Luke Cage Season 2 Review

In a tale of two's, I'm coming back to review Luke Cage. A year after the events of The Defenders, which crossed over Netflix's Marvel heroes in an eight-episode miniseries, Luke Cage returns to Harlem to keep the peace. In a markedly strong return and a refreshed focus on stronger villains and a more consistent arc, season two is a welcome return for the character, his world, and a vast improvement over the inconsistent inaugural season.

We're welcomed back to Harlem and Luke's world as he's riding a mix of highs and lows. He's at an all-time popularity with the community, but short on money and means to continue to live somewhat comfortably. He doesn't want to be a police officer, but he also doesn't want to use his powers to sell out. It's this personal conflict, between needs and wants, that provides the strongest through-line for Luke throughout the season. This theme intersects with discussions about race and manhood, particularly black manhood, but more than anything it's a very personal journey for Luke. His struggle is mirrored with his descent towards more vigilantism rather than protector.

Mariah's return adds interesting
layers to the overall conflic

Misty has more action
thank before, thanks to
her advanced prosthetic
arm

But season two has plenty of other characters to fill your time with. Misty Knight gets a significant amount of screen time, and it's gladly appreciated. To this day, I still believe she's the unsung hero of the series. She's tough, she's true, she's deep. But she's got her own battles. She didn't walk away from The Defenders unscathed, and the repercussions for those events ring in her life everyday; how she works, how she lives, how she fights. And she does fight, against the new arrival and the primary antagonist for the season: Bushmaster, a Jamaican gangster who can take a hit just as well as Luke can, but he's motivated with much more anger than his adversary. It's Bushmaster's presence in Harlem that provides Cage great retrospective on how he uses his own anger to achieve justice; justice, specifically, that needs to be dealt with returning villain Mariah Dillard, cousin to last season's villain Cottonmouth and now spiraling out of control with fear of what Bushmaster and Cage are coming to her for. While there's more interesting depth given to Mariah and her world, the star villain is most definitely Bushmaster. Calmer than Cottonmouth, more charismatic than Mariah, and more interesting than Diamondback, Bushmaster is the exact adversary that Luke Cage was needing.

Bushmaster has a lot of surprises

Something that definitely needs to be remarked is the music in the show. It's its own character, and it helps to shape the identity of the show. Whether it be during an action sequence, a dramatic monologue, or simply a montage of Luke Cage doing his thing, the music has a rhythm and soul to it that I don't know I've ever seen from any other television show. Even during a low point, you can't help but bob your head to the beat.

The season keeps you continually engaged, but it still feels like 13 episodes may be too long a slog, especially in the late game, where momentum is halted to give flashback context to some of the conflict in the season. Nevertheless, Luke Cage Season 2 is an overall better experience than its predecessor, and its surprising cliffhanger leaves you clamoring for more.


 

Rating: 9/10