So I had watched the first 3 episodes and then dropped it, but I finally finished watching She Hulk today. It was… different. 😆 I didn’t personally think it was great if I’m being honest. But at the same time I liked that it didn’t take itself too seriously. This was clearly meant to be a little unusual and silly. But I did like her character and I wouldn’t be sorry if she shows up in more mcu stuff. Also, absolutely loved these two together 😍-
Chapter 10: Some Distractions & A Major Lack of Justice
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JEN
They promise to be good fun, Matt's best friend Foggy and this woman called Claire who has a bit of an ex girlfriend vibe. When both joined their shoot on the island they were all a bit relieved to meet new people to talk to.
The blond lawyer is a walking, talking pun machine with an endless supply of adorable law school anecdotes involving his hot buddy. And Claire is a quiet presence who also enjoys Jen's brand of humour, especially if a joke is at the expense of the man they're all supposed to be competing over.
He's a good sport though, and can laugh about himself which becomes more apparent now in company of people who actually know him. If that isn't one very attractive trait. She also has a feeling that the nurse is in the running, contestant or not and it complicates things. Matt continues to flirt with Jen, sticking to their little pact, but he isn't quite as convincing as he has been before.
Which raises two questions:
1. She assumed that he was acting on the plane when he said that he likes her, despite no cameras catching that almost-kiss-moment. But what if she misunderstood him there und he was testing the waters, because he really did feel something... until Claire showed up?
2. What does it say about her own growing attraction to the man that this new development disappoints her? No, it's a bit more confusing than that. Because she misses the way he seemed so attuned to her every need and for her to miss it, she must have enjoyed his attention more than she was ready to admit. The realization does things to her heartbeat that she hopes he can't hear.
So does looking at him on the beach with his shirt off.
Jen took a book to the beach that she found at the airport, but she just needed something to keep herself from overthinking. She made sure her bikini fits She Hulk as well, so when some of the other contestants have trouble bringing their heavy shades together she is happy to turn green and help them out, before going back to being Jen.
Matt notices. She can tell now by the way he is tilting his head in their direction, smiling. When he walks towards her group she suddenly sees a small item in his hand apart from his towel and recognizing it she gets a little too excited for what will happen next. It looks like he's coming so they could apply sun screen to each others exposed skin. She's pretty sure it was Rachel's idea to send him to her for this. Or the author trying to create certain moments between them. I see what you're doing! And she tries to calm down when she helps him find her and sit on her towel.
Jen's gaze is fixed to the little bottle in his hand, a hand that is attached to a body that would make anyone swoon. She might have had glimpses of it before, when he was changing by the lake, but seeing him relaxed in his little beach shorts up close, it is even more difficult to ignore. Him asking her if she could help reach his back is a scenario she should have been prepared for, but isn't. For a second her brain is blank and she probably stares at the man like she's about to devour him. Luckily he can't see that. But he must hear the eagerness in her voice when she says: "If you help me with my back, then I'll do you." Oh god, that came out like the innuendo was intentional, but Matt chuckles along with her and tells her to turn around, getting up himself so she can comfortably lie down.
She doesn't need to be told twice. But then she starts to think, bat hearing or not, this could get more awkward than both of them realised. "Um, do you need some help...?"
"You could give me some directions, but I can find my way around touching. I'm used to it..."
He sounds like he's smirking.
He is. I'm not sure I'm ready for...
"There you are." She hears the bottle being opened and without further warning, one of Matt's hands is on her back again, spreading sun screen all over her skin and she tries to focus on something else, anything to forget that there's a delicious man touching her.
"Oooh" Did I make that sound out loud?!
He's taking his sweet time, too, managing to avoid the bikini top carefully, but Jen gasps when he raises the fabric to slip his gentle fingers under it. "I hope you don't mind. Just trying to be thorough."
"All good here." Fantastic, actually. So much for him not enjoying their little flirt anymore. And from now on she's gonna cherish these little moments, even if they're all she's gonna get.
