The 'She-Hulk' Finale Should Rewrite Its Own Rewrite
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law messed with fans the entire season. Do you want Daredevil? Wait until Episode Eight. Do you want a big Hulk-sized villain? Well, it's a guy named Todd Phelps. (Sort of). Instead, almost every character in the series returns, including Mark Ruffalo, for a scene of pure pandemonium. Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) stops She-Hulk dead in its tracks and says exactly what we're all thinking at home: "This can't possibly be where this season was going."
Ah, but it is. In fact, it goes even further. Breaking out of the Disney+ homepage and entering the writer's room, Jen's mission to rewrite her ending sends her to K.E.V.I.N., a supercomputer parody of Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, which is allegedly concocting this mess using an algorithm. She lambasts the tired Marvel formula, saying that other Hulks are taking her spotlight, and that a show about a female superhero who never even wanted powers was constantly being accosted by misogynistic assholes.
At no point is she wrong—the show did do all that to her—but it's hard to argue that this is the ending She-Hulk's most contemptuous critics deserve when this is what was planned to happen no matter what. By design, She-Hulk was not given agency over her show. We did not take that away from her. And still, what fans will likely walk away from the ending with is that Daredevil: Born Again couldn't come any sooner. (And neither could a Planet Hulk movie explaining how Hulk has a son?!)
If only She-Hulk could have rewritten her story from Episode One, she might have been given a better tale to tell for herself. You know, like almost all of Marvel's other heroes. Didn't we just leave Ms. Marvel—a show that was praised for taking on both Marvel's first Muslim superhero and the history of the partition of India? Maybe a female Hulk would have more to say than simply: "I never wanted any of this shit in the first place." She-Hulk definitely does in much of the source material written about her, especially after women were finally able to take the reigns on a character once reserved for sexy cartoon pin-ups and fourth-wall breaks criticizing censorship from Comics Code Authority.
At the same time, maybe gosh, this is silly, right? is all that's left for a character like Jennifer Walters after what She-Hulk decided to put her through. After almost fighting a chauvinistic Todd Hulk, choosing to be named "She-Hulk" when presented with the chance to change it, giving Jen a sex life but having two out of the three men be assholes (and one a relationship that certainly won't continue come Daredevil: Born Again)—the series made it incredibly tough for Jen, week to week, to tell her story. I would argue that there have been plenty of amazing stories written about Jen as a lawyer who helps people, a Hulk who seeks therapy, or a reluctant hero who still saves the day, because that's the right thing to do (with great power, etc.). But sure, let's do chaos instead.
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