Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
Starring Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Samone Missick (Misty Knight), Theo Rossi (Shades), Alfre Woodard (Mariah Stokes-Dillard), and Mustafa Shakir (Bushmaster) with Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple, Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing, Finn Jones as Danny Rand / the Iron Fist, and Eldon Hensen as Foggy Nelson
LUKE CAGE SEASON ONE
Produced by Marvel Television
Originally aired on Netflix
Number of Episodes: 13
Initial Streaming: June 22, 2018
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
Fun Luke Cage: Season Two Facts
Luke Cage: Season Two was the ninth series produced by Marvel Television for the Netflix Streaming Service. You can read about the history of Marvel Television from its inception as a division within Marvel Entertainment overseen by Ike Perlmutter and run by Jeph Loeb to its incorporation into Marvel Studios and the eventual canonization of Marvel Television’s Defenders Saga into the Marvel Cinematic Universe under the Fun Facts section of my Luke Cage: Season One review.
Between Luke Cage: Season One and Luke Cage: Season Two, Luke’s story can be followed in the Netflix original series The Defenders, which sees Luke team up with other heroes such as Matt Murdock / Daredevil, Dany Rand / the Iron Fist, and his former crush Jessica Jones.
Actor Reg E Cathey portrays Luke’s father Reverand Lucas in Luke Cage: Season Two. Cathey passed away following a battle with lung cancer at the age of 59 on February 9, 2018, before Luke Cage: Season Two premiered. Luke Cage: Season Two introduces the villainous character known as Bushmaster. The character was created for Marvel Comics in 1977 by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, debuting in Iron Fist # 15.
Upon the MCU (Sacred) Timeline, Luke Cage: Season Two takes place after Jessica Jones: Season Two and before Iron Fist: Season Two.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
My Luke Cage: Season Two Review
Soul Brother # 1 – Directed by Lucy Liu. Written by Cheo Hodari Coker
Following his war against The Hand alongside the Defenders, Luke is settled back down in Harlem where he is more popular than ever within the community, routinely using his gifts to stalk and intimidate the criminals that plague the streets. He is in love with Claire Temple and generally happy with his life, though frustration does creep in from time to time due to the overwhelming amount of crime and criminals, particularly when it comes to drugs. In this first episode of Season Two, we catch up with the likes of Bobby Fish, the now one-armed Misty Knight, Shades, and the detestable Mariah Dillard. We are also formally introduced to Luke’s preacher father, new Police Captain Tom Ridenhour, and the villainous and apparently bullet-proof Bushmaster.
The first truly intense moment of the Season sees Luke visit Harlem’s Paradise to confront Mariah, at which point she devilishly threatens Claire’s life if Luke doesn’t back down. This sends Luke into a mild panic, as he cannot afford to lose Claire. Later, Luke is set-up to intervene in a faux drug bust and is lured into the back of a trailer that is then detonated. Luke walks out of the explosion unscathed, and then easily withstands a shot to the abdomen by a Judas Bullet. After turning his assailant in to the NYPD, Luke returns to Harlem’s Paradise to confront Mariah again, dropping the Judas Bullet shells on her desk and declaring that no bullet can kill him and that no jail cell can hold him, promising that if she or anyone else hurts Claire Temple, he will kill them and got to jail with a smile on his face. This was a badass scene and was easily my favorite sequence of this episode.
Decent if not unspectacular first episode of this Second Season. I continue to love Mike Colter as Luke Cage. It’s perfect casting. And I enjoy Luke and Claire together. Not sure what to think of Bushmaster just yet.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
Straighten It Out – Directed by Steph Green. Written by Akela Cooper
I enjoyed this episode quite a bit! Outside of my Marvel fandom, I am a big NFL fan, so I of course loved the opening sequence which saw the New York Jets evaluating Luke Cage’s skillset, complete with former New York Jets Head Coach Todd Bowles (the current Head Coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers). This was a lot of fun and the scene helped add to Luke’s growing celebrity persona.
This episode also introduced Tilda Johnson, a holistic doctor and the daughter of Mariah Dillard. Bushmaster visits Tilda’s shop and we learn that he uses a substance called Nightshade to heal his wounds and increase his strength. So far, I’m enjoying Bushmaster as a character. He’s somewhere in-between Cottonmouth and Diamondback. He’s well-spoken and extremely charismatic and I’m looking forward to seeing him clash with Luke.
