Jen and Daredevil face off and team up on She-Hulk: Attorney At Law

Well friends, he’s finally here: Daredevil has made his appearance on She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. No shame for those impatiently awaiting his arrival: Jen is just as thirsty for Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) as the rest of us. As promised, these two have great chemistry in lawyer mode and in superhero mode. But “Ribbit And Rip It” doesn’t just coast on its cameo. This week’s legal case also digs into some fascinating technicalities of the Marvel universe.

It all starts with Eugene Patillio (Brandon Stanley), a.k.a. Leapfrog, who is both an incompetent hero and later, an incompetent villain. His superpower, of course, rhymes with “rich parents.” Eugene’s dad is one of the firm’s “biggest clients” (this is another phrase that seems to get tossed around a lot at GLK&H), so Jen is forced to indulge him when he wants to sue over damages to his supersuit.

Unfortunately, this puts Jen at odds with her tailor, Luke (Griffin Matthews), who does not take the slight against his craftsmanship lightly. He refuses to design her dress for the gala in which she’s nominated for “Female Lawyer of the Year.” (Yep, that’s still relevant.) Jen prepaid the dress, but “you shouldn’t have betrayed me, you greasy old buffalo!” Luke hilariously lashes out, shouting, “Goodbye, tragedy!” as she leaves. Iconic, TBH.

Fast forward to court, where Luke is represented by none other than Matt Murdock. And finally, some of the show’s lawyering provides actual insight into the ins and outs of the Marvel universe. Jen wants Luke’s client list in order to prove previous costumes have also been defective, which leads to an argument about a hero’s right to privacy. It’s a familiar but highly relevant argument, especially given the two lawyers are a hero with a secret identity and one without.

The whole case falls apart when Eugene stands up and makes a fool of himself. (Has there been a court case where a client didn’t stand up and run their mouth!?) Turns out he didn’t follow Luke’s instructions and put jet fuel in his rocket boots. (“He’s lying. Don’t ask me how I know, I just know,” Matt says smugly when Eugene tries to cover up his mistake.) Chalk it up as a major L for She-Hulk.

Thus begins what surely must be one of the longest nights of Jen’s life. First, Matt buys her a drink at her local watering hole, and they have some fun, flirty banter in which Matt encourages her to use her Hulk powers to do good. But before things can progress any further–“We’re all feeling this right? It’s not just me?” Jen asks the camera–he’s called away, and then so is she, to suffer through a meeting with creepy Todd. Todd is in some legal trouble with Wakanda because they want back the war spear he won at an auction, but really he’s just trying to spend time with She-Hulk, so she promptly ditches.

Just when Jen is ready to crash on the couch, though, Eugene calls in crisis, so She-Hulk has to go save him from Daredevil. Their fight scene is as fun as the flirting, but Jen–nowhere near on par to Matt’s skills–quickly stops him with a sonic clap (his poor sensitive ears!). Jen gets some good zingers in after unmasking him–“Do you pretend to be blind, man? Because this is really problematic” and “I’m sorry that I assumed the guy dressed as the devil was the bad one!”—but they soon decide to team up and save Luke from Leapfrog’s kidnapping attempt. Even though Matt seems a little offended that Jen had never heard of him.

Luckily, Eugene for some reason told his lawyer exactly where he’d be hiding his kidnap victim (dude is… not very bright), so the dynamic duo make for the Lilypad. They have some differences on how to take out the Hench-goons: Jen wants to do her “thing,” but as Matt points out, “You don’t have a thing. You don’t ever do this.” In the end, they both do their thing, meaning we get to see some Daredevil fighting as well as a She-Hulk smash.

After being so touchy about privacy around secret identities, Matt nearly blows the whole thing by helping She-Hulk impart legal advice to Eugene during the ensuing fight (“I’m just a big fan of legal dramas,” Matt covers mid-battle, turning Jen on). Instead of listening, Eugene shouts his classic catchphrase–“Ribbit and rip it!”—and jumps out a window, grievously injuring himself. Jen makes up with Luke and extends her thanks to Matt. (Tatiana Maslany and Cox are, indeed, completely delightful together.) And then they hook up!!! Is Daredevil whistling, carrying his boots on a walk of shame the next morning the best image to come out of She-Hulk?

