She Hulk Smash Wall

Last night's She-Hulk, the season finale, informed me it was a creative triumph. Which is certainly not something I would have picked up on otherwise. Headwriter Jessica Gao returns to write the finale, the third episode she's written in the series overall, after the first two episodes. I still think the first two episodes are pretty good but this final episode just felt like Gao didn't want to be doing this anymore.

Full disclosure time again: I'm not a fan of sitcoms and I'm not a fan of fourth wall breaks. So, if you've seen the episode, you already know the main reasons I wasn't a big fan. Fourth wall breaking is a hallmark of postmodernism--art that achieves its effect by commenting on other art or on itself. I can appreciate it at times, particularly in the French New Wave, when it felt like the filmmakers were really using it to say something. But I feel breaking the fourth wall for sake of breaking the fourth wall is way too far past novel to be funny. So Jen marching through Disney to get to K.E.V.I.N. was not funny in itself for me and went on far too long.

I also don't think the show significantly explained why this was supposed to be better, or more artistically substantial, than Tod transforming into a Hulk and Titania and Bruce showing up. Titania and Bruce were obviously over the top on purpose, but a conflict between Tod, Emil, and Jen could have been a good action scene. Though then Titania would have been a loose thread. Having some explanation for her involvement would have been nice, and it really wouldn't have been so strange for her to use Intelligencia as a tool to take down Jen.

The show claims that it's ditching this in favour of resolving the plot about Jen coming to terms with her new dual identity. But that really hasn't been a prominent aspect of the series. It feels like the writers are lamenting the fact that this whole show is not a different show. It just leaves me with the question of, "Why didn't you write it differently then?" Maybe this is their admission that they couldn't, that they really don't like themselves or what they do. I can't jump on that hate train. It seems cowardly. I'd rather see the show go down on a noble effort than on this cop out.

The end of the episode sets up some things for the MCU as a whole, probably directives from the real Kevin (Feige). I'm not really into the whole "everyone has a kid now" theme so I'm not too interested in Bruce's kid. But it's also frustrating because it feels like there were a series of Hulk movies that happened off screen that we'll never see thanks to Universal holding onto the rights.

It was nice to see Daredevil come back. And Jen brought him to meet her family. That certainly seems more in line with the devout Catholic Matt Murdoch than a one night stand. I wonder how long their official coupledom will last. It would be nice to see her turn up on Daredevil with a more competent writing staff.

She-Hulk is available on Disney+.

Beset by Devils

Last night's She-Hulk wasn't as good as last week's but it wasn't altogether bad. It made me realise one of the assets of last week's episode is it didn't have that terrible rushed quality that diminishes most of the MCU shows.

I was looking forward to seeing Daredevil again and he kind of feels like the same character. Charlie Cox deserves a lot of credit. Matt Murdoch in court was the first time it felt like I was seeing a real lawyer on the show even if the writing still wasn't up to average television courtroom drama standards. The action scenes were surprisingly good, particularly the fight between Jen and Daredevil.

Supposedly there's a separate action crew at Marvel who comes in and directs the action scenes sometimes for directors who don't have the knack for it and I wondered if that was the case here.

I liked the idea of Jen and Matt flirting but them sleeping together just felt odd. Daredevil's "walk of shame" afterwards seemed out of character, though I understand they're deliberately trying to make him lighter than he was previously on TV. I really don't feel like that's worth doing. That feels like an obvious thing to say at this point as it seems like most people are unhappy with the MCU's decreasing willingness to take itself seriously or maintain a consistent tone.

I liked Jen's super suit. Purple works for her, but that's no surprise. I was thinking burgundy might be a good alternative to distinguish herself from Bruce.

The end of the episode was a nice enough setup for the finale. The "Female Lawyer of the Year" ceremony was extremely cringe, which I think was at least partially intentional but seemed a bit over the top.

She-Hulk is available on Disney+.

Twitter Sonnet #1629

The bargain point was rather dull at last.
In even light the life was drained of spark.
A little death was smaller than the past.
The newer money sucked the license park.
Suspicious eyes could sort the hands about.
The ready rebels crest a dreary hill.
Deceptive eggs were hid to mark the route.
Events coverge to trap a heedless will.
The shirt was weighed against the heavy ice.
An extra word distorts the language base.
The people counted two and named them twice.
And next the written word defined a face.
Humility remained beyond the gate.
Again the woods deliver wooden fate.

Hulk Talk

Last night's She-Hulk wasn't so bad, actually. It was written by Zeb Wells, a rare example of someone who wrote for Marvel Comics moving over to write for the MCU. And he also wrote for Robot Chicken, which explains why some of the jokes were actually funny.