He can probably feel the goosebumps all over her neck, but Jen's not embarrassed. She may be a Hulk, but she's also human and her reaction probably doesn't give anything away that he doesn't know already. "Can you go a bit lower?"
Matt stops in his tracks and she's not sure if he can pick up on the smirk in her voice, but he complies. "Thank you, that's great." He's starting to get to areas that she could reach on her own, but they are probably both pretending that this is still strictly to keep her from getting a sunburn. Not that she couldn't just change her appearance to avoid it.
They can't keep going like this forever, so eventually, just when she has this urge to ask him to go even lower than that, Matt's hands pull away and he announces that he's done.
"Thank you! Now lie down next to me." She helps him spread out his own towel next to her and Matt looks surprisingly chill for someone doing all this against his will. Maybe he also decided that not all of this is a pain. Certainly not seeing him spread out in front of her, head resting against strong forearms and eyes closed, waiting for her hands to make contact. This close and in the sun his scars look a little less scary, but painful nontheless. She's not gonna make him talk about them again, since he clearly did not enjoy that before, but she can't help wondering what it was that cut into him like this. Looks like the stuff of nightmares...
Now that she's the one applying the sunscreen she's also a little more aware of the camera filming this moment that a minute ago felt almost inappropriately intimate. But it doesn't take long for her her to lose herself in this moment, too, touching his skin like this. She doesn't even realise she's tracing his longest scar, when she hears him sigh a little. He's about to speak, she can tell and she waits for it, slowly covering every inch of his back with her secretly greedy fingers.
"Someone said you just turned into She Hulk again?" He must have heard it himself, but he probably can't say that, if he wants to keep his senses a secret.
"I did. The girls wanted more shade from the sun, so I figured I could fix it easily." She frowns. "Sometimes I still forget that I can do that until people ask me, but I'm getting better at noticing when they may appreciate the green me."
"The green you? So, what happend to just being Jen?"
There is something strangely comforting about him asking her these questions while he's lying in front of her for what easily could feel like some sort of cross examination. "She Hulk is Jen, too, and I'm starting to get more comfortable with that I think. You know, I saw my cousin struggle with this rage monster inside him, so I think my first instinct was resenting it. I was quite relieved that I didn't lose control when I transformed, but I didn't want it to be a part of my life either."
"Have you ever thought about using that strength to help people? You know, when the law can't?"
She can tell that this is an important one, so she first tells him that she's done. That way he can turn around and she can look into his curious eyes. Not that he can look back, but still... "I've rejected it straight away, actually. I like being a lawyer. I'm good at it and I worked hard to get where I was before the accident that changed me..."
She can see the frown building on his face. "Why do you think it has to be one way or the other?"
"Vigilantism is a crime in California, is it not in New York? Is that why you have so many heroes running around?" Jen raises one eyebrow.
"Well, actually, I guess most of them have secret identities."
"Ah, yeah, I don't. If She Hulk messes up, then Jennifer Walters could get sued for it. And I might be in control, but reigning in that strength is still not so easy. Also: How many firms do you see hire women who moonlight as vigilantes? Having a family is already too much of a commitment to some of them, you think they'd be okay with me running off any moment someone calls for my help?"
"Right, okay..."
Then she remembers fishing him out of that lake and the panic she felt, when she thought she was too late. When she feared reviving him might hurt him and the relief she felt when she saw him open his eyes again. She'd done this right, no matter what the internet said. "But I think I'm starting to see that I might not cause as much harm as everyone appears to think. I actually do have a superhero suit that can adjust to my size."
His eyebrows jump up at that. "Really?"
"I might finally try it on when I'm done with this show."
What is that smile about? "For what it's worth: I think you'll be awesome at it."
Stunned, Jen blinks a couple of times, when she suddenly hears a lot of voices yelling for Matt in the distance. "Come on here! We want to play a game!"
