With Shades spilling to the cops and Luke teaming up with Bushmaster to stop a new mudslinging drug campaign, the noose tightens on Mariah. A party kicks things off, with two people doing lines of some drug, immediately effective as their eyes widen and they blink repeatedly. The pair returns to the party in a stupor, and soon become incredibly violent, thrashing and trying to bite others. On the carpet between them as everyone holds them down is a small package marked "Bushmaster." The next day, D.W. and his girlfriend, who first restrained the couple, report the situation to Luke at the barbershop. She explains that, despite growing up surrounded by drugs, she'd never seen anything like the animalistic couple. They say it couldn't have been a more typical drug, because the two wouldn't have been invited if it had been. In another weird moment of demanding Luke solve the problem, only to apologize for her brashness, she says Bushmaster is everywhere. Though D.W. is sure Bushmaster is behind it, Luke remembers when his own name was used for a drug trade to ruin his reputation. Not buying that the Stylers are in the drug business, but D.W. stays adamant, upset after what he saw and that his girlfriend almost got hurt. Sugar steps in, having learned of Mariah's involvement with the Chinese, and Luke realizes she's trying to at least tarnish Bushmaster's name in Harlem. D.W. is shocked a Stokes would be in drugs, and though Sugar says she's different, Luke counters that she, like the others Stokes, isn't worth anything. Knowing Misty can't fully do anything and wanting to do what cops can't, Luke sends Sugar to find out where the Chinese do their processing. Mariah meets the other crime bosses at an auction, where she proposes a united front, promising to get rid of Bushmaster. The Italian leader wonders at why they should, given her how disorganized Mariah's group is, but the latter explains the potential for higher profits in an open market. Mariah claims Harlem is the gateway, with plenty of people willing to buy and real estate to set up, and while the groups are hesitant since Mariah would be in charge, she mentions that her legal connections to different areas is an advantage. With her own item up for bid, Mariah tells them they'd better bid to impress her, then return the painting, if they for sure want to make a good impression. Yang mentions as they leave that Bushmaster is apparently watching them, and she reveals she is setting a trap and hoping he'll follow. He indeed does once they're outside, then we cut to Shades sleeping in the interrogation room, with Misty convincing Ridley that, with his testimony, they is the key to finally getting Mariah behind bars and getting closure on multiple murders. Ridley is hesitant, knowing Shades from the past, but relents and says she'll call the A.U.S.A to set up a federal case. Bushmaster confronts Yang at a warehouse, and though Mariah's plan works at first when gang members come out with guns, Luke joins the fight and, giving Bushmaster a car door, shields him as they head inside. Bushmaster agrees to kill no one in the process, and the ensuing battle is honestly to me the most impressive we've gotten from this show so far. With Luke much more of a bruiser street brawler type, there often wasn't too much visually to fights other than a sort of boxing vibe. Past battles with Bushmaster were more impressive, as the Jamaican brings agile technique along with his power. And while we previously saw Luke fight alongside Danny, his comic partner, it didn't fully give us the kind of quality in-sync brutality that this fight does. With a Wu-Tang Clan score for the battle, viewers are treated to a surprising amount of impressive teamwork from Luke and Bushmaster, though the latter does occasionally slip up in a few comical moments. The music is great and the action is impressive, emanating power from the duo and pain from their foes. It all comes to an end when the two see all the drugs, and Bushmaster confirms Luke's suspicion about Mariah. When Luke suggests that Bushmaster and Mariah just kill each other and asks how many innocents have to die, the latter replies that anyone who gets in the way will. Bushmaster reveals a bomb like he used in the police van, and Luke, not wanting him to destroy evidence or the people, wrestles it away just in time to contain the blast, giving Bushmaster time to escape. In out first look at Tilda for the episode, she is in a cemetery talking to Cornell's grave about how she finally knows who she truly is. He used to tell her to play what was inside on the piano, and she claims to now know she was right in being of afraid of what she'd find inside. Upset about learning her past, she thanks him for being the only one to accept her, despite obviously knowing what she came from. Over at Harlem's Paradise, Mariah invites Luke in for a drink with a taunt, but he says he never drinks on duty. Luke tells her about the warehouse and admits to the ingenuity of the plan, but she claims to not know what he means. Saying her nickname "Black Mariah" finally fits, he says Bushmaster will get her no matter what, but she says enemies have been all around her whole life. Saying she's done with half his power what he could do, and claims she knows he, as the only man she's ever been able to count on, will save her for sure despite what him saying the opposite. He finally takes the