Viewer Log: Luke Cage ep 9

When we last left Luke, he was informed that a childhood friend turned enemy is actually his brother, and was then shot for the second time by said brother… I feel like I should say, Scott, Matthew, my brothers, I am so very glad that neither of you is likely to shoot me. At least… I think. Back on task. Luke escaped the deranged Willis aka Diamondback by falling into the back of a garbage truck.

While Luke does his best to avoid getting tetanus, Shades reopens Harlem’s Paradise. He’s riding high after taking Cottonmouth’s club, which doesn’t last when Diamondback stops by. Willis isn’t happy that he lost Luke, and that their goons couldn’t pick up the trail. He murders one of the lesser goons in frustration. And then chastises Shades, for thinking he could just waltz in and take Cottonmouth’s spot. Apparently, Willis doesn’t want his new top henchman thinking that killing his former top henchmen will go unnoticed. Zip distracts Diamondback with an update on Luke, probably saving Shades’ life.

Yeah, Luke vs Drill, Luke wins.
Even when he doesn't want to.

Luke escapes the dump truck, gets a change of clothes and limps away. A news segment reveals that the cops are looking for him.  So not a great continuation to a sucky day.

We then get a very interesting scene with Mariah and Cottonmouth’s corpse. She kisses the top of his shroud and gives us a little more of their background. Apparently, Cornell’s father was a druggy that OD and his mother ran off a short time later. They’ve been rather vague about the age difference between Mariah and Cornell, but she was old enough to remember baby Cornell being dropped off, and that she was his primary caregiver. Growing up, she called him Mo. Cornell assumed that this was a weird shortening of Cottonmouth. So obviously wasn’t a huge fan of that one. In actuality, she was shortening it from Moses. As he was her abandoned little prince. Which is pretty darn sweet. She admits that she did everything to protect Cornell, but in the end, she couldn’t save him from their family’s bad business. How sad. Shades arrives, breaking her silent reflection, and tries to convince Mariah to help him transition into being the new local crime boss.

Luke’s luck lapses, and a couple of curious cops corner him. They try to bring him in, but unfortunately for them, Luke is still about 90% bulletproof, so it doesn’t really end well for them. Why would you ever try to take on a man with documented super strength with just two people? That plan was doomed to fail from the start.

Mariah goes to Domingo and sets up a meeting with Harlem’s top crime bosses. Luke meets up with Claire. They agree that his only option right now is to get out of town. Claire had been researching Seagate Prison, and learned that the head doctor at the private prison was still alive. The dynamic duo tracks him down and makes him a deal. In exchange for Riva’s, Luke’s dearly departed wife’s, hard drive, the Doc uses his knowledge of Luke’s anatomy to fix the bullet holes.

It's hard to see these two together, knowing how
it'll all end.

Back with the bad guys, Mariah and Shades try to re-solidify their powerbase. Well, re-solidify Shades’ powerbase, Mariah is clearly trying to get out of the crime game. Unfortunately for them, Diamondback got wind of the powwow, and intervenes. The slippery serpent murders most of the assembled crime bosses, aside from Domingo, Mariah and Shades. He makes it clear he’s taking more or less direct control of Harlem, and these three will continue to work for him. Regardless of how they feel on the matter. Can’t argue with that logic… and live.

The Doc preps Luke for the procedure. While the flashdrive filled in a number of blanks in the Doc’s research, and that he has all the chemicals and tech needed to recreate the procedure, he doesn’t know how hot the solution needs to get to effect Luke. So, there’s going to be a fair amount of guess and check here. Also, if you’re wondering why the Doc’s home lab has all the equipment he needs… he stole it when his Seagate research was shut down. Pretty simple explanation. They try once, and fail, and then try again, and Luke’s heart stops. So… not a great day all around.