Jen accepts that she probably just got enough of him for the day and any more would probably make her look greedy, but that doesn't mean she doesn't envy the women getting to enjoy his - mostly naked - proximity now. Foggy and Matt team up for a variation of the game "blind man's buff" in which Matt has to catch one of the women using Foggy's direction. It could have been offensive, given that he is actually blind, but the friends make a surprisingly good team, and it's clear that the girls want to get caught. Miraculously Matt avoids touching them in too awkward places and even Jen has a lot of fun watching the game.
The way he moves is quite fascinating. To Matt it doesn't matter if someone is in front or behind him. All he needs is Foggy's voice to guide him and he has no difficulty finding them. He can probably hear them giggle or move in the sand as well, given that he can hear heartbeats. Most of the remaining candidates have gathered around to cheer Matt on.
When she takes in the scene she however realises that she's not the only one watching from afar. She can see Trish - who has been a little absent lately - make her way towards her and drop down on Matt's towel next to her. "Why are you not joining them?", Jen asks the woman who must have seen a bit more of him that night she saw her leave his room. Her answer is that she switches off her microphone and Jen follows her lead. The cameras are covering the action anyway.
"He has smooth skin, doesn't he?"
Where is this going? "Yeah... I guess he does." No point denying it.
"Not just that. He knows exactly where you want to be touched. As if he could see." Then she smiles. "No, better than that. Much better."
What is she up to? Trying to make me jealous or something?
"I need you to distract him for me." Going straight to the point.
"What are you gonna do?"
"I've got some business to take care of." The blonde puts on her shades and pretends to watch the game.
"And you're worried the blind man might notice?"
"Well, if you put it like that, I want the crew's attention on someone else like it is now. They want me to talk to him next."
They watch the group play for a bit, then Jen mumbles into the silence: "I saw you sneak out of his room at night. You sure you want me all over him?"
The former child star shrugs. "I can share." Matt seems a little distracted from the game then. "Jen, the things he can do to you with his tongue-" Suddenly the man she's talking about trips and falls. Sooo, he's listening, isn't he?
Jen can't help laughing at this, while she watches Claire help him up again. "What else would be in store for me?"
"Orgasms aplenty," Trish says with a straight face which only makes her laugh harder, because Matt just makes a subtle sign for her to cut it off.
"So, how big is his..."
They keep going like this until it gets boring and Jen agrees to Trish's plan. She walks to the others to seek out Matt and provide some distraction for whatever that troublemaker is up to. The man who heard the entire conversation does not look happy though. In fact he suddenly grabs his clothes, turns to Rachel and says: "Sorry, I'm not feeling so well right now. I'll go find a bathroom, okay?"
Rachel frowns, but she nods. "Whatever you need, Matt. You want to take someone with you?"
He sighs. "Claire? Can you...?"
"Sure..." The nurse is by his side immediately and Jen doesn't know why she's disappointed. The suncream moment probably wasn't such a big deal for him. Or maybe he didn't like hearing her laugh about Trish's descriptions. But somehow she thinks that his serious face has another reason entirely, thinking of all the jokes he took in stride earlier. Something is up.
Foggy also hurries after the two to give Matt something she can't see and by the look on his face it's significant. But the crew is on them now. Pointing the camera at the remaining women and the now returning best friend of the show's star. Jen teams up with Madisynn for a volleyball match. Trish is nowhere to be seen.
MATT
There's no time to think about the cloth in his hand, but the hope in his chest starts to foolishly spread anyway. Foggy wants him to disguise himself while following Trish. Or he wants him to hide his identity knowing fully well what he's about to do.
Trish didn't see them get dressed and follow her, because he knows how much distance he has to keep, so she won't spot them. "Claire, go back to our hotel. I'll find you when I'm done."
"No." He was about to get going when he hears her answer.
"What?"
