Surviving his battle with Bushmaster, Luke finally confronts his past, and as he and Misty make a move, Bushmaster finally gets his vengeance. Sinking in the river, Luke's mind wanders and he remembers the last time he saw his mother, finally snapping out of it and swimming to the surface.
He limps back to the church, where his concerned father calls out as he collapses, then wakes up an hour later. To Luke's anger, James says Piranha, too stubborn to heed any warning, left soon after Luke did. The two begin to argue once more, and Luke leaves to find Piranha. Misty, meanwhile, is trying to better control her arm by practicing basketball, when Ridenhour comes, asking for her help. She refuses to come back to work, disgusted that he is so close with Mariah. He reveals he has a snitch at Harlem's Paradise, to her immediate mockery since he had been riding her about off the books work, but he refuses to say who it is. She suggests Luke's help, but refuses to go looking for him herself, and he leaves, saying she knows where he is if she changes her mind. At Harlem's Paradise, a twitchy Mariah says that while she knows Piranha is loyal, someone is a snitch, as Ridenhour mentioned Tone. To prove she will go to any lengths to find them, she stabs one man in the hand, then tells them to look for Piranha. Shades stays behind, reminding her to be better than Cornell or Mama Mabel because fear can alienate. With the crowns again hovering above them both, he says she can't always be looking over her shoulder, and assures her he will get the money back. Tilda comes to see Mariah, trading glares with Shades as she watches a Jamaican performer and her mother watches from above. Back at the church, James offers a hoodie from the donation bin and suggests Luke stay for a bit, but the latter turns both down. James says he's still Luke's father and worries, but Luke, still angered by his father's past mistakes, says to define "father." The two stare each other down, with James saying Luke is still an angry kid, just muscular, and Luke counters that James still has no integrity. James threatens to punish Luke when he swears, and Luke scoffs at him. Luke leaves to answer the streets, despite James saying he doesn't always have to do so. Piranha, in an attempt to get out of the country, is unknowingly with Bushmaster's men. When the big man arrives, he coerces Piranha into signing over Mariah's assets. At the barbershop, Misty meets Luke, who tells her about Piranha's deal with Mariah and says he is probably with Bushmaster. Though Misty says Piranha made his choice, Luke counters that a person doing the wrong thing doesn't prevent them from deserving help. Wordlessly informing Luke she has left the force, Misty agrees to go after Piranha. In a hilarious moment as the two suggest the other could be their sidekick, Luke says he is sure he's not hers because "It's my show," slightly breaking the fourth wall. The two head to the taxi company Misty uncovered, beating the goons who come out when an alarm is hit. Though he said she had nothing to prove, Misty's actions impress him, and he interrogates one man about Piranha. They head to the warehouse Piranha was in, only to find him the next victim of Bushmaster's penchant for decapitation, with his head in a fish tank with Piranhas. We cut back to Harlem's Paradise, where Tilda tells Mariah she needed time. She says Mariah should just get out of the life, but her mother counters that she used to tell Cornell the same, only to have realized it's not that simple. Tilda says she already tried to get out, part of why she got married and gained the name Dillard, though Mariah says she doesn't really know her father and she loved her Stokes family, revealing the money she has made because of them. With Misty having reported Piranha's death, police arrive and Ridenhour talks to Misty, noting her return to action. She realizes he wants to offer Mariah a deal and insults his intelligence, saying she can do so since she's not a cop anymore. As she tells Luke they can't save everyone, Nandi and Bailey say they have to leave the scene, and she and Nandi argue until Luke breaks them up. Luke mentions Piranha's mother, his only family left, and she says family is good, causing him to become quiet and leave. Ridenhour visits Mariah to offer the deal again, but she still turns him down, so he mentions curious things about Tilda being a different age than she thinks and not knowing who her real father is. Mariah, still saying no, begs him to at least not tell Tilda about her father. He leaves, saying she has until morning to take the deal. She opens her money info again, finding it all gone, and urgently tells her guard to round everyone up and fortify her house, also wanting Tilda there. Shades, now knowing Comanche is the traitor, brings the subject up, with the latter claiming it to be Sugar. Shades says he wants Comanche to watch him as the latter gets a text from Ridenhour. A mistake in this episode comes as