El Rey (the man Luke Cage took to the NYPD in the previous episode) gets bailed out of prison, which frustrates both Luke and Misty Knight. Desperate for cash, Mariah needed El Rey free so she could complete a lucrative weapons deal with him but when Shades went to broker said deal, he ended up killing El Rey after he insulted Mariah. This leaves Mariah none too pleased.
Meanwhile, Luke begins stalking a violent thug known as Cockroach. Luke goes to his residence and meets Cockroach’s abused girlfriend and her abused son. The son obviously admires Luke, but the girlfriend wants no part of cooperating with Cage. This leads to a fun scene where an elderly neighbor openly flirts with Luke and gives him some information to point him in the right direction. Luke soon locates Cockroach, and he is able to level Luke with a powerful gun blast which brings Luke back down to Earth after recent feelings that he was more indestructible than ever since El Rey’s Judas bullet did not hurt him. Claire tends to a frustrated and concerned Luke’s wounds. It was nice to hear Claire namedrop Matt Murdock and Jessica Jones during this sequence, but the happy couple have become divided over Claire’s belief that Luke should try to make amends with his preacher father; something that Luke has no intention of doing.
Luke soon returns to Cockroach’s apartment where another domestic violence situation is ongoing. Luke bursts into the apartment and viciously beats Cockroach to such a degree that the abused girlfriend and her son are visibly frightened. Luke therefore suffers a moment of clarity, realizing that his frustrations are in fact catching up to him.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
Wig Out – Directed by Marc Jobst. Written by Matt Owens
Misty Knight arrives at the apartment of Cockroach ahead of her NYPD colleagues and allows Luke Cage to leave, but not before Luke is lambasted for his actions by Claire Temple. News of the beatdown of Cockroach reaches both Bushmaster and Mariah Dillard, setting up a deal between the two parties. Shades is sent by Mariah to broker said deal, and he formally meets Bushmaster, complete with the decapitated head of the now former leader of the Yardies crime faction.
We spend some more time with Mariah and her daughter before we see Misty Knight and Colleen Wing training together. Following their session, they go out to a local bar for drinks where we get to see the Daughters of the Dragon team-up during a bar brawl!
Meanwhile, Luke tracks down the base of operations for the Yardies and comes face-to-face with Bushmaster. Luke showcases his physical superiority but refrains from locking horns with Bushmaster, who regrets that he and Cage can’t work together since they have a common enemy in Mariah and Bushmaster comes to realize that Harlem can never be his as long as Luke Cage is in the picture.
Elsewhere, after meeting with his preacher father, Claire continues to ride Luke about his anger issues while noting that people are beginning to become afraid of him. Luke defends himself and his actions as best he can, but after Claire reveals that she’d met with his father and continues to push a reconciliation between the father and son, Luke screams at her and punches a hole in the wall of her apartment. A visibly shaken Claire asks Luke to leave and admits that she needs some “space.”
A dejected Luke concurs and as he walks the streets of Harlem, he is suddenly confronted by Bushmaster. All jacked-up on Nightshade, Bushmaster easily overpowers Luke and out fights him, leaving Luke unconscious. The entire confrontation was video recorded, and Bushmaster takes advantage of that to formally introduce himself to the people of Harlem.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
I Get Physical – Directed by Salli Richardson-Whitfield. Written by Matthew Lopes
Bushmaster’s beat-down of Luke Cage makes headlines, with ESPN even picking up the story, complete with a cameo by Stephen A Smith, which I appreciated. Luke has been concussed and between the brutal physical assault by Bushmaster and the agony of his broken heart due to where things stand with himself and Claire, Luke is an obvious mess to anyone that is paying attention.
Luke and Misty soon discover the headless body of the now former leader of the Yardies. From there, Luke visits Tilda Johnson’s shop and she gives him a concoction to treat his wounds. Meanwhile, Bushmaster ventures to Harlem’s Paradise and confronts Mariah, calmly threatening her while appreciating the club’s music. Shades follows Bushmaster from the club, and we learn that his number-one guy (Comanche) is in cahoots with the NYPD, unbeknownst to Shades.
Elsewhere, Misty Knight receives the blueprints for an artificial arm that Danny Rand and Colleen Wing are offering, and Bobby Fish informs Luke that he is leaving in order to donate a kidney to his daughter, who is in desperate need of one. After that, Luke is served papers by the Superior Court of New York County.
