Friday, September 09, 2022

She-Hulk 1X4: Dennis Bukowski is all of us

There's a repeating pattern in the first four episodes of She-Hulk. Whomever is made the butt of the joke in the odd numbered episodes, Jen becomes in the subsequent episode.

In the first cycle, Jen makes fun of Bruce, then becomes Bruce in the next episode. In the second and current cycle, Jen gleefully takes a huge dump on Dennis for believing that Megan Thee Stallion would date him, but Jen Walters can't even pull herself a mediocre date when she uses a similar dating app in episode 4. Not only that, but the date she does get is too interested in his phone to pay attention to the woman in front of him, and even skips out on paying for their drinks when he cuts their date short. While Dennis rates himself a 'New York 10, and an LA 11' Jen gets an impersonal, in her face (though not to her face) rating of '6, maybe'.

The point episode 4 raises is that everyone is as ridiculously self-entitled and delusional as Dennis, and this fantasy disappoints us when we wake up and see reality for what it is. Let's start with Jen. Seeing as she is having no joy matching anyone at all, she tries her luck using She-Hulk as her profile. Instant success! So many men think they have a shot at dating this fantasy woman, and the ones who do are treated with Jen/She-Hulk's subjective disdain. No one except this hunk of a doctor, who listens to her more than talks about himself piques her interest.

The rest of this episode's cast are living a fantasy too. Failing magician, Donny Blaze, aspires to create real magic. His meagre stint at Kamar-Taj has given him enough magic and a sling ring to do parlour tricks, though he is messing with powers he has no comprehension of. He unwittingly unleashes a demonic infestation, and only when confronted with the reality of how dangerous his powers are does he agree to at least abide by the terms of the injunction brought against him by Wong.

Wong's fantasy is more mundane. He wants to use American law to put an end to Donny Blaze's irresponsible use of real magic. Here we see the first indications that current laws that govern human behaviour are inadequate when governing superhuman activity. Actually, no. We already saw that in shapeshifter Runa's chaotic mockery of the legal process in the previous episode. And in any case, is Wong even entitled to bring a lawsuit against an American citizen? Because 1) is Wong an American citizen himself? and 2) isn't Wong a fugitive from the law for admitting to breaking Blonsky out of his secure facility? There's a difference between real entitlement and self-presumed entitlement.

As for She-Hulk's dream date, he is unbelievably patient when she is suddenly called to an emergency just when they are about to She-Hulk smash! He reads feminist literature while he waits. Such a dream. But when he wakes up and is confronted with the reality of the very human Jen Walters who has kindly made him breakfast, he's outta there. 'Hot doctor' turns out to be just a fantasy for Jen, as She-Hulk is for him.

It's possible that this fantasy theme extends to She-Hulk haters as well. Everyone thinks they understand She-Hulk (and Hulk) better. Everyone knows they can write a better screenplay, keeping better faith with the bi-syllabic monstrosity we all know and love. Everyone knows that they can write more compelling, even more "rousing" courtroom drama than Jessica Gao and her team can, and they even have their fanfics pinned to their refrigerator doors to prove it. But the reality is that it's not their scripts but Gao, et. al.'s they get to watch on DisneyPlus, which proves to be the most galling. This idea is summed up in the closing scene of this episode in which Titania is suing She-Hulk for the use of the 'She-Hulk' moniker as Titania claimed legal copyright over the name first. It's a way for the writers to break the 4th wall from our side to say that they may not be better writers, but Marvel picked their pitch first. Sorry, everyone else!

Madisynn brings quite a contrast to the other characters in this episode. She may be stoned and drunk out of her mind, but she is tuned into reality like no one else, having no fantasies of her own. Donny Blaze unintentionally sends her on this fantastic journey via the portal he opens, not caring what's on the other side, but she just goes along for the ride accepting the reality of all the bizarreness around her, even treating the pact she made with a demon so that she can go home as matter of fact. That she Netflix and chills with Wong later is oddly sweet. She makes no judgements about the company she keeps, and though she annoys him, Wong gives us a glimpse of his human side, watching TV with a date. They are the only couple in this episode who are really together, while the others, including Jen, are really only in it for themselves.