Liam Hoofe reviews the sixth episode of Luke Cage season 2…
Luke Cage and Bushmaster finally meet again as the rest of Harlem continues to descend into chaos in episode 6 of Luke Cage season 2.
After being ambushed at the end of the previous episode, episode 6 opens with Luke Cage chasing members of The Stylers through the streets of Harlem, while also trying to protect Piranha from the group. Luke ends up spending the majority of the episode with Piranha, who is hands down the most annoying character in the show, and discovering that he in charge of all of Mariah’s finances, which is why Bushmaster and The Stylers are out to get hold of him.
While Luke is out babysitting for a good three-quarters of the episode, there is plenty of drama going elsewhere. The rift between Shades and Mariah continues to grow, and we were given an added twist in this episode when we found out that Shades and Comanche have a romantic past. This was a surprising twist for the characters, especially Shades, and it adds an awful lot to his character. Shades spent the majority of season 1 as a manipulative psychopath, but he has grown into one of the show’s best characters so far this season. Could we see an unlikely love triangle develop during the second half of the season? Comanche now also know that Mariah killed Cottonmouth, which could be seen by Mariah as a massive breaking of her trust.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Misty quit the forces after confessing to trying to stitch up Cockroach in the previous episode. We also got a tease of just how strong her new bionic arm is, and it looks as though she is headed for a team-up with Luke later on in the season. Her story has begun to feel a little stale over the last couple of episodes, so here’s hoping she can be involved in the action in the next few instalments.
The big talking point of the episode though is undoubtedly Luke’s showdown with Bushmaster. After being taken down by Bushmaster earlier in the season, Luke appeared much more ready for their fight this time around, eventually taking control of his nemesis and drawing blood from him. Bushmaster had a trick up his sleeve though, pulling out a handful of dust which paralysed Luke, allowing him to kick him off the bridge and into the river below.
Bushmaster is growing into one of the Netflix universe’s better villains. He is not super-powered but he appears to always have the upper hand over Luke, and his intentions make him a compelling character. His one-man mission to take down Mariah and reclaim Harlem could lead to Luke and Mariah making for strange bed-fellows later in the season, and it looks like Luke may even have to patch things up with his father if he is to really overcome his demons here.
Liam Hoofe