"I'm not leaving you," Claire answers calmly. "You don't know this place like you know Hell's Kitchen. If you get hurt you won't find it as easy to get to your or my room unseen. I've got some basic first aid tools in my bag. Let me help. Whatever this is about."
"I don't know yet. Could be nothing. There's really no need-"
"Well, then we'll both be safe. Where is she?" As Claire starts to get going Matt moves next to her.
"Walking along the hotels," he mutters.
"Okay, whenever you need to engage, I'll stay close by." She smiles and he pushes down the need to keep her out of this, because Claire knows exactly what she is risking. Better than most, unfortunately.
"Fine."
They walk on the street with the beach to the right side for ten minutes until Trish turns left into another street where she stops and waits, watching the back door of another hotel. Matt and Claire quickly turn around, so she won't spot them. He then leads her to another street, from where he can listen.
Trish doesn't move for another 20 minutes in which he has to admit, having some company to pass the time for once is nice. Claire decides to describe the passing tourists to him and whenever they find someone who makes her curious he tells her what they are talking about. Frustratingly all of them seem to be couples, some are even on their honeymoon.
It's the arguments that are most entertaining, because only hearing fractions of them makes them all sound absurd. He'll never understand what started one couple getting annoyed about the way the other person opens a banana. "Can you imagine that being our biggest problem?", Claire asks him, laughing, while she realises that she is holding his hand.
Matt drops it however as soon as Trish starts to move again. She, too, is following someone. A woman? They follow both of them for maybe half an hour. The sneaky celebrity slips into the building the other woman vanishes in. She then disguises herself with a mask and Matt pulls Claire into an alley to do the same. He's about to climb the building, but instead he waits when he realises that the woman upstears is just knocking on the door and the other one doesn't seem surprised to see a masked vigilante. He decides to listen first.
"Look, this can't go back to me. They'd probably get me killed. Or take my boy."
"I won't tell anyone, if you don't mention anything about me. You just gotta help me find her."
"Fine. This is Maria's address." There's a pause. "And listen... whatever happened to these kids: she didn't know. I swear. But they deserve justice. They deserve to be believed."
"And I will help them get there," Trish vows.
Matt swallows and then he rips down the mask again, knowing that they'll be going somewhere else. Claire can probably see the anger in his eyes. "What's happening? Talk to me."
"This is about children...." Claire puts her hand around his arm for a little comfort, but not too much to distract him from what they are discovering. "She's looking for evidence, probably against the people behind that criminal who was arrested somewhere on these islands. I didn't realise that's where we are."
"Shit! I've heard about this." They move back towards the bigger street to keep following Trish.
Suddenly a woman stops her car in front of them. "Wait... aren't you on that dating show?" Matt can see the stranger blush as she rolls down the window, excitement in her face, because she's seeing someone from TV in her hometown who isn't a known predator.
"Um..." Maybe this could help... "Yeah, we got a little lost-"
Luckily, Trish turns into the other direction hurrying so quickly for a cab that she doesn't even notice them. "Maybe you could help us. We need to go-"
"Wait, is Patsy is here, too?" Her eyes get even bigger. "I used to watch her show as a kid."
"Not at the moment", Matt says leaning down. "But she is on this island. Can you help us?"
"Us?" Claire now comes to stand next to him. Since no episode with her was broadcast yet, the woman does not recogise her. A little frown appears on her face. "Um.... sure, jump in."
"Thank you." Matt flashes a charming smile and before Claire climbs on the backseat behind him he tells her to look for his hand signs for directions.
"I guess we'll need to figure out where to go from our memory", Claire says. "I don't have an address."
That she doesn't need to be told twice. "The name's Ruth by the way."
"I'm Matt." She clearly knows. "And this is Claire, a friend of mine." He then repeats part of what he heard Trish say to the cab driver, but the address was written down, so they only know the basic area.
"I didn't know you could take friends on that show. That's nice!" Ruth follows the car unknowingly, while talking to Claire. "Got any idea who he's gonna pick in the end?"
