REVIEW: Luke Cage Season 2
Marvel’s Luke Cage has returned, and now it sometimes feels like we’re spoiled with these shows. At one point, they were a rarity, but now we’re getting three seasons this year alone. As seen by some of the recent seasons, that’s not always a good thing, but there can be a nugget of quality so long as it’s not about Iron Fist. So how does this second season measure up? Surprisingly well, except when it doesn’t. Such is the fate of the Marvel Netflix series.
Following the events of Luke Cage and The Defenders, Luke returns to his life in Harlem as a free man, now patrolling the streets as a local hero. When a new strong and supposedly bulletproof man challenges him, he contends with street wars, the people of Harlem, and branding. Yes, some of those things are more important than others, but it all makes up a pretty interesting if not somewhat distracted season.
For one thing, the show still manages to be the most stylized of the Netflix universe in color, atmosphere, and especially music. Considering this season emphasizes the soul of Harlem, it only makes sense that the world comes to life before our eyes. Watching an episode, there is never any doubt which series you’re on, and that personality bleeds into the story.
Through that personality, the season clearly explores the age-old theme of is it ever okay to do the wrong thing for the right reason. After all, Luke struggles to stop crime the right way while Mariah does good as a crime lord and Bushmaster is just a chaotic force. There are no easy answers, and sadly, through the end of Luke becoming the newest crime lord on the block, the series doesn’t present any clear message. However, in the gray reality we live in, I doubt even a 13-episode season could have provided anything solid. Regardless of how it’s explored, season two gets a major boost for being willing to touch that idea at all, easily better than Jessica Jones season 2 anyway.
Some credit also has to be given to the villains for that theme. Bushmaster has this Killmonger vibe going for him as his goal is to ultimately kill a bad guy, a good thing through bad reasons. There’s also Mariah who is probably the most featured villain in any of these Netflix shows and still manages to come off as powerful. More time is devoted to these two characters than there probably should be, but it might be worth the time considering the characters are decent.
The remaining characters also have some of their moments to shine when they aren’t all leaving town for some reason. Seriously, when about three of them leave, including the one played by Rosario Dawson, people would begin to notice. However, we still have the always-entertaining Misty Knight now with her robot arm and a greater determination to bring justice to the streets. Luke Cage himself also becomes livelier as he deals with conflicts beyond facing idiots who still try to shoot him for some reason. Now that they seem to realize there’s more to him than that, the show can do wonders, especially when they’re setting up the Heroes for Hire concept.
Of course, we also have the vague connections to the other shows, mostly from the not-so-vague appearance of Danny Rand in the tenth episode. The rumors are true that the show did more to make me like Danny than his entire solo series did. Rich, zen guy with the glowing fist is much more tolerable than the Immortal Iron Fist. Not to mention it gave a much more entertaining filler episode than it should have been, though nothing can save his show now. Plus, Colleen Wing’s cameo reminds everyone that she really needed her own season.
Sadly, the show still suffers from the usual pitfalls of the Netflix universe. Thirteen episodes is still clearly too much for any of these people to handle, and the characters usually spend way too long fixated on extremely simple motivations. It’s at this point that these problems are more expected rather than tolerated, but it feels like almost a waste to bring it up at this point. Now they are seriously wasting points for nothing.
In the end, however, the season still gets a good seven out of ten. Perhaps it won’t convince everyone that the shows are worth watching, but it’s far more entertaining than it should be. Although, I would definitely buy a Power Man shirt.
