Did She-Hulk‘s Super-Flirty Daredevil Episode Fumble Its Satisfying Climax?
When She-Hulk met Daredevil… things got super-flirty (and then some). But did the closing sequence that Jen herself said felt “tacked on” wind up throwing cold water on the heroes’ rousing team-up?
Ahead of next week’s finale, the episode “Ribbit and Rip It” opened with the introduction of Leap-Frog aka Eugene Patilio, a low-tier hero who asks Jen to represent him in a legal action against the designer of his seemingly malfunctioning supersuit. Given that said defendant would be the one and only Luke Jacobson, Jen had personal and professional conflicts, but her boss insisted she handle the case.
As it quickly became apparent, Leap-Frog’s case had no legs (snicker), seeing as he had wrongly used jet fuel in his boosters, sparking the flame-out. This fact was keenly sniffed out by Luke’s lawyer, one Matt Murdock from New York (played again by Marvel vet Charlie Cox). Afterward, Matt bought Jen a drink at the Legal Ease, where he got her thinking about how she has a unique opportunity to uphold the law as a lawyer… and then seek justice in other ways, as a superpowered hero. Though Jen is unaware of Matt’s own alter ego, the two spark on multiple levels, but their flirtation is cut short by a “business” call for Matt.
No sooner does Jen arrive home, she gets a call from Leap-Frog, who says he is being attacked while driving his car. Jen suits up in her new She-Hulk outfit and meets with Eugene at a parking garage, where she gets to slugging it out with his “attacker” — Daredevil. Each hero gives as good as they get, and some some damage is done to the garage by She-Hulk’s smashy ways, but She-Hulk winds up with the upper hand, at which point she unmasks her opponent to discover it’s Matt.
Matt explains that 1) no, he was not pretending to be blind, and 2) Leap-Frog is holding Luke hostage, forcing him to upgrade his suit. The two make tracks for Leap-Frog’s not-at-all-secret lair, where there is some debate about the attack plan. Daredevil is inclined to take on the goons/henchmen one at a time (hallways are his thing, after all), while She-Hulk is happy to just smash.
After their back-and-forth leads to a certain… intensity… ‘tween them, Daredevil sets out to take down one bunch of baddies, but when a second group comes at him, She-Hulk drops through (and I do mean through) the ceiling to smash them. Then then enter the lair proper and team up against a final flurry of goons, while exchanging legal stratagem along the way. Once their job is done (and Jen has made amends with go-to tailor Luke), Matt and Jen kick back against a billboard. Matt laments that he is heading back to New York in the morning, but rather than wait for his next sojourn to L.A., Jen suggests they just hook-up now. Which they do, back at her place, after some intricate removal of supersuits.
The morning after, as Daredevil does a hilarious, supersuited-yet-barefoot “walk of shame” through the neighborhood, Jen remarks upon Nikki’s arrival for Female Lawyer of the Year gala beautification that the episode sure seemed to have reached a (ahem) satisfying conclusion, so she is puzzled about what is going on now. (What, is a “red” Hulk about to be revealed, she has to wonder.) The action leaps to that evening’s gala, where She-Hulk in her Luke Jacobson original struts the carpet. But when Jen is later called up on stage (along with several other FLOTY “winners”), her speech is interrupted by the Intelligencia’s takeover of the video screen backdrop, where they project anti-She-Hulk rhetoric — including a “slut”-shaming, hidden camera video of Jen’s hook-up with (an unseen) Matt Josh.
Triggered by this vile attack — and against nearby Mallory’s “don’t do it” advisement — She-Hulk lashes out at the video screen and Hulk-smashes it, sending all of the attendees into a panic/evacuation. She then is left to stand there, surrendering herself to the cops, sheepish and rightly mortified.
What did you think of Daredevil’s debut, and that really odd, sad ending to an otherwise bubbly episode? And what are your predictions for the finale?
Want scoop on She-Hulk, or for any other show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.
Overall the ending didn’t bother me. Daredevil came in, did his thing, and Jen and the “Walk of Shame” was priceless. Tho the “slut” remark at the end seemed a bit over the top for a group of evil doers.
I think it was intended that way, as the sort of thing a petulant incel would clumsily tack onto their manifesto.
Exactly
Yes. I’m betting a lot of people missed the analogy with real life – the complaints that women are “too emotional” and aren’t justified to have anger in just such a situation.
And the fact the authorities let the guy recording just run away.
But it just makes the writing look clumsy and heavy handed.
🙄
Not a video of hookup with Matt, but with creep Josh from two episodes ago. This is what he “got” for the site.
Ohhhhhh. That explains a few things. Edited!
NP
There’s an metaphor about the saying keep your friends close and your enemies closer in this show they may act your friends at first that can be the enemy later on and it’s on display when they try to expose and humiliate you often in public that can lead to complications in life and this episode shows it .
Centrevez entertainment Uk
I liked the ending! You needed some sort of ending to lead into the finale and as much as I enjoyed the Jen and Matt ending, it wasn’t a good enough ending to build up to the finale.