I’m finding myself all-in on Bushmaster four episodes in. Mustafa Shakir is emerging as the most interesting character in a show full of interesting characters and solid performances. Dating back to last Season, I’m really anxious for Mariah Dillard to get knocked off her high horse, even if it is Bushmaster who does it. I think the subtle tension between Mariah and Shades has been executed very well, and I have to give props to Alfre Woodard and Theo Rossi as they are as unlikable as ever in their roles. They’re arrogant and sleazy and unabashedly selfish and both of them are playing the role of antagonist flawlessly. I mean, we’ve seen many great villains in the MCU, but Alfre Woodard’s Mariah Dillard may be the most unlikeable of any of them. So, I’m loving all of that!
What I’m not loving is the rift between Luke and Claire. I really enjoy them as a couple and it’s just another case of art imitating life too strongly. I find myself on Luke’s side when it comes to Claire pressing the father reunion thing after Luke already asked her to back off, but I of course hated seeing Luke react so violently. As a character, I like the soft-spoken and empathetic version of Mike Colter’s Luke Cage and though that works best for me as a viewer, I guess it is nice to see Colter flexing his muscle as an actor in taking this character to some different places that we haven’t really seen him emotionally go. Marvel Television seems to delight in the presentation of flawed heroes, so I guess this chapter of Luke’s story was always coming.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
All Souled Out – Directed by Kasi Lemmons. Written by Ian Stokes
Luke discovers that he is being sued by Cockroach for what amounted to a home invasion from the viewpoint of Cockroach and his lawyer. Foggy Nelson represents Luke and advises his client to pay Cockroach $100,000 to keep the case out of court. Luke is initially disgusted by such a notion, but he eventually comes around to the idea and agrees to appear at a party being thrown by Piranha Jones. The party scene is mostly fun, with Chaz Lamar Shepherd stealing the show. Cage soon bumps into Shades at the party and Shades insists that he and Mariah are not in cahoots with Bushmaster. Then, Bushmaster’s men invade the party with hopes of kidnapping Piranha, but Luke successfully fights them off.
Elsewhere, Misty Knight gets her new robotic arm and finds herself struggling greatly to keep the trust that she has long invested in the system. Memories of her former partner and mentor Scarfe are plaguing her, as are his crimes, for Cockroach (actively suing Luke) is only out of prison due to Scarf’s actions as a dirty cop. After an unsettling conversation with Cockroach’s battered girlfriend, a frustrated Misty soon ventures to Cockroach’s apartment with plans of planting evidence that can be used to return him to jail. She has second thoughts however, and then notices a trail of blood on the floor that leads to the couch where the headless body of Cockroach is seated!
From there, Mariah’s big grand opening of her highly touted new complex ends when she enters the establishment only to see three decapitated heads on stakes and on full display. This sends Mariah into a panic as she now understands how much of a true threat that Bushmaster is.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
The Basement – Directed by Millicent Shelton. Written by Aida Mashaka Croal
Much of this episode is spent with Luke and Piranha in hiding and conversing. Luke learns that Piranha is Mariah’s money man and Piranha convinces Luke to try and make some sort of amends with his preacher father. After fighting off another onslaught of Bushmaster’s men, Luke takes Piranha to his father’s church, where the Reverand Lucas agrees to shelter him. From there, Luke contacts Bushmaster and proposes a fight. If Luke wins, Bushmaster leaves Harlem. Bushmaster readily agrees.
Meanwhile, with the media in a frenzy over the severed heads, and Mariah in a panic, Shades steps up and makes efforts to ready his men for a showdown with Bushmaster’s men. In conversation with Comanche, we actually see Shades sincerely defend Mariah and speak of his very real admiration for her. Shades and Comanche align to search for Piranha with hopes of cutting Bushmaster off from getting to them, while Mariah is flustered by the irony that her hope now lies in Luke Cage.
In the meantime, Mariah ventures to the NYPD and is interrogated over the severed heads incident. Though she is not considered a suspect, her weapons sales are brought up by Captain Ridenhour, prompting Mariah to leave with no further cooperation. As for Shades and Comanche, they break into Pop’s barbershop and await a confrontation with whoever walks through the doors. Continuing to trust Comanche, Shades informs his friend that Mariah killed Cottonmouth in an effort to squash out any lingering doubts Comanche has about Mariah’s relevance. Shades then meets with Mariah back at Harlem’s Paradise and encourages her to calm down and take charge of the situation, suggesting they hit Bushmaster where it hurts: family and friends. Mariah is fond of the proposal, but also troubled over Cottonmouth’s murder of Tone in the previous Season of Luke Cage, curiously asking Shades who else witnessed the incident. Shades insists only he and Turk Barrett were the witnesses, but Mariah doesn’t seem so sure. It will be interesting to see what comes of that little plot development.