I think that this episode’s best scene was Mariah with Cottonmouth’s body. In only a handful of minutes we get all of the important notes of their history, and how much his death must be having on her. He was arguably the most important person in her life, and she ended it. Anger; uncontrollable, savage, and cruel, ended her the life that she held most precious. How very sad. With Luke’s story, it’s your typical “hero lost his powers and needs to reclaim them.” But with bullet holes. Said bullet holes do make fixing Luke and getting him back to 100% a little more pressing then mopey Peter Parker having to get them back in Spider-Man 2. Oh no, Mary Jane was kidnapped, again. Not the same as “I’m literally bleeding to death and my body makes it impossible for conventional medicine to help me,” now is it? So yeah, a pretty standard hero powers-lost story with a short but above average scene in it. Next time, either more Luke Cage or we’ll pause and try something a little different. We’ll see.

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/marvelcinematicuniverse/images/2/2c/JJS01E13_Luke_Cage_Hospital.png/revision/latest?cb=20160215105602
http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/marvelcinematicuniverse/images/1/1b/Dillard_Mabel_reminder.JPG/revision/latest?cb=20161101191902

Viewer Log: Luke Cage ep 8

So, where did we last leave Luke? Oh, right, he’d just been shot with the Judas bullet. These bullets are made from metal taken from the Chitari Invasion a few years back. Alien metals don’t follow the same rules as Earth metals, apparently. As such, they’re able to pierce Luke’s nearly impervious skin. And what’s worse, after breaking the skin, they burrow deeper and then explode. So, Luke is not only suffering from a pretty serious GSW but also a pretty serious case of internal bleeding. Not a great place for Mr. Cage to be, now is it? Let’s get to it.

First Cottonmouth, then Diamondback,
Luke may be up against the whole
Serpent Society next. Yes, that is a thing.

Luke and Claire are able to put some distance between themselves and the shooter, Diamondback, as the new adversary reloads. Claire is able to get an “off the books” ambulance and tries to rush Luke to a hospital. Luke isn’t a fan of the hospital idea, being that he’s a fugitive, and argues against it. While these two quarrel, Diamondback catches up to them and blows the ambulance away. Diamondback taunts the injured Cage as our hero is forced to limp away.

With the baddies, Mariah is still reeling from man-slaughtering her cousin. Shades does his best to walk her through how the investigation is going to go. Prepping her for the questions that will be asked, and how to set up the timeline of events to not incriminate herself, to start. At the same time, Misty arrives at the scene and starts visualizing the course of events. She gets a good amount of the details right, but also a few wrong, thanks to Shade’s altering of facts. We see some of what he did to make Cottonmouth’s death look like a beating from a superstrong man. He also creates a few ‘witnesses’ and has his goons plant evidence in Luke’s apartment.

Back with the good guys, Claire and Luke make it to a closed women’s clinic. They break in and Claire uses her medical skills to try to get the bullet out. Unfortunately, Luke’s nigh-unbreakable skin and sturdier then average muscles and organs makes it impossible for her to get any sort of instruments into him to pull the bullet out. Every attempt she makes just pushes it in deeper. Way to suddenly be more of a hindrance then a help for once, Superpowers.

Misty is continued to be given bad information, from the false witnesses and Cottonmouth’s former lawyer. I have no idea what his name is, so I’ll be calling him Mr. B. The B stands for Business, Bad Business. Mr. B helps keep Misty too off balance to get the info she needs from the witness. Despite this, she does notice a lot of inconsistencies. Chiefly, the waitress that is claiming to be Cottonmouth’s lover was originally too scared/intimidated to go into Cottonmouth’s private booth alone. Misty had witnessed this herself in the first episode, when the waitress asked Luke to escort her up when Cottonmouth ordered champagne. Misty wants to grill Mariah about the story, but her new chief is insistent that the follow Cage instead. What is with authority figures always assuming the obvious good guy vigilantes will change tactics and start murdering people? Instead of obvious bad people killing other obvious bad people?

