"The Retreat" | |
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She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode | |
Episode no. | Episode 7 |
Directed by | Anu Valia |
Written by | Zeb Wells |
Cinematography by | Doug Chamberlain |
Editing by | Stacey Schroeder |
Original release date | September 29, 2022 |
Running time | 35 minutes |
Cast | |
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"The Retreat" is the seventh episode of the American television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law , based on Marvel Comics featuring the character She-Hulk. It follows Jennifer Walters as she spends a day at Emil Blonsky's wellness retreat and begins to embrace She-Hulk. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Zeb Wells and directed by Anu Valia.
Tatiana Maslany stars as Walters, alongside Ginger Gonzaga and Tim Roth (Blonsky). Valia joined the series by December 2020 to direct multiple episodes.
"The Retreat" was released on Disney+ on September 29, 2022.
Jennifer Walters goes on several dates with Josh, but he disappears and seemingly ghosts her after they sleep together. While anticipating a text from him, she receives a call from Emil Blonsky's parole officer Chuck Donelan who informs her that the inhibitor that stops Blonsky from turning into Abomination is broken and that he wants her to accompany him to Blonsky's spiritual retreat Summer Twilight to check on him.
Chuck found that Blonsky's inhibitor suffered a glitch as Donelan fixes it. When Donelan leaves, Man-Bull and El Águila accidentally destroy her car during their scuffle, forcing her to stay there until it can be towed away by an approaching tow truck. Despite the retreat lacking internet and cell coverage, Walters continues to nervously await a response from Josh.
She attends a group therapy session with Blonsky, Man-Bull, El Águila, Porcupine, Saracen, and Wrecker of the Wrecking Crew (who Jen remembers from the attack on her). Jen is convinced to delete Josh's contact information and let go of her feelings towards him. She does so while riding a tow truck back to town.
Three days earlier, Josh secretly cloned Jen's phone and stole a sample of her blood on behalf of "HulkKing" after sleeping with her.
In August 2019, Marvel Studios announced that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was being developed for the streaming service Disney+. [1] [2] By December 2020, Anu Valia was hired to direct three episodes, including the seventh. [3] [4] Executive producers include Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Brad Winderbaum, in addition to lead director Kat Coiro, and head writer Jessica Gao. [2] The seventh episode, titled "The Retreat", [5] was written by Zeb Wells, [6] and was released on Disney+ on September 29, 2022. [7]
Gao explained that when developing the series, they created the story of what Emil Blonsky's retreat would look like, describing it as "kind of a rehabilitation center... and therapy circle" for lesser-known villains; these included Wrecker, Man-Bull, El Aguila, Saracen, and Porcupine. Gao explained these choices as ones that were "weirdo characters" with distinctive looks from the comics that "also had kind of enough of a strange theme to them" to create a group that contributed to "organized chaos". [8] A number of other characters were also consider, such as Stilt-Man, Matador, [9] and Varnae, [10] but Porcupine was included from the beginning because the creatives all were enthused about his look from the comics and how that would be a positive for the series. Valia added that the theory circle in the episode's second act was "so different than what you're used to" from a Marvel Cinematic Universe project. [8]
The episode stars Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk, Ginger Gonzaga as Nikki Ramos, and Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky. [11] Also starring are Nick Gomez as Wrecker, [11] Justin Eaton as Thunderball, [12] : 30:27 Trevor Salter as Josh Miller, [11] Nathan Hurd as Man-Bull, Joseph Castillo-Midyett as El Aguila, Terrence Clowe as Saracen, [13] John Piruccello as Chuck Donelan, [14] and Jordan Aaron Ford as Porcupine. [13]
Filming occurred at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, [15] with Valia directing the episode, [4] and Doug Chamberlain serving as cinematographer. [16] : 1 Discussing the episode's opening montage showing Walters and Miller going on their dates, Valia said she tried to capture the "excitement [that] this could be something" between them and to show the "subtlety of dating, and how vulnerable you are when you're dating". All elements of the montage were filmed over a few days with Valia trying to "uncomplicate" the material. Some of what was shot was Maslany and Salter driving in the car, with Valia choosing to sit in the backseat to film them; the intimacy of this filming with just the three of them made Valia, who has also directed indie films, feel as though "we were shooting a different film or something". [17] Valia said filming the end of the episode where it is shown that Miller captures footage of Walters in bed without her knowledge was "incredibly uncomfortable". [18]
Visual effects for the series were created by Digital Domain, Wylie Co., Trixter, Cantina Creative, FuseFX, SDFX Studio, Capital T, Keep Me Posted, and Lightstage. [19] [12] : 31:35–31:56
The following songs are featured in the episode: "Now I'm in It" by Haim, "MMMBop" by Hanson, [14] "Peppers and Onion" by Tierra Whack, [12] : 32:08 and "IDGAF" by Dua Lipa. [14]