Jen is frankly surprised the episode continues after that “very satisfying conclusion,” but oh yeah, there’s still the gala to get to. Attending that evening with her parents and friends, Jen is one of… multiple recipients of the bullshit “Female Lawyer of the Year” award. But things go off the rails fast when Intelligencia hacks the ceremony, claiming Jen doesn’t “deserve” to be a Hulk because she’s a “slut,” and projecting the non-consensual sex tape between her and Josh on screen.

For the first time, Jen truly Hulks out, smashing the screen, rampaging through the building’s walls, and grabbing one of the presumed Intelligencia instigators–but she’s stopped by some conveniently quick SWAT team guys, and the episode ends on that uncertain note with the whole world watching her breakdown.

Like much of the series so far, it’s a bit on the nose as far as commentary on the female experience. Jen is subjected to the most humiliating public violation, and Mallory still tries to warn her not to freak out, knowing that any emotional response will only be used against her. But this is a show about She-Hulk, and “SMASH” feels like an appropriate and valid reaction to the situation.

Unfortunately, all the people who were willing to use her and reward her for her good behavior before are just as likely to turn their backs on her now that she’s become a “threat,” no matter that her safety and sanctity was breached first. (This also feels relevant to the superhero privacy debate from earlier in the episode.) It’s not subtle–and again, it’s difficult to pull off tonally when the rest of the series is so zany and lighthearted–but it does feel like the logical end result of everything that’s happened to her.

Stray observations

• Did the CGI look better in this episode or am I developing Stockholm Syndrome? I was with her right up until the unfortunate looking hair-flip on the gala red carpet. (Yes, I know, some of you have been fine with the CGI this whole time.)
• By the way, per Matt’s argument in court, the Sokovia Accords have been repealed. Not much of a surprise–no one seemed to be checking for them in the post-Blip world. But She-Hulk finally provides quiet closure on the issue that caused the Avengers’ break-up. R.I.P. Tony Stark and his dreams of super accountability. (Full disclosure, this writer was #TeamCap.)
• Speaking of Tony, Eugene’s rich boy antics are another interesting insight into the world of the MCU. He’s what happens when the billionaire playboy isn’t also a genius philanthropist–just an incompetent jerk with the resources to play hero. There must be a few of those running around, don’t you think?
• Still voting that Jon Bass is a villain in some way (perhaps a wealthy foil to Eugene?), although his pandering to She-Hulk makes me doubt he’s in league with the Intelligencia misogynists. He did have one of the episode’s biggest laugh lines: “God, no one is collecting African shit on my level. I love it. I love Wakanda. You know I actually studied abroad there.” Plus the completely inappropriate “WAKANDA FOREVER.”
• The level of property damage Jen causes this episode, particularly in the car park, seems pretty irresponsible for a lawyer who should know better!
• What do you think of the new Daredevil suit? If you ask Jen, “It is very daring to use ketchup and mustard as your color scheme.”
• Matt’s seminar on villainy: “Goons and henchmen are two completely different animals. Henchmen believe in the cause, goons are just there for the paycheck.”
• Shout-out to Nikki and her subtle Wolverine action with her makeup brushes.
• Based on the comments, there’s been mixed reactions to the fourth-wall breaking, and I have to say, her asides the morning of the gala are the most jarring yet. Particularly because she directly addresses us (“You guys are still here?”) like she’s Steve on Blue’s Clues. Still, I appreciated this: “Wait, we’re doing the gala? That doesn’t feel right. Is next episode the finale?” The gala did feel “tacked-on” after the Daredevil adventure, and the season has really sprinted to this finale. We’ll see if they can stick the landing next week.
• Oh, and let’s not forget: “This is the big twist, isn’t it? But the question is, is it the kind of twist that’s like, ‘Ooh, there’s another Hulk but this one’s red,’ or like, ‘I’m getting fridged.’” Not the latter, one hopes!