Awkward. "Um, I don't think I'm at liberty to say that", Claire mumbles and Matt winces. Maybe this was a mistake.
"Ruth, even I don't know."
"No? Oh, because I swear I sensed some chemistry there with Patsy, or maybe even Jen sometimes. But it is a very different vibe. You are different with them."
"I am?"
"Yeah... like... you had sex with Trish, didn't you?" Matt groans, he's so not gonna get used to people so casually discussing his sex life. "It's okay, I get that you don't want to spoil it or anything." Yeah, cause that's the problem. "I just feel like she's so into you when you see her look at you which you don't, I guess. But Jen's cute, too. She just doesn't really care for the show. I can tell. She has to stop holding back if she wants to win."
"What do I have to do to win?" Matt asks trying to make conversation, while Claire makes sure they don't lose Trish.
"Listen to me of course." Ruth laughs. "But you can't lose anyway, can you?" He's not so sure about that.
The trip feels a lot longer than it is and by the time Matt arrives he's heard all the rules of reality TV dating he already broke. Number one being that of course he doesn't talk about the appearances of "his" candidates in his interviews which Ruth lets slide since he can't see them. And number two is contemplating what he could offer them or not, like sending Celine home because of her loss and the security she would need.
By the time they leave the car and are finished saying goodbye to their driver Trish is already on her move to hide herself again, the setting sun making it easier for her to disappear in this neighbourhood which is spread over a dense forrest.
"That was.... enlightening", Claire says sarcastically. "Is that what it will be like?"
"That was the first time someone recognised me and talked to me about it. I hope it never happens again."
"Yeah, please no, she was shipping you with everyone but me." Claire sounds a bit amused, though.
"Is that what bothered you?", he lowers his gaze. "She will ship us, too, once she sees you in the next episode, I'm sure."
"You sound thrilled."
"Should I be?" Matt huffs. "I'm more interested in whatever this Maria woman knows. Trish is already questioning her."
Immediately Claire turns more serious. "Then let's get to work."
"Stay here," he says and the stubborn woman shakes her head. "Claire-"
"I will stay hidden, but I'm not worried about Patsy."
"Maybe you should be." He shakes his head in resignation before putting on the mask Foggy gave him. They are approaching the two women in a big garden and already hear a whispered argument. Matt can make out the words of course. It appears that Maria isn't eager to become a scapegoat since there are pictures showing her with some of the alleged victims that could be used against her. She didn't want to disappoint her parents. She'd come forward if someone else did as well, she says.
"I've been hearing that all over this island," Trish argues. "But someone has to start."
Suddenly Claire grabs his arm. "Um... Matt....? I think.... I think there's a red light on the back of Maria's head... It looks like-."
Before she can finish that sentence, Matt uses his senses to spread further and further until he stops at a neighbours roof, where someone has a finger on the trigger of a rifle. He quickly jumps out of the bush tackling Maria down and yelling at everyone to hide. The bullet gets unfortunately caught in his shoulder and it fucking hurts.
"Oh shit!" Trish yells. "Are you okay? Maria...?"
Maria scrambles away from him, kicking him as if he was the one who just tried to kill her. Great. "I'm ok. I'm... who the fuck are you?!"
"Not important," Matt hisses. "Please, just stay down! You're being shot at." Another red dot appears on Trish and when Maria points it out to her she quickly jumps to join them.
"Shit you're bleeding," Trish says, pointing out the obvious. "Should I-"
"Get her away from here," he says.
"But-"
"You need witnesses to come forward. Go!"
When a wave of pain overwhelms him, he leans back against the wall. Trish is still not moving. "I'm so sorry.... I didn't.... can't you come with us....?"
"I'll distract the sniper. You just need to get her to safety," Matt insists. He asks Maria for a secret path that he can sense between the houses and he can sense her nod. "She'll get you away." Now he turns to Trish who seems almost as perplexed as the woman she almost got killed.
