Luke Cage - General Discussion

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Poor Koko!

Great to see Kima, however briefly.

I felt kind of bad that poor Luke just wanted to go to Pop's funeral and he got sidetracked trying to set things right after Cottonmouth's rampage through the neighborhood. I was hoping his nice new suit would be unscathed by the time he got to the church.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Luke: Your new VH1 show? Criminal Spinsters?

Bobby: You could wear a mask!
Luke: I ain't no hero.
Bobby: That's a great slogan! "I ain't no hero. Pay me." You could market that shit.

Luke: What makes you think I can protect you?
Rafael: You survived a drive by and a building falling on your head. I'd say you're overqualified.

Luke: Why don't we start by getting coffee?
Claire: I'm not sleeping with you.
Luke: Whoa! Did I say anything about that? Why can't coffee just be coffee?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was surprised that Scarfe actually admitted to Luke that he killed Chico. I guess thinking that you might die in a plastic covered barber chair really motivates you to tell the truth.

So who is Mariah going to hunt down first: Thembi or Luke?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mama Mabel: Pigs get fat. Hogs get slaughtered. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Farewell, Kima! I'm glad we got to see her, however briefly. 

Damn, that fight between Cottonmouth showed that despite being cousins, they were basically raised as sibings. Those are rhe kind of age old resentments that family members let loose when they are at the end of their rope. Cottonmouth can go to hell for saying that Mariah was asking to be molested because she allegedly flirted with Pete and was "running around half naked." That is exactly the shitty kind of victim blaming raor culture that makes me want to go full Mariah on assholes like that. Mama Mabel was a piece of work but at least she sent Mariah to boarding school to get her away from Pervy Pete (although it makes me wonder why someone as badass as Mama Mabel would let Pete get away with it instead of ending his ass herself as soon as she knew about it).

While I understood the point of Claire's "don't just run away" speech to Luke, it annoyed me that she was ignoring the fact that one word from Cottonmouth would send Luke back to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Standing up to Cottonmouth wasn't going to magically clear Luke of whatever crime he's been convicted of. In the eyes of the law, he's an escaped criminal. The court isn't going to vacate his sentence as thanks for becoming a vigilante. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Shrink: You lost control. It's all about control with you, isn't it? I mean, that's why you were a point guard. You wanted to be the one to distribute the ball, right?
Misty: It's because I was short and it was the only way I could get on the court.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I know that in a previous episode, Shades told Cottonmouth that these special bullets were made with some sort of alien material and that's supposed to explain how they can penetrate Luke's skin but I feel like that's a cop out. I don't need an overly technical explanation but just saying that it's weird alien matter isn't enough to explain how it can penetrate the impenetrable.

From the very beginning, I thought Mariah had it in her to be a bad guy but she was content to let Cottonmouth do the dirty work while she concentrated on her public image. But now she's ready to kill anyone who gets in her way. I guess that first murder was all it took to flip her evil mastermind switch.

On 10/13/2016 at 2:54 PM, Ottis said:

And is it required that everyone say "Luke Cage," vs. just "Cage?"

Ha, it reminded me of the way everyone always said "Veronica Mars" instead of "Veronica." I find it all the more amusing when they do that on tv shows for characters with slightly uncommon names. Veronica and Luke aren't totally unheard of, but in most situations where their full names are used, it's not like the speaker is trying to distinguish them from all the other Veronicas and Lukes they were previously discussing. I mean, if it were 1995 and they were talking about a girl named Jenny, I could see them using a full name since every girl at my school was named Jennifer which resulted in us referring to them with last initials or the girls spelling their names differently (Jen, Jenn, Jenny, Jennie, and even one Jennyfer who was trying to make her name as different as possible).

On 10/5/2016 at 4:23 PM, tennisgurl said:

I call bullshit on Mariah allowing Shades to pull that "Thats my girl" line. Of all the things that have happened on this show (including the guy with unbreakable skin) THAT is what is breaking my suspension of disbelief. 