I laughed when the Porcupine claimed Spanish was a language and not a nationality. It's stupid but plausibly stupid. I can imagine for a long time he'd been correcting people who said Mexicans speak Mexican and the information that they spoke Spanish misled him into thinking somehow there is no Spanish country any more than there is a Mexican language.

Tim Roth really shines in the episode. He takes some relatively mundane therapist-guru material and makes it really interesting. He and Tatiana Maslany have genuinely good comedic chemistry.

My main complaint is for the first part of the episode. I wish we'd seen her relationship with Josh more in depth. A lot of people were predicting that Josh would be one of the people trying to steal her blood so a more nuanced relationship might have made it seem less inevitable and might have made Jen seem a little smarter.

I was also still hoping to see some interesting wardrobe for her but, once again, we got navy blue with white dots. And green pants, almost the same shade as her skin. Probably not the best choice.

She-Hulk is available on Disney+.

Another Week, Another She-Hulk

Last night's episode of She-Hulk, "Just Jen", does not, as of this writing, have its own Wikipedia entry yet. All the other episodes do, which I find surprising for a show with low ratings and a Rotten Tomatoes audience score that can't crack 40%. I guess the Marvel name still has a lot of cache but, by Jove, they're burning through it seemingly without restraint. "Just Jen" was just dull.

The last episode left us hanging on a tease of She-Hulk's new wardrobe and this is all we get? White polka dots on Navy blue? All right, I guess it's . . . fine. It doesn't exactly pop. I feel like white would be a good colour for her but obviously not as a wedding guest. Maybe lavender? I don't know. The lighting for special effects shots are always so flat and slightly greyed out, which doesn't help.

It would have been funny watching Jen shuffle around in her oversized clothes if the show had thought of a better reason for forcing her to. I know the joke is that people have unbearable acquaintances whose weddings they must attend, but I would have liked some explanation as to why Lulu and Jen were friends or why everyone at the party seemed to hate Jen. Are we supposed to just take it as jealousy over her being She-Hulk? It's not clear.

Was it ever mentioned why Titania has super strength? I can't remember. Has Jen ever asked? Has anyone brought it up?

The B plot, which recasts a minor Marvel hero, Mr. Immortal, as a shallow coward, didn't make sense. It's hard to see how he could be so delusional as to honestly describe what he does as killing himself. It's so disconnected from the evident reality that it fails to be funny or make any comment on the psychology of guys who are shitty in relationships. At the end of the episode, he's a jerk. So what? Why are we watching this?

I guess I am just holding on to see Daredevil at this point. That's how they get you. And Tatiana Maslany is really good in the role. I really liked the first two episodes written by Jessica Gao. So I guess I can say the show has done good enough to acceptably bring She-Hulk into the MCU. Hopefully she'll have better writers in the future. I really hope Disney learns a lesson from how much better Andor, a show with virtually no Easter eggs, is doing compared to She-Hulk.

She-Hulk is available on Disney+.

The She-Hulk Brand

I didn't mind last night's She-Hulk. Which may sound like damning with faint praise but after a long day at work, the fact that it didn't feel like it wasted thirty minutes of my tiny amount of free time is saying something. I even laughed at one joke.

It was written by Dana Schwartz, whose background is as an entertainment journalist. I think this helped her find the right tone for some aspects of the episode.

Especially the commercials Titania (Jameela Jamil) puts out exploiting the She-Hulk name. I appreciated the irony of rhetoric about owning who you are. Though the thing that actually made me when Titania saw She-Hulk walk into the courtroom and said, "Nice suit, Shrek."

The episode successfully built up my anticipation for her new wardrobe. I was really disappointed we couldn't see one item of it at the end.

Although I didn't actually laugh at most of the jokes, at least most of them didn't seem illogical or dumb. The only thing that bothered me was when Nikki (Ginger Gonzaga) actually wore the fake Avengers merch. That seemed out of character, though I suspect this idea didn't come from the teleplay. The Daredevil tease at the end made me cautiously hopeful.

She-Hulk is available on Disney+.

Twitter Sonnet #1622

A shaky pachyderm reloads the film.
Insistent snouts include the tender brush.
A twisted hand condemned the rotten helm.
Across the deck a sheet proclaimed a hush.
The January poet waits for fall.
The elephant from China lands in books.
A circle spell has hit a mirror wall.
It spirals back to eat its fishing hooks.
Attention paid impoverished Ike a bit.
The dancing devil claimed the desert coin.
When last alone detectives ought to sit.
Repeated shows have soaked the tender loin.
A quiet giant sleeps in fire's glow.
In orange and green the pumpkin starts to grow.

