Viewer Log: Luke Cage ep 6

There’s a special lesson in these next two episodes. Plain and simple, our heroes and/or mentors aren’t always saints. One of the harshest lessons in life is that no matter how much we idolize or model ourselves after the best parts of those we idolize, they are still just as human as the rest of us. And people, sadly, have their demons. In this episode, the poster child for this principle is Detective Scarfe, Misty Knights mentor and confidant who is an outstanding cop but is as dirty as they come, and Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes’s Uncle Peter is the poster child in the next episode. More on him later. Let’s get to it.

We need to find a way to get Charlie Cox and
Mike Colter to do a live action version of this.

We open to Luke Cage jogging. He’s listening to talk radio debate whether he’s a hero or menace. He and Spider-Man should hang out. I mean, in the comics they already hang out, but they should hang out here too. Just saying. They could bond over the Love/Hate relationship they have with the NYC. He arrives at the home of Council Woman Mariah Dillard and tells her in no uncertain terms he’s coming for them. Her, Cottonmouth, their operations, and he’s going to tear it all down. Mariah puts on a confident face but seems shaken by his direct declaration. Not surprising, when your INVINCIBLE enemy stops by your house and promises to undo all you've worked for.

Elsewhere, Cottonmouth meets with Scarfe, expecting to get his guns. Scarfe’s willing to part with the firearms, but refuses to give up the guns unless Cottonmouth pays him $100,000 dollars. Rather… annoyed by this, Cottonmouth punches him in the face, steals his gun and shoots Scarfe a half dozen times. He drives off, some nearby construction workers had heard the noise, leaving Scarfe for dead. Obviously, cop getting shot blows up rather quickly, especially when Scarfe’s body is nowhere to be found. In no time, half of Harlem is out searching for Scarfe. At Harlem’s Paradise, Mariah arrives and berates her cousin for his… overreaction to the Scarfe situation. She wants him to give up his fight with Luke, give up Harlem's Paradise and run. For his own safety. But Cottonmouth refuses. I feel the need to quote one of Michael Clarke Duncan's good lines from that awful Daredevil movie a few years back, "They say too much pride can kill a man." Word to the wise, Cottonmouth. He tells Mariah that he needs to get the Judas to stop Luke. He thinks it’s the only way to get around Luke's bulletproof skin. She counters by asking how Luke handles fire, or water, or poison. Her mentality, ‘find his weakness and squeeze,’ reminds Cottonmouth of their Grandmother “Mama” Mabel. She’s not pleased with the comparison.

Back with Luke, he and Bobby Fish are enjoying breakfast, just as Claire Temple enters the diner. She reintroduces herself to Luke, and tries to see how he’s doing. Keep in mind, last time she saw him, Luke had just barely survived a pretty severe concussion. He tells her he’s fine and tries to run from her, but she follows. Luke and Claire arrive at the Barber Shop and find Scarfe laid up in the backroom. He’s bleeding badly and begs for Luke’s help. How on earth he traveled however far to get into the back of the Barber shop with several severe gunshot wounds, I’ll never know.

We hop over to Misty and the cops. Her captain is adamant that they find Scarfe, as he’s one of theirs regardless of the corruption allegations. The captain pairs Misty with Lieutenant Perez, the other corrupt cop on Cottonmouth’s payroll, and sets them on the case. I’m sure this will go well.

At the Barber Shop, Claire starts working on Scarfe. The situation is far from ideal, but she’s able to stop the bleeding a bit and get one or two of the bullets out. He’s pretty darn desperate and trying everything he can to get Luke to protect him. Luke isn’t interested, until Scarfe confesses two things. That he’s a bad man, that’s done bad things, but he has proof Cottonmouth’s worse, and that he killed Chico. Luke is initially furious at this, but Claire talks him out of strangling Scarfe. After catching his breath, Scarfe tells Luke that he can find a journal of all Scarfe’s Cottonmouth dealings at Scarfe’s apartment. Luke sneaks over, just barely getting by Misty and Perez. He nabs the journal, but is forced to escape out the window when Perez and Misty finally notice him. I’d say he got away, if in this version of New York there was only currently one known guy who could cause a crater in the sidewalk and walk away from it. Maybe they’ll think it’s from Hulk’s last visit.

What if Justice puts out a restraining order?