Good episode, and I am interested in Willas as a bad guy (although it would have been nice to have seen some foreshadowing that Diamondback knew Luke, or that Luke had a BFF he screwed over), but I laughed at the "I am your brother" shocker line. Willas might as well have told Luke he was his brothers cousins neighbors former roommate. 

I agree that it seems out of character for her to let Shades say, "That's my girl," but I'm guessing that she is not stupid enough to really stomp on him while he's helping her frame Luke for Cottonmouth's murder. She knows that now is not the time to kick his ass to the curb, but once this crisis is over it wouldn't surprise me if she decided to get rid of him permanently (partly because he knows the truth, partly because he annoys her).

Ha, and I was totally thinking of Spaceballs when Stryker dramatically announced that he was Luke's brother!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Willis: I'll murderize everything in sight.

Mariah: Laws are bureaucracy. The mayor can't even wipe his ass without three different committees to argue about the texture of the paper and to pick the brand.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mariah: I hate to interrupt your Isotoner moment. 

Willis: You're not a real politician  because if you were, you'd flip this. Get your Sharpton on. Make this moment all about you. 

Misty: I've seen your rap sheet. How do you have time to commit crimes and train boxers?|
Domingo: I guess you must have to be good at multitasking.
Misty: I like boxing. You know what Mike Tyson once said?
Domingo: Mike Tyson mumbles too much to say much of anything.
Misty: Mike is great. He said, "Everyone has a plan until they get hit."

Mariah: Who needs trust when you have power?

Edited November 9, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Shades: What you talking 'bout, Willis?
Willis: You got jokes? Right now?

Willis: Take diet Obama upstairs. 

Willis: Nothing like an aged Scotch. You know, there was a time you'd cross a Scotsman and he wouldn't think twice about cutting your head off with a sword. I like a drink that encourages such decisiveness. 

Willis: God had me at hello with Genesis - the story of Cain and Abel. When God asked Cain where Abel was after he killed him, Cain asked, "Am I my brother's keeper?" See, I thought that was some cool shit Wesley Snipes made up in New Jack City. 

Edited November 9, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Shades: We have a problem.
Luke: So do I. I can't decide which one of you I'm going to knock out first.

Bobby: What the hell? What kind of Jean Paul Gaultier shit is this? What are you? A pimp stormtrooper?

Bobby: God DAMN IT! I just fixed this place up all perfect and shit! Y'all can't take this outside?
Luke & Willis: No.

[Happytobehere]

I agree with everyone who said that this was like two different series.  The first half with tremendous promise and the second half which disappointed.  The heart of this disappointment lays with the actor cast as Luke Cage.  Mike Coulter has the right look, but he is not especially talented as an actor.  When Mr.; Ali and Ms. Woodard were the primary villains to help prop him up, the show soared.  However, when Ali as Cottonmouth was gone and the show foolishly failed to put Woodard's Mariah at center stage, we were left with Diamondback.  On paper, he should have been a formidable villain, but just as is the case with the lead, the actor playing him is not especially talented or compelling.  So now instead of a relatively weak actor being supported by strong actors, we got a weak actor playing opposite an equally weak actor.  As a result, the show faltered and failed to keep up the momentum it had during the first part of the series.  My advice to future viewers, watch up until about episode 8 when Diamondback makes his appearance and then bail.

[Captanne]

I actually don't find the lead actor weak -- I find him tremendously charismatic and complicated (the actor and the character he portrays so well.)  However, I do agree with you that the death of Ali as Cottonmouth left a great hole in the ensemble cast that they never quite recovered from.  

For me, the biggest problem was that Diamondback (the weaker actor, to be sure) made up for his weakness as a performer by simply chewing scenery which, up against better actors, isn't enough and is actually detrimental because it stands out as a defensive mechanism.  

Also, his teeth were distracting.  Are they intentional (as in, prosthetic because the comic book character has gigantic, perfect choppers?) or are they the actor's and were played up for the role?  Because -- for me, his teeth upstaged him badly.

