Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
In Episode 7 of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law we see the return of Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) who was introduced to She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany) in Episode 2, "Superhuman Law." In this week's episode, Jen gets a call from Blonsky's parole officer (John Pirruccello) who suspects that he may have once again become Abomination. In a bid to distract herself from the pain of being ghosted Jen goes along with him as backup to check things out. The She-Hulk team could have easily decided to throw away all of Blonsky's character growth for an action-packed fight scene, but they didn't, and the show is much better for it.
Abomination aka Emil Blonsky was first introduced to audiences in The Incredible Hulk as a British Royal Marine on loan to SOCOM (U.S. Special Operations Command). He was used by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt) in his personal mission to capture Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) and weaponize the Hulk. Blonsky was injected with a version of the Super Soldier Serum by Ross, which compromised his decision-making ability and began his turn toward villainy. After this is still not enough to beat the Hulk, and Blonsky is badly injured, he receives another dose of the serum, which further deteriorates his mental condition to the point that he has himself transfused with Bruce Banner's blood.
This causes him to transform into Abomination and run riot through Harlem until he was stopped by the Hulk and imprisoned by the U.S. Army in Alaska. By the time Jen Walters meets Mr. Blonsky, he has been transferred to a super-max prison in California.
The Case for Emil Blonsky
Initially, Jen is against taking his case as she knows he tried to kill her cousin and believes that he's a bad guy who should not be released from prison. Once she meets with him, however, it doesn't take long for him to show her that he is truly reformed. A unique individual, and slightly wacky, but a good man all the same. During his parole hearing in Episode 3, "The People vs, Emil Blonsky", Jen and Emil outline the reasons he qualifies for release: that he was a good man to begin with, a highly decorated soldier who only wanted to serve his country, and possibly be the next Captain America, as well as pointing out all the good that he is doing in prison and will do in the future if he is released. The parole board believes what they're selling and Jen wins her first case with her new law firm GLK&H and Blonsky is released so that he can pursue his dream of moving on with his life and opening and operating a meditation retreat.
In Episode 7, "The Retreat," audiences finally get to visit Blonsky's new project Summer Twilight, and it is amazing. It turns out that Blonksy wasn't full of shit with all his talk of transforming himself physically and spiritually. He really is a changed man who is helping others seek redemption and new life. Considering he is a man who gets shocked by an electric fence to save his favorite chicken Princess Silk Feather, he is also remarkably wise. "Brother Blonsky" is an excellent spiritual consultant, life coach, and group therapist, and is exactly who Jen needs in this moment. He doesn't push her when she is stubbornly looking for Wi-Fi, and only gets tough and makes her sit in the "calming chair" when she throws someone across the room. He has created an effective and healing place for people with differences, and it is a truly spiritual experience to watch.
For some, this may have come as a disappointment, especially if they wanted to see a throwdown between Abomination and She-Hulk as some sort of re-match of the fight from The Incredible Hulk movie. While it would definitely have been entertaining it would have also sacrificed a great deal more than it gained from having a high-action, fan service, moment. It also would have been a great departure from the core ethos of the show, which is about looking at the human side of what it means to have superpowers. Not just for Jen Walters but also for her cousin Bruce (Mark Ruffalo), Wong (Benedict Wong), and Emil Blonsky.
A Team-Up Rather Than a Showdown
The most exciting thing about not bringing back Abomination in a mid-season battle against She-Hulk is that it keeps open the possibility of a team-up between them in the future. In the last few minutes of the most recent episodes, we have seen an increasingly alarming threat come to the forefront. Intelligencia and HulkKing are working to destroy and kill She-Hulk seemingly because a woman with powers is an affront they cannot abide. With Josh (Trevor Salter) tricking Jen into sleeping with him so that he can steal her blood it is clear that they will stoop to any low necessary to achieve their ends. Whatever they are cooking up in the lab will soon be coming for Jen, and it is comforting to know that she has one giant ally she can look to for help when there is trouble. Along with her new friends, the supervillain members of group therapy who are supportive, kind, and fans of violence.
Emil Blonsky has grown as a person, and it is beautiful to see. One of the great things about the MCU is that we get to watch characters over a much greater time than we have in almost any other TV or movie franchise ever before. We get to see the characters we love, and those we hate be transformed by their actions, their experiences, and those around them. Sometimes the things they live through turn them from regular people into superheroes, and sometimes it turns them from being good people into villains. Then there are times like this when we get to watch a good man, who strayed off the path transform himself yet again, and become a better more understanding person. To be human is to be in a constant state of change, and this is true even for those who have superhuman powers.