At the clinic, Claire uses an ultrasound machine to determine where the bullet is and how far the fragments have gotten into Luke’s abdomen. It’s not looking good.  As time keeps passing, the fragments burrow deeper, causing more damage and becoming even more difficult to effectively remove. At around this same time, Misty call’s Luke’s phone and tries to get him to turn himself in. He’s obviously incapable and unwilling to do so, and hangs up. Unfortunately, for Luke, Misty had begun a trace on him and has gotten a general idea of his location. She heads out.

Why must brother's fight?

Shades, meanwhile, is consolidating his forces. While Zip and his crew try to make a clean break from Harlem’s Paradise and Cottonmouth’s former associates, Shades is insistent that they stay. He’s taking over, and they’ll work for him or die. Hard to argue with that logic. Which, for me, begs the question of how much of Cottonmouth's fall from grace and death were products of circumstance and how much was indirect manipulation on Shades' part. Something to think about moving forward, if nothing else.

Misty catches up with Luke and Claire at the clinic, mere minutes ahead of Diamondback. He fires a few Judas rounds into the clinic walls, trying to finish off Luke. When that doesn’t work, he breaks into the clinic to fight. He and Luke throw down, but the slippery serpent strikes our hero’s severe sores to get the upper hand. Luke freezes up when he sees Diamondback’s face. If Diamondback’s obvious personal hatred wasn’t enough, then the freezing up makes it pretty obvious that they know each other. Diamondback knocks Luke down again and makes a break for it. Misty chases after him, but gets caught. Diamondback takes out Misty, knocking her unconscious, and leads Luke on a chase through Harlem. They meet up at a movie theater. It’s revealed that Diamondback is Willis Styker, a former friend from when Luke Cage was still Carl Lucas. He is passionate, downright biblical in his lust for vengeance against Luke Cage.  He also reveals that he was the one behind Luke’s imprisonment and most of the troubles he had a Seagate. Pretty much everything except the murder of Riva, which is still squarely on the shoulders of Kilgrave and a mind controlled Jessica Jones. They throw down some more. Luke, while injured, proves stronger and sends Diamondback flying.

Claire is taken into police custody and interrogated by Misty. Both are steadfast in their beliefs, Claire in that Luke is a force for good, and Misty in that a vigilante needs to be stopped before anyone gets hurt. They butt heads until Claire is allowed to leave.

Big things, small packages.

With the bad guys, its revealed that Mariah paid off the waitress to make her lie about Luke. Knowing that this girl will most likely have a crisis of consciousness and reveal her lies, she makes plans to execute the waitress if that occurs. She’s visibly chilled when she realizes that this is exactly what her dear Mama Mabel would do.

Luke catches up with Diamondback. Luke, tired, hurt emotionally and physically, and bleeding out, tries to apologize for whatever he did to hurt Stryker. He claims that Stryker was like a brother to him. Diamondback callously throws back “[Negro] I am your brother,” and shoots him with another Judas. Luke pitches backward and into a garbage truck. Can a superhuman get Tetanus?

This is an interesting introduction to our new antagonist. Diamondback is much more… upfront in his motivations then Cottonmouth was. And, while I think I prefer Cottonmouth’s evil class to Diamondback’s evil bluntness, they do give him plenty to say. Lot of memorable quotes from this guy. “I gave you wings. I sent you to hell, and you came back with superpowers. Ain’t that a bitch?” is one of my favorites. Seeing the unstoppable Power Man being put through the ringer with two bullet wounds was also an interesting change. One of the best ways to get character development done quickly with these kind of guys is to strip them of their powers, after all. And, while once again Misty’s plot line isn’t as interesting, it is intriguing to see her get pushed against the wall by the very rules of law she wants to protect. Another simple but effective means of character development, put their beliefs to the test. So yeah, solid episode. I do find it interesting that, while the Judas Bullets cost was apparently enough to make wealthy criminals like Cottonmouth pause, Diamondback uses them like you could buy them from any street vender. Either Diamondback is an even more wealthy arms dealer then was implied, or he is at the level of hatred for Luke that killing him is worth any price. Next time, part 9. 

