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The dialogue certainly has some David Capse-isms. But there were a few somewhat clunky moments. I guess that's what happens with most pilots where the script wasn't fully written with specific actors in mind, or just not quite being fully dialed in on what the vibe of the show should be. Like, esp the part where the bottle rocket hit the inflatable gorilla, that part felt dumb even if Tim lampshaded that fireworks in the daytime was dumb. I did really like how Eliza undercut the small speech earlier in the episode by saying it was ironic this little champion of small business was a Blockbuster, formerly a franchise of a giant corporation.

I’m just tickled by these real world echoes. UPI: Page Six today: (Oh, and I just realized Reboot series creator Steven Levitan worked with Julie Bowen on Modern Family.)

There’s a weird tension in the whole meta-ness concept between Jen having writers (she met them!) and still having agency herself. for what it’s worth, in the comics* Jen only broke the fourth wall in her own comic. If she guested in some other comic, she was just a regular superhero. * ever since the John Byrne run decades ago, She-Hulk has been a very meta character in one or another, but it was only in his run that she would break the fourth wall. The Dan Slott run, they did other weird meta stuff like there being Marvel comics which were accurate histories of the MU and legally admissible evidence. But she didn’t look at/talk to the “camera”, or rip up pages to reveal the ads** beneath. ** American superhero comics used to have ads. Right in the middle of stories, even!

the Assembled episode will be released next week.

When Reginald went over to Maurice's house in ep 2, I was so thrown. How does everyone know where everyone else lives??? I legit thought I missed something, but as far as I can tell, the story just skipped over establishing any of that stuff. I felt some of the dialogue in the pilot esp was overwrought, a kind of dimestore Whedonism. Then I e-borrowed the source books from the library and skimmed the first few pages and it looks like some of that was lifted straight out of the books. Not sure yet what to think about the changes from the book. The workplace setting in the book was some fitness equipment shop or something, and while switching it to a "Slushy Shack" is probably fine -- it allows for more repeat customers, I guess? -- I just don't fully buy that a slushy shack is a sustainable business without selling some kind of food alongside. Honestly, it looks like a fro-yo or soft serve place, but even those are more plausible than just selling slushies. I was sad to learn Mike is a long-term spy dating Maurice just on Angela's orders. But how did that happen? Did Angela arrange for that to happen when she first learned Maurice came to town? Why did Angela set Mike up in a slow-moving escapable predicament of doom and then not stick around to actually see it play out? Either commit to your cruel and slow murder method or just stake him through the heart! Reginald is way too confident in his vampire-glamming power considering he apparently needs to make physical contact for it to work. I'm also a little thrown at how supernatural the vamps are (super speed, super intelligence, mind control) but yet how many classic vampire rules are not upheld. Sure, there's the lethal sunlight and the need to feed, but on the other hand, vamps aren't harmed by holy water, they don't seem to need an invitation to enter a home, and they can use mirrors just fine. Given how large BTVS still looms in YA-ish vampire stories, I was tickled when Ashley said "Holy Faith Lehane". As a Vancouverite, I've been pleased with how I didn't recognize a single location on this show, and it turns out that's because it's shot in Victoria BC, not Vancouver.

This episode was fun, but I can't help but think that Clay's agent, everyone else's agent, and the entertainment reporter on set would all know about the executive shakeup at Hulu. "Alright, speaking of comic monsters," -- give that tour guide a raise! Starting from the moment Gordon got back to set, it was really telegraphing that he'd quit to save the show. But it was still a nice moment when he told Hannah, even if Hannah was also right that he could have at least tried apologizing and not doing so was him effectively abandoning her again. Bree's plot here has felt very Jenna Maroney, esp in telling a ridiculous lie and then it spinning out of control, but the way it ended felt a lot more heartfelt than 30 Rock ever let itself get. It's only a shame this ep was (probably) written before all the post-merger chaos and cancellations at WBD.

