SHE-HULK Writer Jessica Gao Says She "Really Struggled" With The Show's Divisive Season Finale

SHE-HULK Writer Jessica Gao Says She "Really Struggled" With The Show's Divisive Season Finale

The season finale of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law took a few unexpected twists and turns - not all of which were entirely successful - and writer Jessica Gao has now admitted to struggling with the episode.

News
By MarkCassidy - Nov 03, 2022 10:11 PM EST
Filed Under: She-Hulk

It's probably fair to say She-Hulk: Attorney at Law wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but even some viewers who were fully on board with the Disney+ show's particular brand of humor felt the recent season finale left a lot to be desired.

The episode built to an action-packed - if more than a little contrived - conclusion, with She-Hulk, Titania, Abomination, Smug Hulk (sorry, Bruce) and the villainous HulkKing all set to throw down. At this point, Jen decides that she doesn't want a predictable ending, and breaks the fourth wall by literally climbing through the Disney+ menu screen.

Walters makes her way to the Marvel Studios writer' room to demand an audience with Kevin Feige... only to discover that the mastermind behind the MCU is actually an artificial intelligence known as Knowledge Enhanced Visual Interconnectivity Nexus (or, K.E.V.I.N.)

After asking for an ending more in-keeping with the tone of the show, Jen was given a happier send-off with a family get-together involving Matt Murdock, her cousin, and his son, Skaar.

In the new episode of Marvel Studios: Assembled, She-Hulk head writer Jessica Gao admits that the team did struggle to come up with an appropriate ending for the finale.

"We really, really struggled with the finale. We started off doing a lot of versions of the finale that were much more just like straight and very, very Marvel movie, you know, and it just never felt right for us to just end in a big set piece fight, and take out the bad guy, and it just always felt like, ‘Oh, it’s a different show now.’"

Gao reveals that it was actually Feige (the man, not the robot) who pointed out that a typical Marvel "final battle" just wouldn't have worked for the series.

"Kevin [Feige] was the first to kind of pinpoint that. He was like, ‘This isn’t a Marvel movie. So why are you trying to make it end like a Marvel movie? That’s not what the show is.’ And it was just really, really wonderful and freeing for him to say that.”

Based on some of the criticism we've heard, it wasn't so much the idea fans had a problem with, but the execution. Then again, a lot of people seemed to love the finale and wouldn't change a thing about it.

Where do you guys stand on the episode and the season as a whole? Be sure to let us know in the comments.

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MrDandy
MrDandy - 11/3/2022, 10:24 PM
I too struggled with her final episode…and the rest of the show.
CaptainMexico
CaptainMexico - 11/4/2022, 1:20 AM
@MrDandy - I liked the finale, it was like a troll to all the people that were too dumb to understand what they were trying to do the whole time. Most people enjoyed it. It’s not like She Hulk is a sacred character, and I would say I enjoyed almost every episode in unexpected ways. Good on Marvel and Gao for sticking with that vision. All the incels on here wanted to see Todd Hulk out and scrap, which would have been boring as hell.
Fogs
Fogs - 11/4/2022, 5:30 AM
@CaptainMexico - The same people have orgasms when Deadpool talks to the camera.

That's She-Hulk, people need to cope she's comedic. The show isn't supposed to be serious. The end.
Radders
Radders - 11/4/2022, 5:47 AM
@Fogs - not bothered about serious, I was just hoping for good and we didn't get that
Fogs
Fogs - 11/4/2022, 6:02 AM
@Radders - I liked it.
Origame
Origame - 11/4/2022, 6:43 AM
@Fogs - the same people complaining about morbius have orgasms over blade. People need to cope that he's a vampire killing vampires.

