She-Hulk: Attorney at Law – Is This Not Real Magic? review S1 E4

It might have taken three episodes and specifically a different writer, but this episode finally reached the potential of a She-Hulk series.

Since the series is clearly fine being another frolicking carefree addition to Phase 4, the episodes need to actually just embrace the absurd and have fun with outlandish concepts.

That’s handled by Donny Blaze (Rhys Coiro), a drop out from Kamar-Taj, who’s using some bootleg spells for his otherwise lackluster magic act. Donny is a clever play on the original Ghost Rider’s alter ego Johnny Blaze.

Fortunately, he’s got a great hype man in Cornelius P. Willows to keep him motivated enough to use his summoning ring to transport volunteers to various places and dimensions.

The latest, Madisynn, ends up at Kamar-Taj in Wong’s living room prompting Wong to hire Jen to issue a cease and desist to Donny. Jen’s case isn’t looking good as Donny’s showmanship and Madisynn’s unintentionally damning stint on the witness delays the cease and desist.

Frustrated by her professional setback, Jen’s Matcher profile isn’t any better and decides to switch it up by setting up a She-Hulk profile. Naturally this leads to a lot more interesting potential suitors, including Arthur (Michel Curiel), a nice doctor that actually isn’t self-absorbed.

Before Jen can take this further, Wong interrupts. Donny’s latest show unleased a swarm of demon bats and he needs her help. This is the kind of ridiculous scenario that works perfectly for She-Hulk. It’s silly, wild and ideally suited for a character capable of handling her own in any situation.

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The quality of She-Hulk’s animation is wildly inconsistent at some points even during an episode. Thankfully, the fight CGI sequences look good without the hazy softness of other scenes.

Writer Melissa Hunter doesn’t waste time monologuing why men are lame or trash largely electing to have the loser dudes out themselves without “helpful” commentary from Jen.

Hunter makes Jen more relatable by going with the ultimate catfish on her dating profile because she’s feeling insecure. And is predictably — in a good way in this case — disappointed when that hot hook up doesn’t carry over when she turns back to Jen.

Jen’s audience conversations are more fun as well this episode with a playfulness to the dialogue that was previously lacking. There was a fun Easter Egg with Jen’s to-do list referencing Lee vs. Byrne, a nod to former Marvel artist extraordinaire Jim Lee and popular She-Hulk writer/artist John Byrne.

And now that she’s released from prison, Titania is going after Jen in a different way — through the legal system. I’m still not loving this take on Titania at all, but this wrinkle could be interesting. The post-credit scene with Madisynn and Wong is so goofy I’m hoping this isn’t the last we see of this duo.

By far the series’ best episode, is This Not Real Magic? hopefully signals a change in the direction that allows the scenarios to bring the humor instead of forcing bad subplots and tired cliches.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Photo Credit: Disney