Luke, Claire, and Scarfe escape the barber shop thanks to a van they borrow from Claire’s mother. They just barely evade Misty and Perez. After finding the bullets Claire dug out of Scarfe, the cops try to call in back up. Well, Misty does, Perez calls Cottonmouth. Knowing what Scarfe might have on him, Cottonmouth puts a $100,000-dollar bounty on Scarfe. Cottonmouth was able to find the guns, and get them to Domingo, so the bounty isn’t total bull spit. Luke and co are chased by some goons looking to get the bounty, but are able to give them the slip for a bit. They park in a tight alley, next to a wall. Luke then smashes through the side of the van, and the building next to it, to buy them some time.

Back with the cops, Perez is being none too subtle about trying to keep Misty from finding Scarfe. She, not being an idiot, turns things around on him and tricks Perez into confessing to being dirty. It was actually ridiculously easy. Like, my twelve-year-old nephew could have thought of a more complicated plan. But it works, for reasons. She cuffs Perez and then makes for the last known location of Luke and co. Luke, meanwhile, beats up the various goons, and stops Claire and Scarfe from being run over. Misty catches up with them, just in time to say goodbye to Scarfe, who dies holding her hand.

Cottonmouth is arrested, Mariah’s political career is in tatters because of that, and the barber shop is being rebuilt. Luke believes that things are wrapping up, and he plans on moving on once Cottonmouth is officially jailed. Little does he know that he has another seven episodes to fill. We’re just getting started.

This episode feels a whole lot like the fourth episode of Daredevil season 2, “Penny and Dime.” Where, while we the audience knew things were far from over, Matt Murdock and co. thought that all the problems in Hell’s Kitchen were solved when they captured Frank Castle, aka The Punisher. Which is good for a mid-season cliffhanger, make things feel nice and calm before things hit the fan again, but with greater intensity. There is a downside in that most of the… characterization of Scarfe feels a little forced. Like, we’re just now learning that Scarfe had a son that was unfortunately killed when Scarfe left a gun lying around. Oh, and that’s he’s an overall unhappy person, as shown because he often cracks jokes, but almost never laughs. Would have been kind of nice to know a few episodes to go. Even when it was revealed that he was a dirty cop it didn’t really give him much… depth. He was a wisecracking senior officer, who also took bribes. Not a Shakespearian level character there. I did like how Misty described how their professional relationship began and evolved. As Misty put it, “He had [her] front and [her] back,” when the rest of the department thought she was going to wash out in a week. Explains why she put so much faith in him for so long, even when the evidence started piling up. Not a smart way to operate, but that kind of loyalty is pretty rare and worth mentioning. Overall, a solid middle. Next time, episode 7, aka What a twist!

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Viewer Log: Luke Cage ep 5

When we last left Luke Cage, he had risen from the rubble of the old Chinese restaurant, the metaphorical phoenix rising from the ashes. On camera, he announces his existence to the world, a colossal (expletive deleted) you to Cottonmouth and his allies. Luke Cage has made his move, let see now the snake handles it.

Yeah, I would not cross this man.

Cottonmouth is… annoyed that the rocket he launched at Luke Cage wasn’t a heavy enough hit to take Luke out. He and his various goons brainstorm a way to take out their nigh invulnerable opponent. One of the goons, trying to show some initiative and intelligence, offers a counter idea. He’d been reading a book, which is probably more than a little shocking for Cottonmouth, and thought that maybe the best option is a non-aggression pact. They leave Luke and his part of town alone, and maybe he’ll leave Cottonmouth and Mariah’s part of Harlem alone. Cottonmouth takes this idea… poorly. He executes the goon, and tell his boys to start hustling everyone in town for protection money. He calls it the “Luke Cage Stupidity Tax.”

Around the same time, Claire Temple arrives in Harlem. For those who don’t recognize the name, she’s probably the least lucky nurse in New York. She met up with Daredevil when he was getting his start in Hell’s Kitchen. She helped patch him up a few times, they have a bit of a relationship, but break things off after Matt Murdock’s nightly crusading got too much for her. After taking a break from Daredevil, she ran into Jessica Jones and an unconscious Luke Cage. She and Jessica do their best to save him from a badly battered brain and internal swelling. After that, she was part of the night shift at a hospital, when Matt Murdock accidentally brought a horde of Ninja Zombies from the Hand organization down on her head. She quit her job after the higher ups tried to hush up the insanity of Zombie Ninja’s from the report. Which leads us here, the Night Nurse is going home to Harlem. She meets her mother, and informs Mrs. Temple that she wants to do something to help the supers in need. Momma Temple seems to think her daughter is nuts, but still tries to be supportive.