A QR code was included in the episode that allowed viewers to access a free digital copy of Tales to Astonish #48, the first appearance of Porcupine. [20] After the episode's release, Marvel announced merchandise inspired by the episode as part of its weekly "Marvel Must Haves" promotion for each episode of the series, including necklaces, shirts, and other accessories. [21]
According to market research company Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law ranked as the third most in-demand series during this period among the top breakout shows, which are defined as the most in-demand series that have premiered in the past 100 days. It had a demand level of 32.3 times the average series for the week of October 1 - 7, 2022. The series experienced a growth in demand of less than 5% compared to the previous week. [22] Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screen, reported that it was the ninth-most watched original series across streaming services for the week of September 26 – October 2, 2022, with 396 million minutes watched. [23] Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the more than 21 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, calculated that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was the most-streamed original series in the U.S. for the week ending October 2, 2022. [24]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 84% approval rating with an average rating of 7.50/10, based on 19 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Jennifer Walters finds herself in the company of D-list villains in an A-tier She-Hulk installment, with a goofy setup that leads to some profound revelations." [25]
Lacy Baugher at Den of Geek gave the episode 4 stars out of 5, stating Blonsky's return "manages to feel like an organic part of the show's larger story" while the "weirdo combination" of characters at the retreat were "strangely charming" in a sequence that was "genuinely funny". [5] Writing for The A.V. Club , Mary Kate Carr said "The Retreat" was "a perfectly pleasant episode", giving it a "B+". [14] Alex Stedman at IGN said the episode was "one of She-Hulk's stronger episodes" with "a needed refresh" before the final few episodes. Particularly, she felt Maslany was "a perfect rom-com lead" during the opening dating montage, enjoyed the continued use of lesser-known characters for the mainstream audience to discover, and felt the mid-episode "previously on" was the series' "best uses of its fourth-wall-breaking yet". The group therapy scene was "fantastic" according to Stedman, with "one of the most emotionally resonant moments for Jen yet" which allowed Maslany to have her best acting moment of the series so far; she gave the episode an 8 out of 10. [26]
Some reviewers found it odd that Walters was receiving emotional support from a group of men she does not know, rather than someone like Ramos or Augustus Pugliese, previously established characters shown to be her close friends. [11] [5] Reviewers also took issue with the final scene, particularly for it being disturbing and unsettling, and the fact that Miller took a non-consensual nude photo of Walters as she was sleeping. [11] [5] [14] Collider 's Amin Arezou, who gave the episode a "C+", said the episode "began to go off the rails" during the group therapy session, and felt the moment of Walters' acceptance between her two selves was "soured by the final scene" since it presented "a very real sort of horror" many females fear when first meeting a stranger, adding she did not feel the writers would have realized this scene could be horrifying to some audience members. [11] Regarding the final scene, Baugher said it "takes an uncomfortable turn from uncomfortable and sadly disappointing to outright disturbing" and hoped the conversations around the episode would not "skip over what a violation those last few moments truly are" given "being photographed while vulnerable in that way... is an all-too-real threat to many women"; [5] both Arezou and Baugher hoped the final two episodes of the series would address and deal with this moment. [11] [5]
The Abomination is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Gil Kane, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #90. He is one of the main enemies of the superhero Hulk, and possesses powers similar to his after also being exposed to gamma rays.
She-Hulk is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, the character first appeared in The Savage She-Hulk #1. Walters is a lawyer who, after an assassination attempt, received an emergency blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner, and acquired a milder version of his Hulk condition. As such, Walters becomes a large, powerful, green-hued version of herself. Unlike Banner in his Hulk form, Walters largely retains her normal personality in her She-Hulk form, in particular the majority of her intelligence and emotional control. Furthermore, though she's much taller in her She-Hulk form, Walters's body mass is just as dense as that of her normal human self. In any case, like Hulk, She-Hulk is still susceptible to outbursts of anger and becomes much stronger when enraged. In later series, her transformation is permanent, and she often breaks the fourth wall for humorous effect and running gags, as the first major Marvel character to do so frequently, ahead of the more famous fourth wall breaker Deadpool.
Tatiana Gabriele Maslany is a Canadian actress. She rose to prominence for playing multiple characters in the science-fiction thriller television series Orphan Black (2013–2017), which won her a Primetime Emmy Award (2016) and five Canadian Screen Awards (2014–2018). Maslany is the first Canadian to win an Emmy in a major dramatic category for acting in a Canadian series.