 

Edited because punctuation does, in fact, matter.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Captanne

[lanter]

I didn't hate this...but it was my least favorite of the Netflix Marvel series. I burned through Jessica Jones in a matter of days, the same with season 1 of Daredevil but it took me almost two months to finish this.

Mahershala Ali was very good as Cottonmouth, but he wasn't given a lot to do. Diamondback was not menacing at all, and Shades seemed like a weaker version of Daredevil's Wesley. Of course, Shades was more of a survivor than Wesley and I did like his interactions with Mariah. The only villain who made a strong impression on me was Mariah, I really enjoyed her storyline arc. I will give the show points for "going there" with her background and how that affected her final encounter with Cottonmouth. Seeing Mariah's justified anger at what her cousin said was one of my favorite scenes. I wish they had scrapped Diamondback altogether and just had Cottonmouth and Mariah battling it out.

Mike Colter was fine, but I wish he had brought more Lemond Bishop to the role. The actor is capable of showing a dark sexy edge, but I did not get much of that here. They were smart to bring in Claire Temple, she was a better fit on this show than on Daredevil. I hope they continue to use her since Marvel on Netflix seems open to following chemistry over comic lore (see Karen and the Punisher). I appreciate having a black superhero show that touched on issues in the black community, it was a bit preachy at times but so are most Marvel shows/movies.

The best part of the series for me was the Soundtrack and being introduced to the fineness that is Jidenna.

[Captanne]

Although I think I enjoyed the show more than lanter, I agree with several points.  Probably the best part of the series was the confrontation between Mariah and Cottonmouth -- mainly for her performance.

The idea I really like is to shitcan Diamondback entirely.  

I would add to my disappointment list: The guy who played the Heroic Neighborhood Barber.  That actor is a character actor who is so typecast it makes my teeth ache.  (Cf:  "Banshee" and the Heroic Neighborhood Bartender.)  The problem with the typecasting of this particular character is that it's also vaguely racist -- it has a whiff of Uncle Tom-ism.  It's thoughtless and the easy path to story telling.  There always has to be the avuncular Uncle Tom as the Father Confessor in the local [insert place here].  

He may be true to the character in the comic book -- but the problem, then, starts there and migrates to the television show. The problem remains the same.

[millennium]

This series is long on preaching, short on plot.

I can't take more than two episodes in one sitting.   Cage is more a social warrior than superhero.   And for a show that's supposed to be about Harlem, it doesn't seem to have much Harlem in it -- the barbershop, the Cottonmouth Club, a few anonymous street scenes.   It's somebody's preachy, romanticized vision of Harlem, like a WPA mural come to life.

As for Cage himself, he has no edge. 

[Etta Place]

I couldn't decide if I thought it was intentional that right after Mariah kills Cottonmouth for saying "you wanted it," Shades comes in and says exactly the same thing to her about killing Cottonmouth.  And assuming it was intentional, I wasn't sure how I felt about it. However, I was pretty sure it was not the right moment to be saying those words to her.

Edited November 26, 2016 by Etta Place

[millennium]

I really don't like Theo Rossi or the characters he plays.    HATED him as Juice in Sons of Anarchy, and now they bring him back here with almost the same look, the same one-note performance, with another ridiculous non-name moniker, "Shades."   Damn.

[millennium]

Ugly, frustrating, discouraging ending.    What was the point of any of Luke's struggle?

I don't think I can stand listening to Negan's Diamondback's self-indulgent monologues and taunting for another season.   

Kudos to Alfre Woodard for making me hate her so much.   She finally brought out the evil hypocrite I always suspected lurked just under the skin of all the self-righteous characters she has played in the past.

[millennium]

On 10/16/2016 at 10:12 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

 

I think it would have worked better if the show was a few episodes shorter, and then once Cottonmouth died, make the only villain Mariah and have her use her influence to turn the cops and society against Luke.

