SNEAKO - Why SHE HULK Is My New Favorite Show!

00:00:00.000 This is, uh, She-Hulk, a lesson in terrible writing. 0.83

00:00:03.320 Like a lot of people, I tuned in to the first episode of She-Hulk last week with,

00:00:10.760 how can I put this, somewhat modest expectations.

00:00:14.860 Basically, I expected the show to be just another lazy Marvel TV product,

00:00:19.800 written and shot as quickly and cheaply as possible to keep the content sludgepipe flowing,

00:00:24.600 with lame attempts at witty humor and an extra large helping of complaints 0.99

00:00:28.320 about how generally awful and stupid men are and well that's exactly what we got and i think one 0.98

00:00:34.400 particular scene towards the end of the first episode pretty much encapsulates everything the 0.99

00:00:39.200 writers wanted to accomplish with this show i'm great at controlling my anger i do it all the time

00:00:45.040 when i'm catcalled in the street okay that makes no sense if you were great at controlling your

00:00:49.520 anger you wouldn't be hulk that's the whole point of the superhero is that he can't control his

00:00:55.200 anger and then he turns into the hulk and incompetent men explain my own area of expertise

00:01:00.320 to me because if i don't i will get called emotional or difficult or i might just literally

00:01:07.300 get murdered so i'm an expert controlling my anger because i do it infinitely more than you 0.71

00:01:13.720 you serious oh no this is actually jideon's favorite movie he called me up yesterday and

00:01:20.480 Bro, She-Hulk? This is the first movie that wasn't toxic in a long time.

00:01:24.780 My goodness, whatever could they be trying to tell me here?

00:01:28.260 Now, as tempting as it is to sit and mock She-Hulk for its awful writing,

00:01:32.460 cringey dialogue, flaccid CGI, heavy-handed gender politics,

00:01:37.280 amateur acting, nonsensical editing, and terrible pacing,

00:01:40.960 but don't worry, I'll come back to that in another video.

00:01:43.720 Believe that!

00:01:44.920 I actually wanted to use this show for something positive for a change.

00:01:48.480 Because the more I think about it, the more I realise it's basically a textbook example of how not to structure a story and how not to develop a protagonist.

00:01:57.720 So why not turn it into a bit of a learning experience for all of us?

00:02:01.680 Grab your pens and notebooks, dear viewer, because it's schooling time!

00:02:05.760 Now, as hard as it may be to believe, it is actually possible to make Jen's infamous rant function in context.

00:02:12.780 But the-

00:02:13.040 I'm great at controlling my anger!

00:02:15.060 Problem with this episode is twofold.

00:02:17.460 One, it doesn't actually show us any of the things she's complaining about

00:02:21.260 and two, it fails to establish Jen as a sympathetic, likable character that we care about.

00:02:27.140 The writers wanted a big emotional payoff with this scene

00:02:30.040 but they were either unable or unwilling to give us the setup that it needs to work.

00:02:34.540 So let's explore how and why they failed and how they could have done it better.

00:02:38.500 The problem is beginning the very first scene

00:02:40.460 where Jen's rehearsing a speech that she's about to give in court

00:02:43.380 and her two co-workers are

00:02:44.860 Mansplainer, right?

00:02:46.100 listening in.

00:02:46.860 Now naturally her female companion is positively brimming with praise

00:02:51.140 And the other guy's mansplainer right, that's the premise of the movie

00:02:53.780 I mean this girl just can't say enough good things about her

00:02:56.560 To the point where

00:02:57.280 Basically woman good, man bad 1.00

00:02:58.980 Where it becomes almost uncomfortable to watch

00:03:01.380 But pay attention to this scene 007

00:03:03.860 Because this is the very first time we meet our protagonist

00:03:06.400 It's the first chance we get to assess her demeanor

00:03:09.040 Her personality, her mannerisms and even her work environments

00:03:12.980 This is where the writers need to establish her as someone likable 0.99

00:03:16.500 Someone relatable, someone the audience can become invested in

00:03:20.420 But how to do this?

00:03:21.900 Do they give her razor-sharp dialogue? 1.00

00:03:24.120 A witty, fun, charming personality that you can't help but warm to?

00:03:28.220 Maybe work in a few little flaws, insecurities 1.00

00:03:30.740 No, she just acts like a cunt 1.00

00:03:32.180 And shortcomings to make her more human and relatable 1.00

00:03:34.760 Nope, they just have another character straight up tell us how amazing and smart and capable she is 0.99

00:03:40.320 She's fierce, she's a girl boss, she's crushing it 1.00

00:03:43.540 The script doesn't trust the audience to form their own opinions about this character

00:03:47.260 so it just straight up tells you what to think about her.

00:03:50.440 She's great because we say so, okay?