http://wikicomics.ru/photo/posters/1835-almaznyy-zmey.html
https://nypdecider.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/luke-cage-108-5.gif
http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/marvelcinematicuniverse/images/f/f6/Judas_Bullet.png/revision/latest?cb=20161003073321

Review: Doctor Strange

The Sorcerer Supreme has made his way onto the big screen and it is a heck of an entrance. The film is visually stunning, funny, and just plain awesome. One note before we get started, there is a difference between sorcerers, wizards, warlocks, magicians, and mages, but I will be using the terms interchangeably. Why? Because they are all fun words to say. And writing sorcerer over and over again is just boring. I got to try and keep things linguistically lively, or I’ll go insane. Well… more insane. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Very, very, very trippy visuals.

The movie opens in Nepal, in the sacred site of sorcerers, Kamar-Taj in the dead of night. A group of people in cloaks march into an ancient looking library. Given the residence of this location, this probably isn’t too out of the ordinary. The group almost immediately attack the librarian, summoning energy whips to hold him in place, and the group’s leader, Kaecilius, decapitates him. That’s probably not normal. The evil wizards steal a few pages out of an old grimoire and make a run for it. Another hooded figure arrives, the current Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One. She, yes I’ll get to the gender-ethnicity change later, chases down her former pupils after they try to escape to New York. Using crazy time bending magic, she stops several of them, but Kaecilius and a few followers escape through a portal in space/time. Frustrated by this, the Ancient One wanders off into a crowd.

We then jump to our protagonist, Dr. Stephen Strange. He’s an incredibly gifted but arrogant neurosurgeon. In his first few minutes of screen time he performs two surgeries, one of which was removing a bullet from a guy’s brain. He also does his best to humiliate a fellow surgeon, who pronounced bullet-in-brain guy dead prematurely. Stephen attempts to rekindle things with his ex, Christine Palmer. It doesn’t go super well. Stephen then goes stag to a surgeon’s lecture, which turns out to be a very bad idea. While driving to the lecture, Stephen gets a call from his assistance. The assistant pitches several cases for him to try out, one of which is a veiled reference to Rhodey, but finally trips Stephen’s trigger with a case of a gal with an electrical implant who was struck by lightning. Stephen, looks at the chart while driving, which causes him to get into a horrible car accident. Like, top 10 worst crashes I’ve ever seen in a movie bad. He awakens a few days later, his body blackened and bruise, and his hands horribly mangled. In case you didn’t know, steady, non-jacked up hands are kind of important in brain surgery. Stephen spends nearly every penny that he has with experimental surgeries to get his hands back to normal. None of which work. Christine tries to convince Stephen to let go and move on, but Stephen won’t listen.

While in physical therapy, Stephen is told of a guy named Jonathon Pangborn. Pangborn was in an accident that left him a paraplegic, but somehow recovered despite the extreme nerve damage he suffered. Pangborn told Stephen about Kamar-Taj. Stephen, desperate and out of options, spends the last of his funds on a one-way ticket to Nepal. Once there, he spends days searching for Kamar-Taj but everyone he speaks to just gives him weird looks. Probably should have brought the Nepali Bhasa phrase book, just saying. After being mugged by some locals, Stephen is saved by Mordo, a student of the Ancient One. He saves Stephen, and brings him to the Ancient One. Stephen mouth offs to both Mordo and then the Ancient One. She doesn’t take kindly to the mouthing off, and shows off some of her power. She forces Stephen into the Astral Plane, and then sends him flying across the multiverse. He gets a peak at creation, and the face of Dormammu, bringer of darkness and death. And, after showing him all the wonders of the multiverse, kicks him out. Why? Because he reminds her of Kaecilius. It’s the arrogance. But, Mordo pleads Stephen’s case, and Stephen’s five hours of hammering on the door, convinces her to relent.   

Hobo Strange in Nepal.

