There's no denying that Disney+'s latest series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law already captured the attention of Marvel fans just from the first episode. Penned by Jessica Gao, the pilot episode featured Jennifer Walters' (Tatiana Maslany) amusing backstory, thanks to the inclusion of Bruce Banner aka Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), who undoubtedly made the episode more humorous that kids could also enjoy.
However, it seems the entire theme of the show will shift to a bizarre turn after head writer Jessica Gao revealed that she incorporated "sex positivity" on the show, despite being aired on Disney+.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Will Explore "Sex Positivity" Themes
During an interview with Collider, Gao might have spoiled some key details that would be unraveled when the show progressed. According to her, there would be an episode that would see Jennifer Walters engaging in a devastating one-night stand, that reflects the real world. She said:
"That is one of the things I’m proudest of, with this show. The show is not only sex-positive, but horny-forward. That story really started from a place of character and emotion. We talked about, what would it be like for Jen to date, post-She-Hulk? Because they look so different, they’re probably gonna attract different types of men, but also there are just changes in how people treat her and how they see her, and how devastating it would be to so starkly see and understand that somebody prefers one over the other, and clearly who she is on the inside is not enough for this person. And to also find that out, after sharing such intimacy with the person, and feeling happy and safe in the moment, and then having the rug pulled out from under her, would just be so devastating. That’s really where all of that started."
Gao shared more details about the scene and how Maslany delivered a top-notch performance:
"You spend half the episode, falling in love with him the way she does. He comes off as such a perfect date. He wants to hear all about her. He wants to split fries. He’s reading feminist literature. And then, the cold hard truth of reality hits and it’s so terrible for her that your heart really breaks for her. Tatiana’s performance, in that moment, was so wonderful because she didn’t go too big with it. She gives such nuanced performances, and in that moment, you see how devastating it is for her, but you also see that she’s trying to cover for it and not show how much it hurts. It just makes it so much more heartbreaking to see her trying to be brave."
Let's admit it, these themes are not really typical in a Disney+ show, but it appears like Marvel Studios is considering more diverse concepts that are solely meant for adults. In Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight, the show heavily emphasized Steven Grant's mental disability and gave the audience a more thorough understanding of what dissociative identity disorder really is.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Is it A Show About Feminism?
Now that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law intends to focus on feminist themes in the shoes of Jennifer Walters as the raged superheroine, it's safe to assume that some conflict that Maslany's titular heroine would encounter could demonstrate a more in-depth understanding of how modern-day issues about feminism could affect a woman.
In a previous interview with Bell Media, Ginger Gonzaga, who plays Nikki Ramos in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, praised Tatiana Maslany and teased that the show includes a lot of "feminist commentary."
"It was the best. Being in the Marvel world is a whole—you know, you're imagination gets to run wild. You're in all these scenes with iconic characters and Tatiana Maslany from Canada, Saskatchewan... but she's such an amazing, natural actor, and so fun and so professional. I can't say enough things about her or it'll sound like I'm being dishonest, which is amazing. So it was very fun to work with her and be in She-Hulk and be in the Marvel-verse... it was weird normalizing [being a part of the MCU]. And you know, Mark Ruffalo is on the show, we have Smart-Hulk on the show, and it's just so fun and silly. Jessica Gao, our writer, made such a smart satire with a lot of really cool feminist commentary, so it's exciting."
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is available to stream on Disney+.
Also read: How Marvel Studios Created She-Hulk's Realistic Live-Action Look
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