Jessica Jones suffered from the same protracted plot structure.  By Chapter 11 I was thinking, "Just be done already."   The hero suffers setback after setback after setback for no reason other than to play out the 13 episode contract.   But Luke Cage was even worse because after sitting through all that exposition and filler the audience was denied even the slight satisfaction of seeing the good guys win.   Thirteen hours, and the payoff was a big smug smile from asshole Juice.

For Claire's sake I hope she hooks up with Cage because she has a serious comic book hero attraction and there aren't very many of them around.   Can't see her with an ordinary guy after all this.

[Kel Varnsen]

4 hours ago, millennium said:

Jessica Jones suffered from the same protracted plot structure.  By Chapter 11 I was thinking, "Just be done already."   The hero suffers setback after setback after setback for no reason other than to play out the 13 episode contract.   But Luke Cage was even worse because after sitting through all that exposition and filler the audience was denied even the slight satisfaction of seeing the good guys win.   Thirteen hours, and the payoff was a big smug smile from asshole Juice.

For Claire's sake I hope she hooks up with Cage because she has a serious comic book hero attraction and there aren't very many of them around.   Can't see her with an ordinary guy after all this.

I think in Jessica Jones it was more effective, because even though it was just as long I never stopped thinking that Killgrave could do some serious damage, if not to her then to the people she cared about. With Luke there was never that tension, even when Diamondback had that stupid suit. I really think if the villain for the last half had been Mariah, just using her influence to turn the cops and just pubic opinion against Luke it would have worked better.  Since that would have been something his powers wouldn't have been much use against. Continually seeing goons trying to shoot, or worse get in a fist fight with, Luke got kind of tiring.

[The Crazed Spruce]

Okay, so this teaser showed up in my Twitter feed just now....

https://twitter.com/LukeCage/status/805484666241236992

[AimingforYoko]

Yeah, Season 2 is a go.

[Primetimer]

Sweet Christmas indeed!

View the full article

[AudienceofOne]

Late to the party. Was very underwhelmed by this, almost bored. Cage himself is understated to the point where I can't work out why he's the star of the show. Hopefully it picks up. 

[AudienceofOne]

As with the first episode, I felt Luke was understated to the point of almost being boring. And maybe it's because I'm Australian but I'm finding the Harlem location uninspiring as anything other than a discussion of ghettoism that feels dated.

Pops died way too early for me to feel any emotional resonance from his death.

[AudienceofOne]

On 02/10/2016 at 4:20 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Of course, now the script has flipped again with Cottonmouth finding out where he lives from Scarfe

Flipping a bit too much for me. I can't work out what story they're even telling me. It's episode 3 and we've already had an entire season of plot.

I did not see Scarfe being evil until the beginning of the scene with Cico though, so that was well done. The rest felt kind of bland and derivative but I've felt that way since the beginning. I was wondering why and then I realised - this is The Wire done by Marvel. And nobody can redo the Wire. And if they did, they wouldn't use this dialogue. Some of the monologues they give Cage are awful and I'm not sure he's pulling them off.

[Danny Franks]

Just finished watching this. It... wasn't very good. Started off slow, warmed up in the middle and then completely ran out of steam way before the end. I didn't like Colter in Jessica Jones, thought he was a charisma vacuum. But to be fair to him, he was better in this. Not exactly captivating, but acceptable. He wasn't the problem, nearly everything else was.

The storyline was just weird, flat and disjointed. Luke gets caught up in local gangster shit, and suddenly his old enemy from prison is there too... And then his old best friend who framed him is too, and it's complete coincidence that Luke Cage is involved. Also, he's only there at all because Reva was related to the well-known peace-broker of Harlem. Too much coincidence for me to accept, I'm afraid.