The blonde is Captain Marvel, first seen in her MCU movie of the same name. This is the Captain Marvel that Kamala has been hero worshiping since the first episode. Y'know, in retrospect it is a bit of a shame Disney didn't make a Marvel Studios Legends mini-ep about Captain Marvel yet. Presumably there'll be one a week before The Marvels (the upcoming movie that's basically Captain Marvel 2). Actually, in the comics, Captain Marvel used to go by "Ms Marvel". So there's more of a connection to how comics Kamala straight up stole Captain Marvel's old superhero name, even if it was mostly unused at that point. (Also there used to be a completely different character going by Captain Marvel. Comics can be complicated.) Mutants are a huge thing in the Marvel comics, sometimes called the Marvel Universe, or "MU". (The "Marvel Cinematic Universe" added the 'C' to help differentiate from the comics continuity.) As a business matter, 20th Century Fox had licensed the X-Men IP and effectively all of mutants from Marvel, years before Marvel Studios ever started building a shared universe of its own, so mutants haven't been a thing in the MCU -- but ever since Disney bought Fox, comics nerds have been eagerly anticipating the MCU adding mutants. Fun fact, because of these business shenanigans, Kamala Khan was originally created in the comics as an Inhuman, a different kind of semi-secret race of humans with superpowers. Doing this meant Fox's X-men license wouldn't automatically include Kamala. But the Inhumans were never a perfect replacement for mutants and the whole "we'll just make Inhumans as popular as X-men" idea became moot anyways after the Fox acquisition. So it always would have made about as much sense for Kamala to be a mutant anyways and it's cool that the people in charge at Marvel okayed the canon change for the MCU. Since launching the Disney Plus shows, Marvel doles out the Marvel Studios: Legends episodes before most of their movies or TV shows as a sort of "previously" for the larger meta-show that is the MCU. They're five minute clip shows to refresh people's memories without watching the whole previous movie, but you could also watch them as a replacement for watching the earlier stuff. Except, as I said, they didn't make any to set context for this show. And there probably won't be a mutants one since mutants haven't been a thing in the MCU yet. Which is totally fine! I've watched almost all the MCU stuff except some of the early phase 1 stuff (Hulk, Thor 1 and 2) and I've never really felt like I missed a whole lot even when they reference stuff from those movies or revive entire dangling plot threads.

The way the blue-yellow energy was the last remnants of Namja, and then in the very next scene Kamran is suffused with the same blue-yellow energy and then manifests blue-yellow hard light strongly implies he only got powers somehow because Namja died, Maybe due to their alien background, or due to an interaction with closing the rift. I thought they all died. I guess in context it makes Namja seem extra dumb (or stupidly confident) to think she can make it through after seeing her two compatriots die in the effort.

A solid ep that really took advantage of the showbiz setting to build stories for Clay and Bree (and Hannah and Gordon, of course) that couldn't easily have been just any workplace sitcom. The Reed plot was a little shaggier though, and Zack remains almost disturbingly immature. The Clay plot did feel a bit mechanical though. They've had that happen a few times this season already where a plot certainly makes sense, but it feels a bit rote as if advancing along a set formula. That's probably true of the Bree plot too, but I guess the seams were hidden better there. When you put it that way, some of my favorite sitcoms didn't really find themselves till the 7th episode or so. But those were network sitcoms with 22 episode orders. (Or Parks and Rec had a pretty bad six episode first season, then recalibrated a bit and got awesome in s2.) Reboot got 8 episodes for its first season cause this is 2022 and show orders keep shrinking.

Jessica Gao on the show and Madisynn as a breakout character:

I don’t think it’s been canceled. But Disney Plus doesn’t need its Marvel shows to get multiple seasons; the meta-show is the larger MCU, with the streaming shows as the hook to get subscribers. Marvel is using these shows as a way to introduce new characters or revisit old ones with more breathing room than a feature film typically allows. and Ms Marvel will appear next in The Marvels (the second Captain Marvel movie). I personally hope Marvel will come back and make another season of this show, but nothing’s either promised or ruled out about that.

Jen in the "real world" was shown in 16:9 aspect ratio, while most of the rest of the show has been in 2.39:1. (I did notice the Savage She-Hulk opener was in 4:3, but 4:3 is more noticeable.) This is in marked contrast to Wandavision where the inner Wandavision show world was in 4:3 or 16:9 while the real MCU world was 2.39:1. But of course the world where there's She-Hulk writers and a Marvel Studios is even more real than the MCU world.

Sure, but it would have been relatively easy to get the actress back for one off screen line. Then open the portal off screen, have her line while the camera's on Emil, then cut to Wong.

On K.E.V.I.N.: Also, apparently most of the onscreen writers weren’t the actual writers, though I think Gao was there. But the Marvel receptionist was the real life Marvel receptionist at the time:

They literally cut to the post-climax right after Jen asked K.E.V.I.N. about the most budget-friendly way to do her next step.