The cops got there pretty damn fast 🤔
A little too fast. Like they knew something would happen. They are unlikely to confirm that’s the case, but it would be very interesting that they have a head up and did nothing to investigate, a series of criminal activities against a female
Yeah it was all out of character. Someone is about to show illegal pornographic footage, and the people running the event can’t stop it, so no one is going to be terrified by her trashing some screens. Heck her worse act this episode was trashing some person’s car just to stop the “good guy.” (Though that’s a very comic book norm). She wasn’t tearing up the whole room. Then some strange guys in masks are filming it and run out. And lo and behold the cops are there. Beyond her not really doing anything wrong they don’t wonder who the strange masked guy is and just let him scramble off without questioning? It’s all too convenient.
I agree completely. Some clumsy writing throughout.
I’m fine with the ending. It’s premature to judge it, in any event, since it was clearly designed to tee up next week’s finale.
I feel like the finale will end with a reveal that continues in movie form. Bruce is also kinda out there doing his thing and will likely be back.
Lol like way out there. He’s in space in his last appearance on the show. If we see him again on the show Bruce will still be in Space.
Not liking the tonal shift in Daredevil’s character. If this is the direction that his character is going, then fans of the Netflix’s Daredevil are going to be disappointed.
As a fan of the Netflix show, I was worried about that. But I actually thought they found a great balance and enjoyed seeing him in that world. Can’t wait for more!
I don’t watch this show but I loved Daredevil on Netflix. I automatically assumed I would dislike the revival so thanks for the confirmation.
Or you could judge for yourself instead of cherry picking whose opinion you want to trust. Just saying.
I think you’re spot-on with your feelings. I’m just going to rewatch Daredevil on Netflix if I need to. I don’t want MCU Daredevil to tarnish the Netflix version.
I actually did like the tonal shift and thought Charlie Cox did a great job at creating a daredevil that fit with this MCU. We saw a lighter and more exaggerated Fisk in Hawkeye and this Daredevil fits with that Fisk. I don’t think it would make sense for the Daredevil they (excellently) created in the Netflix series was in this series, but I think they did a good job of maintaining the character and fitting them in the context of this universe
That’s interesting. There was an audible gasp/squee-ing from the audience when Matt appeared on screen when I watched it.
Sorry. This was meant for the comment below. 🙄
As a fan of the Daredevil TV show, I loved this appearance. Went to see the recent Spiderman movie…and when all the Spidermen appeared people in the theater erupted with cheers..I knew it was coming so just sat there. However! When Matt Murdock appeared. I fist pumped and quietly went “YES”. However, the rest of the theater was crickets. No one knew who he was, nor cared.
I choose to look at it as his being away from home, like on vacation from Hell’s Kitchen to LA. I mean, who wouldn’t be more broody in Hell’s Kitchen?
MCU Daredevil has not tonally shifted from Season 3 or Defenders Daredevil. That’s where he’s ended up from the character development of those shows.
I think you need to watch the Netflix shows again.
I was fine with most of the Daredevil stuff…. but the walk of shame thing didn’t make much sense.. why would he walk down the street in full costume as opposed to switching back into street clothes? Or at least slinking out more stealth like
It was done purely for comedy value (and it worked IMO) but he wouldn’t have had his street clothes anyway
He didn’t exactly have another outfit after the take down at Lilypond ;) It was make clear LA people don’t know him and everyone just assume he was playing dress up. Beside he seems pretty pleased with himself and was not in a hurry to get home
I know they are mainly marketing this as a comedy, and Matt’s walk of shame was probably the most I’ve laughed so far, but it seems like the finale has a fair amount of heavy lifting to do as everything up to now has been pretty lightweight and low stakes. Last week’s episode felt like a lot of filler to me, and whilst I’m really happy to see Matt back he rather stole the show this week, Jen looked pretty foolish especially in court.
Loved it. Matt was still Matt, just a bit lighter fitting the tone of She-Hulk.
1) wasn’t he named Leap Frog?
2) Liked the DD stuff, but hope he is not that lighthearted in Born Again
3)definitely interested in where the whole Intelligencia thing is going.
4) Josh needs a serious comeuppance
As a big fan of Daredevil I was ecstatic for every scene he had and I thought the flirty dialogue between two lawyers who … just by chance are superheroes … was exhilarating and well-written. However I didn’t care a lot for this lighter, comedic version of Daredevil. His is a dark character and this just seemed like a frothy pop song.
I don’t get the whole thing with Matt needing some fashion designer for superheroes to make him a new suit. He has somebody who does that for him and actually fits the characters nature.
It is a bit weird when they even carried Melvin Potter over to the Netflix show.
Last we saw, Melvin was arrested AND betrayed Matt.
what do you mean they “even carried Melvin Potter over to the Netflix show” ??? they didn’t “carry him over to anywhere – that’s where the character started
more importantly that was years ago that any of these characters were last seen and pre-blip … and as someone else said Melvin was arrested — and who knows if he’s even still alive
much easier to just higher a reliable and trustworthy professional like Luke Jacobson — which apparently many other heroes are doing also. The MCU is an evolving universe in many ways & it makes total sense someone would start catering to the special needs of superheroes (and villains) – same as the law office Jen is now working in
lastly – clearly it was reason to bring Daredevil into the show
I mean….you do know most of these characters weren’t created for TV shows and movies and existed before them…you’ve heard of comic books, right?