The adulation-vitriol-adulation, from seemingly the whole of Harlem, felt contrived. And apart from Method Man, everyone else who walked up to Luke to either tell him he was awesome or awful felt like bad caricatures (vaguely racist ones too). Speaking of bad caricatures, the council woman was very tiresome. Every 'angry, sassy black woman' cliché there is, coupled with some small-time Kingpin stuff. I suppose she was meant to be a scheming mastermind, but I just couldn't understand why she wasn't caught six times over. Cottonmouth at least had some depth, but then they killed him so they could bring in the Marvel equivalent of a Looney Tunes character. 

Diamondback was embarrassing, and that endless fight scene in the last episode, in his comedy pyjamas, almost had me just given up and switch off. And holy shit, I just watched a series that happened because someone's daddy wasn't nice enough to him. Seriously?

The only things I really enjoyed were Claire (as usual) and Misty. Two capable, smart, sharp ladies. Sad that they have to add to the notches on Luke's bedpost. At least he got arrested before Claire could completely succumb to his bland charms. Apart from that, they were cool in all their scenes, and Claire is easily one of the best characters in these Netflix series. Loved her standing up to Misty, and facing down whichever gangsters tried to intimidate her. I'd much rather watch a show about her than a show where she "helps" the hero, whether by binding his wounds or taking off his pants.

I just felt there were too many moments where characters made illogical, stupid decisions just to further the plot. Like Misty acting tough with Luke in front of the SWAT cops, despite having just told her boss that he was innocent. And then Luke breaking out, despite knowing he had a cop and numerous hostages who were going to tell the truth, along with Candace. I guess that people doing stupid stuff was needed to drag this out for thirteen episodes.

I really hope that Iron Fist is better than this. Because if it isn't, I fear for the Defenders show.

[rubinia]

There are SO MANY actors from the Wire on this show. Butchie, Burrell, Kima, Avon Barksdale's lawyer, Method Man...

[rubinia]

On 10/16/2016 at 9:12 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

He might be better off calling in a favour from Jessica Jones and getting Jeri Hogarth to represent him. Because I think that is the lawyer I would want.

Doesn't Foggy now work at Hogarth's firm? I know I'd prefer Foggy over Matt.

[wayne67]

This family is really bad at controlling their tempers. So much for family first. I don't find Mariah very compelling at all. I knew Cottonmouth was dead as soon as he went against Shades. 

[wayne67]

I'm finding myself getting more and more frustrated by the show, the community seems beyond saving and the cops are incompetent, so I struggle to see why I should care about any of it. 

[wayne67]

The ending made me wonder why the people of Harlem wanted to return to a place that held numerous hostages and was the site of multiple deaths, at least one high profile one that the hostess is accused of committing. *sigh* Honestly I don't think Harlem is worth saving. 

[LeGrandElephant]

On 10/1/2016 at 10:39 PM, WatchrTina said:

Okay I'm glad to learn that the Wonder Woman tiara and gauntlets were fan service for the comic book fans because otherwise that was just dumb.

I've never seen the comics but that was so random that I immediately guessed it was a shout out to the comics and did a google image search to verify. 

Since we didn't see Squabbles die, I'm guessing he didn't really. And why was Luke so accepting of Reva being all like oh yeah I totally did lie to you about the secret basement experiments but I'll explain later, no biggie?

[LeGrandElephant]

That finger scene was brutal, and I didn't see it mentioned in this thread at all. Though, I found it much more horrifying because I hadn't been paying close attention and at first I thought it was the piano-playing kid whose finger had been cut off. Still horrifying for any kid but it would have that extra deep cruelty for a pianist. 

[Dobian]

Just watching this now, four episodes in.  I've seen Jessica Jones and am familiar with Colter and the character.  I like that dark grittiness of it, some parts remind me of The Wire.  Colter is very good.  I also like the soundtrack.  Continues the Jessica Jones theme of superhero in realistic not-cartoony urban setting.  Definitely a slow burn kind of show.  The story isn't as compelling as in Jessica Jones, but the characters are interesting.