That hallway fight must have been very expensive. Even in the movies, with a higher per-minute VFX budget, Bruce as Hulk usually fights aliens or robots -- y'know, other CGI entities. Having Jen fight actual humans feels like a nightmare of compositing and stunt alignment.

Wow, they really made a great choice to go super duper ultra meta for the finale. The 1970s Hulk show vibe of the cold open was incredible, but it was like nothing compared to Jen busting out of the menu and into the Marvel offices. I cannot possibly express how much I want a K.E.V.I.N. toy. Wait, does this mean Jen is done with GLKH? I guess I wouldn't mind seeing her start her own firm next season, a la the 2014 comic. But there was something gleefully silly about the GLKH setting. As Hard Drive pointed out on twitter today, they (almost) accidentally had the scoop a few months ago about an AI that runs Marvel.

Dennis and Jerry were great in slightly expanded roles from what they've been called on to date. I also thought the various romances worked out nicely and were very funny, though swerving on Bree and Reed hooking up to show instead that the mysterious trio from the hotel got arrested was a fantastic button.

When you put it like that, you reminded me Leap Frog here looked a lot like Kick-Ass. (Although I guess Red Mist would be the more appropriate comparison thematically.)

Even a superhuman lawyer Hulk couldn’t possibly afford superhero insurance. She caused probably six figures of damage just at the parking garage, never mind the Lilypad. Her annual premiums would have to be a close match to the amount of damage she caused each year. (In the comics, Damage Control wasn’t a federal police force as in the MCU, it was the private construction outfit that would go around and repair the aftermath of superhuman fights. I think they were funded out of insurance that didn’t have to pencil out because this is comics and no one wants to think about whether the math really makes sense.) I was a little taken out that Daredevil’s suit had an unusually awkward zipper in the back. Is that really the best place for it? Why would a genius fashion designer put it there?

I like how they just slipped in that the Sokovia Accords were repealed. I feel like the court could have compelled turning over Luke Jacobsen's client list, but maybe only psuedonymously. But that would have ultimately been a big waste of time since Frog-man was using the tech incorrectly. I feel like this also makes Jacobsen look worse though, as a mercenary super-tailor-for-hire rather than someone with some standards. Loved everything with Matt and with Matt & Jen. The gala getting infiltrated and subverted was awful for Jen.

Honestly, it reminded me of Futurama's Slurm queen. off-topic, but I've always loved the Souls of Mischief' "Cab Fare", which heavily sampled the Taxi theme.

From the same D23 press event, but this time with director Nia DaCosta too: great vibes

"Okay, you know what, Zack, buddy? I really do want to hear this. Let me just go grab a pen", Gordon says as he pats Zack's shoulder with a pen in his hand the whole time. Paul Reiser's great. Despite her backstory with her dad, Hannah must have absolutely no cynicism at all to think that embarking on a completely extracurricular adventure with Zack was a good idea. Y'know, I've never been to those old timey LA restaurants with the very old waiters (and the flambes and steaks and whatnot), but this show made the old waiters aspect seem a lot less appealing than the various writeups I've seen in the LA Times or whatever. There's like no legit reason for Clay not to tell Bree what his stop was. The show was telegraphing it was AA the whole way, so I dunno who in the audience they thought this would surprise.

A couple of other superhero universes (like Powers and Jupiter's Legacy) have universal power inhibitor devices that make prisons workable, but AFAIK Marvel has never done it, maybe because it'd become a narrative crutch the way Kryptonite was for Superman writers in the Silver Age. So far what we've seen in the MCU, from the Raft to the DODC superhuman prison, is a reliance on fairly low tech. They're not exactly armed with Hulkbuster suits[1]. [1] this gets back to one of my pet issues, which is that superhero stories inherently can't be good SF because they can't allow themselves to realistically project how technological advances would diffuse throughout society. If the MCU was SF instead of superhero, the Raft guard would all have Iron Man type armored suits. But you do that with all the super tech that exists in the stories and the world no longer resembles our world and then it's not a superhero story. Anyways, with this show, Bruce invented a gamma-specific inhibitor and at the start of the show it was a prototype tuned just for him, like @Dani said. I think the prison mostly got by on Blonsky's own genuine rehabilitation, or possibly the implicit threat that an Avengers-class hero or team could round him up again if he broke out.