.
And “betrayed” is a bit of a strong word. He was forced by the Kingpin by threat to “betray” him, and Matt obviously didn’t hold it against him because he fought alongside him against the agents. Sure, either way it was a parole violation, but it wasn’t his choice.
I was a little worried they’d turn Daredevil into a joke but he was actually the best thing about the episode. And even with the I’ll advised ending probably the best episode since the first. Him and Jen worked well together, whether in the courtroom, bar, costume, or bedroom. (Matt always had his share of time with the ladies). As for the dark stuff, beyond believing you can use characters in different situations (is anyone’s life all dark, all comedy, all romance, etc.?), I think it’s a misunderstanding to think if Matt as a dark character. He’s a hopeful character, with a good sense of humor, that just has life throw a lot of crap his way. He’s not Batman dark and brooding. He has faith, and believe in people. At his lowest he’s shown a man without hope is a man without fear. But this isn’t exactly facing the Kingpin or the Hand. It’s fricken Leap Frog. I think he can take it a little less seriously.
.
I’m just surprised they didn’t give an explanation for the new costume. And how they missed the joke about him wearing the garish yellow and red because, well, he’s blind. Better then “do I need to tell the designer what you said?” would have been “he put me in what?! I told him red!” Then him chastising him at the rescue with the designer being defiant about red being out this season and it’s all about summer colors or something.
Wow – They got Matt Murdock in the original Daredevil suit from the early 1960’s comics! The Yellow and Red! :)
Nice way to reintroduce the character – even though he’s the SAME one from the Netflix series, more or less!
Gross! She’s slept with two people in just a few episodes. I don’t know why this is depicted so often in TV and movies.
Makes you wonder, what the show has to say about people like you. No wait, we know.
…because it happens regularly in real life?
Not everyone is an archaic, shaming, prudish, 40-year-old-virgin like you…
It was not the police at the end of the episode, but instead it was Damage Control.
It was going along as a very satisfying episode, but then the ending left me cold. It was such a completely different mood than the rest of the series up to that point. Of course I realize they wanted to throw off the viewers, but it didn’t work for me. It’s like it belonged in a different show.
They seem to have a bunch of things they want to get on the screen, but have not tied it together in a story. Characters seem erratic and without logicl growth in their personalities.
I want to like this more, but I feel it came up well shy of the potential – pretty much across the board.
I think your expectations are too high, almost rightfully so consider Marvel Phase 1 through 3. This is just a story, like one comic book is just a story. You’ll get in depth with the characters when there are multiple stories – like we do when we read multiple comic books. Very similar to when the first Iron Man came out.
My prediction? In the series finale, Shrek makes his appearance and takes Fiona back to the swamp…
I grew up reading DC comics, I wasn’t a big fan of Marvel heroes but I got hooked with the first MCU movies. That said, I don’t have any expectations when these shows get rolled out. I know some people were upset with She-Hulk getting a show, but the character has been around a long time and I thought it might be fun to watch. Boy was I wrong! I like the actress playing Jennifer and I haven’t seen her in anything else prior to this show, but she’s likable although her character sometimes is annoying. What I can’t believe is that this show is written and directed by women. All the complaints women make about men writing stereotypical trash for women are all here:
Ep 1 – Fine. Although Jen is a bit too smug.
Ep 2 – Jen is forced to accept work as She-Hulk (evil boss man!)
Ep 3 – Jen is forced, again by evil boss man, to represent Blonsky. Twerking at the end of the episode – so unnecessary.
Ep 4 – Jen goes dating. (I can’t recall any of the MCU movies having Iron Man, Thor or even Captain America be so desperate to date, must be a female thing. (Don’t blame me for that remark, blame the writers!)
Ep 5 – Jen needs new clothes! (Enough said!)
Ep 6 – Jen goes to a wedding. (I can’t even comment on this!)
Ep 7 – Jen goes to a wellness retreat and can’t stop looking at her phone! (Excuse me, I need to barf!)
Ep 8 – Daredevil arrives. Ok, I know of the character but I have never read a comic or seen his series, so clean slate here. I like him, but I do have a problem with the court room scene. I can’t understand why the writers have to make Jen look like a complete fool when she finds out that her client used the wrong fuel. She’s a top lawyer, right? Shouldn’t she have been smart enough to ask him about this prior to taking on his case? So, women writers have no problem making their female lead character look like a fool? SMH! Good chemistry with Daredevil. I could have done without the walk of shame, but woman writers have to stick it to men! Last few minutes, She-Hulk’s on a rampage, good, I like that. Now we will only have about 29 minutes of the last episode of the series to wrap it all up! ….Stupid writers! The rampage should have started back in Ep 3 or 4 and allowed Jen time to hunt down her attackers and clear her name and reputation.
If there’s a season 2, I can only hope they bring in a new production team because the current one sucks!