Luke Cage season 2 binge watch review

Photo Credit: Netflix/David Lee

6. Luke Cage S2 E6  – “The Basement”

This show is called Luke Cage but he might actually be my least favorite character this season. I understand why they’re interjecting some character flaws into Luke, who originally felt like the “perfect” Defender. He didn’t have Jessica’s or Matt’s darkness and wasn’t as infuriating as Danny Rand. However, some of his scenes this season remind me of the latter’s attempt at anger in Iron Fist season one. It comes across like a temper tantrum or a petulant teen throwing a fit against their parents.

It’s been more interesting to see how Luke’s ego has affected his character compared to his sudden anger management issues. He’s a hero and a celebrity, not necessarily in that order. His growing ego could also be attributed to why he’s so obsessed with taking down Mariah. Yes, she’s corrupt but she’s getting out of the business. Couldn’t he be focusing on Bushmaster now rather than her? Does she even pose any substantial threat to Harlem now that she’s retired?

Speaking of Bushmaster, that final fight scene in “The Basement” is downright awful. Everything about it feels like watching the Iron Fist choreography all over again. However, Luke Cage doesn’t even have an excuse like Finn Jones did, since he was learning his fight scenes on the fly. The dialogue is poor, and the execution is muddled. It would be a better use of the show’s time to just see Bushmaster and Mariah fighting each other with Luke to swoop in at the end.

However, the most talked about part of episode six is going to be the realization Shades is bisexual. The scene is well-acted, and it’s nice to see Marvel adding some LGBT representation. That being said, it does feel like the show simply tacked this revelation onto the sixty minutes rather than accurately explore it.