Spoiler Free ‘She-Hulk’ Episode 8 Review: The Devil of Los Angeles
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Let’s get into Daredevil/Matt Murdock right off the bat. This was always going to be a very scrutinized transition from fans of the character in the comics and the Netflix show. However, they did some things right. First, he was introduced well, and the anticipated lawyer-off was so fun to watch! Next, She-Hulk and Daredevil battled over a misunderstanding and then teamed up, which felt familiar in a good way. He had a cool new suit, his patented sticks, and some scenes where he got to show off some solid fighting skills, including a nod to the famous “hallway scene.” His banter with Jen seemed natural, and their general dynamic worked well.
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On the surface, it seemed like they had checked all the boxes. However, it felt like an MCU version of Daredevil, which is good or bad, depending on who you are. For me, it removes the soul of the character. It’s not that he’s not allowed to tell jokes or that he can’t be happy, but they made him seem like a well-adjusted, fun guy and took the trauma and inner turmoil that ultimately drove him. The CGI acrobatics also made him seem less grounded, they weren’t bad or distracting, but they made him less impressive because of how well the Netflix version portrayed him with a realistic style of fight choreography. It was a home run portrayal, but it was still Charlie Cox being Daredevil which is worth the price of admission.
Now on to the rest of the episode. It was one of the best. Not just because of Daredevil, but the pacing, the funny legal case involving “super-heroics,” and the ridiculousness of it all; this is when She-Hulk is the show it could and should be! Leapfrog is just such a perfectly terrible superhero, and it’s wonderful. Beyond just the comedy of it, he’s also a perfect parody of so many of the early superheroes, especially Batman. Between trying to add some frog theme to every single thing, coming from a wealthy family, and his lack of superpowers, you’ve got someone who shouldn’t have skipped those lessons with Ra’s al Ghul. There was also some effective use of the 4th wall break, even to the point of monologuing, which was fun. They touched on colonialism but not in a meaningful way and reminded everyone that sexism exists with a cringy award presentation.
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Luke returned, which was fun, but it also highlighted one of the issues with She-Hulk; it has too many side characters that it doesn’t flesh out. Mallory, Pug, Nikki, Luke, her parents, and her line of dates are not counting all the cameos. When creepy tech bro has had as much screen time as Pug, who had a whole side story invested in him, there’s an imbalance in the force. They are all crowding each other out of becoming fully developed characters. From a realism perspective, it’s great because it’s the same five people all the time, but as a sitcom viewer, it’s frustrating. I think She-Hulk needs to simplify.
She-Hulk would do well to present one weird superhero law case a week, more of some recurring characters and less of the two and done, and all the crazy energy and pacing that make the great episodes so great. Also, the slow burn on the meta arc has been a bit too slow. Finally, there are developments with Inteligencia that I think should have been earlier and would have really kicked it into high gear. If they had saved Titania for a possible season two and given a whole season rivalry while just focusing on Inteligencia this season, I think we would’ve had a better and more focused show.
It was possibly the best episode so far, with episode 4 as its main competition (maybe Madisynn and Leapfrog will get together). Also, apparently, the Sokovia accords were repealed. She-Hulk is finally ramping up, and I’m excited to see the thrilling conclusion!
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Source(s): Disney+