I have a lot of questions about Emil Blonsky.
First: Who’s funding “Summer Twilights,” this land of yurts and well-named chickens? Was Blonsky rich? Who found and paid for this prime plot of California real estate? (It doesn’t seem to have been his seven soulmates—which Jen really should’ve asked about.) Where does he get his self-themed inspirational posters printed? (ABOMASTE is my favorite.) Where did he find these men for his little group when there’s no wifi or cell reception? Is there really no wifi or cell reception or was that for Jen’s benefit, specifically?
And what’s his long game?
“The Retreat” answered one question that was barely a question: Yes, Josh sucks. Josh sucks really, really hard. Josh did exactly what the show told us to expect him to do, but then went a step further and copied Jen’s whole phone.
And one key Blonsky question remains: Was he in on it? Was the whole thing with Blonksy’s inhibitor malfunction and the resulting trip to his little bucolic playground all part of the plan—to get Jen to erase Josh’s number, to get her to relax, to drop her guard a little bit? For a minute I thought the whole point was that she would Just Jen herself and then our friend from the Wrecking Crew would act, but every fellow in Blonsky’s man-huddle played nice right up to the end.
Like last week, this episode walked a wobbly line as it tried to use clichés to say something interesting—with mixed results. “Guy doesn’t text after sex, girl goes bananas stressing about it” is a tough plot point for me to enjoy; these gendered clichés aren’t quite balanced out, here, by the fact that it’s a bunch of semi-villainous yet vulnerable men who show Jen how to let go (possibly for their own nefarious purposes). It should’ve been funnier than it was, watching these guys use their Blonsky-taught self-help language to get She-Hulk in touch with her inner Jen (and/or vice-versa) but instead it felt somewhat forced. The most effective aspect was that I kept expecting a trick or a trap—turn into Jen so we can steal your blood!—but that dastardly deed had already been done.
But if the plot left me wanting, there’s nothing to complain about in the performances. As Jen, Maslany gets more and more brittle as she stresses about Josh, and even if I don’t love this narrative, I do love the way you start to see her stress in her human body. She looks about ready to snap at any moment. (There is not enough Nikki in this episode, but Nikki, as ever, gives good advice.) Jen’s speech about how She-Hulk is like the cool friend who gets all the attention gets to the heart of Jen’s whole issue: She has to integrate and accept both parts of herself. Jen is She-Hulk, She-Hulk is Jen. And despite whatever false pretenses may be in play here, she does make some progress at Summer Twilights.
Roth is still playing Blonsky almost too straight—a certain amount of how could you expect the worst of me, a reformed man? that I really, really enjoy and am very, very skeptical of. His gaggle of … students? colleagues? supplicants? is made up of a handful of minor Marvel characters that are not super likely to become super important, though Saracen (Terrence Clowe) might be an actual vampire (remember that Blade is, in theory, not that far off) and El Aguila (Joseph Castillo-Midyett) is a mutant (which the MCU powers-that-be are slowly bringing into their cinematic universe now that assorted rights issues are no more).
(Nathan Hurd’s Man-Bull seems like he ought to end up hanging out with the Agardians. Jordan Aaron Ford’s Porcupine is my favorite.)
If the plot was a bit lacking this week, the structure did some good work to make up for it. The montage of dates was charming (though I really thought more than three dates had happened); the fourth-wall break to reintroduce Wrecker (Nick Gomez) from the Wrecking Crew was clever and fun and yes, I did need the reintroduction; the big booming DAY TITLES had a sense of urgency and frustration that underscored all of Jen’s anxiousness and stress.
And then there’s Blonsky’s farewell, an ominous statement couched in the language of understanding and acceptance: “Everyone we meet, no matter how much they hurt you, is a lesson learned.” Oh, are they? What lesson is Jen going to have to learn from having hung out with the Blonksy squad for an afternoon? Hopefully it’s not as painful as the one she’s going to learn from having met Josh.
YURT SWEAT
- Still struggling to believe these unremarkable suits are what Luke the super-tailor made for her. Also, how can her apartment be so perfectly, pristinely styled and her clothes continue to be bad regardless of which body she’s in?