The episode ends with Luke Cage vs Bushmaster! After Bushmaster once again proposes that he and Luke work together, only for Luke to refuse, their fight commences, and it was a well-choreographed and suspenseful showdown! After Luke draws blood, Bushmaster blows a paralyzing dust into Luke’s face and then kicks him off the bridge on which they fought. Unable to move, Luke begins sinking as the episode ends.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
On and On – Directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green. Written by Nicole Mirante Matthews
Super eventful episode here, so let’s get right to it. Luke manages to swim back to the surface and then venture to his father’s church where he learns that Piranha decided to leave the church. This was of course a very foolish decision as Piranha was quickly captured by Bushmaster, who forced him to transfer all of Mariah’s money and then killed him and removed his head, leaving it in a fish tank to be found later by Luke and Misty. The Luke and Misty team-up was pretty awesome here, and Piranha’s fate was the stuff of horror movies.
Mariah has become convinced that someone in her circle is an informant and she is quickly unraveling as the threat of Bushmaster is beginning to consume her. Shades continues to remain calm and collected, but he too is anxious to find the informant. After sharing a meal together, Shades covertly follows his friend and confidant Comanche to a meeting with Captain Ridenhour and discovers that it has been Comanche that has been working with the NYPD all along. In a panic when Shades arrives, Comanche shoots and kills Ridenhour in an effort to cover for himself, but a heartbroken Shades shoots and kills Comanche, arranging the scene to look like Ridenhour and Comanche shot and killed each other. The emotion that Shades showed here made this the best work of Theo Rossi in this series by far.
Mariah slips into a desperate panic upon hearing word of Piranha’s death and the loss of all of her money. She makes hasty plans to leave the city with Tilda, but Bushmaster arrives before any of that can happen. Bushmaster ties both of the women up and then explains his hatred for the Stokes Family to Mariah before setting her residence ablaze and leaving her for dead. Of all people, it is Luke Cage who rescues Mariah and as the episode ends, she offers to hire him.
Meanwhile, Bushmaster happily settles into his new establishment: Harlem’s Paradise!
This was easily my favorite episode of Luke Cage: Season Two, and maybe of this entire series. There was a lot of suspense, some very real drama, and a bit of horror and it all came together quite nicely.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
If It Ain’t Rough, It Ain’t Right – Directed by Neema Barnette. Written by Nathan Louis Jackson
Luke Takes Mariah and Tilda to the NYPD precinct where Misty has been temporarily promoted to the position of Captain. The death of Ridenhour has everyone at the precinct in a combination of being on-edge and in mourning. This sets the stage for several conversations between key players with Luke and Tilda and Misty and Shades standing out. The main takeaways are that Luke is going to protect Mariah as long as Bushmaster is running free and that Misty knows exactly how things went down with Shades, Comanche, and Ridenhour, but can’t yet prove it. Another interesting development was Mariah’s lawyer ditching her and Shades due to their sudden lack of finances and jumping ship over to Bushmaster.
Meanwhile, Bushmaster is disgusted to learn that Luke Cage saved Mariah and Tilda and he puts a bounty on the heads of all three of them. The most exciting sequence of this episode was when someone tried to collect right in front of the precinct. This incident prompted Misty to pay Bushmaster a visit as Harlem’s Paradise, but he arrogantly scoffs at her efforts to find something – anything – that would incriminate him, and Misty’s efforts are fruitless.
From there, the attempted hits keep coming. Armed assailants invade an ongoing baptismal at the church of Luke’s father, prompting Luke (who was at the service to protect his dad) into action. This actually led to a really sweet moment between Luke and Reverand Lucas where the Reverend beats on one of the assailants for daring to shoot at his son. Also, armed assailants invade Tilda’s shop, interrupting a sweet moment between her and Mariah. Luke and Misty both arrive to intervene, and the urgency of the situation prompts Luke to ask Misty to “call Danny” at the end of the episode.