Comedy Demons

Last night's She-Hulk was better than last week's, it had at least one good scene. It was better when it thought it was an MCU movie and not when it thought it was a comedy or commentary on modern dating.

It was written by Melissa Hunter, a writer with some experience, and actress, too. In fact, she was the creator and star of Adult Wednesday Addams, a 2013 to 2015 YouTube series about Wednesday Addams as an adult that's now been removed from YouTube. I guess now we know where Netflix get their ideas.

Full disclosure: I don't like sitcoms. The humour in sitcoms hits me like a dog whistle. I see absurd events and hear turns of phrases and I understand they're silly. I just don't understand why the people on the laugh track are vocalising profusely. When there's no laugh track, I find it an even stranger, emptier experience. But I do like comedy. For example, I really liked Arrested Development, the series last night's She-Hulk seemed to be aping for its magician jokes.

But She-Hulk's version never gained traction. Neither did the bits about Jen's dating life, which fell prey to the infamous rushed feeling that has prevented so many Marvel and Disney series from making insightful character development.

But I liked Wong and Jen fighting demons in the theatre. That was fun. It almost felt like Hellboy. Well, it felt like the MCU, and not the MCU pathetically trying to be something it's not. Hopefully there's more of that going forward.

She-Hulk is available on Disney+.

Green Writers for Green Heroes

Well, that was weak. Last night's new She-Hulk: Attorney at Law aimed for the tone of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, baffling many people who tried to approach the episode as an honest piece of the MCU. The first episode not to be written by Jessica Gao, "The People vs. Emil Blonsky" was written by Jacqueline Gailes and Francesca Gailes, whose previous credits include working as assistants on Punky Brewster (the reboot) and The Tick (the new live action one). Going for the gusto, eh, Disney? Francesca Gailes has two actual writing credits, though, having written a short film called Awake and six episodes of a series called The Enemy: The N in Me, examining the internalised racism of a young black man. Just the kind of expertise that completely did not come in handy for last night's She-Hulk.

I did kind of like the appearance of Megan Thee Stallion and her song included on the show. But She-Hulk twerking at the end managed to make the event about as corny as a celebrity appearance on the old Scooby-Doo cartoon.

Despite last week setting up the complications inherent in Emil Blonsky's original arrest, this episode instead focused on a parole hearing for Blonsky. According to Gao, she originally intended the show to feature a more in-depth trial of Blonsky but this had to be abandoned when she realised no-one in the writer's room knew anything about writing courtroom drama. So they made do, writing what they know, which is apparently cheap sitcom jokes. This results in a b plot about the broadly comedic misogynist DA falling for a shapeshifter pretending to be Megan Thee Stallion.

This isn't dissimilar to the fundamental problems of Thor: Love and Thunder. The jokey tone of the writing seems to put everything in a different reality. I mean, if people act like this in serious situations, and supporting characters are two dimensional punch lines, is there any sensible difference between the "real" world and Wanda's fantasy sitcom realm?

Oh. What if we're going to find out everything in the MCU after Multiverse of Madness occurs in Wanda's sitcom reality? That would almost make it worth it.

We get a little action sequence in which Jennifer fights off the Wrecking Crew, some thugs with Asgardian construction tools. It relies on a lot of close-ups in dim lighting to be passable. I can understand, with the low budget, it's hard to make this work with a cgi main character fighting real actors. But I've been watching season three of Daredevil lately in which the action sequences are as amazing as, if not better than, the stuff in Shang-Chi. And I'm forced to realise how different our expectations are for the MCU now. In any case, I still wouldn't say, as some people do, that feminism is the show's problem. Maybe feminism's problem is this show.

She-Hulk is available on Disney+.

Legally Super

Last night brought another funny little episode of She-Hulk. Like the premiere episode, it was written by Jessica Gao and it'll be the last one written by her until the finale on October 13. Hopefully the various writers-without-wikipedia-entries in between are better than the average new MCU or Star Wars writer. Gao, like Michael Waldron, who worked on Loki and Multiverse of Madness, had previously worked on Rick and Morty and it's starting to look like a fair assumption that Kevin Feige is a Rick and Morty fan. At least, so far, the MCU output from both writers hasn't been as jokey and insubstantial as Love and Thunder.

Gao has said in interviews that no-one working on She-Hulk has any legal writing expertise. That's really a shame. I've thoroughly enjoyed the first two episodes but they've mainly concentrated on relationships and Jen's (Tatiana Maslany) new superpowers. Last night's episode brought in Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) and his argument, that he was a soldier just doing his job who fell prey to the effects of experimental drugs he took in good faith, sounds like it could be really interesting debated in a courtroom.