- Yes, she said “hulk smashed” and “hulk out,” which kind of feel like things that are in the scripts so that people will go “Ooh, she said the thing!” (I liked “jolly green yourself” more anyway.)
- The most genuinely stressful moment in this episode is Jen being a very bad driver while obsessing over her phone.
- I’m not one of those who’s desperate for our buddy Matty Murdock to show up, but I do think it’s weird that the teasers started to make more and more a Thing of it and yet it has not happened. There are only two episodes to go!
Molly Templeton lives and writes in Oregon, and spends as much time as possible in the woods. Sometimes she talks about books on Twitter.
I’m willing to believe Blonsky has sincerely reformed. I was half-expecting the group to attack Jen when she de-Hulked (or should the opposite of “Hulked out” be “Jenned in”?), but since they didn’t, I think they were on the level all along. There’s nothing suspicious about a retreat up in the hills having lousy cell service. Heck, just the other day I couldn’t get cell service in a park I visited, even though I was just a few hundred feet from the road. (And I barely get a cell signal in my apartment unless I go through my wifi, which is part of why I still have a land line.)
I still expect the Leader to turn out to be behind the Intelligencia, as he was one of its leaders (fittingly) in the comics, along with MODOK.
Of the therapy group characters, the Marvel Wiki tells me that the Porcupine originated as an Ant-Man/Wasp villain in 1963; Saracen is a Blade villain; El Aguila is a generally heroic mutant who originated in Power Man and Iron Fist; and Man-Bull originated as a Daredevil villain. And I’ve never heard of any of them before, as far as I recall. Nice to see the show continuing John Byrne’s tradition of having She-Hulk encounter the Marvel Universe’s most obscure and silly characters.
@2 Aw man….I know most of these villains (and was a bit disappointed they didn’t include Stilt-Man), and bought a couple of first appearances…..(Though, it’s most a matter of writer treatment if a character is silly or scary; swap Man Bull over to the horror side and I bet he could be extremely terrifying….).
I quite enjoyed Blonsky being reformed. I could also buy that he be a villain again. I think there’s a great deal of fun playing with tropes in the will-he-or-won’t-he vein, which you can’t do in the comics, because of the endless stories nature of publishing. I’d be happy if it’s a true reformation, and I’d be happy with a masquerade, as long as it’s well written.
I think a lot of folks are baffled by the circular storytelling nature of the series (the series tend to orbit around the central theme, taking glimpses of it from various angles and perspectives, as opposed to a more linear rising conflict/climax/resolution), but I think it suits the themes and approach of the series.
@2/gwangung: Oh, yes, a Stilt-Man appearance would be really cool.
I’ll cop to recognizing all the bad guys except Saracen — and loved that Porcupine was a dead-on recreation of the comic-book version, costume-wise.
(And was pleased to see Don Heck get a “thanks” in the closing credits.
I found myself thinking that we didn’t really need to see the “No Service” phone message hovering on the screen, since it was obvious from her actions that she wasn’t getting a signal. I guess every cinematic device that starts out being innovative and clever ends up becoming routine and overused eventually.
I loved this episode. And not just because one of my favorite comic characters, Porcupine, is now part of the MCU. The off-kilter support group was great. And after teasing through the entire episode that the threat might be Blonsky and his superheroes from the Island of Misfit Toys, it turned out the danger to Jen came from a completely different direction. Great acting all around, especially from Maslany and Roth.
@3 If there was a cross company team up for cinematic universes, Stilt Man and Kite Man would be a natural….
I enjoyed the therapy group, which felt like it could have been taken straight from an episode of Venture Brothers.
I knew all the new guys except Saracen (but I never really followed Blade). I wish Porcupine had been a bit more impressive, though– he had a decent battle suit in the comics, if not up to Iron Man standards.
My brain is struggling with the fact that Porcupine has appeared in the MCU, after years of his being my go-to D-list-at-best Marvel villain. I think my first encounter with him was in a Roy Thomas X-Men issue that I prefer to call Count Nefaria and the Team-Up of Rubbish Villains, where we’re meant to be enthralled that he’s got four henchmen coming out with things like “Ha-ha, X-Men, do you not remember me? I got beaten by the Human Torch that one time!”