Back with Luke, he and colleague Bobby Fish are in the process of rebuilding Pops Barber shop. They also get Luke a suit for the funeral. Around the same time, Cottonmouth’s goons hit Harlem hard, taking everything of value from the locals. Including a championship ring from a woman named Iesha. It was one of the few things from her dad’s baseball career that she could keep him from selling for drugs. Iesha, and most of the other troubled citizens go to Luke and demand that he does something about Cottonmouth. Which Luke does, while still in his suit. Crime fighting never looked so classy. He’s able to get a good chunk of the stolen goods back, but Iesha’s ring eludes him.

Back with the baddies, Shades is trying desperately to be Cottonmouth’s voice of reason. His main idea is that Cottonmouth sell Harlem’s Paradise, they make back all the money they owe Domingo and Diamondback and then move on from there. Cottonmouth won’t have any of that, though, as Harlem’s Paradise is everything to him. Luke shows up a few minutes later to parley. This doesn’t go well, as Luke is forced to beat the snot out of more goons. And Shades, who’s only now getting a good look at Luke, recognizes him as Carl Lucas. But, on the plus side, Luke gets Iesha’s ring back.

Night Nurse can't catch a break.

A short time later, Shades and Cottonmouth are brainstorming ideas for taking out Luke. Shades has an idea to solve the problem. He shows Cottonmouth a video of a special HAMMER tech bullet. They're made from some metal taken from the aliens that invaded New York a few years back during the idiotically named "Incident." Said bullet is able to pierce some high-tech body armor, burrows into the target then explodes. Shades put it best, “If you were going to kill Jesus, this was the bullet you’d use. That’s why they call it the Judas.” Diamondback is someone that could supply it but the bullets are insanely expensive. We don’t get the exact number, but Cottonmouth reals when he sees it and asks “Per bullet?” to which Shades confirms. Their new game plan is to get their money problems squared away, and then get Diamondback to get them a few Judas bullets.

With the cops, Misty is informed by the captain and one of their lieutenants that they believe Scrafe might be dirty. Misty refuses to believe it, and ends up covering for him. A little bit later, the Lieutenant, who is also dirty, lets Scrafe know that his new job is to get the guns back at all costs.

Luke meet’s Iesha’s dad while looking for her, and does his best to convince the former ballplayer to stop being a terrible, terrible dad. He has…mixed results. He then preps for the funeral, is upset that he brand new suit is riddled with holes, and goes to said funeral. While Pops estranged son talks about the father that he made time for, Luke slips in and meets Iesha. He slips her the ring, and stealth-fully crushes the gun she was planning on using on Cottonmouth. While the funeral is going on, Scarfe decides to look out for numero uno and makes off with the guns. Cottonmouth and then Luke speak. It’s like watching a presidential debate. Cottonmouth vows to protect his city form outside forces, hint hint, and Luke promises to protect the ideal of Harlem. The two men are basically declaring war on each other.

This episode shows, not when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, but when two diametrically opposed unstoppable forces collide. Despite trying to remain in control during the events of the last few episodes, Cottonmouth is definitely starting to slip. He’s running out of time, running out of street cred and running out of patience. Luke is forcing him into a corner, and this particular viper is getting extremely desperate. The Judas bullet is his one potential edge, but it’s just beyond his reach. I hate to imagine what he’s going to do when he gets his hands on Scarfe. Luke, on the other hand, is stepping up his game. I like how they seem to have moved him up from hoodie to his current costume. That’s right, as of the “All New, All Different” Marvel rebranding, Luke Cage fights crime in a three-piece suit. It’s as awesome as it sounds. It was interesting to see how into Iesha’s personal quest Luke got. Iesha’s dad, Eddie, probably isn’t worth remembering now, but in getting the ring back, Luke is trying to protect the memory of him. Which, is kind of a nice message. I think so, at least. I like that, between three different shows (one of which having multiple seasons) I’ve yet to see a legit bad episode of any Marvel’s Netflix’s series. Sure, some are significantly stronger than others, but not one that I’d say “oh god, avoid this at all cost.” Kudos Netflix, Marvel and Disney. Next time, episode 6.

http://www.marvel616.com/2016/03/revelada-data-de-estreia-de-luke-cage.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claire_Temple_(Marvel_Cinematic_Universe)#/media/File:Temple.png

Viewer Log: Luke Cage ep 4

Ya’ll ready for an origin story told in flashbacks? Doesn’t matter if you are, because that’s what we’re getting. Don’t worry, Netflix does these kind of stories very, very well. Much like with Jessica Jones origin episode, this story is two in one. One telling what Luke is currently up to, and the other describing how he got into the accident that gave him superpowers. Let’s get to it.

