Spoiler Free She-Hulk Episode 5 Review: A Midway Lull
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Well, we have reached the midway point for everyone's favorite green-skinned lawyer, and I had some high hopes following episodes 3 and 4. After a couple of episodes of growing pains, it felt like She-Hulk: Attorney At Law had found its sweet spot (minus the unfortunate CGI of the titular character). While it wasn't a step back all the way to the first 2 episodes, it was a step back nonetheless. Let's look at some pros and cons.
Episode 5 felt like it was half rehash and half set up. It may have been due to the episode flow getting shifted around, but the unsuccessful dating of the last episode was explored once more with all the men showing up again. It's not that they had to be a one-and-done episode, but it didn't add anything to what had already been said and shown last week. There didn't feel like much character development was happening either, which would be fine to have an entirely plot-driven episode, but the plot felt weak and more just served to resolve last week's cliffhanger.
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There was a bit of the same feel of episode 2, where it was all about setting things up and positioning the characters where they need to be moving forward. How things progressed with Titania felt anti-climatic; the momentum was taken out of their rivalry a bit. There's also not been any follow-up in the past 2 weeks on the Wrecking Crew in episode 3. A bright spot was that we had the first storyline that Jen wasn't directly a part of, with Nikki and Pug going on their own mission which helped expand the scope of the show that has felt very Jen-centric (understandably) so far. So again, it was better than episode 2, but it felt a bit empty on content.
The biggest issue of the first 2 episodes was that it didn't feel like a sitcom. Episode 5 was still funnier than your average MCU project and still had some silliness, but it was toned back a bit. Pug is back, and I'm liking him more every week since his awkward introduction in episode 2. Episode 5 is worth watching just to hear him talk about his "drip broker." But, as I mentioned earlier, it felt like a bit of a review/setup episode which also hurt the show's flow and, subsequently, the comedy.
Sitcoms thrive on having rhythm and timing, so to break up the momentum the way they did made the jokes feel a little more forced or old. They didn't do anything new with the bad dates returning, so it felt a little stale. At one point, there was a foreign language joke directed at someone that isn't of that descent without a twist, which felt awkward. Lastly, there were a bunch of jokes that were on the border of feeling forced that they could've just done a bit more with. As I mentioned, there were still some genuine laughs and some decent flow, but it fell somewhere between the first 2 episodes and the previous 2 episodes in terms of genuine humor.
How it handled social issues this week also took a bit of a hit. We didn't have the forced monologue of episode 1, but there was a scene that seemed to only exist to (somewhat awkwardly) comment on gender inequality. It's unfortunate that the past 2 weeks have done a good job of showing its commentary instead of outright telling us. In contrast, instead of the TV interview, which served a purpose in terms of plot and character development, they demonstrated some double standards and gender inequalities during the interview.
Image Source: Marvel
The one decent part was a bit of resolution and movement toward self-acceptance from last week's dating disasters, but it didn't feel enough to justify bringing them back. The biggest strength, though, was its commentary on the beauty industry and influencers. Even if it was a bit over the top and on the nose, it fit in the sitcom's silliness. I wish they had gone a bit deeper with it, but hopefully, Titania will be back, and they can get a bit more into the dark side of influencing and cosmetics.
I had high expectations for this episode of She-Hulk after the previous 2, and while it didn't reach their levels, it was still a decent episode overall. There's no mid or post-credit scene, so don't wait around. We’re at the midway point of the season, and now that they've got all their pieces in place after this conclusion/setup episode, they can return to the rhythm they had started getting into.
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Source(s): Disney+