Luke Cage season 2 binge watch review
Photo Credit: Netflix
13. Luke Cage S2 E13 – “They Can’t Reminisce Over You”
Unlike a lot of other season finales, Luke Cage goes for an understated look. “They Can’t Reminisce Over You” is all about legacy and how it affects the characters. Mariah’s family name has kept all of the gangs at bay, which makes her a necessary evil in Harlem. Bushmaster is adamant on getting vengeance for his family which is why he wants to kill Mariah as a form of justice. Misty just wants to be the one to clean up the streets, but the right way. Where exactly does that leave Luke? Well, the episode ends with him in an interesting place.
While I didn’t mention in my episode 12 breakdown, Rosalie Carbone (played by Annabella Sciorra) was introduced. She’s a new crime boss who’s already been confirmed for Daredevil season 3. Shades confirmes she’s the reason behind the gang war happening throughout Harlem as everyone vies for a place at the top. It’s not a major revelation, but it certainly makes her a major character in the Marvel/Netflix universe to look out for.
Luke deals with her with a couple of threats and demands. She hesitantly accepts to keep fighting outside of Harlem and even flirts with him for a little bit. Is Annabella going to convince Luke to take a walk on the dark side? It would certainly be a nice revelation. However, his decision to allow the gangs to fight as long as it’s in other sections of New York feels very unheroic. Sort of like saying “Hey, it’s Danny’s and Jessica’s problem now!”.
Mariah’s ending feels like a dark twist but understandable. It’s unclear where else they could go with that character, and Alfre Woodard already had an Emmy winning performance to finish her Marvel run. Not to mention, the character can always appear again in flashbacks, especially since the show seems like it plans to show Nightshade’s backstory.
Poor Shades is finally screwed over again by Mariah’s death since he can now be arrested. He’ll be back again next year and potentially be answering to a new boss.
That’s right, Mariah passes along Harlem’s Paradise to Luke since she knows it will corrupt him. However, his corruption has already begun, because he’s the new gang boss of Harlem. Clearly, he thinks he can handle everything happening and get rid of crime in the city. It’s hard to believe he’ll fully go over to the dark side, but that lingering shot of Luke in the club with the crown over his head and in a mobster suit definitely insinuates he will. How will the rest of the heroes react? Luke might be strong, but my guess is Danny and Jessica will be able to stop him.
Next: Will Rosario Dawson return to Marvel’s Netflix Universe?
Overall, this season has been a major improvement over the first and had better villains. Nevertheless, it still suffered from a lot of the same problems like pacing and properly motivations. While I’ll be tuning in for the third season (assuming it’s renewed), the series really needs to work on making Lukemrore interesting. For now, I’ll just be hoping for a Daughters of the Dragon miniseries.
What were your thoughts on the second season of Luke Cage? Sound off in the comments below!