The present story can be summed up in about a sentence. Luke and his Landlady, Connie, are buried under rubble and he’s got to dig them out. Short, sweet and to the point. Oh, and Misty Knight is trying to prove that Cottonmouth did it, while Scrafe does his best to keep her from finding definitive proof. Important? Yes, but not super interesting. The really interesting stuff lies in Mr. Cage’s passed.

Yeah, no one is taking him seriously in that tiara.

A few years back, Luke Cage was doing time in the Georgia prison of Seagate. Oh, and his name wasn’t Luke Cage. He was former Officer Carl Lucas, imprisoned for a crime that he claims to have not committed. He gets on the bad side of several guards, particularly Sgt. Albert Rackham. Rackham beats Luke… er Carl, when he gets a little lippy in their first encounter. On his first night in the cell, Carl has a bit of a breakdown, screaming to himself and sobbing a little. Can’t say I blame him, prison sounds like it sucks. And it doesn’t get much better. Carl remains closed off and reserved for most of the first few weeks in Seagate. The shrink, Riva, insists that he open up to people, but Carl isn’t having any of it. He claims that trusting people is what landed him in Seagate in the first place. Which, if true, is compelling reason to not trust people anymore. Just saying.

While in the yard, Carl is spied upon by a couple of prisoners, one of whom would later go on to be Shades. Pre-Shades and his buddy discuss Carl with Rackham. On Rackham’s orders, the two thugs attack Carl in his cell, but the bigger man fights them both off. After, Rackham makes Carl an offer. Rackham wants him for a prison fight club. If Carl fights, and wins, Rackham will ensure that his stay at Seagate is as pleasant as possible, and Rackham will make a killing in bets. Luke isn’t interested, stating that “Slavery was always a good offer, to a master.” Such good lines in this show. Despite Luke’s best attempts to stay alone, he does seem to befriend another prisoner, a fellow that goes by the name Squabbles. He’s a little off, but seems to be a nice enough fella. Does make me wonder what he did to get locked up, though. While in group, Riva continues to try to break down the steel wall that is Carl Lucas’ defenses. When she needles him about his passed, he hits back asking what person she wronged/failed to make her want to help the scummiest of scummy folks. Riva initially shuts him down, but later lets him know that her brother had done time and died in prison while she was working on her masters. I sense a bonding moment! Squabbles also let’s Carl know about some of the strange goings on at Seagate. It’s a privately run prison, and many inmates believe that the owners use that fact to hide controversial and dangerous experiments. Riva flat out denies it, but something still seems fishy.

Rackham, desperate to get Carl into his fight ring, decides to attack Carl’s weakness. Squabbles. He frames the slow-witted prisoner for causing a fight. Luke finally agrees, on the condition that they leave Squabbles alone for as long as he keeps winning. Luke is an animal in the underground ring, beating dozens of other inmates to a pulp. As the fighting goes on, Squabbles notices that Luke is getting crueler and more sadistic. He and Riva question Carl about his behavior, but he keeps focused on the fights. Eventually, Carl grows tired of fighting and wants out. Rackham isn’t having any of that, and decides to threaten Riva along with Squabbles to keep him compliant. Carl warns Riva what’s coming for her, and vows to build evidence on Rackham to take him down. To this end, he shaves and shapes up his beard and afro. Unfortunately, just after getting cleaned up he’s attacked by Pre-Shades and his buddy again. This time with smuggled in weapons. They beat Carl into a bloody mess and leave him for dead. He’s found by some guards and brought to the prison hospital.

So much hair.

Riva checks in on him. He’s bloodied, bruised, and more than a little heartbroken when he hears Squabbles was killed. Rackham wanted to make Luke really suffer, I guess. Riva begs the head of Seagate’s medical program to help. While reluctant, he agrees. Carl is strapped into a machine and submerged in a chemical bath which would, hopefully, boost his body’s ability to heal. I should note that every guy Luke beat up was brought in for this test, and none of them were seen again, so going into this the survival rate is slim. The experiment is interrupted by Rackham. Intent on keeping his own illegal activities a secret, he overloads the machine in an attempt to murder Carl. This causes an explosion, killing Rackham and the Doctor, and giving Carl Lucas unbreakable skin and super strength. He escapes Seagate and pilfers some threads. A yellow shirt, black pants, and, for some reason, a chain belt. These items, plus the shackles that kept his arms in place, and the tiara that held his head down while in the machine, perfectly recreates Carl Lucas’ aka Luke Cage’s aka Power Man’s original costume. In all its cheesy, possibly black-sploytation, glory. Carl himself puts it best, “You look like a damn fool.”