00:03:52.720 Don't question us!

00:03:54.080 This kind of thing is a hallmark of weak, insecure writers

00:03:57.280 who don't have confidence in their own work

00:03:59.500 and it's happening more and more in Marvel projects these days.

00:04:02.960 Like Maria in Captain Marvel who feels the need to tell the audience

00:04:06.240 that Carol Danvers is funny and crazy and kind

00:04:09.080 despite the movie showing us the exact opposite.

00:04:11.700 Or Luki telling his female counterpart how 0.97

00:04:41.700 that this is the most successful fucking movie franchise of all time how amazing she is because 0.99

00:04:45.620 otherwise we might not figure it out for ourselves you did it on your own you ran rings around you're 0.97

00:04:51.120 amazing this is not how writing is supposed to work the only voice of contention in the room

00:04:57.240 comes courtesy of a man but that's okay because he's quickly silenced and sent away with his tail

00:05:02.080 between his legs yep it's a marvel show all right but let's take a step back from that

00:05:07.320 And think what this does for Jen's character development

00:05:14.560 And that all-important scene later in the episodes

00:05:17.440 What it tells me is that Jen is already firmly in control of her life 1.00

00:05:21.320 Her work environment and the people around her

00:05:23.820 She's able to quickly and easily deal with objections

00:05:26.480 Dissenting voices and challenges to her authority

00:05:29.200 That's a good thing, right?

00:05:31.320 Well, not really

00:05:32.140 Keep in mind the conversation later in the episode

00:05:34.560 where she complains about men constantly questioning her judgement, holding her back

00:05:38.840 and generally making her life so difficult that she has to constantly hold in the rage that builds inside her.

00:05:44.580 That's telling us one thing, but the episode itself is showing us the exact opposite.

00:05:49.460 She easily deflects her male colleagues' doubts and sends him on his way without the least difficulty

00:05:54.060 and there's no indication that she's even particularly bothered by it.

00:05:57.800 If anything, she seems mildly amused by the whole thing.

00:06:00.720 She just blows him off and then gets right back to being showered with praise and adoration. 1.00

00:06:05.460 And this is a real wasted opportunity to develop sympathy towards the character.

00:06:11.080 Imagine this same scene where Jen recites her big elaborate closing argument, 1.00

00:06:15.080 only for her more senior male partner to overrule her and flatly state that he's the one who's going to be delivering it.

00:06:21.280 He might be superficially polite and consoling,

00:06:23.980 maybe even giving her half-hearted platitudes like she's just not ready for this yet,

00:06:28.000 but there's a more threat and an undertone to his voice so that we know exactly what he's doing and

00:06:32.400 why. We get to see her excitement and enthusiasm turn into crushing disappointment as she realizes

00:06:39.140 she's being held back from yet another opportunity. Now imagine how much more sympathy you'd feel

00:06:44.340 towards her as a character. I mean, nobody likes to see good people getting crushed and sidelined

00:06:49.340 and instinctively you'd want to see her succeed. Now imagine how much more impact her rant later

00:06:54.740 in the episode would have if we actually saw the negative impact of what she describes but no the

00:07:00.500 writers were so desperate to have their first girl boss moment right off the bat that they had to

00:07:04.720 make this a quick and easy victory for jennifer it's just so obvious what the like you could

00:07:09.160 always tell nowadays with these movies what the agenda of the scene is exactly what you're

00:07:14.700 supposed to feel who's good who's bad yeah what are you gonna tell me but i'm a strong independent

00:07:21.380 woman and you can't tell me anything it's just we know from the first the attitude the way they

00:07:26.300 close the door it's very predictable movies back in the day movies used to have storylines they

00:07:30.100 both used to be engaged not know where it's gonna go but people go to movies now to feel right and

00:07:35.480 feel a moral sense of justice just like they do online it's really reflected the new nature of

00:07:41.060 social media where people are canceling to get on their moral high ground these movies now are all 0.99

00:07:45.080 moral high ground this it's you know what the fuck you're walking into when you see she hulk 0.98

00:07:49.120 The scene feels more like them projecting their own personal gripes, frustrations and 0.99

00:08:04.000 hang-ups followed by the fantasy resolution they wish they could have had themselves rather

00:08:08.380 than a logical component of a bigger narrative.

00:08:11.460 It was more important for them to score a quick, eagle-stroking win rather than take

00:08:15.320 the smarter option that would deliver bigger and more satisfying payoffs later. And unfortunately,

00:08:20.660 that's a common thread in this show. Like in the next scene where Jennifer and Bruce are involved

00:08:25.020 in a car wreck. Bruce gets knocked unconscious in the crash and Jen's forced to drag him from 0.62

00:08:29.520 the wreckage and in the process, some of his blood mixes with hers and she turns into the Hulk. 0.97

00:08:35.900 Now imagine for a moment how much more impactful this scene might have been if Bruce had been the

00:08:40.400 one to survive the crash and Jennifer had been badly injured instead. So bad in fact,

00:08:45.120 that conventional medical science could do nothing more for her.