"Yes, yeah. I'll do that." Tilting her head she then touches his arm. "Are you gonna live?"
"Not if you wait much longer," Matt hisses.
Immediately, Trish grabs Maria's arm and pulls her away, hissing a quick "good luck" at him.
Crap. He hast to move fast, because the sniper is changing his position. He signs for Claire to stay the fuck where she is hiding and then he runs towards the neighbouring house. It looks empty. As if nobody is living there. The sniper is coming for him, deciding that he's the real threat, but he knows he has to be fast, too, so he starts to shoot his bullets, at the position where he believes Matt to be.
Fortunately, he is already closer, silently climbing up the roof himself and ignoring how the pain spreads with every movement of his arm. He just about manages to stand on the roof undetected, when a sound suddenly makes the sniper turn around.
CLAIRE
It's only when she stops hearing bullets that Claire starts to move towards the eery house. He could be dead. Fuck. It's not the first time she's thinking that and she hates how her chest tightens for him.
Don't panic. Breathe. Matt needs her to be strong now. Always, actually. She sees movement on the roof and slips back behind a tree. If that sniper is still there and if he killed him, then she's gonna be dead, too, within seconds. She has no illusions about that. On the other hand it also means that there's no need to be afraid and if Matt is still alive, he might need her help to keep surviving here.
It's a good motivation to keep going, so she does. Moving carefully from tree to tree, Claire doesn't waste precious time. When she's almost at the building she sees the body on the ground. Getting closer she quickly realises that it isn't Matt, but whether that is a good or a bad thing she isn't sure. She grabs a thick branch as a weapon, just in case and stealthily moves closer.
Kicking the man's foot doesn't make him react, but to check if he's dead she'd have to really get in his reach and she's not eager to do that. She puts some distance between herself and the body, walking backwards to keep the man in her sight.
"Matt?", Claire asks quietly, knowing that only he'd be able to hear.
No answer. Not even a sound. Not good. Not good at all. Walking around a little more closely to the house she can soon make out a ladder by the side of the building. Matt might not need something like this to get on top of a roof, but she'd prefer it. That little glance and contemplating going up however takes long enough for the body to disappear.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
She backs up against the wall, hoping to at least see the guy coming for her, lifting her branch to be able to defend herself, when her heartbeat picks up like crazy.
Very slowly and quietly Claire moves towards the corner of the house. Away from where she found the man and terrifyingly aware that he could come for her from there as well. Where the fuck is Matt? He can't be dead, can he? Breathe, she tells herself. Worrying about him might just get her killed.
When she reaches the edge of the wall Claire lowers herself hoping to take anyone who might be waiting for her to go around the corner by surprise. She raises the branch and takes one last look into the Caribbean forrest in front of her. Unable to make out any predators, man or animal staring back at her, she takes a deep breath and then chances a look around. There is noone there. Good.
Quickly she moves around the corner, putting a couple of feet between herself and the edge, close enough to be able to try the door of the house. There are no sounds coming from the vegetation in front of her. Maybe he ran away, assuming that some neighbour called the cops. Maybe she should just make a run for it. It's not like she knows anything that might make someone want her dead.
But Matt could still be around here somewhere needing her help. He definitely took a bullet rescuing that woman, so if he's even alive, then he's hurt and he would never leave her alone. He just has to be around here still. He just has to. A quiet little prayer fills her mind.
Claire turns around a bit to try and open the door, but it's locked of course. Then suddenly she hears something behind her and she turns around branch raised just to see the man she found earlier running at her with a knife in his hand. But before he can reach her, a shadow from above gets to him. Someone tackles him from the roof. Matt. Oh, thank god.
He tries to disarm the attacker, failing to keep the upper hand however when his enemy goes for his injured shoulder. Soon he has Matt on his back and the knife dangerously close to his throat, but Claire's not just gonna watch him kill this man who risked his life to save her. Again. And she knows she'd be next anyway, so she puts as much power as she has behind the branch aiming it at the man's head.