The Man-Bull is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
El Águila is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Mary Jo Duffy, Trevor Von Eeden, and Dave Cockrum, the character first appeared in Power Man and Iron Fist #58. El Águila belongs to the subspecies of humans called mutants who are born with superhuman abilities. He is a swordsman vigilante with the power of bio-electricity. He was originally an adversary of the superheroes Luke Cage and Iron Fist but became their ally over time.
Porcupine is the name used by two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics: Alexander Gentry, a weapons designer who uses his porcupine battlesuit in an attempt to become wealthy through crime, as one of the first costumed professional criminals of his generation, and Roger Gocking, a criminal who purchased the suit to commit crimes, before joining the Thunderbolts and reforming, joining Ben Urich and Jessica Drew as a private investigator, and as nanny to the latter's son Gerry, before eventually coming to date Jessica himself.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is an American television miniseries created by Jessica Gao for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character She-Hulk. It is the eighth television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It follows Jennifer Walters, a lawyer specializing in cases involving superhumans who also becomes the green superhero She-Hulk. Gao served as head writer and Kat Coiro led the directing team.
Matthew "Matt" Murdock is a fictional character primarily portrayed by Charlie Cox in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name—commonly known by his alias, Daredevil. In the MCU, Murdock is a lawyer by day who specializes in legal defense alongside his colleagues Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, while also aiding other superpowered individuals within New York City. He further pursues a personal crusade to inflict his own brand of justice at night, masquerading as a masked vigilante hoping to remove the corruption facing Hell's Kitchen following the Battle of New York from The Avengers (2012). Murdock is blind, which with training enabled him to develop his other senses to superhuman levels. His activities would eventually bring him into conflict with enemies such as businessman Wilson Fisk and the Hand organization in the process, the latter of which he combatted alongside the Defenders when they successfully resurrected and weaponized a former ally and lover from his past, Elektra Natchios. Following Fisk's defeat, Murdock returns to his law practice, successfully defending Peter Parker against criminal charges pressed against him as well as entering a romantic relationship with fellow superhuman lawyer Jennifer Walters.
Ginger Gonzaga is an American comedian and actress. Since coming to attention hosting Hulu's daily pop culture show The Morning After (2011–12), she has had numerous guest and recurring roles on television and has been in the main cast of such series as Mixology, Wrecked, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. She was a co-lead in the 2023 series True Lies, playing Helen Tasker.
Anu Valia is an American television and film director, writer, actress, and producer best known for writing and directing the short film Lucia, Before and After, which won the 2017 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Award.
Wong is a fictional character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name and portrayed by Benedict Wong. In the franchise, Wong is depicted as Dr. Stephen Strange's friend and fellow sorcerer, being a member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts. He is also granted the position of Sorcerer Supreme, succeeding the Ancient One.
"A Normal Amount of Rage" is the first episode of the American television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character She-Hulk. It follows Jennifer Walters, a lawyer who becomes the 6-foot-7-inch (2.01-meter) She-Hulk after her blood is accidentally cross-contaminated with her cousin Bruce Banner's. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by head writer Jessica Gao and directed by Kat Coiro.
"Superhuman Law" is the second episode of the American television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character She-Hulk. It follows lawyer Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk as she is hired to run the superhero law division of Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway (GLK&H), with her first case being to represent Emil Blonsky. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by head writer Jessica Gao and directed by Kat Coiro.
"The People vs. Emil Blonsky" is the third episode of the American television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character She-Hulk. It follows lawyer Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk as she tries to get her client, Emil Blonsky / Abomination, released from prison. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Francesca Gailes and Jacqueline J. Gailes, and directed by Kat Coiro.
"Is This Not Real Magic?" is the fourth episode of the American television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character She-Hulk. It follows lawyer Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk as she tries to begin dating. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Melissa Hunter and directed by Kat Coiro.
"Mean, Green, and Straight Poured into These Jeans" is the fifth episode of the American television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character She-Hulk. It follows lawyer Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk as she faces a lawsuit by Titania for the "She-Hulk" name. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Dana Schwartz and directed by Anu Valia.
"Just Jen" is the sixth episode of the American television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character She-Hulk. It follows Jennifer Walters as she attends her friend's wedding, in hopes of being appreciated for her accomplishments as Walters beyond those of She-Hulk's. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Kara Brown and directed by Anu Valia.
"Ribbit and Rip It" is the eighth episode of the American television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character She-Hulk. It follows Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk joining Matt Murdock / Daredevil in looking for a fashion designer who was kidnapped by one of Walters' clients. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Cody Ziglar and directed by Kat Coiro.
"Whose Show Is This?" is the ninth episode and series finale of the American television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character She-Hulk. It follows Jennifer Walters as she deals with the consequences of the previous episode while attempting to obtain information about Intelligencia. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by head writer Jessica Gao and directed by Kat Coiro.