Maslany’s versatility shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who watched Orphan Black (and if you haven’t, you really should). We lost track of how many different characters she played on that show, but just to give you some idea, the official credit on her Emmy nomination in 2018 read, “Tatiana Maslany, as Sarah Manning, Helena, Alison Hendrix, Cosima Niehaus, Rachel Duncan, Krystal Goderitch, Elizabeth (Beth) Childs, Jennifer Fitzsimmons, Katja Obinger, Tony Sawicki, Veera Suominen (M.K.), Camilla Torres and Unnamed Clone.” Every one of those characters was unique and instantly identifiable. Now we can add Jennifer Walters to Maslany’s repertoire. Jen has her own vibe, and we are totally into it.

3. The supporting cast was too good to be overshadowed by cameos

Maslany wasn’t the only cast member who consistently delivered on this series. We especially loved Ginger Gonzaga as Jen’s best friend and assistant Nikki, Josh Segarra as Pug, and Renée Elise Goldsberry as Mallory. Sadly, they didn’t get much screen time, sometimes disappearing for entire episodes. While the cameos and guest stars were fun, they too often took the spotlight away from the regular supporting cast. We’ll forgive Charlie Cox, because he was delightful as both Daredevil and Matt Murdock and it was cool getting to see him again. Being a lawyer, his inclusion in this legal show made sense.

The show could have found a better balance with the rest, though, as it did in the wedding episode. While Jen was off having her own adventure at a friend’s wedding, Mallory and Nikki had to deal with a lawsuit against an immortal douchebag back at the office. More of that, please. If the show gets a second season, we’d really like to learn more about these characters as individuals, not just in service of the main character. Could we get scenes between Mallory and her husband at home? Nikki on a date? A better look at Pug’s sneaker collection? We’d also like to request promoting Griffin Matthews to recurring status as prickly fashion designer Luke Jacobson. Every moment with him was perfection.

4. Hulk’s son could have big implications for the MCU

This probably didn’t mean much if you’re not familiar with the comics, but those who got the reference were probably pointing at the screen like Leonardo DiCaprio in that meme. This was a major bombshell, and it happened so close to the end that we barely had time to process it. Although K.E.V.I.N. told Jen earlier that they were going to save Hulk’s space story for the movies, they did ultimately give us a hint of where things might be going with the reveal of his son, Skaar.

For non-comic-book-readers, Skaar was conceived during the Planet Hulk arc, in which Hulk was banished from Earth, lands on Sakaar, becomes a gladiator, liberates the planet from a ruthless king, and becomes king himself. Some of those plot points were adapted in Thor: Ragnarok, but in the film, Hulk escapes and eventually returns to Earth as Bruce Banner. Now it looks like there were parts of the story we missed. Skaar’s presence could also mean the MCU could be incorporating another comic arc in the future, World War Hulk, a big crossover event involving characters from all over the Marvel universe.

5. The folks at Marvel know what we’ve been saying about them

Okay, so maybe that ending was a bit of a cop-out. It didn’t make much logical sense and rendered some of the season’s ongoing plotlines pointless. But boy, was it fun to watch Jen, and by extension the writers, roast Marvel. She brought up many of the issues fans have been debating for years. After signing the company’s famously extensive non-disclosure agreement (a continuous source of friction between journalists, talent, and the studio) she finally gets an audience with K.E.V.I.N.—the Knowledge Enhanced Visual Interconnectivity Nexus—and a chance to say what we’ve all been thinking.

Among the topics she addresses are:

• Marvel’s algorithmic approach to creating content with massive appeal
• Repeated plots featuring blood and daddy issues
• Setting action scenes at night so you can barely make them out
• Bringing X-Men and mutants into the MCU
• The scant depictions of women’s “needs”
• Being cheap when it comes to visual effects and the grueling schedules it forces on the digital creative teams

Clearly, someone over there has been paying attention. But that’s almost worse, since it doesn’t seem like Marvel has done much to address these issues. Maybe the first step is admitting you have a problem? And the next step, we guess, is joking about it. But then it’s time to actually make some changes. A good start would be giving She-Hulk the second season it very much deserves.