The rage continues to grow as Luke comes to believe cleaning up the streets requires more violent steps, and Misty becomes discontent with the police force.
Picking up where the last episode left off, we see Luke in shock after the brutal beating he gave Cockroach. Claire arrives and chastises him for his extremeness, and insists they call paramedics and Misty to care for Cockroach. After handling everything, Misty sends Luke off, wondering at his insistence that he is having to do what police don't. We cut to Bushmaster, who repeats to a friend his hatred for Luke Cage and Mariah, wanting Harlem's heart from the former and power from the latter. He asks if his friend still has a spy over at Harlem's Paradise, saying they'll get info they need. Mariah, meanwhile, has an uncomfortable meal with Tilda, who says she remembers bloodied towels and dark talk in the house when she was a kid. Mariah replies that all families have dark secrets, but insists they can move past them. Shades arrives to inform Mariah about Cockroach, saying he's going to Nigel instead. To his annoyance, she ushers him out like an assistant, and he gives Tilda a dirty look. In a quick scene Luke circles all of Brooklyn on his map, then we go to Misty questioning Cockroach. His responses irritate her almost to violence, but Nandi interrupts. She and Misty begin bickering, but Bailey defuses the situation, saying Misty was out of line and interrupted their case. Misty retorts they seem to be behind her on their case, and we go back to Luke, where Bobby insists he apologize to Claire for whatever he did just as she walks in. She tells him he is being unfair and the two argue about her decision to call people about Cockroach, with Luke claiming sometimes his new brutality gets stuff done. At the police station, Ridenhour chews out Misty for going to the crime scene and letting Luke go, saying they don't have the needed evidence to move on Mariah. Though he wants to punish her, he says Misty is the PD's untouchable Private Ryan. Luke heads to Brooklyn to find Nigel, and though a diner is overall a bust as the men refuse to talk, he notices one anxious man leave and tails him. Elsewhere in Brooklyn, Bushmaster meets with a surprises Shades, tossing him a bag of money with Nigel's head, saying they'll renegotiate the offer. Mariah, in an attempt to clear her name again, hosts a big event and invites Tilda, spending some time talking to her assistant Alex about Mark Higgins now essentially in their pocket. She later steps up to introduce her planned hospital wing to help out, and while stressing the importance of family, specifically points out Tilda. Misty meets with Colleen Wing to box, the latter mentioning Danny Rand had been trying to call her. Misty says she doesn't want charity, and the two debate her current condition as Colleen says she simply lost an arm, not herself. Colleen tries a chi exercise, but a skeptical Misty simply mocks the attempt, causing Colleen to take her down, noting that she simply sees herself as a cripple now. Misty goes on a rant about losing oneself, leading to a pretty cheesy moment of "you don't know what --- is like" from Misty and an "actually, I do" from Colleen. Unsure of how to help Luke, Claire goes to his father James, who warmly advises her to know her own purpose before she can help her love "Luther" find his, using scripture and an interesting Titanic reference. In a somewhat clunky way, she accidentally lets slip that it's actually Luke she means, and though he is surprised, James continues as normal, advising her to love him. Cutting back to Bushmaster's warehouse, Luke finally arrives. After light taunting and jokes, Bushmaster says they could work together, with Mariah as a common enemy, but Luke refuses to budge. Bushmaster sends gang members at look with different weapons, all ineffective, as another videos everything. Bushmaster later uses the video in part of a ritual where he practices to fight Luke. Colleen and Misty encounter an overconfident jerk at a bar, who quickly turns hostile when he is turned down and recognizes Misty. The two beat him and his friends, Misty finding new strength as she becomes accustomed to not using her right arm. Mariah succeeds in blackmailing Higgins, saying she wants him to vote in her favor. Tilda arrives to talk about the event, surprisingly unaware that her mother is manipulating and using her to gain supporters. Shades breaks up the family moment with more money than Nigel had promised for the guns, and the two don't seem to care about his death. As the two talk about the new Jamaican, we see at the diner Luke went to that Stephanie or "Billie" is actually Bushmaster's spy, providing them with dirt on Mariah. The episode comes to a close as Luke and Claire have another argument that escalates further than ever, and Luke has another encounter with Bushmaster. While the episode had a cliche moment with Colleen and Misty, it's offset by some nice shots and symbolism. When Bushmaster trains in his ritual, one quick shot melds his face with Luke's, then Mariah's as it shifts to her speech. The moment serves two purposes, showing partially how he focuses on the two. Despite never having encountered Luke before that day, the two have quickly developed a grudge to due Luke having Harlem's heart. Likewise, he has a longstanding but currently unexplained grudge against Mariah, obviously connected to the Stokes family. In another way, it also shows how he and Luke are similar. Despite having different reasons for what they are doing, the two have similar abilities when Bushmaster uses his concoction, and Luke's new dark path has him walking a thin line. Despite his insistence he's doing things for the right reasons, Clair has a point in saying his new brutality comes from his past angers and is causing people to fear him. A more obvious one takes place in Harlem's Paradise, and mirrors one from the first season. As Mariah and Shades bask in their new deal, we get a shot of them from the side with Mariah's painting in the background, positioned to have crowns hovering above their heads. This is reminiscent of Cornell in the first season, when there was a similar shot of him standing in front of a crowned painting of Biggie Smalls, and shows how similar she is to him despite her claims of going straight. A nice sign of the future and how it will happen came in an offhand statement with Collen and Misty, when the former said Danny was trying to call the latter. As comic fans know and have been waiting for, Misty gains a bionic arm in the comics. While there she gets it from Tony Stark, here she has no such connection. She does, however, know another rich guy with a powerful company, and he has a pure heart and reason to help her. With Claire finally meeting with James, we see an interesting side to him, as before we'd only seen him trade barbs with Luke. While obviously it could have been an act, his continued warmth even after learning who she's talking to him about shows that he seems to be honest about wanting to make up with his son. Luke, however, can't get past the emotional turmoil he has went through because of his father, and is being too stubborn to listen to Claire and deal with his problems. After his encounters with Bushmaster and his latest argument with Claire, however, Luke will have to face the repercussions of his actions, which I look forward to seeing.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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