00:08:48.320 Faced with a difficult choice, Bruce reluctantly gives her a blood transfusion,

00:08:52.340 saving her life at the cost of her humanity by turning her into a Hulk.

00:08:56.420 That would open up a lot of pretty interesting possibilities for their relationship.

00:09:00.440 On the one hand, Jennifer would be rightly pissed that Bruce performed an invasive

00:09:03.940 and life-altering medical procedure without her consent,

00:09:07.060 and now she has to live with the long-term consequences.

00:09:10.040 And on the other, you could have Bruce wracked with guilt that he basically ruined her life,

00:09:13.800 But also defiant because he ultimately took the difficult decision needed to keep her alive

00:09:18.440 That could result in a lot of conflict

00:09:20.400 But also a lot of very emotionally satisfying scenes between the two of them

00:09:24.380 But all of that would require time and effort to develop

00:09:27.240 Probably over multiple episodes

00:09:29.160 And it's all just so much work

00:09:32.100 It would also mean putting their protagonist at a bit of a disadvantage

00:09:35.360 Albeit temporarily

00:09:36.840 And needing the help of a man to get her out of trouble 0.97

00:09:39.420 And that's not allowed in modern Marvel writing

00:09:41.680 Because it goes against

00:09:43.000 the rules they couldn't have their creation lying helpless and injured on the ground

00:09:48.620 they were repulsed at the end wl our movies now propaganda most of these movies just look like

00:09:54.240 feminist propaganda that you're supposed to believe in it seems like they're pushing an 1.00

00:09:58.560 agenda it's very political even superhero movies which is supposed to be fun and wild

00:10:03.140 all of them are really pushing this idea that we all see it right in front of our face it seems

00:10:08.540 like the news it's not just art they're trying to tell you something believe this this is the

00:10:15.220 right opinion what happened to art idea of a strong man pulling her from the wreckage and

00:10:21.040 making important decisions about her future without her inputs and so just like the opening

00:10:25.740 scene that could have been the setup for a satisfying emotional payoff later they instead

00:10:30.220 took the short-sighted option and went for a quick easy and cheap win of course jen doesn't 1.00

00:10:35.520 need brucey's help of course she wrenches a buckled car door open despite that being almost

00:10:40.420 impossible for any human without heavy cutting equipment of course she carries his unconscious

00:10:45.060 body away from the wreck despite him weighing 50 or 60 pounds more than her she's awesome she's a 1.00

00:10:50.460 boss she's killing it like she always does and it's only because of this weak dumb like they 1.00

00:10:55.320 didn't write this movie to have an original story that was supposed to be unique and different and 0.99

00:11:00.660 try to showcase this actress they made this movie to make feminists feel good that's why 1.00

00:11:06.500 do we need to keep watching his injured body that she happens to get some of his blood on her 0.99

00:11:11.360 what a selfish arsehole anyway so she hulks out and wakes up sometime later in the bushes outside 1.00

00:11:17.040 a bar in the middle of nowhere and after staggering into the bathroom she immediately 0.99

00:11:21.200 encounters a group of comically helpful women who slather her in makeup force her into some 1.00

00:11:25.780 cheap clothes and send her on her way, only for her to run into a group of evil men outside.

00:11:30.920 I mean, I assume they're evil because that's clearly what the writer wants us to think.

00:11:36.080 The problem is that they don't really do anything all that bad. I mean, they show some mild interest

00:11:40.860 in Jen, who's clearly not interested, and when they persist, she hulks up and almost kills all 0.99

00:11:45.940 of them. And it's only the intervention of Bruce at the last second that saves their lives.

00:11:50.540 And that's it. The big payoff here is Jen scaring the crap out of a bunch of dude bros who normally 1.00

00:11:55.200 would have been scary and intimidating to her, and whose only real crime was being a

00:11:59.440 bit too forwards.

00:12:00.640 Now, take a moment to think about this for what it really is, a logical building block

00:12:05.240 of a larger story. Think about how much more impactful this might have been if it had happened

00:12:09.660 earlier in the episode, before Jen's transformation. Imagine she was making her way-

00:12:14.320 I'm just not interested in the show at all and I can't believe the guy in this video

00:12:17.640 watched this whole thing. I think I'm done with this video. Yeah, we get the point. This

00:12:22.000 Show, movie, sucks. 1.00

00:12:30.720 That's it. 1.00

00:12:31.300 Is this your job?

SNEAKO - September 10, 2022

Why SHE HULK Is My New Favorite Show!

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