Why She-Hulk's Abomination Probably Shouldn't Be Trusted, According To Tim Roth

Warning: spoilers ahead for "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law."

Tim Roth's Abomination was first seen in 2008's "The Incredible Hulk," and the huge, green monster returned for a bizarre cameo appearance in "Shang-Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings," which set up his more substantive role in "She-Hulk." In episode 2 of "She-Hulk," Tim Roth reprises his role as Emil Blonsky/Abomination, who is behind bars due to the crimes he committed in Harlem. This creates momentary tension between Jennifer (Tatiana Maslany) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), which is resolved quite quickly after the latter says that he is okay with Jen representing Blonsky.

"She-Hulk" posits Blonsky as a reformed man, as he claims to feel remorse for his actions. While episode 3 of the show continues to set up Abomination as someone worthy of a second chance, actor Tim Roth is not completely sold on this sudden change of heart. Speaking to Screen Rant, Roth expressed his doubts about Blonsky's 360-degree reform:

"What I loved was ... dancing on a knife's edge. When he says something about his changes or treatment; when he's doing all of that ... Is he though? And they believe him! So, that's good. But where do we go with that? I love having that in the character. If you have mastered the monster, which he claims he has, then he has it under control. But control to do what? Control of what and to what end? And that's the journey. It's such fun."

As Roth mentions above, there's a double-edged nature to Blonsky's reformed character in the show, which may or may not hint at a sneak attack in future episodes.

When Jen first approaches Blonsky, she is skeptical about him — and rightly so. The high-security prison he's being held in treats him like a Hannibal Lecter-esque figure, kept in a cell similar to the one used to contain Loki in "The Avengers." After speaking with Blonsky, Jen believes that the man is truly repentant for his actions, and that he was simply a government pawn due to the Super Soldier serum experiment. 

However, the events of "The Incredible Hulk" showed that Blonsky was completely aware of the situation he was getting himself into: he chose inject himself with Hulk's blood to gain superhuman abilities. Moreover, Marvel Comics fans will remember Abomination as a menace who made many attempts to defeat the Hulk and several superheroes over the years. So, why does "She-Hulk" pose him as a man who is no longer interested in pursuing unimaginable power? 

One explanation could simply be that Blonsky does recognize the error of his ways, and he is doing his best to apologize with the help of the terrible haikus he writes in prison. Or conversely, he is simply pretending to have changed and has something nefarious planned in the long run. Episode 3 of the show presents Wong (Benedict Wong) as the key witness who sets Blonsky free, meaning that even the Sorcerer Supreme trusts him enough to vouch for him. 

Could this be an elaborate ploy to gain everyone's trust so that he can unleash another warped, ambitious plan? Abomination does team up with Titania in the comics, and as the show has not seen the last of her, she might just return while teamed up with Blonsky. Or he could just be happy settling down with his seven pen-pal "soulmates." We'll see!