He meets up with Riva. She agrees to help him get as far away from Seagate and Georgia as they can. Luke shaves the beard and afro down to just a goatee, and decides that he needs a new name for his new look/life. He reveals that his father was a preacher and that Reverend Lucas’ favorite psalm was Luke 4:18. He take the first name of Luke, and as means of embracing his freedom ironically, the last name of Cage. He felt Luke Freeman was a little too on the nose. In the present, he finally digs them free, and when the various news cameras are on him, Luke announces that he is Luke Cage, he has powers, and he’s here to stay.

This is a solid origin story episode. I’ll admit that the question of Luke’s past has been bugging me since his intro in Jessica Jones last year. I find it interesting that he, Jessica, and Matt Murdock aka Daredevil have all been various chemical accidents that gave them Superpowers but they are as of yet unconnected. Danny Rand is going to feel left out once they form the Defenders. He’s the only guy that really had to put in physical effort to get his powers. Just saying. And, while it answered the main question of how Luke got his powers, it does remain rather vague about why he was arrested. He implies that he pissed off the wrong higher ups and that they set him up, but that’s all we really get. I imagine they’ll answer that question in another episode or next season. Got to keep the people guessing. I like the nods to the source material, like Rackham being the indirect cause for Luke Cage and seeing Luke in his original costume. I didn’t think they were going to actually show it, as classic Luke Cage/Power Man is so 1970, 1971 would be making fun of it. Yes, I stole that joke from Cinema Sins’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle review. Check them out on Youtube. I’d say that the two stories, Carl’s time in prison and Luke’s time under rubble don’t mesh as well as they potentially could have, but there is still a good scene. A newly empowered Carl Lucas breaking though a prison wall. Luke Cage smashing his way to freedom from beneath the wreckage of a building. They two are played in tandem. Has it been done before on other shows? Yes, but it’s still well shot. Again, a solid origin story. Next time, episode 5. 

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Viewer Log: Luke Cage ep 3

Let’s marvel for a second at the wonder of modern weapons. It used to be that it’d take years of training and disciple to master a particular weapon, to use it to it’s full effectiveness. Nowadays, any schlub with the right hardware can cause a massacre with the click of a trigger. I still marvel at the irony that gunpowder was originally created in an attempt to make a philosophers stone, and with it gain immortality. Enough discussion about firearms, you’re here to hear me talk about a bulletproof superhero. Let’s get to it.

When we last left Luke, he’d just lost his mentor, his main source of income, and yet another shirt to bullets. Because the gangster formally known as Tone thought it’d be best to show Harlem what happens when they mess with Cottonmouth. And this time, the superpowered ex-con has had enough of this biz. Vengeance, thy name is Luke Cage.

Everybody wants to be the king.

Things begin relatively calmly. Cottonmouth is watching a news report about Pop’s death, and is visibly torn up about it. Death of former friends hit hard. We learn that while Pops died, Chico, who I swear was hit multiple times and in very life-ending places, is alive but in critical condition. Cottonmouth’s plans are further complicated by Domingo’s goons, who are attacking and killing his goons without hesitation. So not a great week for Cottonmouth.

Meanwhile, Luke is preparing for Pop’s funeral. Death is expensive, and Luke is rather hard up for cash. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on who you ask, Cottonmouth arrives and reveals that he’s planning on paying for everything. Payment for Pop’s death, I suppose. These two are about one direct comment away from killing each other, but they remain civil in the funeral home. After that confrontation, Luke has a much better conversation with Bobby Fish, a regular at the barbershop that played chess constantly. Bobby used to do Pops taxes for him, and has some idea about what sort of capital they’d need to keep the barbershop going. They need a lot of money. Thankfully, Luke has an idea that fits in perfectly with his plan for vengeance. He can’t attack Cottonmouth directly, so he decided to play it like a game of chess, take out Cottonmouth’s important pieces to leave the crime boss vulnerable. And the best way to take out Cottonmouth’s pieces? Take his money.

Back with the bad guys, Cottonmouth officially pays for Pop’s funeral, and unofficially pays for the morgue director to get rid of Tone’s body. From their dialogue, this is pretty standard procedure for them, which is pretty messed up when you think about it. How many goons does Cottonmouth kill to make this a normal thing? Honestly. Back with Luke, he speaks with the now awake Chico. While Chico’s pal Dante had been the inside man of Cottonmouth’s operations, he informed Chico about everything. How convenient. Cottonmouth and Mariah have their fingers in a lot of pies, which makes getting at the majority of their funds difficult. But, Chico does know about their emergency contingency plan. If Cottonmouth or Mariah felt their dealings were in danger, they’d move everything to Mariah’s campaign headquarters, the Crispus Attucks building. They’d refitted the building into a fortress, all the walls are reinforced, there’s only one main entrance and it’s filled to capacity with goons. Someone would have to be superstrong and nearly invulnerable to get in there. How convenient for Luke.