I'd actually never seen The Incredible Hulk (2008) so I watched it last night. And yeah, I think Blonsky has a pretty strong case. Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt), a general in the US government, hired Blonsky, a specialist from the UK, to assist in the capture of a dangerous fugitive. It turns out that fugitive turns into a berserk green giant who apparently massacres American soldiers and indulges in wholesale destruction. It makes sense Blonsky was trying everything he could to take him down. This could make for a juicy courtroom drama and what a boon that an actor of Tim Roth's caliber was willing to come back to the MCU for it.

It's a shame Disney didn't hire David E. Kelley, creator of Ally McBeal, which could be seen on a TV in the bar in last night's She-Hulk.

Kelley even wrote a rejected Wonder Woman pilot so he might have even been up for She-Hulk (Considering the things Warner Brothers has greenlit in the past decade, I wouldn't hold the fact that Kelley's Wonder Woman pilot was rejected against it). But goddamn Disney's penny-pinching.

Anyway, so far She-Hulk is good as it is. I've heard a lot of people complaining that its feminism is too belligerent but I haven't seen that so much so far, aside from possibly the manplaining reference last week or the guy who referred to a "hot chick" as an "it" this week. Mostly the feminism has come in the form of character opinions, which are certainly plausible. Hopefully the show will keep up the good work.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is available on Disney+.

Twitter Sonnet #1615

The deepest well concealed the biggest grain.
The sky enclosed a plot of sightless gods.
A desp'rate stroll reduced the sleeve to stain.
Some crimson coats convene and take the odds.
The darker stones were hid beneath the floor.
Assembled singers gasped when worse occurred.
Another burglar broke the busy door.
The panicked suits were never quite absurd.
The time was men were green and dames were elves.
We stretched a suit to fit a pumpkin thief.
As fury keeps a wallet, help yourselves.
The law obscures a boney serum beef.
With summer dances set for chopping blocks
She swapped her crocs for bunny bobby socks.

Comic Con 2022 TV Trailers (Some of Them) Ranked

So I can't go to Comic Con this year. I can still see all the trailers like everyone else. And I can rank them because it's the God given right of every Internet denizen to do such things if not our sacred responsibility. Here we go.

4. Interview with the Vampire Season 1

This one doesn't look very promising. Looks like they moved up the time period so that Louis is made into a vampire in 1910. Which makes the fact that he's black a whole lot less interesting, which was likely the point. The writers aren't likely so bold. I didn't catch any glimpse of Claudia, I don't think. With only about 110 years between Louis being turned and the interview taking place, there's a lot less time for Claudia's story to get traction. Will the Theatre des Vampires stuff take place during the 1970s? I guess it would have to for Claudia's age disparity to mean anything. So far, this looks like a weak imitation of the Neil Jordan movie as much as the Lord of the Rings series looks like a weak imitation of the Peter Jackson movies.

3. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Like everyone else, I suspect his series will be terrible. The only thing that gives me pause is that Gennifer Hitchison, one of my favourite writers from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, is working on the series. Though obviously the material is very different so I don't know if her skills will translate. The trailers and teasers have so far offered nothing specific except it's about the birth of Sauron and Galadriel is apparently the protagonist and now she's a warrior woman. The visuals borrow shamelessly from the Peter Jackson movies, particularly the look of the Balrog. The Balrog as described by Tolkien doesn't really resemble the glorious black smoke devil from Jackson's movie. So this would seem to suggest the Amazon Prime series is set in the same universe as the Peter Jackson movies.

It kind of doesn't matter what the ratings are since the money's already spent on the series, and supposedly there's a guaranteed season two. I guess it's not like Amazon Prime memberships are going to decrease if the series isn't a wild success. I suppose investors might be angry but mostly it looks like a situation where there's very little need for demonstrated profit for expenditure. If only Jeff Bezos were throwing money at David Lynch. I mean, it's like he's a Renaissance art patron at this point. If only he had that kind of taste.

2. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

I never read the comics but the trailer gives me the same impression I had of them--a slightly more serious version of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. The special effects still look bad. In light of the recent news of special effects artists being mistreated by Disney, I guess that's not a surprise. I guess She-Hulk doesn't look worse than Gumby and Gumby was funny so maybe she will be too. I am excited to see Daredevil again.

1. The Sandman

This one looks the most promising. I'm a fan of the comics and mostly this looks like a faithful adaptation. Minor tweaks in the casting mostly seem good, especially the inclusion of Jenna Coleman and Gwendoline Christie. The woman playing Death doesn't seem to have the laid back sparkle of the comic version but maybe she'll surprise me in the full series. David Thewlis is pitch perfect casting.