Matt uses that distraction to smoothly take the man's knife and slice his arm. He then manages to shove him back, before he knocks him out with a powerful left hook. Crap, this was close.
Immediately, Matt stands in front of her and pulls her in an embrace to comfort her, just like he did after he rescued her from the Russians a long time ago. Claire easily melts into him, making sure she doesn't touch his wound. "I'm sorry. I should really get back to exercising. I don't know how he gave me that much trouble."
"I'd be dead if it weren't for you, Matt. There's no need to apologise."
"You helped me out, too." He smirks. "I really should start training you."
"I'm already training with Colleen."
"Who?" The confused frown in is brows almost makes her smile. He's not the only one with abilities in her life anymore, although he was the first.
"I'll tell you when we have more time. Turns out I'm a bit of a vigilante magnet."
Matt laughs out loud. "Of course you are." He pulls away and then ducks to throw the unconscious man on the ground over his uninjured shoulder. "There's an empty cabin two minutes in this direction. He points right at the forrest. I don't think they'll find us there. Let's get there before the cops show up here, so we can ask this guy some questions."
"First I'll take care of your shoulder."
"Fine. But let's get going."
They take three minutes to get to their destination, because the track isn't that easy carrying a body around and when they do Matt insists to tie the man and gag him first in another room, should he wake up before Claire's done treating him. She agrees, because she doesn't want to get attacked with a needle in him either. "I think I'll leave the bullet in. We'll have to do that at the hotel where I have the right equipment and we have more time."
"Makes sense. I'll let you know as soon as I hear someone near the cabin."
He quickly takes off his shirt and Claire looks at the damage, ignoring the little smirk he sports. He knows exactly what seeing him in any state of undress can do to her. Especially now that she admitted to wanting to explore that connection they always had.
"Anything I can't see for myself that I should know about?" He shakes his head. "Good."
As much as she'd like to take some time inspecting him right now they need to hurry up. They need to get to the hotel room as soon as possible.
"Foggy's gonna be mad again," Matt says, pressing his lips into a thin line and she sees the vulnerability in that statement for what it is. Self doubt, uncertainty, guilt.
"He'll understand. You underestimate your best friend. He might not like it, when you get hurt, noone who cares about you does." She can't resist kissing his temple to reassure him again. "But that doesn't mean that we don't see who you are."
"I'm a mess. That's what I am. A self-centered best friend who ruined our firm."
"Why did you? Foggy and Karen never really told me what happened with Elektra."
Matt tilts his head. "He's waking up."
Of course he is. Right when this was getting interesting.
I'm also pro shipping matt with all the ladies, he definitely has chemistry with most of them but after seeing matt and Jen together they are at the top favorite pairing.
Oh, thank you for that ask, because I certainly have more things to say about that: First of all, I find it absolutely hilarious that some fans seem to take issue with the direction the new Daredevil seems to be going (well, let's wait how they are gonna present him in his own show... and maybe Echo... but ending his first longer appearance with a walk of shame sure is a glorious statement). I mean, have they seen the Netflix show? This is a ladies' man. And I wanna see more of that. Maybe they just know they will sound like misogynists if they bitch about Jen having sex, so instead they attack the depiction of their hero in the show...? Don't know. It just makes zero sense to me.
I do also think just like Jen he eventually deserves and needs a stable, honest and strong relationship that grounds him a little, but I also think it should be a messy long ride until we get there. Let him have fun. And just as important: Let the women he's with have some fun, because we have enough evidence - and not just hearsay - that this guy knows exactly what he's doing. Come on, with his senses he just has to!