This episode was full of a lot of great character moments. I thought Theo Rossi once again stood out in his interrogation scene with Misty and his confrontation turned pep-talk to Mariah. This was a very different kind of episode than the previous one, but every bit as good.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
For Pete’s Sake – Directed by Clark Johnson. Written by Matt Owens and Ian Stokes
Luke, Misty, Reverand Lucas, Mariah, and Tilda take shelter in a developmental project belonging to Rand Industries where we get some more important character moments and conversations. Misty’s ongoing disdain for Mariah was focused on and the big thing coming out of the early part of this episode is Mariah agreeing to testify against Bushmaster in exchange for immunity. Misty returns to the precinct to discuss this option and finds that Priscilla Ridley is back in command. Meanwhile, Luke tells Tilda that Mariah murdered Cottonmouth, and this provokes Tilda to confront her mother while Officer Nandi, interested in a financial return with Bushmaster having upped the bounty on his enemies, informs Bushmaster of Luke and Mariah’s whereabouts.
Before Bushmaster invades the Rand complex, Tilda talks with her mother about Cottonmouth’s murder, and Mariah owns up to everything. She recants how Cottonmouth had mocked her over her unwanted sexual relationship with her Uncle Pete and how his words drove her to smash him with a wine bottle at Harlem’s Paradise and then beat him to death with a microphone stand. Tilda is appalled, but Mariah keeps it coming, telling Tilda that Uncle Pete was her true father and then proclaiming that she does not and cannot love Tilda because all she ever sees when she looks at her daughter is Uncle Pete’s face. And oh my God, this was the most ruthless and cold-hearted that the Mariah character has been yet and as a viewer, I am really ready to see her get what’s coming to her. What an evil and manipulative character!
And wouldn’t you just know that moments after reducing her daughter to tears, Bushmaster and his men arrive demanding Mariah … just Mariah, in fact. Bushmaster declares that everyone else can simply walk away if they hand over Mariah to them. Of course, Luke refuses, but I sure did want to see him do it.
The raid in on, and Luke makes his way outside to fight Bushmaster again while Mariah commandeers a gun and begins shooting at the attackers inside. Luke dominates Bushmaster this time around, pummeling him until Misty’s backup arrive. Bushmaster is taken into custody, but he uses a bomb to blast his way out en route to the precinct. The explosion badly wounds Bushmaster, and when Tilda returns to her shop, she finds Bushmaster waiting for her, demanding she heal him … or else.
In the meantime, Reverand Lucas tells Luke how proud he is of him after witnessing his recent exploits, and the two of them mend their fences, which was actually really nice to see. Very moving. Oh, and I cannot leave out that Mariah reunites with Shades, and he reveals that he has kidnapped Bushmaster’s uncle, holding him captive inside his trunk. That’s not good for Bushmaster. Mariah and Shades are about to formally strike back.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
The Main Ingredient – Directed by Andy Goddard. Written by Akela Cooper
Per the request of Claire Temple, Danny Rand returns to Harlem to give Luke a hand in his war against Bushmaster and to try and help Luke tone down his anger. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every scene that Luke and Danny were in together, whether they were talking or fighting, and there was one badass team-up sequence featuring them against Bushmaster’s men, after which they burn down the facility in which Bushmaster was trying to grow more Nightshade.
Elsewhere, Mariah finds herself on top of the world after Bushmaster’s arrest sees the transaction that Piranha was forced to carry out voided, returning to Mariah all of her assets, including Harlem’s Paradise. This soon leads to one of the most disturbing sequences I’ve ever seen in any superhero project as Mariah leads a raid on Bushmaster’s friends and family. I knew this was coming, but I didn’t expect it to be so brutal. Bushmaster’s kidnapped uncle is blindfolded while each and every person in his restaurant are murdered. With the last shots fired, the uncle is allowed to see the carnage right before Mariah burns him alive.
This was so evil, even Shades looked disturbed as Mariah has now fully embraced her gangster side, as well as the Stokes Family name.
Marvel Television did a nice job throughout this series leading up to this episode of painting Bushmaster’s family and friends out to be likable. The uncle that was burned alive in fact had frequently chastised Bushmaster for his murderous ways. All I can say coming out of this episode is that more than ever, I want to see Mariah taken down, and not by Luke Cage … I want Bushmaster, who you just know is going to go batshit when he realizes what Mariah has done … I want it to be him, because he will do what Luke won’t. In fact, after so many proposals by Bushmaster, maybe Luke will actually step aside in the end and allow Mariah to fall. Good grief, does she ever deserve it!