I truly have no idea why there’s so much hate for this show. I admit that I genuinely found several things about the first episode clunky and cringy, some dialogue that I felt very unfairly downplayed Bruce’s struggles over the years and then Jen seemed FAR too easily able to integrate with her Hulk; and the way that she got her powers was also questionable to me.
That being said, right from the get go of episode 2 I felt that the show suddenly got much better with its choices and actually started becoming funny. It was like the writers needed to rip the bandaid to get us to where Jen needs to be for the rest of the season to progress more naturally
@11/Dave: The first episode didn’t downplay Bruce’s struggles, it just didn’t downplay the struggles that women in our society face every day in real life. It’s not like one precludes the other. It’s not a competition. It just means they faced the same challenges to their self-control in different ways.
As for the way she got her powers, it comes from the comics that she got them from receiving a blood transfusion from Bruce. They just simplified how the blood transfer happened. Though I agree it did take effect implausibly quickly.
I knew all the obscure Marvel characters at the retreat except for Saracen and cannot believe I’ve seen live-action incarnations of them — but probably shouldn’t be surprised by now, especially given all the DC characters dredged up in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. El Águila has been a fave since I got his debut off the spinner rack; any remotely positive Hispanic and/or Jewish representation hit close to home and thrilled me as a kid.
@10. cap-mjb: “Count Nefaria and the Team-Up of Rubbish Villains”
Ha! I happened to re-read that X-Men issue just recently. Even the editorial asides played up how esoteric Nefaria’s recruits were (relative to the mere few years of Marvel’s renaissance at that point).
I would definitely be up for a Stilt-Man appearance. He figured into an issue of Captain America and the Falcon with a memorable cover I’ve always loved that was among my earliest comics.
She did say she was never going to wear what he made for her. I assume she will break it out for the finale.
@14/David Pirtle: “She did say she was never going to wear what he made for her.”
No, she said she would never wear the super-suit he made for her, because she’s not interested in becoming a superhero. The main reason she went to him was so he could make everyday outfits that would grow or shrink with her.
This episode was hard to watch in part because I couldn’t let my guard down – I kept waiting for Emil’s group to attack her or ambush her once she finally got her guard down.. I’m hoping they were genuine, although I still feel like they might have orchestrated it for some other long con. But I love redemption arcs, and I would also feel horrible for Jen that yet another group of people led her on. (Booo Josh…it really is a special kind of insidious to not just worm your way into somebody’s affections and, at least for me, to get me to sleep with them under false pretenses like that would be really upsetting).
I am so glad I didn’t date online, though – I couldn’t deal with all the ghosting and agonizing over the ‘right’ thing to text or when. I didn’t think what she texted was THAT bad, and I’m really bad with those kinds of unspoken social games.
I do think it was kind of funny how Saracen was so obsessed with the idea that he wanted her blood, which of course…is what he wanted. I liked the therapy scenes, although one thing that didn’t totally sit well with me was how they were playing her reaction to Wrecker. I understand that within the context of a group therapy/anger management/conflict resolution skills group it makes sense, but it still felt a bit like telling a victim they shouldn’t be so mad. I’d like to think he’s reformed (although I wouldn’t be so sure) but she really has no reason other than his word to believe him.
Potentially a minority opinion, but I’m glad they are holding out on Daredevil. I don’t want the show to be taken over by that. I haven’t watched the Netflix show, so I’m really watching the show for Jen.
@@@@@ 16 I am watching the show for Jen too, but you really should watch at least the first season of the Netflix DD!
There is an amazing scene early on in the season where DD goes to save a kid from the Russian mafia. It’s basically a 5 minute fight scene in a hallway that is filmed as if it is one long shot (though I’m sure there are a couple well placed edits in there). I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you say you aren’t a big fan of fight scenes but this one is shot so beautifully it truly is a piece of art! Seriously one of the best fight scenes I’ve ever seen!
Also, Matt’s Catholicism is a huge part of his character both in the comics and in the show.
