Luke Cage season 2 binge watch review

Photo Credit: Netflix/David Lee

9. Luke Cage S2 E9 – “For Pete’s Sake”

Once again, Alfre Woodard is proving she’s the best part of this show. Luke Cage has a major problem to address: its titular character is easily stuck in the most boring plot lines. It would be a major surprise to not see Woodard nominated for some kind of award for her performance this season.

Tilda and Mariah come head to head in this episode which doesn’t end with a clean breakdown. Mariah finally comes clean about the circumstances to Tilda’s birth/ Turns out her husband was a closeted pianist, and their daughter was a result of rape. It explains why Mariah hasn’t had a large part in her daughter’s life and sometimes looks at her coldly. The scene itself is a showcase for Woodard which absolutely rips your heart out.

Meanwhile, Tilda calls her a monster after her speech. It’s not clear whether it’s because of Mariah’s part in killing Cottonmouth, or learning her mother “didn’t love her”. Nevertheless, it’s still a lot for a young girl to stomach. I have no doubts the two women can look forward to a very rocky relationship.

Elsewhere, Luke and his dad make up. It’s a subplot I don’t find particularly interesting because it’s hard to invest in their relationship. Reg Cathey sadly passed away, so it seems unlikely James Lucas sticks around for next season.

Speaking of Luke Cage, he wants to take down Bushmaster again. He can’t seem to decide between Bushmaster and Mariah but clearly the former is the larger threat to Harlem. He could just sit back and let those two destroy each other. They certainly have the ability to do so.

So far, the series is getting by on performance alone rather than a strong cohesive story. While many fans won’t care because this second season is an improvement over the first, this could be problematic in the future. How long can Luke Cage get by with a flat second half? This feels a lot like Diamondback all over again.