She-Hulk: Attorney at Law season 1 episode 1 recap & review: A Normal Amount of Rage

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law on Disney+ chronicles the life of Jennifer Walters. A lawyer and cousin to Bruce Banner, she transforms into a gigantic green superhero herself after Bruce’s blood comes into contact with her.

Recap

The first episode of She-Hulk opens with Jennifer Walters preparing a closing argument for a case. She then immediately breaks the fourth wall to reveal to the audience that she’s also a Hulk and would like to explain how that happened.

The narrative then switches to a flashback. We see Jen and her cousin Bruce (Bruce Banner aka the original Hulk) on a road trip a few months ago. While talking about random stuff, they meet with an accident after a Sakaaran spaceship intercepts their path.

Both are wounded and as Jen tries to save Bruce, his blood enters a wound on her arm and she transforms into a Hulk. Enraged, she then runs into the woods nearby and passes out.

Jen later wakes up and is helped by a bunch of ladies at a nearby bar. She calls Bruce who arrives in time to save a bunch of men who Jen is about to attack — after they make her uncomfortable.

Now in his Smart Hulk form, Bruce takes her to a secret lab in Mexico. He analyses Jen’s unique genetic ability and uses it to heal his arm. He explains what being a Hulk means and offers to train her to control her powers.

They’re both however shocked to discover that Jen doesn’t have an alter ego. She is still herself when she transforms and only needs to learn to control her emotions. This makes her ecstatic as she wants to return to her job as a lawyer ASAP.

Much to Bruce’s dislike, Jen is able to own his training regimen and is mostly better at everything than him. Eventually, she runs out of patience and decides to leave. Bruce stops her and the two punch it out only to stop when they wreck Bruce’s bar.

Eventually, Bruce accepts Jen’s decision to go back to her old life but offers to help whenever she needs it. The cousins embrace and Jen brings the audience out of the flashback.

We then see her enter a courtroom, waiting to deliver the closing argument when the room is attacked by a villain named Titania. Jen reluctantly transforms and ousts herself to the world but saves everyone.

The episode ends with a post credit scene in which Jen tricks Bruce into revealing when Captain America lost his virginity.

Review

• The first episode of She-Hulk is a great entry into her world. We get into the origin story straightaway and the dynamic between Bruce and her is a treat to witness.
• Tatiana Maslany is brilliant as Jen and She-Hulk. She brings a fresh charm to the character along with a very believable vulnerability. There are no differences in her two forms in terms of personality and that is a welcome detail.
• Mark Ruffalo is at his best as Bruce/Hulk. He’s played the character for so long, it almost feels like a second skin to him.
• Contrary to initial reactions, the VFX and CGI of the show is at par with high budget MCU films. Considering that the entire first episode is focused on two CGI Hulk characters, the artists have done an incredible job as they never look janky or unnatural.
• The only downside to the quick pacing however is that the origin story goes by too quickly. We don’t get enough time to appreciate Jen’s journey into becoming a Hulk. Hopefully future episodes dwell more on those moments as well.

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