Luke Cage season 2 binge watch review
Photo Credit: Netflix/David Lee
3. Luke Cage S2 E3 – “Wig Out”
The women of Luke Cage are quickly becoming the best characters on the series. While I was a little apprehensive of Mariah’s new motherhood storyline, I always had total faith in Alfre Woodward. She knocks it out of the park in “Wig Out” and reminds fans why she should’ve been the villain of season one instead of Diamondback.
While Mariah is maintaining her fond public persona, she’s still scheming for money in the background. She seamlessly manages to win Tilda over and convince Shades to do her dirty work. The two manage to get a huge sum of money at the last minute but make an unknowing deal with the devil to do so.
Misty gets a ton to do in the third episode without complaint. Colleen Wing stops by and the two bond over a quick sparring session. While everyone in Misty’s life has treated her differently because of the injury, Colleen isn’t about to hold back. It’s refreshing to see someone finally pull her out of her funk. Not to mention, their fight scene at the bar is easily one of the best of the series. I’m definitely not alone with hoping the two get a spin-off series of their own or at least a mini-series.
Luke finally comes face to face with the Bushmaster and his gang. While he easily takes out the men and women of the gang, it all turns out to be a test. Bushmaster just wanted to see what exactly Luke could do so he could adapt his own fighting style. He’s quickly becoming one of my favorite Marvel villains and has easily overtaken Diamondback from the first season.
Nevertheless, Luke isn’t very likable at all in “Wig Out”. Luke Cage has always explored themes of discrimination and racism. However, Luke trying to minimize what Claire has gone through to make it seem like he has it worse just seems sloppy. As people of color, both of them have endured various forms of discrimination through racism, sexism, and even the people they affiliate with. It’s unfortunate to see Claire leave, but there’s no denying she had every right to after their fight. In one scene Luke transforms into a guy having a violent tantrum, and she can’t take on that risk with someone who can snap her in half.
With Rosario Dawson’s future with Marvel unclear, this seems like a low-point to write her out of the series. It would be nice to see her appear in Daredevil season three and have a full circle ending with Matt. However, that seems unlikely since production has almost wrapped. At this point, the series would really need to earn a reunion between Luke and Claire before tossing them back together.