After thinking about it, I am certain that the Wrecker cannot actually be reformed, because he did not confess to Jen that he had been working for someone that wanted her blood.
I just rewatched the part where the Saracen actually said that maybe Josh wanted some of Jen’s blood (deliberate foreshadowing!), and there’s a brief few moments of Wrecker’s reaction shot. It’s a little hard to describe, but I think there’s some guilt in there.
My current suspicion is that the retreat was Plan B if Josh had failed to get what the shadowy overboss wanted from Jen’s blood, and a second sample was needed. But shadowy overboss did get what they wanted, and told Emil to play it cool and treat Jen nicely.
@18/Owlmirror: I’m sticking with my belief that Emil and the others are sincere in their reform, and our suspicions about him and the focus group were a misdirect from the real culprit, Josh. I’m an optimist, and I want to believe reform is possible. And since these characters are unlikely to keep showing up in MCU productions on a regular basis like comic-book supervillains do, that means it’s feasible to let them genuinely reform and have it stick.
I’m having trouble accepting Jen is such a wimp. She’s a successful lawyer, she has a great social circle, she’s obviously used to being in charge, but they play her as this meek little lamb. The wedding stuff truly annoyed me that she just rolled over when the bridezilla made her crazy demands. Clear the tables? Do the mens laundry? Heck no!! I don’t know if I’m out of the ordinary but I’m surrounded by women of all kinds in my life and every one of them would have just dropped the shirts on the floor and given a “nope, not happening” attitude. I just want to give Jen a talking to about letting everyone walk all over her. It’s an old sitcom trope that needs to be forgotten. I really don’t understand the whole hideous wardrobe for Jen either. Her apartment shows great taste and yet her wardrobe is “dressed in the dark in a hurry”. I worked in the court system for years and every female lawyer (solicitor and barrister here) dressed well. Not flashy, but well.
I can see why people are critical of the show. It’s not powerful enough to be a good drama and not funny enough to be a sitcom. It’s being too safe in the writing and trying to make a point about how badly women are treated in the workplace and in general rather than playing on the dichotomy of two wildly different sides of the same person.
I am enjoying the show but am sometimes finding the B story much more interesting. The writers seem to have fun with the side characters much more than they do with the main one. I just wish they would have pulled the stops out a bit more.
@20 Actually….I don’t think Jen has had visible successful as a lawyer before becoming She Hulk. Remember, she began the show as the lead of one of her first big case, and ended getting fired—not for her legal work, but for what she was. That’s not the sign of a hugely successful lawyer. Competent, yes, but not a star; you don’t fire your stars for something not their fault. And certainly a successful lawyer would not be unemployable if let go.
That suggests to me that she’s underperforming as a lawyer and that she can be far more prominent than she is. That lawyer of the year nomination is, I think, BECAUSE she is She-Hulk, and is yet another unearned bit of success in her head..
There are other possibilities besides the group being all on the level or a big conspiracy. Wrecker could have infiltrated the group for his own ends, or Blonsky could be playing all of them.
It kinda bothers me that I had to watch Jen essentially get raped – deceived into having sex with a man who only wanted to hurt her – and then obsess about a guy. If this is supposed to be a feel-good feminist show they super missed.
Y’know, I have to agree with Allie @23 above. I merrily piled on the geeky comic-book reveries yet neglected to join the chorus ranging from predictable disappointment to abject horror at Josh’s and Jen’s respective activities this episode — but, while there may be more twists to come, it warrants calling out that my wife and I aren’t comfortable sharing this series with our mid-teen daughters. Not because of Jen’s dating activity per se or the morning-after glow and hint of sideboob in bed or even her unfortunate boilerplate rom-com behavior; I just feel sad that a versatile performance by as winning a talent as Tatiana Maslany has been in service of a very muddied approach to female empowerment.
In addition to the actual show, of which I’m quite fond, I’ve been enjoying hunting for the easter eggs in each episode. The nod to long-time She-Hulk writer Dan Slott in this episode was nice – the name of the towing company combined with the name of the tow-truck driver near the end of the episode.