Stephen is trained in the practical application of magic by the Ancient One and Mordo, and in mystic theory by the new librarian, Wong. Stephen proves to be a prodigy at magic, quickly mastering powers in a matter of weeks. In his studies, Stephen learns that Earth is protected from sinister sorcerous schemes by a supremely superb shield. Said shield is skillfully synthesized by the special sanctums found in special cities, specifically New York, London and Hong Kong. Side note, Alliteration like a BOSS. Around the same time, Kaecilius and his cohorts use the pages they stole to contact Dormammu, forming a bond with their new master. Stephen continues his education, even going so far as to “borrow” the ancient Eye of Agamotto and using it’s time bending powers to have a look at the pages that Kaecilius stole. Mordo and Wong stop him from experimenting too much, as bending time is one of the biggest magical no-no’s.

While they’re giving Stephen the lecture about time bending, Kaecilius and his minions attack the Sanctum in London, destroying it. The three Sanctums are connected to Kamar-Taj via transdimensional doorways, so when Kaecilius and co attacked London, it sent a shockwave through the portal into Kamar-Taj. Said shockwave blasts Stephen out of Kamar-Taj into the New York Sanctum. How convenient. Kaecilius and his minions then attack the New York Sanctum. Again, convenient. Stephen is able to hold them off, partially thanks to his new best friend, the Cloak of Levitation. I’m going to call him Cloakie. Stephen and Cloakie keep the baddies at bay, and even captures Kaecilius in a weird trap. Kaecilius tries to get Stephen to turn on the Ancient One, claiming that she uses magic for her own benefit. While Kaecilius distracts Stephen, one of the zealots stabs him in the back. While bleeding profusely, Stephen is able to make a portal to escape, taking him to the hospital that Christine worked at. Cloakie stays behind to beat the heck out of an evil warlock. Christine, while freaked out, does her best to patch him up, while Stephen and the evil magician fight on the astral plane. Stephen overpowers the warlock, obliterating his SOUL. That’s dark, Stephen, real dark. He does his best to explain the situation to Christine after she patches him up. The astral projection, soul fighting, Cloakie, and open rip in space/time help sell the story. He departs through the portal.

On the other side, he meets Mordo and the Ancient One. She tries to promote Stephen to the rank of master and put him in charge of New York’s Sanctum, but he’s had just about enough today. He confronts her about Kaecilius’s claims that she’s abusing her powers. Specifically, that she is drawing power from the Dark Dimension to make herself immortal. She storms off, and Mordo angrily berates Stephen for not trusting in the Ancient One. Mordo thinks that Stephen isn’t brave enough to fight to kill, and Stephen claims that Mordo is too ready to fight and kill for the Ancient One. Their disagreement is interrupted by another attack by Kaecilius and co. Mordo runs in to fight, while Stephen instead tries to trap. Mages can take others into the “Mirror Dimension,” a world tied to but separate from the real one. Which was really, really stupid, as the power boost Kaecilius is getting from Dormammu makes the MORE powerful in the Mirror Dimension. They are chased across a crazy bendy New York, in an amazingly done chase sequence, just barely escaping their pursuers. The Ancient One steps in to save their butts, revealing that she is, in fact, drawing power from the Dark Dimension. She fights off most of Kaecilius’s men, but is mortally wounded in the battle.

A sorcerer beset by his own demons.

Stephen takes the old sorceress to Christine. She does her best, but the Ancient One has only moments. The Ancient One astral projects, and Stephen follows. The Ancient One asks Stephen for forgiveness, and tries to encourage him to do the whole save the world thing. Stephen is hesitant, but agrees. He grabs Cloakie, Mordo and the two travel to the Hong Kong Sanctum to stop the end of days.

