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Episode 3 of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premiered on Thursday, September 1, 2022, and continued to carry the same spirit that it began with.
The second episode, which streamed last week, ended on a black and white note with Tim Roth's Emil Blonsky aka Abomination escaping the prison and fighting Wong (Benedict Wong) in a setting familiar to the viewers of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The expectation this week was that the superhero-cum-lawyer (Tatiana Maslany), who had just taken up the aforementioned villain's legal case, would bring her reputation to justice in the third episode.
But it seems as if that part of Jen Walters will have to wait since She-Hulk seems to be in no mood to get into a cliched fight scene with superheroes destroying public property.
Episode 3 builds on the human side of superheroes. It spotlights how these heroes too can act stupid, and combines the comic essence of Marvel sweetheart Tony Stark along with Walters' deja-vu approach to breaking the fourth wall.
Read on for a detailed review of She-Hulk episode 3.
She-Hulk episode 3 review: Humanizes superheroes, but in a typical Marvel-esque way
The third episode picks up from where Episode 2 left off. After Abomination's fight with Wong goes viral, Blonsky returns to his prison cell, and Jen pays him a visit as his legal counsel.
Blonsky revealed that he was "forced" to leave his confinement and accompany Wong to a fight tournament. After Jen confirmed the same from Wong, she asked him to testify on behalf of Blonsky on the day of his hearing for release.
And Wong does testify for Blonsky, only to ultimately vanish into his sparkly-hole when he is made aware that he has committed a federal crime by helping a prisoner escape.
She-Hulk's third episode drew a flawed picture of superheroes - an idea that would have been uncalled for in earlier Marvel films (with the exception of Tony Stark) and would have otherwise drawn the ire and time of the entire Avengers team.
Who knew that the Sorcerer Supreme and Master of the Mystic Arts was capable of this stupidity, all because he wanted a worthy opponent for practice? This is exactly where She-Hulk's third episode strikes. In the eighth television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), She-Hulk makes fun of the superheroes, takes a dig at them, and in the discourse, humanizes them.
She-Hulk is the convergence point between superheroes and reality. Marvel does not seem to be in a hurry to make its superheroes smash and break things anymore, but rather is shown leaning towards self-control. In a prison scene, for example, Blonsky turns into Abomination only to display his choice to return to being Blonsky.
The episode also takes a dig at Marvel's tendency to bank on cameos from testosterone-brimming male heroes, but rightly notes that She-Hulk is about Jen Walters.
What falters in this otherwise smooth and funny episode is Marvel's evident effort at trying to look progressive by making Jen break the fourth wall. A device made popular by Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Fleabag, the idea behind breaking the fourth wall is to reflect on the events of one's life, usually with a comic take.
Apart from commenting on the cameos, Jen did not really address other issues that came as part of the package of being a superhero.
There was scope to break the fourth wall in terms of the sense of entitlement that primarily male (in general) superheroes (in particular) carry, but the show has so far failed to bank on most of them.
However, the episode's redeeming quality lies in bringing up the dialogue about a female superhero, technically modeled after an existing male prototype.
Meanwhile, a parallel storyline emerges in the third episode when Jen's sophisticatedly-obnoxious colleague from the previous firm approaches her new firm with a complaint against his ex-partner, an Elf, who turned out to be a shape-shifter from New Asgard.
The episode's biggest comic relief came when Runa the Elf tried to correct a judge presiding over her case and quoted Thor from Thor: Ragnarok, saying that Asgard was not a place but a people. The judge's response was a hilarious:
"Thor's inspirational speeches are not admissible in court."
The biggest surprise, however, came in the form of singer and song-writer Megan Thee Stallion's appearance. Megan was taken up as a client by Jen. The two also twerk to one of Stallion's songs in the post-credit scene.
However, the episode does end with a cliffhanger when Jen is attacked by a group of men armed with Asgardian weapons. What looked like another attempt at silencing She-Hulk for her support of Blonsky turned out to be an order from an undisclosed "boss" who wanted a shred of Jen's Hulk skin.
It remains to be seen who this "boss" will turn out to be. With too many references to Asgard, and a clear co-existence of humans with Asgardians, Thor's appearance in the show is well-hinted at.
The first three episodes of She-Hulk are now streaming on Disney+.
