She-Hulk Episode 1 Review and Breakdown

The first episode of She-Hulk has aired and I am still laughing, that’s how good the comedy was. But what about the story and the connections to the MCU?

She-Hulk origins

The first episode is basically an origin story. It was done in the span of 35 minutes and it was high-paced with comedic moments and a few sad ones.

We start off with Jennifer Walters rehearsing closing arguments for a lawsuit at law firm with her colleagues. When the show enters a flashback and we watch Bruce Banner and his cousin, Jennifer Walters together in a car bickering about Cheeto hands which is why you eat them with chopsticks.

Interesting life hack there. We see Bruce wearing a wristband that prevents him from turning into the Hulk he explains.

While the two of them are driving a spaceship enters the atmosphere and forces the two off the road. Jenn cuts her arm real deep and Bruce is heavily wounded too, his blood leaks into the big wound in Jenn’s arm and we see that the Gamma Radiation is making its’ way into her body before we cut to black while Jenn runs.

Go green in Mexico

The show resumes on an island in Mexico where Bruce talks about how he built the laboratory with his best friend Tony Stark, whom he misses dearly. He tells about how he used the lab to integrate Bruce and The Hulk into one person and that he built the wristband as well.

It was a prototype and he lacks the resources to build a new one or he would have built one for himself and Jenn.

The lab also serves as a way to control The Hulk so Bruce puts Jenn in a cage to trigger her Hulkism. She panics and while the hacksaws are coming at her, she changes into She-Hulk and stops the machine by tearing it down.

She then slams the glass door and throws it into the lab, destroying it and causing millions worth of damage. Jenn screams like a mindless Hulk but only to find out that she does retain her intelligence, personality, and skills she possesses as Jennifer Walters. Much to the relief of Bruce’s course.

Training She-Hulk in staying calm

Bruce still finds that she needs training and so he starts training her. Meditation to control anger and fear. Strength training by throwing boulders. But fun stuff too like drinking lots in a bar that was built by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. You can even see their initials carved into the wood of the bar.

The next day Jenn wakes up with a killer hangover and wants to move back to the city instead of training, which she has already mastered, according to herself. And this starts the fight between She-Hulk and Hulk. Digs almost below the belt. Throwing boulders, slapping each other and their ramblings eventually destroyed the bar.

The Hulk and She-Hulk rebuilt the bar and even carved their names in the new bar. Bruce eventually says that if Jenn wants to go back to the city he would totally understand that. But warns her, like he has been doing throughout training, that being a Hulk also means you have a target on your back.

Back in the city

The flashback ends and we see Jenn in court trying to get ready to give her closing arguments in the lawsuit that we saw at the start before the flashback.

The moment she wants to speak is rudely interrupted by someone named Titania and she starts smashing the court. Nikki, Jenn’s best friend, insists that She-Hulk comes out and play. But Jenn is reluctant to make up excuses like “I really like this outfit” and “Not the shoes”.

When Titania really endangers the crowd inside the courtroom, Jenn steps up and turns into the She-Hulk and protects the crowd from harm. Eventually, she takes down Titania by giving her one big blow after which Titania smashes into a wall and loses consciousness. After which Jenn tells the judge: “I am ready to give my closing arguments.” That ends the first episode.

What I liked in She-Hulk Episode 1

The good stuff is that even though Avengers Endgame has ended a while ago, you can still feel the pain of loss in particularly Bruce Banner / The Hulk. He misses his friend Tony Stark a lot and is still mourning. Despite the CGI, the emotions are still visible and felt through Ruffalo’s great acting.

Breaking that Fourth Wall, it has been done before in the Deadpool movies, but this time She-Hulk does it and she does it really well. Breaking the Fourth Wall comes from the famous John Byrne She-Hulk run and I hope we will see it in more episodes. In fact, it would be hilarious if She-Hulk ends by filming the show as a season finale.

What I didn’t like in She-Hulk Episode 1

I have talked before about the CGI, it is still sloppy and a bit unnatural but it works out fine for now. But we won’t know until all episodes are released of course.

The Island scenes were sometimes funny, sometimes they weren’t. Some island scenes lacked action, good dialogue, excitement or drama. I hope this will improve in future episodes.

Titania went down way too fast for my tastes.

The episode was a bit short compared to the other Marvel shows with a runtime of 35 minutes. I would have hoped for more. But I am a fan, I will always want more.

I would rate the first episode an 8.5. Let’s hope the fun continues with the rest. She-Hulk airs Thursdays on Disney Plus.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Season Episodes Reviews and Breakdowns

This is the full collection of individual review articles breaking down each moment from each episode of the show on DisneyPlus.

If you think you might have missed a detail or a story element, go back and read the individual episode reviews and breakdowns VULKK.com did.

Each episode of the show offered a unique story and experience and despite their short(er) duration, there was a lot to see, talk and break down. From cool cameos to secret plot lines, you may start to think differently about some of the scenes in the episodes after you have read the breakdowns we did.

Please note that the episode reviews contain heavy spoilers. I recommend you read them after you have watched each episode first.