She-Hulk: Attorney at Law 1×02 Review: “Superhuman Law”

After her transformation mid-trial into She-Hulk, Jennifer must deal with the aftermath and a new path forward in “Superhuman Law.”

With She-Hulk’s origin story out of the way after “A Normal Amount of Rage,” She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’s second episode, “Superhuman Law,” establishes what the rest of the series will look like. Much like the premiere, the episode provides a lot of humor and fun as Jennifer (Tatiana Maslany) deals with the aftermath of her She-Hulk identity being exposed to the world.

In the aftermath of the court incident, the newest superhero, dubbed She-Hulk by the media, is celebrated. Despite Jennifer’s hesitancy, she turns up to a party thrown in her honor as her She-Hulk persona. Even with the warm reception, she still rejects the idea of being a superhero. Her questioning the Avengers’ job benefits is one of the funnier moments of the scene.

The party gets worse for Jennifer when her boss fires her, as the court incident caused a mistrial. The show’s title card, humorously changed to She-Hulk: Attorney for Hire for this episode, immediately follows this.

As Jennifer looks for another job, she finds that nobody is willing to hire her. Though we got a small glimpse of paralegal Nikki (Ginger Gonzaga) and her friendship with Jennifer last week, this episode shows the strength of their friendship. Nikki has the potential to be an interesting character, and hopefully we learn more about her in the upcoming episodes.

Jennifer also goes to visit her family, who are supportive of her new identity, ask about whether Hawkeye picks up his arrows after shooting them, and task Jennifer to use her new super-strength to help around the house in the post-credit scene. The family dinner is amusingly awkward, but the subsequent scene where Jennifer’s father Morris (Mark Linn-Baker) comforts her after she admits she’s been struggling is sweet.

Mr. Holliway (Steve Coulter) soon approaches Jennifer to offer her a job. She takes it, without knowing the full details, on the condition that she can bring Nikki in as her paralegal. Soon after, she realizes that she would be working in the Superhuman Law division and would be trying cases in her She-Hulk persona. Jennifer is obviously resistant to the idea, particularly after seeing the reactions as she walks through the firm as She-Hulk. The sequence works with the combination of everyone’s faces and Jennifer’s breaking the fourth wall ability.

Unfortunately, Holliway soon tells Jennifer that she will be representing Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth). Blonsky was last seen in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, where he transformed into Abomination to fight the Hulk. Jennifer immediately points out the conflict of interest, but Holliway tells her that it has been waived. It’s understandable why Jennifer would be hesitant about it but agrees to visit Blonsky anyway.

At the prison, Jennifer makes a witty Silence of the Lambs reference as the guards lead her into the high-security prison. Once inside, Blonsky appears to be reformed and argues that he was acting on government orders and the effects of the serum when he tried to kill the Hulk. As charming as Blonsky seems, it feels like Jennifer warms up to him far too quickly. However, there is one last hurdle that she needs to clear before she can accept the job.

Bruce (Mark Ruffalo) is surprisingly supportive of Jennifer representing Blonsky. He comments that he was a literally a different person then, a hilarious meta reference to the Hulk’s recasting. I figured that Ruffalo would only be in the first episode, but it’s good to see them continue to include him and the familial bond with Jennifer for at least another episode. Bruce appears to be on a spaceship as he’s talking to Jennifer, one of the few potential Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the episode.

After getting Bruce’s approval, Jennifer tells Holliway that she intends to take the job. Unfortunately, Blonsky has broken out of prison. Blonsky’s act seemed likely too good to be true, and it will be interesting to see how Jennifer, and She-Hulk, fix the situation. “Superhuman Law” builds on the premiere’s strong comedic elements and provides a foundation for what is in store for the rest of the series.

Author: Jessica Wolff

Jessica Wolff is a graduate of Drexel University with a BS in Film/Video. She has a passion for entertainment and representation in entertainment. She currently resides outside of Washington, DC.

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