drink, deciding he's off duty as a way to tell her she's wrong, so she organizes a party at the club that will pack the place. At the precinct, Shades is eager to get through all the formalities to finally speak, beginning with his time at Seagate involving Luke. Walking around town, Luke hears about the party and quickly deduces Mariah planned it to be packed so he'd be forced to show up and protect innocents from Bushmaster. In the meantime, Tilda has gone to Bushmaster with the news Mariah killed Anansi personally, explaining she wants him to kill her mother. Taking into account the likely heavy guard, Tilda tells him of secret passageways and offers a concentrated shot of Nightshade, warning to not use it all at once. Sheldon says it's not worth the risk, but Bushmaster says the risk is worth it to avenge his family. Back at the precinct, Shades goes into detail about Tone shooting up the barbershop. His horrified lawyer, Patricia Wilson, angrily noting it was her son Luke had to protect in the shooting, chooses to recuse herself. She tells Shades she hopes he burns, and he, happy he can still have a deal without her, joyfully tells her to leave. Luke, at the barbershop again, vents his frustrations to D.W. and Sugar, noting that things somehow always comes back to Mariah. Realizing he's had to live his life constantly on edge, Luke laments that Claire tried to tell him but he ignored her words. We head back to Shades giving details on Cornell's death, then the full acount of how he murdered Candace. He becomes uncomfortable thinking back to Anansi as he explains Mariah killed him, and asks for water. Misty leaves, slightly breaking down after his admission, then steadies herself and returns with his water. She moves on to Ridenhour's murder, and he admits to learning of Comanche's betrayal and killing him, unaware that Comanche's mom is on the other side of glass. Shades initially tells her to get a warrant if she wants the gun, since he's already done so much, but after Janis breaks him with a spit to the face, he agrees to go in wired. While Luke and Bushmaster simultaneously get ready, Sheldon tries to convince his friend not to go, but he says he has to get justice. Mariah allows Shades in while Misty watches, and after she mentions Shades seems to have been crying, he claims he wants her back. This time the fitting song at the club is about struggling growing up and that love will get you, and Mariah looks down to taunt the now-present Luke. As she tells Shades she doesn't trust him yet, Luke meets with Misty, learning of the deception, and says he has an idea of his own. Tilda meets Bushmaster at a tunnel and he, after telling her to wait for him, heads inside, injecting the Nightshade. Mariah, meanwhile, tells Shades to come to the bunker with her, wanting him alone, and Misty is left with nothing, unaware of the room. With Mariah having suspected Shades and Bushmaster inside the club, the episdoe comes to a heated close with turmoil both emotional and physical. This episode gave us a lot more moments of quality acting from the show's great cast, especially Theo Rossi as Shades.
In this season, we've seen him rise to the top with Mariah, only to be broken as we saw more of his emotional depth and he was forced to do things he didn't want to. I was particularly entertained and impressed as he kept an air of charismatic swagger while spilling to Mariah. He's going into gruesome detail about multiple murders from throughout the series, to a cop no less, and he constantly seems to be the one with all the power and is jolly throughout the process. That is, until he gets to Anansi, where he breaks a bit thinking about the man's death, then he further struggles with talking about Comanche. The look on his face as Janis shows her disdain completely shatters how he's been throughout the episode, getting to his core as he snaps at Misty about the gun. Mariah later notes he appears to have been crying, and while it could have been a front to trick her, it feels more likely that the emotional toll of the situations he's done has finally gotten to him. At the same time, there is a strong irony in that part of his emotional turmoil came from him killing his best friend, which he did because Comanche did the very thing he is currently doing: snitching to the cops. If he head heeded Comanche sooner and turned away from Mariah, he could have went down a road he'd be much happier with. The scene where Tilda visits Cornell's grave is also rather touching, as you can feel that Tilda has really reached a painful point. She's learnedall these horrible things about her birth, followed by Mariah expressing no care for her, and it causes her to turn toward what she feels she must be: a Stokes. In another rather ironic moment, choosing to help kill Mariah makes her more like her mother, while Mariah became more like Mabel, whom she also hated. Just like Mariah with Mabel, Tilda hates what her mother has become and blames her for all the pain and suffering being caused in Harlem at the moment. Other than those things, as I said before this episode's fight scene has probably been my favorite throughout the series thus far, and it was also definitely a highlight. With only one episode left, results will soon appear from Misty's gamble, Bushmaster's attack, and Luke's firm decision to protect Harlem no matter what.
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