What's weird to me is that the fanboys and fangirls (!) used to love when their hero was a player who had a lot of sex. I mean, isn't that why they want old school Bond back? A man who could have them all and then toss them aside? But Matt Murdock is different. Here's a guy who actually has respect for women. He sees Jen for who she is and shows her that. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I think even comic canon also shows him as someone who has a lot of love to give. The casual and the meaningful kind. I don't expect him to be fully faithful all the time, by the way. He has his flaws, too. One of them is being indecisive. But he should feel awful about it, because he expects more of himself. We'll forgive him these missteps, not because he's hot, but because he doesn't come across like he plays with their feelings intentionally... So, anyone's lucky to have him, really. Unless it ends in a series of dead girlfriends....
Let's get to Jen. I really love her character. The writing is a little on the nose sometimes about the sexism in the superhero genre, but some reactions to the show make me feel that it's called for. Bad CGI aside I really like the comic take. I think She Hulk actually feels most out of place in the courtroom. I wish they'd use her there a little less, because Tatiana does a fabulous job and her expressions as Jen are just funnier. But in the actiony scenes She Hulk looks fine to me. It's over the top and not supposed to be grounded at all. And I always like a reluctant hero. She didn't ask for any of this. And she's now growing into the role. I like the light hearted take on the whole thing and I adore that Matt is actually the one who inspires her to put on her superhero outfit for the first time. I'm really looking forward to how she'll deal with what happened in the last episode and hope they find an original, gratifying solution to her journey.
Picking one OTP over all the other ships only results in shipping wars and I don't want that for any fandom. Glad you didn't use the term. But I've already said that Matt/Jen (Mattifer? Darehulk? Have we decided already?) is my favorite pairing right now and here are all my reasons why:
I already said that he inspired her to actually become She Hulk not just in the courtroom and she's enjoying it. He's a good influence!
Enough has been said about their chemistry. Oh yeah, I'm feeling it.
The banter. The flirting with those two seems to write itself. And expect lots of dorky lawyer jokes. Love it!
She Hulk is really strong and Matt wouldn't have to worry so much about her getting hurt which is always a huge problem for him. With her he really can let go!
He's all flustered in the bar and they are both smiling so much. This just looks like it could be a very healthy relationship that makes both of them happy.
That includes teasing each other. Matt really has more experience with the hero stuff and she should listen to him, but come on... he's also a showoff. Seriously. I enjoy a good hallway fight as much as Matt sure does, but her smashing into his parade (Hey! Who's show is this?!) was brilliant, too. Accept her help, babe. It can't hurt and we all want you alive and kicking. ;)
The way she just picks him up like a kitten and unmasks him: Lovely! I need more of that, please. And he handles it with charm and dignity intact. Just adorable.
Last but not least: She's Jen mostly when they're flirting which is a smart choice because we can see her reaction to him clearly and I'd like to point out that they even make it work with him in the mask! In the heartbeat moment he's in the mask and when they're sitting next to each other after the fight, too. We see his precious smiles, of course, but can you imagine what it would be like to see his eyes there, too? Oooof....
Okay and to be fair I have cons, too, where maybe another pairing could actually turn out to be more exciting, but that also depends on your taste:
Less drama: I feel like with those two there's not gonna be much of that and we as viewers often need some heartbreak to really get invested in a couple. But, you know, maybe some other ships will provide in that regard and in the end we'll see these two comfort each other and be happy together. I'd be okay with that. With the main problem being that they're in different cities and both have too much of an ego to move for a partner or get long distance to work.
They both have their own shows, so we're just not gonna get a lot of canon to work with here. Let's be real here.
These two are pretty equal and not everyone likes it that way. Some fans still prefer a dynamic where Daredevil is the protector. I feel he can still fill that role when it comes to her emotional state and I think that's plenty hot, too. To be honest, he has nothing to prove, because Matthew Murdock will always be a sexy badass no matter who he's with. In fact choosing to be with a woman who's physically stronger makes him a real man imho and may I remind you that his ass remained unwhooped (maybe assuming that whatever happens in the bedroom stays there... hehe...).
