I feel like this episode of She-Hulk has been coming for a long time. While Ribbit and Rip It has the trademark silliness and fourth wall-breaking asides, it’s also very much about Jennifer becoming more comfortable as a super hero. Unfortunately, it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. While things start pretty well for our green-hued heroine, everything quickly goes up in flames in the difficult end sequence of the episode.
First of all, Jennifer has a new client – a total douchebag that calls himself Leapfrog. I admit his suit matches his name, and looks pretty decent, but the person wearing it should be nowhere near crimefighting. Case in point, the first thing we see is the doofus fail miserably to stop a crime. Just when it looks like he’s going to have the green beaten out of him, he says his trademark “Ribbit and Rip It” catchphrase before turning on his rocket boots. And then, of course, he damages himself horribly in the process, getting badly burned. Guess who gets to be his lawyer?
Unfortunately for Jennifer, Leapfrog’s father is a big client for GLK&H, which means she can’t turn him down. Even though there’s a distinct conflict of interest. Namely, the person that Leapfrog is suing for his defective suit is none other than Luke Jacobson. AKA the fashionable designer that is the only person capable of making suits that both Jennifer and her alter ego can wear. She tries to convince Luke to admit to some culpability and avoid a lawsuit, and instead he talks to her newest dress and rips it to shreds, saying he doesn’t make malfunctioning suits.
My favorite part of the episode, and something else I was waiting all season for, was the introduction of Matt Murdock as Jacobson’s lawyer. Using his super senses, he detects a whiff of jet fuel coming from Leapfrog’s boots. When he asks the idiot about what fuel he used, Jacobson retorts that he specifically warned which sort of fuel could be used safely in the boots. Meaning that Leapfrog is at fault, not Jacobson, and the case is summarily dismissed. Jennifer hopes Jacobson can still be her tailor, but he’s not interested in helping her anymore, and is quite bitchy about it.
Luckily, Jennifer gets the consolation prize – the attention of one Matt Murdock. At first she is annoyed by his confidence, but like any person with eyes, she quickly becomes enamored of the charming blind lawyer. He starts by finding Jennifer in her regular bar and orders her an appletini. Then he does his usual schtick and convinces her that she can do more with her position by embracing her duality instead of fighting it. It’s honestly going pretty well until he suddenly gets called away by work. Worse, Jennifer then gets called by Todd, the other giant man child of the episode.
Leapfrog is pretty bad, but Todd is no stranger to being a blithering idiot. The key difference is he thinks he’s somehow charming. He decided to win a Wakandan War Spear in an auction (he even paid “a millie” for it). After a super cringeworthy Wakanda Forever salute, he tries to convince Jennifer to help protect him from an infuriated Wakandan embassy. Then he hits on her, which causes her to push the table against him and leave.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Jen then gets another call from her client, Leapfrog. He’s apparently being attacked, and it’s by none other than Daredevil in his brand new ketchup and mustard colored suit. Knowing the hero as we do, it’s clear that if he’s attacking someone, they did something to deserve it. But since Jennifer is still new to the hero game, she goes to defend her client, and there’s a pretty great fight scene. Daredevil does his usual bounce around and dodge everything routine, and she complicates it by throwing a car at him. Then when he avoids it and starts to escape, she unleashes her sonic clap, which knocks the blind hero on his ass. So much that she manages to unmask him, only to discover he’s actually Matt Murdock!
It turns out, Leapfrog kidnapped Jacobson in order to force him to make another suit. After trading some quips and calling Murdock Gold Devil, she agrees to work with the hero to protect his client from hers. Which is all sorts of awkward, but luckily Leapfrog is no criminal mastermind. Sure he has money he inherited and henchmen he calls Tadpoles, but he couldn’t work his way out of a paper bag. As such, Daredevil and She-Hulk make short work of him and his men, and then Leapfrog punctuates the whole situation by leaping out a window, only to maim himself pretty badly.
Jacobson is freed and agrees to make Jen’s dress for the upcoming Met Gala. But since Jennifer has some time to kill, she hits on Murdock, and her affection is returned in kind. Then they take it back to her place, and get to know each other without the super suits. Cue a Daredevil walk of shame the following morning, and Nikki suddenly popping in. No, the episode isn’t over quite yet, much as Jennifer questions it. They still have a gala to go to, which can only mean one thing – the big twist and finale are coming!
She-Hulk is all glammed up by Jacobson in a shiny silver dress, and is ready to possibly win the Female Laywer of the Year award. Her parents are even there, so it’s gonna be a good night, right? Wrong. Once Jennifer and several other lady lawyers are brought on stage, an Intelligencia broadcast takes over, and starts calling She-Hulk all sorts of horrible things. She takes it in stride until Josh’s home video of sexy time with Jennifer pushes her past her the point of no return, and she smashes the screen. She-Hulk chases some men outside and it’s clear she’s totally lost her cool and fully Hulked out. Which should make the finale next week pretty interesting.
Though I feel badly about how She-Hulk is being constantly attacked by sexists pricks, and this episode in particular felt like it was about white privilege, I’m sure she’ll find it in herself to save the day somehow. Overall a good episode, with highlights being the Daredevil cameo, Maslany as a giddy superhero and Nikki doing her best glam impression of Wolverine. Tune in next week to see how Marvel and Disney+ wrap up the show, and whether or not we’re getting another season!