The Good first. This movie is visually stunning. From the magically summoned weapons, to the Stephen’s mangled hands, to the Mirror Dimension, to the crazy matter bending, to Dormammu’s oversized head, all of the effects are amazing. Benedict Cumberbatch is amazing as Stephen Strange. He’s his usual jerky but charming self, I could totally believe him as the super doctor that was struck down by his own hubris. Chiwetel Ejiofor is great as Karl Mordo. He’s a very ridged man, steadfast in his belief in the Ancient One and in the power of magic. Which, is what eventually leads him to his fall from grace. Yeah, spoiler alert, but Mordo becomes a baddy. Goes by Baron Mordo, and is a raging psychopath in the comics. Weird to see a version that I like. Both Cumberbatch and Ejiofor have great speeches in this. Powerful, and moving. Benedict Wong play Wong, the head librarian at Kamar-Taj, trainer of Stephen Strange and overall badass. I was actually a little surprised to see him in this, since in the comics he’s Stephen’s… man-servant. Uh… he was originally written 60s. That is literally the only excuse I can make. This Wong is a bit of a curmudgeon, but still fun to watch.

   

A very different look, but not a bad one by any stretch of the
imagination.

Let’s talk about Tilda Swinton. I’m not going to get into a long rant about changing the Ancient One’s race and gender, whether it was good, bad, racist, sexist or white washing. That is for people more intelligent, more informed, or more interested in the subject. I will say, Tilda Swinton is great in this role. She’s incredibly wise, controlled, with a very commanding presence, which are three major requirements for the Ancient One. I loved just about every scene she was in, particularly when she was battling Kaecilius, when they were bending all of New York to fight. Awesome.

Now, onto the bad. Kaecilius isn’t the best villain. They try to give him a tragic backstory and reasoning for his evilness, but he just feels really one dimensional. Just because you go with the "dead loved ones" backstory doesn't turn a Jafar (Aladdin) into an Iago (Othello). You need to work to make a character complex, there is no shorthand for it.I also find it incredibly hard to believe that any rational human being would take the word of a literal demon that lives in the Dark Dimension at face value. That’s just stupid. And, while we’re told that Stephen is arrogant on a number of occasions, there is really only one or two instances that I can think of where he was shown to be that. It’s characterization via words, not actions, which isn’t the best idea. The movie also hits most of the cliché’s pretty hard. Student A turns on Master. Student B arrives, is pretty similar to Student A. Master refuses to train Student B because of similarities Student A, but relents. Intense training that would probably kill him, but works because reasons. Basic, straightforward, and generic.

Overall, I’ll give it an A-. It’s great. Really great. I’d say that it and Captain America: Civil War tie for second place in the best Superhero movie of 2016. Great effects, great cast, great movie. There are a few weaker elements to it, but doesn’t really drag it down too much. I say see it if you love the Marvel movies, or just want to see what all the fuss is about. You will not be disappointed. Next time, back to Luke Cage. He’s on the run, with a hole in his stomach and a whole new snake chasing him. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Doctor_Strange_poster.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Strange_(film)#/media/File:Benedict_Cumberbatch_on_the_set_of_Doctor_Strange.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Mordo#/media/File:Chiwetel_Ejiofor_as_Karl_Mordo.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_One#/media/File:Tilda_Swinton_as_the_Ancient_One.jpg

Viewer Log: Luke Cage ep 7

Ready for a villain flashback? It doesn’t matter if you are, that’s what we’re getting. Don’t worry, these are still pretty good. But, these had better be the last flashbacks for a while. Flashbacks are like explosions, used well, they’re awesome, overused and this turns into a Michael Bay film. And nobody wants that that. Well, nobody that matters. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Fit him with some adamantium fangs, and we've got
ourselves a supervillain.

If Luke Cage thought that things would calm down the second that he had Cottonmouth arrested, he was very sadly mistaken. The next day he had to scare off Cottonmouth’s #2 Zip while trying to sell the Hammer Tech guns. Zip is under the impression that while his boss is down, he’s far from out. And sadly, he’s pretty much spot on.

