Warning: the below contains full spoilers for Episode 8 of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, which is now streaming on Disney+. To refresh your memory, check out our review of last week’s episode.
Well, here it is: our Daredevil appearance. And although it’s been referred to as a “cameo,” that doesn’t seem to do Charlie Cox’s return as Matt Murdock justice. It’s not just a bit part, but a crucial role in this episode and She-Hulk’s arc as a whole. And it’s a testament to “Ribbit and Rip It” that there’s actual competition for Daredevil as the best part of the episode. This penultimate entry is, without a doubt, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law’s best half-hour yet, honoring both Jen and Matt, giving us heavy emotional and plot stakes, and still sneaking in a little bit of sitcom goodness. It is, in more ways than one, the episode we’ve all been waiting for.
One of my biggest complaints about She-Hulk so far has been its length: despite being true to the sitcom format it’s chosen, 30 minutes per week often just doesn’t feel like enough to do all that it’s trying to do with Jen’s storyline and honor some of its larger MCU obligations and make every episode feel special and standalone in its own right. So with all that in mind, I have to appreciate how much Episode 8’s incredibly tight writing was able to squeeze in without it feeling incomplete and rushed.
Part of that is due to the “lawyer show” premise of She-Hulk taking a backseat this week, although that’s not to say it’s sidelined altogether. Instead, we get an absolute joke of a client, Eugene Patillo aka Leap-Frog, bringing a case against Jen’s tailor, Luke Jacobson – who also happens to be Daredevil’s tailor – bringing our two MCU lawyers together. And real quick, let’s touch on Leap-Frog: he’s yet another deep-cut reference for comics fans to enjoy, but otherwise, he’s completely forgettable. That’s a good thing. With all that we have to cover in this episode, there’s no room in the spotlight for a villain-of-the-week.
Instead, we get to see Matt and Jen square off legally in a brisk court scene. Matt’s entrance is wonderfully understated – he’s just a normal lawyer, after all! – and we’re also reminded of just how good he is at his day job. For those of you who might’ve been worried about She-Hulk turning Daredevil/Matt Murdock into a joke, it’s quite the opposite: he gets his time to shine too, and if one of the purposes of this episode is to get us even more hyped for Daredevil: Born Again, well, mission accomplished. In addition to his legal smarts, his coy, clever sense of humor – almost surprisingly – works perfectly here, particularly in the next scene after he thoroughly bests Jen and Patillo in court.
Matt, ever the class act (my goodness I have missed this guy, can you tell?), extends Jen a peace offering in the form of an appropriately green Appletini, and the two have a poignant conversation that only two superhero lawyers could probably have. Matt’s observation about Jen’s unique position – “Jen Walters can use the law to help people when society fails them; She-Hulk can help people when the law fails them” – is not only one our hero needed to hear, but one that could shape the series’ whole ethos (albeit only having one episode left, and no guarantees for a second season so far). And we’ll get to this more later, but Cox and Tatiana Maslany’s chemistry? Off the charts.
After Leap-Frog gets himself into some trouble by, well, being a bad guy and kidnapping Luke, Matt and Jen are reeled into each other’s orbits again, even if Jen doesn’t realize it at first. It’s here that we get another bit larger MCU fans should enjoy: She-Hulk and Daredevil fight! However brief it is (by the very necessity of episode length), it’s a welcome bit of action that’s thrilling to watch. She-Hulk’s use of the “thunderclap” isn’t just a nice showcase of one of the lesser-appreciated Hulk powers, but one of two great throughlines this episode makes to the pilot. It’s one of those times where it really looks like a Marvel show in a good way, and both heroes are shown to be the formidable battle forces they are, even if She-Hulk gets the better of Daredevil, forcing Matt to reveal his identity to her.
There are some nice visual homages to Daredevil the show, with scenes bathed in monochromatic moody lighting.
It allows him to explain the situation to her, though, which gives us our inevitable team-up as Jen realizes her client may be even dumber than she thought. There’s some fun banter as Matt’s stealth approach clashes with Jen’s “charge in and smash” one, and after the two decide to go their separate ways and do their own thing, we get even more action. And Daredevil fans rejoice – we get a hallway fight scene! Could it really be a proper Daredevil appearance without one? Of course, it doesn’t reach the heights of the famous hallway fight in his Netflix series – one of the best action sequences Marvel as a whole has to offer – but it’s a nice taste of it, with Jen crashing through the ceiling to remind us just whose show this actually is. Still, there are some nice visual homages to Daredevil the show in these parts of the episode, with scenes bathed in monochromatic moody lighting.
With Leap-Frog out of the way and Luke on Jen’s side again, she and Matt get to share another tender moment awash in Daredevil-red neon lights. Again, I’ve gotta say it: their chemistry is great in this entire episode, even when they’re bickering, but it’s phenomenal here as they playfully rub shoulders. And oh my god they actually did it: excuse the crassness, but Jen and Matt bang. Here! In a Disney+ MCU show! If it wasn’t clear from “Captain America f—!” in the pilot, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law doubles down on the fact that it’s not afraid to dip its toe into more adult fare – including that “satisfying conclusion” joke. Oh, and Matt, in full Daredevil garb, doing a walk of shame? What more could I ask for?
But despite that satisfying conclusion the episode’s been brought to, She-Hulk doesn’t stop there. It’s here that we get to perhaps “Ribbit and Rip It’s” smartest move: its shocking heel turn at the end. Just when we think we get to see Jen bask in the glow of her hook-up for a while, she does some fourth-wall-breaking to build tension before we head to the gala, which I assumed would be saved for the season finale. But that’s why this episode is so smart: it takes our expectations of a pretty sitcom bow that past episodes have gotten and Hulk-Smashes them to pieces.
As Jen’s honored at the gala – and learns she’s one of many female lawyers getting a seemingly pretty performative plaudit – the real villain of the season, Intelligencia, strikes, and it goes far beyond petty memes made on some seedy forum. They air, in full view of Jen’s family and coworkers, a video Josh took without her consent of them having sex. It’s an absolutely devastating violation, one that both made my heart sink and blood boil, and a heavy subject I never anticipated the MCU tackling. Seething with very understandable rage, Jen lashes out.
“Once they see you as a monster, that never goes away”: Bruce’s warning in the pilot rings painfully true here as Jen smashes the screen and goes after those she thinks are responsible. As gala attendees – even those who know and love Jen – look on in horror, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law broaches emotional stakes it had only hinted at before. I don’t know how the season finale might be able to top this episode, but the stage is certainly set for quite the conclusion.
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