[Dobian]

So Mariah wins for now.  That's kind of disappointing.  I'm sick of this smug, smirking, lying bitch.  I guess everyone loves Alfre Woodard so much they want to keep this character going, but she needs to go down in season 2 or it's going to get old.  Really annoying villain to watch.  I agree that the showdown between Luke and Diamondback was totally cheesy.  This show was really good until they killed Cottonmouth.  Tossing in Diamondback with the whole Cain and Abel story in the middle made the season really disjointed, and they never properly explained why there is so much animosity between him and Luke.  Okay, so you hate his mom and thought your dad favored him. Whatever.  It seemed like in the flashbacks there was no issue between them, now Willis has this big axe to grind.  I really liked the music and atmosphere of this show, Mike Colter and really all the main actors are very good.  The style is great with the nod to 70s blaxploitation films, smartly written characters for the most part.  Just get rid of the cheesy family relationship drama next season, and come up with a better main villain.

Edited March 19, 2017 by Dobian

[Clawdette]

This may be my favorite episode of the entire DD, JJ, IF, and LC family!

[rmontro]

I thought this show was good.  I liked Jessica Jones, but I thought that show dragged the most - maybe because Kilgrave was the focus the whole time.  

I didn't warm up to Diamondback at first - I liked Cottonmouth better.  But it came out all right, it had the nice start with Cottonmouth, and the big climax at the end.

I saw the movie Hidden Figures (great flick, by the way, strongly recommend) and I didn't know Mahershala Ali was in it.  When he first appeared on the screen and he turned his head toward the camera, it actually scared me.  I was like "Aaah!  It's Cottonmouth!".  Lol.

[snarktini]

I was all in 'til the halfway point, then my attention drifted. While I didn't love Cottonmouth, Diamondback was a freaking cartoon character and I really don't care for batshit-insane villains. Really liked Claire and Misty, they carried me through the slow parts. And Method Man was a great cameo.

Regardless, I was in for the full 13 because Mike Colter is hotter than the sun. Gorgeous man. Yes, I'm shallow, apparently.

[The Crazed Spruce]

Two new cast members, Mustafa Shakir and Gabrielle Dennis, have been announced for season 2.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Luke Cage received an Emmy nomination:

OUTSTANDING STUNT COORDINATION FOR A DRAMA SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

[Parker]

Liked Cage in JJ and knew I would like him in this.

All these Netflix shows are well produced and have great casting and acting.

[Captanne]

I love the Luke Cage character and the actor.  I need a refresher* -- is this where we get all wrapped up in the groovy barber?  I found him to be such a sappy trope (see also:  Banshee) that the barber character really ruined Cage's character for me.  Except, I put up with it because I know how completely absorbing Pappy (or whatever his name was) is in Cage's life and existence.  Without him, Cage would be utterly different.  So, I put up with the Avuncular Father Figure in the Hard City Who is Killed Before His Time.

So, is this the one that spends all its time on that guy (with the whole mob plot line?) because I confuse it with JJ and Killgrave.   

I really enjoyed them both.

*I only need a refresher because PreviouslyTV has gone to this podcast format and I have no time or interest in podcasts.  I fucking LOVED the recaps and I really, really miss them.  I am a non-user of the podcasts.

[The Crazed Spruce]

Set photos are starting to come out, and EW has a pic of Misty sporting a new look.... (Defenders spoiler, if you haven't seen the whole show yet.)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 7/13/2017 at 4:46 PM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Luke Cage received an Emmy nomination:

OUTSTANDING STUNT COORDINATION FOR A DRAMA SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

And they won!

[The Crazed Spruce]

Save the date!

[xaxat]

"Get paid black man! Get paid!"

[BetterButter]

‘Marvel’s Luke Cage’: Annabella Sciorra Joins Season 2 Of Netflix Series

[JoJo Girl]

Basically I liked this one.  I could really imagine all the characters being in a comic book. Thought the casting was great.  For some reason I laughed every time Shades removed his sunglasses. Trying to act so cool, lol! Misty was beyond stupid for a cop, I was shaking my head a few times with her behavior.