See the problem with your logic?
Radders
Radders - 11/4/2022, 6:56 AM
@Fogs - fair enough :)
marvel72
marvel72 - 11/4/2022, 7:12 AM
@CaptainMexico - You had no idea how the show was going to end.
Fogs
Fogs - 11/4/2022, 9:27 AM
@Origame - no problem at all, since a great deal of the complaints were re the 4th wall breaking.
Origame
Origame - 11/4/2022, 9:49 AM
@Fogs - I mean, it's because they weren't good fourth wall breaks. They weren't funny, and we never got the sense Jen herself was talking to us so much as the writers were just talking about the process of writing the show. Deadpool fourth wall breaks felt like Deadpool was speaking to us. There is a clear difference here. Fourth wall breaks aren't inherently good.
Fogs
Fogs - 11/4/2022, 1:10 PM
@Origame - That's the beauty of the thing, not everyone has the same opinion. Magical.
Origame
Origame - 11/4/2022, 1:12 PM
@Fogs - I mean, you're the one critiquing their opinion, saying they need to accept it for what it is. Your words, "people need to cope she's comedic. The show isn't supposed to be serious. The end."
Fogs
Fogs - 11/4/2022, 2:27 PM
@Origame - yeah, that's my opinion on how people simply don't realize that's the character. Given this information if one still thinks the series is bad... You're welcome.

I have an opinion and you can have the opinion mine sucks, hahah.
Origame
Origame - 11/4/2022, 2:43 PM
@Fogs - ...but no one is saying that she hulk isn't comedic. They're simply saying the comedy they're doing doesn't match the she hulk character and that it sucks.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 11/3/2022, 10:27 PM
Cue the “Struggled with the whole show too”
TheyDont
TheyDont - 11/4/2022, 7:24 AM
@GhostDog - Damn, I forgot it existed. Marvel shows have really been on the CW level, with rare exceptions.
DraxYEAH
DraxYEAH - 11/4/2022, 4:39 PM
@TheyDont - I loved Spider-Man No Way Home and the extended version too. Shang Chi is really good. Hawkeye and Moon Knight was fine, they could have easily done so much more with those two shows. I agree, the Marvel shows have definitely been that way in the past year (even the movies). A lot of us (as Henry Cavill would put it) passionate fans... are not afraid to critique all these studios' questionable work. Not even Pitch Meetings on She-Hulk:



LOL

Then there are these toxic, disgraceful so-called "fans" such as:

@dragon316 , @BritishMonkey , @TyrantBossMedia , @AmazingFILMporg , @bobevanz , @MyCoolYoung , and @TheDoctor1225 ---- all these detractors have be known to attack other members of CBM with their cowardice energy comments just for having an OPINION different to theirs. They are totally describing themselves with their unkind and/or hateful words as plenty of other CBM members have mentioned about them and I truly agree. They are so very shameful. Real shameful. A really pathetic and very childish lot for sure. Just disgusting.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 11/4/2022, 4:57 PM
@DraxYEAH - you calling people cowards but made a fake page just to say something to us

GoodySuperman
GoodySuperman - 11/4/2022, 6:26 PM
@DraxYEAH - Yeah. Pitch Meeting is fantastical. Fans are passionate indeed. And all those disgraceful names are extremely opinionated bullies without question, very familiar with many of those cbm usernames. Seen plenty of their bad behaviour, very hurtful opinions. It is not right.

Especially @AmazingFILMporg just days ago used typical bullying words like "cringe", "loser", "get a life" (words, obviously describing about its own self) and the comment got removed, including @Taonrey and @Vigor piled on their own ridiculous words, no respect at all and need to do better.... One of the worst ones is @dragon316 who is also a cowardly bully who accuses people being "racists" with no proof (very much talking about himself/herself), plenty have replied to that one, no respect from that one also.
Vigor
Vigor - 11/4/2022, 7:02 PM
@GoodySuperman - your sentences share the same patterns as how Trump speaks. I find that interesting.

That's all. Just a simple interesting observation
ImBatman4realz
ImBatman4realz - 11/3/2022, 10:28 PM
Yeah, we could tell. With how mediocre the delivery and writing was she must’ve been struggling the entire time … so if she’s finally admitting it about the finale, then we can acknowledge how REALLY bad it was.

Remember when they delayed She-Hulk with all those insiders saying there were major issues with it? Yeah I believe that too. This show was a HUGE letdown and was drawn out over a ridiculous number of episodes too
CaptainMexico
CaptainMexico - 11/4/2022, 1:22 AM
@ImBatman4realz - this show had better comedic execution than Love and Thunder, and it’s relevance to the current reviewer climate was also bang on.
ImBatman4realz
ImBatman4realz - 11/3/2022, 10:33 PM
Second criticism - the biggest joke of the show was to say that Kevin Feige who has put years of his life into this franchise is nothing more than an AI following algorithms on autopilot?

