She-Hulk Episode 3 – slowly finding his voice – and can Wong please be in every Marvel production?

It probably is now – the point where I’m fully into the series and I understand how to take it. I’ve been quite taken with She-Hulk up to this point, without it being compelling binge material that’s turning my life upside down like Better Call Saul is now. But I didn’t expect that from this either. I think it’s pretty consistent what’s happening here now. Whether it’s more me or the show, I can’t say.

She-Hulk is still a bit thin in substance – it’s a sitcom after all – but the show is all the funnier for that, which is largely due to the fact that Tatiana Maslany and Tim Roth really give it their all. And of course the next MCU guest appearance, because none other than Wong, who was one of the best in Doctor Strange and some Avengers films, pays his dues. If the Maslany wasn’t so good, I wouldn’t mind if he took over the wheel completely. Because the friction that arises between this Master of the Mystic Arts and a gang of lawyers results in pure comedy gold dust at the other end.

It’s consistently funny what’s happening here, even a bit more here and there, even if at one point or two you loosely fear that the series’ sense of humor is going a bit too far. Basically, however, she always comes back to safe territory. Guided often enough by the experienced and approachable acting of Maslany, who has already proven with Orphan Black that she can also split herself up if necessary to put on a show.

However, I’m still not sure about the effects. It’s primarily the movements, as if something went wrong with the motion capture, that ensure that I don’t quite believe She-Hulk’s presence. I particularly notice it when she walks through the office in a jacket and wide shoulder pads. It sometimes feels like the movements don’t fit the… well, physics of the world we live in. But basically that’s secondary in this kind of show. We’re a little spoiled now.

The scene in which a series that had already been shot several months ago more or less anticipated the social media shitstorm about She-Hulk was funny. Almost more meta than Jenn’s mostly successful speeches directly to the audience. So where is all this going? Good question. Is Blonsky’s/Abomination’s purification just a trick? And who is behind the late-night attack on Jenn (a highlight was her terrified screaming until she realizes she’s the last person in that scene to be scared)? And does it have to have a specific direction at all?

Well, with only six more episodes to go got to well, this just can’t be a drifting lawyer show with a weekly changing case, which I find pretty unfortunate right now. Although who knows if she might not open a law firm with Matt Murdoch in season two?

It’s been a bit of a bumpy road to get here – and it might be a bit longer if the show doesn’t quite strike the balance between Jennifer’s personal story and the bigger picture (which has become almost a tradition for Marvel series) – but after three episodes I would say it was worth taking on. Nice, unrepentant entertainment.