At the police station, Cottonmouth is represented by the same lawyer that works for Wilson Fisk. I wonder if this guy specifically sells his services to rich criminals? Probably, but we’ll wait to say it definitely until Iron Fist’s show. If this lawyer reps Danny’s baddy, then yes, yes he does. Using his evil lawyer powers, he gets Cottonmouth released. Claiming that the evidence was too circumstantial or some such nonsense. This, unfortunately, works, and Luke is forced to fume as Cottonmouth struts out of the precinct. At Harlem’s Paradise, Cottonmouth acts like he’s walking on air. Imagine how angry he gets when Shades still refuses to get him the Judas bullets. He claims that there’s too much heat on Cottonmouth right now, and he’ll recommend Diamondback get him the Judas bullets after things have calmed down. In response, Cottonmouth demands a meeting with Diamondback, to which Shades agrees to set up. A day or so later, Cottonmouth calls Luke for a parley. Luke, still fuming, does agree.

Meanwhile, Mariah is having career problems. Obviously, Cottonmouth’s recent troubles have reflected poorly on her. A Colleague arrives at her home and basically tells her to step down from her position on the city council and he’ll make sure things transition easy for her. She, obviously refuses. Just before the parley, Cottonmouth plays the piano and reminisces about his childhood. He grew up with Mariah, raised by their Grandmother “Mama” Mabel, and their paternal Great-Uncle Peter. In their youth, a teenage Cornell Stokes dreams of being a musician. This dream is fostered by his Uncle Peter, but stifled by Mama Mabel. She’s got a criminal empire to run, she doesn’t have time for musical aspirations. She forces Cornell to help Peter dispose of a goon that violated their rules. Apparently, Mama Mabel deals in a LOT of criminal enterprises, but she never ever condoned selling drugs in her territory. Even crooks have principles, I guess. Cottonmouth’s flashback ends when Luke walks in. Luke remarks that “Even though I hate your #$%, I’ve got to admit you’ve got talent,” as he heard the ending of Cottonmouth’s piano playing. Once the parley commences, Cottonmouth gives Luke an ultimatum. Luke starts working for Cottonmouth, doing when he says, when he says it, or he’ll reveal that Luke Cage = Carl Lucas. He lets Luke leave to think things over.

Luke tries to run, to protect himself from Cottonmouth’s retaliation, but Claire convinces him to stay and fight the good fight. Cottonmouth and Shades meet up. Shades is rather upset that Cottonmouth revealed he knew Luke’s secret. Apparently, Diamondback wanted to keep this a secret for a little while longer. We get another flashback to Cottonmouth’s childhood. Mama Mabel is quite upset her grandson missed an appointment to protect one of her other goons. Her anger is somewhat abated, or perhaps redirected, when Cornel reveals he and Uncle Peter were at a music audition for him, and then Spanish Harlem. Mama Mable is quite displeased to learn her Brother-in-law is dealing with their biggest rivals, but thanks Cornell for being honest.

Finding beauty in broken places.

Luke, starts targeting Cottonmouth’s allies, since he can’t attack him directly. For now. He tracks down Domingo, and shows his displeasure at their illegal dealings. The police start looking into Luke, at their new polices chief’s insistence. A forensic guy notices that Luke’s too clean, as in, other than a driver’s license and social security number, he doesn’t exist. No email, no social networking page. It’s just too weird to be normal. Back with Mariah, she officially loses her spot on the City Council. There’s a pretty great scene of how she reacts to it, she’s visibly shaken by losing everything.

Another flashback, with Mama Mabel and Peter. We learn that they have some pretty weird history. They used to “date” before Mabel moved on to Peter’s brother. So weird. She confronts Peter about the Puerto Ricans and Spanish Harlem. He admits he was working with them, trying to set up a deal to expand outside of Harlem. Mabel isn’t interested, claiming “Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.” Mabel forces Cornell to be the one to take him outback and shoot him. It’s also revealed that Peter was abusing Mariah. So yeah, Mama Mabel’s house was a pretty messed up place.