Talk about self-deprecating humor. With how the studio has been pushing quantity over quality lately… this joke is even worse.

Speaking of which has any leadership in Marvel Studios addressed the negative feedback from the VFX artists yet?
Origame
Origame - 11/4/2022, 4:52 AM
@ImBatman4realz - technically not even self deprecating since this is the first mcu project the writer worked on. More just making fun of your boss. Which on paper is fine as Deadpool did similar jokes against fox and feige isn't above criticism, but with the show generally not being funny and their attitudes towards feige in interviews just comes off as mean spirited.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 11/4/2022, 5:58 AM
@ImBatman4realz - I'll be the first to admit that I didn't like this show. BUT......the K.E.V.I.N. robot was a troll to the people who, over the years have been saying that Marvel movies are formulaic and all the same. It wasn't anself-deprecating joke. It was a troll. Like pretty much everything else in this show. Because honestly, this entire show felt like it was made to fire back at all the people that have ever criticized the MCU.
JonC
JonC - 11/4/2022, 11:55 AM
@ImBatman4realz - aren't we all a.i.'s following a program...
GhostDog
GhostDog - 11/3/2022, 10:34 PM
It’s safe to say at this point, the writing team was all wrong for this. Damn, with each interview they seem to use words like “struggle” and “couldn’t write rousing scenes”
tmp3
tmp3 - 11/3/2022, 11:03 PM
@GhostDog - they spend so much money on these shows and get such unqualified writers haha. hoping wonder man's got a better creative team considering the cast they assembled.
Radders
Radders - 11/4/2022, 5:50 AM
@GhostDog - I'm not sure I've seen a show that has so many interviews with the writers "explaining" their decisions - feels very much like damage control
malschla
malschla - 11/3/2022, 10:40 PM
I really enjoyed the show. I really enjoyed the finale. It was fun, and a nice change of pace

However, I don’t think Marvel really thinks through the implications of these sorts of decisions. If this show is canon, then no matter what hero or villain you throw out there, they are now always less powerful than a room of writers and a robotic camera.
dragon316
dragon316 - 11/3/2022, 10:45 PM
@malschla - she hulk talking to Kevin remind me of this scene
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 11/4/2022, 1:45 AM
@dragon316 - Which makes me think of this scene.
The72nd
The72nd - 11/4/2022, 2:17 AM
@malschla - I guess, but it also feels very comic booky. Spider-man has met Stan Lee. Yeah, that means the hulk and Mephisto and whoever else is weaker than an old guy with a pen, but who cares? it's all silly. People who get too hung up on Canon and power levels and shit seem to forget what the source material actually is
Fogs
Fogs - 11/4/2022, 5:33 AM
@MosquitoFarmer - George Carlin ❤️
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 11/4/2022, 6:11 AM
@malschla - In the comics the Fantastic Four met The One Above All (God). He has made a handful of appearances in comics over the decades, but it was always in disguise, or just a voice. But the F4 met him on his true form. And he looked exactly Jack Kirby sitting at a desk writing comics.

She-Hulk breaks the 4th wall all the time. Deadpool does too. Hell, Deadpool discovered that the entire Marvel Universe was nothing more than a comic book and everyone in them are just characters that were made up. That's when he stopped being just a snarky assassin that talks too much, like Spider-Man, and he started breaking the 4th wall. Even in the Deadpool movies he makes jokes about the people making the movies and Fox, and things like the X-Mansion always being empty because they couldn't afford more X-Men.

What happened in She-Hulk is no different than these 2 examples from the comics. It's a silly nod to the audience. It's not to be taken seriously or as the end all be all of the true MCU and how it works. It will likely never be mentioned again.

The real crime, in my opinion, is that this entire show felt like a troll to the audience and anyone that has ever criticized the MCU. That's just a poor look, in my opinion. I've never been a fan of She-Hulk's solo comics, but I loved her and her time in the Avengers. So I probably wasn't ever going to like this show. But I certainly wasn't expecting it to be taking shots at viewers as much as it did.
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