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
The Creator – Directed by Stephon Surjik. Written by Nicole Mirante Matthews and Matthew Lopes
This episode features some flashbacks to Bushmaster’s past where we see why he hates the Stokes family so much. We not only see Mama Mabel burn down Bushmaster’s house with his mother inside, but also an attempted hit on his life by Mariah’s Uncle Pete soon thereafter, with Bushmaster’s life being saved through Nightshade. These flashbacks are presented concurrently with Tilda’s efforts to save the life of Bushmaster through Nightshade again, which she ultimately accomplishes. With Bushmaster revived, Tilda warns him about the negative effects that the use of Nightshade is having on his body. From there, Bushmaster learns of the horrific fate of his family and friends by Mariah’s hand. This was some fantastic acting from Mustafa Shakir as he conveyed a raw combination of grief and anger. Visiting the restaurant where the slaughter took place, Bushmaster takes responsibility for the murders, knowing that they were carried out as an act against him. Bushmaster then solemnly thanks Tilda for saving his life and allows her to walk free.
Meanwhile, Mariah has a danger room erected beneath Harlem’s Paradise while Shades is really struggling with the monster that he has seen Mariah become. Soon, news emerges that a survivor walked out of the massacre – Bushmaster’s wife Ingrid, the owner of the restaurant. Finding Ingrid becomes a top priority for Luke Cage, the NYPD, and Mariah. Luke finds her first, but in his efforts to covertly sweep her away to safety, Shades manages to get a hold of her. Under orders from Mariah to kill Ingrid, Shades finds himself unable to do pull the trigger and he slips away without harming her. Luke ultimately takes Ingrid to see her husband’s body where Bushmaster already is. Bushmaster sincerely thanks Luke for tending to Ingrid and Luke warns Bushmaster to leave Harlem, but Bushmaster insists that this is something he will not do until he finishes the job that he came to Harlem to do.
At the police precinct, Misty Knight examines the bullet that served as a kill-shot to Bushmaster’s uncle and quickly deduces that the same gun that fired the bullet had been used to kill Candace (last Season) and she eventually deduces that the same gun killed Pete Strokes as well. A solid case is being slowly built against Mariah, but the murder weapon will be needed to make the charges stick.
Back at Harlem’s Paradise, Mariah decides to get into the heroin business with the Chinese. Soon, she is confronted by Shades, who returns to her without having had killed Ingrid. Shades lashes out at Mariah, accusing her of breaking the rules and codes of the streets, but she is unphased by his criticism and actually fires back at him, accusing him of going soft after the death of Comanche. Mariah mocks the death of Comanche as well as Shades’ love for him, prompting Shades to begin violently choking Mariah. He stops short of killing her and then angrily leaves the club. Tilda enters Mariah’s room as Shades is leaving and asks her mother if she had anything to do with the massacre of Bushmaster’s friends and family. Mariah gleefully tells Tilda that she didn’t just call for the hit … she lit the match. A disgusted Tilda tells her mother goodbye and leaves.
As for Shades, he seeks out Misty and turns himself in to the police, vowing to help them bring down Mariah at any cost.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
Can’t Front on Me – Directed by Everardo Gout. Written by Aida Mashaka Croal
Mariah looks to organize more of Harlem’s crime lords under her rule while the Chinese push out a new and more dangerous version of heroin that can turns its users into rabid maniacs. The heroin is purposefully branded as “Bushmaster” in an effort to sour his name. This prompts Bushmaster into action against the Chinese and he receives an unexpected assist from Luke Cage, and we actually get a wicked Luke / Bushmaster team-up! The team-up ends when Bushmaster tries to blow the place up, prompting Luke to cover the blast so that no one was killed.
From there, Luke confronts Mariah at Harlem’s Paradise and after she mocks his heroism and arrogantly declares that she too is bullet proof in a different way because she has Luke Cage to protect her, Luke vows that those days are over. This prompts Mariah to organize a free concert for the evening in order to ensure that Harlem’s Paradise will be packed full of civilians, should Bushmaster come calling.