Blood is thicker then water.

Luke hit’s Cottonmouth’s operations hard, messing up his goons and stealing lots of money. Stealing from bad guys is cool, right? Right. After Luke hits five or six safehouses, Cottonmouth starts getting nervous and transfers the majority of his capital to the Attucks. And once Cottonmouth had most of his money transferred, Luke struck. Bulletproof man vs. goons = unconscious goons. Lots and lots of unconscious goons. After Luke absconds with the majority of Cottonmouth’s ill-gotten gains, Misty, who’d been investigating this whole thing, finally realizes that Luke’s involved. The cops shut down Crispus Attucks, and most of Cottonmouth’s remaining funds and equipment are seized. Score one for Luke.

Chico, who’d been moved by Pop’s death and Luke’s desire to do right by their deceased mentor, calls the cops and agrees to tell them everything he knows. Misty’s partner Scarfe goes to pick him up. After learning that Chico does know somethings, and hearing him name drop Luke’s name, Scarfe takes off his tie and chokes Chico to death with said tie. Yeah, he’s in Cottonmouth’s back pocket. At Harlem’s Paradise, Cottonmouth is… unhappy with this situation. But he kind of goes about dealing with his anger the wrong way. You’re basically destitute and you’re smashing your own stuff? That’s just dumb. Scarfe arrives, arranges for Cottonmouth's guy to deal with Chico's corpse and lets the boss know that Luke Cage has been the one robbing him. How does Cottonmouth react? In a word, aggressively.

Luke is taking a moment to relax after busy busy few days, eating some Chinese food at his landlord’s restaurant. He has a nice little chat with said landlord, Connie, and notices at the last second that Cottonmouth has fired a freaking missile at them. The episode ends with Luke and Connie being buried in rubble. I think the scores all tied up again…

Luke’s been pretty calm up to this point. He’s used his powers pretty defensively, only protecting others and not really using his superstrength. That changed completely when Pop’s died. He goes HAM on Cottonmouth’s goons in search of payback. It really is kind of unfair that he’s not only superstrong but also bulletproof. At least Spider-Man’s opponents have a chance of breaking his skin if they shoot him. As unlikely as it may be. Cottonmouth is also very good in this too. We get to see what happens when this particular viper is backed into a corner. He fires rockets at it, which, not going to lie, is much more effective than just having a venomous bite. Do not mess with this guy. Overall, solid episode, and can’t wait for more. Part 4 is next. 

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Viewer Log: Luke Cage ep 2

I haven’t watched Luke Cage all the way to the end, but I have noticed a pattern of how the episode go. They show a scene from the end of the episode at the beginning. Not the first show I’ve seen do this, but worth noting I think.

The episode opens to Luke with a gun to the back of his head. The young punk holding the firearm calls Luke the N word, which sets him off a little. “Young man, I’ve had a long day. I’m tired. But I’m not tired enough to never let nobody call me that word.” Really like that opening few lines and the longer speech that follows. Despite the grammatical errors. We then jump back and over, to Misty Knight figuring out the shooting. She mentally replays what she thinks happened, which is pretty darn accurate.

Tony Stark and Hank Pym really need to
figure out those unstable molecule costumes.
For Luke's clothing budget's sake.

We then jump over to Luke at the barbershop. He learns from Pops how Cottonmouth and Mariah operate. While operating in two distinctly different circles, both use intimidation tactics to get what they want. Their discussion is interrupted by none other than Cottonmouth and Shades. The snake themed criminal wants a shave. While Pops shaves Cottonmouth, Cottonmouth seems to covertly asks Pops if he knows where Chico is. Pops plays dumb, but Cottonmouth doesn’t push the issue. Which is smart, when a guy has a razor to your throat. After the shave, when it looks like Cottonmouth is going to leave without paying, Luke none too subtly asks if he should lay the smack down on them. The situation is tense, but end without anybody getting their butts kicked. Once the baddys go, Pops begs Luke to find Chico. Luke wants to keep out of it, but Pops calls in the favor that Luke owed him. Payment for Pops not asking too many questions when Riva and Luke came to Harlem. While frustrated at being forced to get involved, he starts looking.