Mariah meets with Cottonmouth at Harlem’s Paradise. She begs him to drop the Luke Cage vendetta once and for all. This causes things to boil over. Cottonmouth explodes, releasing I’m assuming decades of repressed anger at Mariah, who got to liver her dream while he was forced to be Mama Mabel’s successor. He does the absolute worse thing imaginable and claims that Mariah “wanted” Uncle Peter’s abuse. She snaps, defenestrates Cottonmouth, and then beats him with a mike stand. All the while screaming “I never wanted it!”

Is your Grandma so intimidating that she can make you
                 kill a man?

Shades walks in, and praises Mariah for killing her cousin. Apparently, he’d been planning for this, and is now going to sets it up to look like Luke Cage was the murderer. Given what we later learn about Mariah’s relationship with her cousin, this isn’t the best thing to hear.

Luke drops off the Hammer Tech guns with Misty, where they argue the ethics of vigilantism. A short time later, Misty gets called about Cottonmouth’s death.  At the same time, Luke and Claire go on an evening walk and bond. Luke reveals that his father is still alive, but doesn’t know Luke is alive. Before we can delve deeper into this, a mysterious gunman hits Luke with a Judas bullet. He starts bleeding, and the bullet explodes.

This was a very strange episode to process. While I knew that Cottonmouth would be dealt with, I assumed that it’d be at the season finale. Cottonmouth has been almost another main character throughout Luke Cage’s run, so seeing him axed off in episode 7 is pretty nuts. I assume that this is to make room for Diamondback, but again, I thought we weren’t going to see him officially until season 2. At least he starts out with a bang. Yes, Diamondback is the shooter. The background with Mariah and Cottonmouth’s past is very interesting, I am one of those guys that is always interested in seeing how villains are shaped, so seeing how the despicable duo got their start is interesting. Physically, emotionally, and mentally abusive paternal figures usually lead to pretty awful people too. It’s a very chicken/egg situation. That being said, I think that they went a little overboard with Mariah’s freak out. Granted, I have never (to my knowledge) had a long conversation with an abuse victim about said abuse. That being said, I do know that the phrase “you wanted it,” should never never never never never come out of one’s mouth during that conversation. But, since they seemed to be going with a crime of passion explanation, they let the rage go on a little too long. I could see someone flipping out and pushing someone out a window. I could see someone flipping out and beating someone to death. I can’t see someone flipping out, pushing someone out a window and then beating them to, while still being on the initial rage buzz. Just saying. So, in summation, an interesting episode, Cottonmouth’s departure was abrupt and early, but good insight into the baddies. Next time, we’re taking a quick break from Luke Cage and having a look at Dr. Strange. It’s gonna be cool!

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/7/7c/Cottonmouth_Profile%281%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20161001071801
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/marvelcinematicuniverse/images/3/39/Disappointed_Young_Cottonmouth.JPG/revision/latest?cb=20161010170610
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/marvelcinematicuniverse/images/e/e4/Cottonmouth_kills_pete.JPG/revision/latest?cb=20161010170721

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!

https://www.pinterest.com/ryanbailey1983/avengers/

http://wikicomics.ru/photo/posters/1820-misti-nayt.html

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. 

https://twitter.com/wearewakanda/status/674346220702343169
https://www.google.com/search?sa=G&hl=en&q=Netflix&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSmQEJCZ0taSknqjoajQELEKjU2AQaBggBCD0IQgwLELCMpwgaYgpgCAMSKOQE4gTjBLYO5w6CEJsOnA6eDuUE2i2vLq4u2y2qOs46lC6rOqI63C0aMGhvH72BVARceYucLVs3claHQ8Vvv1NYSXLUwmFlsHAIy4OUEEfl6nBSeSIb6MNvGSAEDAsQjq7-CBoKCggIARIEwHmhIQw&ved=0ahUKEwiyp4vDmNHPAhVF5iYKHY1IDLUQ2A4IHCgB&biw=956&bih=934#imgrc=CZ0taSknqjqm6M%3A