Liam Hoofe reviews the second episode of Luke Cage season 2…
After the first episode reintroduced us to Harlem and all of the show’s characters, episode two of Luke Cage season 2 starts giving us clues as to what directions the season is going to be heading in.
The episode opened with Luke having a judas bullet removed by Claire. In an effort to see just how strong he has become, Luke goes along to a local sports-track and shows the world exactly what he is capable of, smashing several records and gaining the attention of several lucrative advertising agencies along the way. This was a really fun scene and a different way of showing how a hero is getting on in normal society. The use of Luke’s special app is definitely going to come into play later in the season. Season 2 is only two episodes in and they have reminded us about it at least 100 times already.
While the episode starts with a load of fun and games, it doesn’t take long for things to turn sour for Luke, and it looks as though his relationship with Claire is going to be put to the test a lot over the next 10 episodes. Luke spends the majority of this episode pursuing Cockroach, a villain we were introduced to in the first episode. At one point, Luke finds him, only to be shot out of a window by several bullets, leading to an emotional showdown between Luke and Claire. Claire reminds Luke that he is not invulnerable, and reminds him of what happened to Matt. Luke blames everything that has happened on his father, and that is likely going to be a key theme throughout the season. The episode ends with Luke flying into a rage when he finally gets his hands on Cockroach, and it looks as though a lot of Luke’s pent-up aggression is going to come to the forefront this season.
Elsewhere in the episode, Misty Knight is attempting to get back to normality, but his finding it difficult at work. The rival cop storyline is likely going to get annoying real quick, but hopefully, it won’t be long before she gets her bionic arm and becomes a crime-fighting bad-ass herself.
In one of the episodes better scenes, Claire went to listen to Luke’s dad give a sermon. Reg E. Cathey is excellent in the role, and his voice-overs, combined with Luke Cage’s often inspired soundtrack really add an air of atmosphere to proceedings. His motives still remain unclear but given the history of all of the Marvel Netflix shows, we can safely presume that his intentions are not good. Talking of bad intentions, Bushmaster made an alliance with Mariah’s daughter, who was introduced to us during this episode, though, his intentions still aren’t particularly clear. He has an interesting presence though, and his first showdown with Luke shouldn’t be too far away.
‘Straighten It Out’ does a solid job of establishing the new directions all of the characters are heading in. It lays out new narratives for the coming season and makes it two for two for Luke Cage season 2 so far.
Liam Hoofe
