‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ Episode 8 Finally Nails It

By Samuel M Acosta

I knew before I watched this episode that Daredevil would be making an appearance, but I did not expect it to be as explosive and well-put-together as it was. This episode felt sharp and crisp, as if the writing team had full confidence in what they were doing, unlike past episodes where it felt as if they were unsure of their decisions. Not only was this the best episode of “She-Hulk” to date but it is one of the best episodes of any Marvel show to date.

This episode introduced us to Leap-Frog, a low-level hero, who got hurt trying to stop two robbers due to a malfunction in his suit. He hired Jen to sue Luke Jacobson for the defective equipment, which she was reluctant to do since Jacobson had been making suits for her. Nonetheless, she went through with it, only to discover that Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) was defending the super-suit maker. Within a matter of minutes, Murdock dismantled Jen’s case and got the whole case dismissed. Later on, Jen and Murdock met in a bar and have a moment, until he leaves on urgent business. 

Jen received a call later that night from Leap-Frog, asking for help since he was under attack. Jen suited up as She-Hulk and went to his rescue, discovering Daredevil was in hot pursuit of her client. They got in a fight, which She-Hulk technically won, before discovering that he is Matt Murdock. He then revealed that Leap-Frog kidnapped Jacobson and was forcing him to make more suits for him. So together, She-Hulk and Daredevil took down Leap-Frog. The episode ended with Jen at an awards ceremony, winning an award for Best Female Lawyer. She was interrupted by Hulk King suddenly humiliating her by playing a video of her night with Josh. In a rage, She-Hulk destroyed the screen and almost hurt one of the Hulk King’s goons before she was surrounded by police. 

This episode was extremely well crafted and contained so many great elements that I thoroughly enjoyed. First and foremost, the return of Charlie Cox as Daredevil was absolutely marvelous. It felt true to the Netflix version of the character while lightening him up a tad to fit the tone of “She-Hulk.” His quips were funny and seeing him fight was nostalgic. I felt as if the writing team had respect for the character and wanted to use him to contribute to the plot rather than to fall into the show’s typical tropes. The chemistry between Jen and Murdock was instant and I loved their scenes together. 

The action in this episode was also spot-on. While of course, some complain about how the fights weren’t as good as the Daredevil Netflix show, knowing that this has a lower rating, I found the action to be very good. I enjoyed seeing some solo Daredevil fights along with She-Hulk smashing through ceilings and walls and powering through Leap-Frog’s men. Good action has been severely lacking on the show thus far, so I was very happy to finally get a taste of it. 

The humor in this episode was also unlike the rest of the series. The jokes never felt forced and always landed. While some jokes only drew a small chuckle, I never found myself thinking that they shouldn’t have been there at all. They all connected with the plot and were simply used to reinforce what was already happening. 

The end of this episode did feel a bit rushed and tacked on, which the show addressed during its fourth wall break, but didn’t necessarily justify it. We see Jen get publicly humiliated as that video gets shown to people. While Jen losing her temper and destroying a large screen was not a good look for her, I honestly don’t see this as a huge twist. The most compelling part was that we haven’t seen a Hulk rage out of Jen yet, so this was something new for her. Still, for this video to have that much weight, especially when shown to a small number of people seems unrealistic. It was unclear whether Hulk King released this to the world or just showed the members at the Gala. Either way, I felt like this was a low-stakes predicament going into the series finale. 

Overall, I loved this episode. It was so fun and enjoyable that I wanted to watch it again after it was over. While I think “She-Hulk” gave itself a tall order to fill with its finale, this single episode gave me a glimmer of hope that the writing team was capable of doing more with its characters than they demonstrated in the first seven. So I remain optimistic and am looking forward to the finale.

I give episode 8 a 9/10!

She-Hulk is currently streaming on Disney+

Samuel M Acosta is a Senior Theatre Comprehensive Major and an Arts and Entertainment writer for Cedars. He likes spending his time watching movies, drinking Dr. Pepper, and writing plays.

Images courtesy of Marvel Studios