Meanwhile, Cottonmouth drops off Shameek’s half of their cash off with Mariah. She’s rather upset with the fact that it’s only half of what was missing. She embezzled funds to pay for renovations to Harlem Paradise, and needs to redeposit the entire amount to avoid suspicion. Another tense moment, but the cousins separate before they kill each other. Back with Luke, he finds Chico hold up in a crappy apartment. He offers to help the scared kid, after pointing out that the guy doing this pro bono found him in 4 hours and that Cottonmouth is going to be paying his search teams handsomely, but Chico refuses. Because he’s stupid. Luke goes back to Pops. He’s disappointed to hear about Chico’s choice. Pops fills Luke in on some of his past. Back in the day, Pops was a thug. He got the nickname Pops back then, as it was the sound his fists made when he hit folks. He ran with a young Cottonmouth, and Chico’s dad. He was eventually locked up for ten years, and after he got out tried to make a difference in people’s lives. He also tries to look after Chico, as his Dad got in bad with drugs. After story time, Chico shows up, having changed his mind about running. They just barely hide him from Misty and her partner Scarfe, who arrive looking for info.

Evil rarely looks so suave.

Pops, knowing that the cops will be watching him for a while, asks Luke to go to Cottonmouth and ask for a parley. His barbershop is in general considered neutral ground in Harlem, and hopes that he can get Cottonmouth to see reason. Luke goes, and offers Cottonmouth the deal. Cottonmouth is very hostile, but agrees. Despite all of the apparent bad blood between them, Cottonmouth clearly still has a great deal of respect for Pops. He also fires Luke, but Luke counters by saying he quit before walking in. Meanwhile, one of Pops regulars sells Chico out to Cottonmouth’s goons. Shades and Cottonmouth’s #2, Tone, go to kill Chico. Shades insist that they wait for Chico to walk outside, but Tone is impatient. He fires a couple of hundred rounds into the place. Luke shields the one patron, Pops is hit in the neck and Chico is hit a few times. Luke plays dead while Shades and Tone grab the money and run. Luke tries to save Pops, but he’s drowning in his own blood. His last words are spent reminding Luke to move “forward, always forward.”

Shades and Tone drop the money off with Cottonmouth. Tone, expecting to be rewarded, happily tells his boss how he mowed down the barbershop and killed those guys that disrespected Cottonmouth. He also uses the actual name in front of his boss, which is a no-no. He’s Mr. Stokes when you’re in his presence. Enraged that Tone not only killed his former friend and used the nickname that he despises, Cottonmouth tosses Tone from the roof. We return to the opening scene, where Luke takes his anger out on the punk’s gun. He swears to step up like Pops did, and sees Mariah walking with Chico’s bag. He swears “Always forward, Pop,” before the credits roll.

Like his former girlfriend Jessica Jones, Luke is very much against the idea of being a hero. Throughout the episode he’s fighting tooth and nail to stay out of the problems that are popping up with Harlem and Cottonmouth. But, also like Jessica, he keeps getting pulled in. It is particularly satisfying to see him start helping people and do it incredibly well. Again, tracked down a guy in Harlem in four hours, that’s impressive.

I knew that Pops had a target on his back from the get go. He’s the father figure, they almost never last to the end of the story. That being said, I was expecting to see a little more of him before he got the ax. Just saying. But, seeing Cottonmouth’s extreme reaction to Pops murder does characterize this particular baddy incredibly well. He’s a criminal, no two ways about it, but history, loyalty means a whole hell of a lot to him. Even years later. If I had to choose the thing that Netflix has done better than anyone else, its characterizing its villains. At least Kingpin, and now, Cottonmouth. A hero is only as good as their villain, and those two are given plenty of time to develop. Which is great. A great continuation to a great series. Next time, part 3.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322314/mediaviewer/rm4227270656

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Viewer Log: Luke Cage ep 1

Sweet Christmas, he’s back! Yes, “Sweet Christmas” is his catchphrase, and the fact that Mike Colter can say that and still be awesome speaks volumes about this series and this character. He’s big, powerful, largely invulnerable, and got his own series. Let’s get to it.

So, how’s Luke been faring since he and Jessica’s… break up? I suppose they weren’t really dating, but they did end up breaking a LOT of stuff. So yeah, break up. Well, he’s gone from being the owner of his own bar to sweeping up hair at a barber and washing dishes at a club. So… not great. He is hit on by an attractive single mother, but is… conflicted about seeking out relationships. Partially because of his dearly departed ex-wife, and partially because the last woman he saw socially put a shotgun to his chin and pulled the trigger. He’s bullet proof and under mind-control, he’s fine. He seems to have a strong bond with the owner of the barber shop, a kindly old man named Pops. Pops encourages Luke to keep moving forward, and not dwell in the past. He also likes giving Luke nicknames, like Power Man.

