A few days ago, I binge-watched the second season of Marvel’s Luke Cage on Netflix. It was so excellent and so overpowering it became obvious that I wouldn’t be able to write about anything else until I shared my thoughts on the series with you. Though the season is completed, I realize many of you will not have watched all thirteen episodes yet. Which means I must caution you that there are
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
Luke Cage [played by Mike Colter] is out of prison, exonerated and trying to protect Harlem from gangsters like Mariah Dillard [Alfre Woodard] and “Shades” Alvarez [Theo Rossi]. The hero struggles with his fame even as significant other Claire Temple [Rosario Dawson] struggles with being part of his life and his world. Having lost an arm in The Defenders, Detective Misty Knight [Simone Missick] tries to overcome her loss and stay on the job.
There are expanded roles for supporting characters. D.W. Griffith [Jeremiah Craft] is hawking Luke Cage t-shirts and videos, but, by season’s end, emerges as a voice of conscience. Mariah flunky Alex Wesley [John Clarence Stewart] shines. Sleazy attorney Ben Donovan [Danny Johnson] is more sleazy than ever. Ron Cephas Jones is his usual brilliant as Bobby Fish, Luke’s agent and friend. Sugar [Sean Ringgold], another of the Shades crew, plays a pivotal role as the season unfolds. Released from Seagate Prison and reunited with his lifelong friend Shades, Comanche [Thomas Q. Jones] is also a key player. All of these actors rise to the occasion when the stories demand it of them.
The new faces are astounding. Jamaican gangster Bushmaster [Mustafa Shakir] is simply the best villain of any who have appeared in any Marvel Netflix series. He seeks a terrible vengeance on Mariah for grievous wrongs done to his family by her family. Tilda Johnson [Gabrielle Dennis] is Mariah’s estranged daughter, a doctor who now embraces more natural methods of healing.
Chaz Lamar Shepherd is outrageous as crooked entrepreneur “Piranha” Jones. Captain Tom Ridenhour [Peter Jay Fernandez] is a by-the-book commander trying to adapt to the violence in the streets.
Anansi [Sahr Ngaujah] is a voice of reason swallowed in the violent chaos his nephew Bushmaster has brought to Harlem. Preacher James Lucas [Reg E. Cathey] is Luke Cage’s estranged father. If you think this season has a great many family connections, you’ve nailed it.
Bonus. We get guest appearances by Danny Rand [Finn Jones], Foggy Nelson [Elden Henson], Colleen Wing [Jessica Henwick] and a semi-reformed Turk [Rob Morgan]. I got a kick out of these.
The character arcs drive this season. Luke finds punching won’t get the job done because there’s always someone who punches harder. He makes uneasy alliances, makes personal sacrifices, ends up owning Harlem’s Paradise, seat of power in the community he protects. Will his soul be the price he pays in the third season?
Spiritual “soul” is also key to Luke and his preacher father coming together. It’s an inspiring journey of reconciliation. Such a shame Cathey passed away in February. I was really hoping for more scenes between him and Colter.
Misty’s journey. The show made the correct call in waiting before giving Misty her signature bionic arm. Her struggle in dealing with her limitations was intense, especially during a barroom brawl in which she tried to punch an assailant with an arm no longer there. As her career path moves upward, there’s the intriguing possibility her and Luke might soon be at odds.
Claire Temple has been our POV into the insane world of people with abilities. She’s maintained that role through nearly every Netflix series. With this season, she reaches the breaking point. It’s an arc that feels incredibly real.
When I talked about Bushmaster being the best villain in any of the Marvel Netflix series, I don’t say that lightly. So many villains seem wholly inadequate to the challenge of being the “big bad” in these stories. Wilson Fisk is an obsessive man-child incapable of controlling his anger. Diamondback was even more unhinged. I could not believe either could command their criminal armies and command the respect such power would require.
Flawed criminals can certainly be interesting. Corner “Cottonmouth” Stokes was actually a tragic figure in some ways, denied the life he wanted by his family ties. Mariah was this weird combination of power player and madwoman. She was shaped and doomed by the tragedy of growing up in the Stokes family. Tilda might face the same doom as she turns dark at the end of the season.
After Bushmaster, “Shades” Alvarez is the most interesting villain in the Netflix Universe. He’s frighteningly good at his evil work. He plays by a set of rules, twisted though they might be, that are ignored by other villains. He aspires to a better life than that he has known and is capable of genuine love for people in his world. His arc in this second season is riveting, coming to a satisfying conclusion. But I hope we haven’t seen the last of him.
Bushmaster? He can go toe-to-toe with Luke Cage and, on a couple of occasions, come out the victor. He’s tricky, not above using some of his natural herbs against Cage. He’s brutally evil, but he has a background steeped in tragedy. He’s willing to sacrifice his own well-being to accomplish the vengeance he seeks. He’s as compelling a character as we have seen in the Netflix offshoot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has no reason to return to Harlem, but I’m hoping he turns up in some other Marvel series. Some other Marvel hero should make a trip to Jamaica. Maybe Rand Industries has some business interests there.
SPOILERS OVER
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Some spoiler-free observations. Cheo Hodari Coker is the creator of this series as well as the executive producer and the writer of a number of key episodes. My admiration for his talents and what he has brought to Luke Cage is immense.
The direction of the series has been top-notch. Three directors are great actors as well: Clark Johnson, Lucy Liu and Salli Richardson- Whitfield. The writing has been equally dead on.
The music? I could listen to soundtrack CDs of Luke Cage and Black Lightning all day and night long. The range of the music is quite astonishing. The live performances are sensational.
Luke Cage Season Two is every bit as good as Black Lightning Season One. I can offer no higher praise than that. While you’re waiting for season two of Black Lightning, you should watch Luke Cage. It gets my highest recommendation.
© 2018 Tony Isabella