In the meantime, Tilda visits Bushmaster and offers him a vile of synthetic Nightshade that she insists will make him stronger than ever. She also asks Bushmaster to kill her mother, offering to show him a hidden passage into Harlem’s Paradise. Back at the police precinct, Shades really does come clean with the NYPD, voicing details on his past with Luke Cage, the murder of Pop, the murder of Tone, and ultimately, the murders of Cottonmouth and Candace Miller. Shades seems too gleeful in sharing these stories, which prompts his lawyer to walk-out on him, but his glee turns to shame when it comes to recounting the deaths of Ridenhour / Comanche and the massacre at the restaurant. Comanche’s mother covertly hears the real story of what happened to her son from behind the interrogation mirror and she is allowed into the room to spit in Shades’ face, and you can just see the shame all over him when this occurs. More great acting from Theo Rossi. As part of his deal, Misty convinces Shade to wear a wire to Harlem’s Paradise and get a recorded confession out of Mariah. Of course, Misty also still needs the gun.
Everything comes to a head at Harlem’s Paradise! Luke walks in through the front door while Bushmaster enters through the passageway that Tilda showed him, and Shades confronts Mariah, who quickly deduces that Shades is wearing a wire. Chaos erupts inside the club upon Bushmaster’s arrival, and all jacked-up on the synthetic Nightshade, Bushmaster easily overpowers Luke, who annoyingly leaps into action in an effort to fight Bushmaster off from getting to Mariah, despite his previous vow to do otherwise. Bushmaster ultimately breaks his way into Mariah’s danger room and Luke follows, and Mariah’s is life is saved yet again. Ugh!
However, Shades took custody of Mariah’s gun during the carnage, and he happily hands it over to Misty and Mariah is arrested. Misty declares that she is happy for the win, but Luke insists that their troubles aren’t over.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
They Reminisce Over You – Directed by Alice Garcia Lopez. Written by Cheo Hodari Coker
Chaos overtakes Harlem due to Maria Dillatrd finally being imprisoned as rival gangs fight for dominance. In light of the violence, Shades suggests that Luke Cage should take over the former seat occupied by Mariah as the Head of the Table amongst the crime networks in Hell’s Kitchen. Even more chaos soon erupts when Maria calls for the murder of all of her contacts and employees, so that no one is left alive to testify against her. Elsewhere, Tilda nurses Bushmaster back to health and he decides to return to Jamaica.
Both Shades and Tilda visit Mariah in prison; Shades to tell Mariah that she only has herself to blame for what has befallen her and Tilda to … well, kill her with a poisonous kiss. Mariah dies in jail, and in her will, she leaves Tilda Cottonmouth’s piano, but leave Harlem’s Paradise to Luke, citing that it should only go to someone who loves Harlem as much as she did. Mariah’s death leaves the deal that Shades made with the NYPD null and void and he is arrested.
From there, Luke takes over Harlem’s Paradise as the new crime boss of Harlem, refusing to meet with Claire Temple. The end.
So, I hated this finale. Bushmaster was sidelined. Claire Temple was sidelined. Luke became a crime boss. Mariah died in the most unspectacular way possible. This final felt rushed and tied up in a sloppy bow. I understand how Tilda killing Mariah worked for those characters, but there could have been a few more fireworks and a lot more suffering for Mariah. This whole series seemed to be leading to Bushmaster killing Mariah and Luke stepping aside and letting him … Instead, we got what we got and what we got was the most anti-climactic finale possible. This was a solid series up until the finish, actually better than the whole of the Season One in my opinion … up until the finale, that is. This ending just soured the whole thing for me, overshadowing all of the good writing and great acting and intriguing character moments over the course of the Season. I absolutely hated it.
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
Highlights of Luke Cage: Season One:
Mustafa Shakir as Bushmaster
Theo Rossi as Shades
Reg. E Cathey as Reverand James Lucas
Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple
Mike Colter as Luke Cage
Alfre Woodard is appropriately despicable as Mariah Stokes-Dillard
Luke Cage and Iron Fist Team-Up
Misty Knight and Colleen Wing Team-Up
Luke Cage and Bushmaster Team-Up
Luke Cage vs Bushmaster on the Bridge
Bushmaster’s Heads on Stakes Terror
Tremendous Flashback Casting
Chaz Lamar Shepherd as Piranha Jones
NFL tie-in
Warmly embraced aspects of African-American Culture
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
Notable MCU Concepts and Characters Introduced:
Bushmaster and Tilda Johnson
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