He's coming at ya, with a fist!

After closing up at the barbershop, Luke spots one of the local kids, goes by Chico, with a gun acting all shifty. Luke halfheartedly tries to stop him, but decides to stay out of it. He moves onto his night job at the local club Harlem’s Paradise, where he’s bumped up from dishwasher to bartender because another local kid, Dante, called in sick. We’re then given our first look at our villain for the series, Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes. Cottonmouth runs the club, like Luke he’s an ex-con but unlike Luke he seems to revel in breaking the law. He’s joined in his private box by Harlem Council Woman Mariah Dillard, his cousin, and local gang leader Domingo. Cottonmouth is looking to offload some high quality Hammer Tech guns on Domingo, with the proceeds going to Mariah’s plans for Harlem. What a neat little system, too bad it doesn’t work out.

The gun deal is interrupted by three kids, Dante and Chico and their ringleader Shameek. I think I spelt that right… They kill both Cottonmouth and Domingo’s goons, and steal the million dollars that was about to change hands. Dante gets cold feet about the whole thing, prompting Shameek to kill him. Greedy punk only wanted to split the million 50/50 anyway. Back with Luke, he’s doing a decent job as a bartender, and a slightly better job hitting on a pretty woman at the bar. Unfortunately, he’s pulled away. A coworker was asked to bring a few bottles of champagne to Cottonmouth’s box, and quite frankly she’s uncomfortable being up there alone. So the titans meet. Cottonmouth is impressed with Luke, and offers the big man a “better” job that involves firearms. Luke isn’t interested, and leaves them to their premature celebration. A few minutes later, Dane, with his last few breaths, calls Cottonmouth’s #2 Tone and tells him what went down. Cottonmouth is not pleased. 1. Because the sour deal messes up his and Mariah’s plans, and 2. It’s going to put him in hot water with the guy that supplied the guns, an arms dealer named Diamondback. More snakes, hooray.

Not sure why, but I can really believe this guy as being
untouchable.

Luke meets up with the bar woman, they hit it off, and enjoy a “private” evening together. The next day, Luke’s date, detective Misty Knight, looks into the shooting, while Luke goes to work. Pops tells Luke about his method for saving kids. His barbershop is considered neutral ground in Harlem and he uses that to give kids a place to work and hang out away from all the bad business outside. He’s a good guy. Around the same time, Cottonmouth meets up with an old associate, Shades. He works for Diamondback and is going to be looking after things until things stabilize. Cottonmouth is less then pleased with the subtle takeover. Cottonmouth puts a hit out on these two. Chico is in the wind, but Shameek is pretty easy to find. Dude was spending a good chunk of his ill-gotten gains at a “gentlemen’s” club. Why do they call them that when the least gentlemanly things go down there?

While Luke is working at Harlem’s Paradise, he sees Shameek being brought in, and recognizes Shades from his stint in prison. He keeps his head down, and the idiot that wears sunglasses at night doesn’t notice him. Cottonmouth tortures Shameek for Chico’s locataion, but goes berserker nuts after the punk spits on him. The next day, Misty and her team find what’s left of him. Kid’s face looks like he’s been hit by a truck. Later that night, Luke’s landlords are being shaken down by thugs. Luke steps in, and wipes the floor with them. After things settle down, the landlords want to hire Luke to look after their place. He turns down the money, but promises that he’s got their back.

An explosive start to Luke’s solo run. I have to say that I liked Mike Colter as Luke Cage in the Jessica Jones series last year, but I love this man in Luke Cage. Unlike in the last show, where he’s trying to keep his head down and largely succeeding, we’re really seeing him step up as a hero now that he’s back home in Harlem. He’s got a great cast with Simone Missick as Misty Knight and Frankie Faison as the fatherly Henry “Pops” Hunter.

But what’s a hero without his villain? Nothing much. And Cottonmouth is a great baddy. Mahershala Ali is great as the at times suave, other times ruthless club owner. There’s a great bit in the scene where he’s beating on Shameek where he explains why he loves a portrait of Biggie Smalls that he has in his office. Because everybody wants to be the king.  He and his corrupt counterpart Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) are a great dastardly duo. They’re like Wilson Fisk broken into two parts, with Cottonmouth as the upfront criminal, and Mariah as the underhanded public person.

The series has a real… jazzy vibe to it. I love the look, love the feel, love the music, love just about everything about it. And it only gets better from here. Next time, part 2, it hits the fan. Not the actual title, but pretty much the best summary I can think of. 

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