Shades leaves, as we see the two simply looking at each other, then cut to Comanche suddenly doing their old pose. Bushmaster, meanwhile, is being tailored for a new suit. He explains to his uncle that his mom always told him of the important of a quality appearance, and though she would scold him for coming home bloody, he knew she was proud he is a warrior. Though his uncle says the Stokes obsession is consuming him and causing problems for other Jamaicans, Bushmaster says he has learned you must handle the past, bringing up the idea of burning it away. His uncle exclaims he can't bring his mother back and vengeance belongs to the lord, but Bushmaster says it's his for now. As Bushmaster's men say it's time, Luke's own time has come as he and his father confront their past. After James offers condolences about Piranha, Luke shares what happened at the river and seeing his mother. He says it was the last time he saw her, and though she was sick with cancer, she always believed him, as opposed to James, who didn't and blamed her diagnosis on his conviction. Luke explains that thought he hasn't prayed or been to church in a long time, he feels God was telling him that not everything is his fault. While Misty hooks up with a guy, Comanche goes to Ridenhour, saying he's out because Shades knows. The latter arrives, and though Comanche presses the idea of Sugar and kills Ridenhour, Shades doesn't by it. He feigns calm and shoots Comanche, and the two reminisce about times where they could trust each other no matter what. Shades says it was his love for Comanche that blinded him, and shoots him again. Mariah tries to prepare her house and pulls a gun. Tilda says it won't scare Bushmaster, who arrives and proves her statement. Misty gets the call about Ridenhour, ironically prefacing the talk by saying the world had better be on fire as we see that Bushmaster has tied up both Mariah and Tilda and is dumping gas everywhere. Though James says he and Luke can't move on without forgiveness, Luke says he don't think he can do so. James apologizes, saying it was wrong for him to do so and it was obviously not Luke's fault; he was just so rage-filled after the diagnosis. Bushmaster finally reveals that his father with his alcohol and Buggy Stokes with Harlem's Paradise were partners, until politicians came in offering money. Though his father said no, Buggy agreed to betray his partner, stabbing him in the back but being injured himself. He and his mother ran off, but the Stokes family found them, and with cruel irony set their house on fire with a Molotov Cocktail made with Bushmaster alcohol. His mother put him out a window and he ran, never to see her again, while at the church, Luke says he knows his dad is sorry but he always remembers Willis and how he paid for his father's crimes. A tearful Bushmaster reveals his own twisted irony , as in exact vengeance he is setting the place ablaze, and is using Harlem's Paradise matches to do so. As he makes a decision and sets out to handle other business, Luke gets word of what's happening and makes his own choice. While the opening had me initially sad for Luke, given how quickly he and his father got back to arguing, I was glad they finally made amends. Forgiveness and atonement are too difficult things to get, and along with James being hotheaded in his attempts, Luke is too busy to shut him down. Seeing the two of them finally come to an understanding was both good for them and a good lesson for anyone holding grudges with a loved one in their own life. I was sad to see Piranha go so soon, as in only the last episode, he became a favorite character for me with his fast-talking sass combined with true empathy. Misty is finally on the way to being her comic counterpart, having quit the force and joining Luke, and I have to wonder where she's heading next. However, one of the biggest sections of character development for me yet I forgot to talk about enough came with Shades and Comanche. The reveal that they were lovers in prison added an interesting dynamic to their partnership, and showed why they were so dedicated to one another. Shades trying to avoid a hard life could be connected to him dismissing Comanche's lingering feeling, as his quick temper regarding anyone who insults him or Mariah in any way suggests he cares a lot about appearance. It could be that he doesn't want people to know about his sexuality, and is therefore hiding it from even himself. Comanche being dismissed could also be connected to why he ended up turning to Rudenhour, as though he is betraying Shades, he seems to feel betrayed and jealous of his relationship with Mariah. This makes the situation better and more interesting than the typical friend betraying another, as the two were more than that and he even more complicated feelings. With one relationship torn apart and another mended, Luke will be taking some interesting actions after the ending we got here.
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