Liam Hoofe reviews the third episode of Luke Cage season 2…
With all the pieces slowly starting to fall into place, episode 3 of Luke Cage season 2 shifted gears a little, giving us a character-driven episode that helped add some more stakes to proceedings.
Having beaten Cockroach to within an inch of his life at the end of the second episode, Luke is confronted with the fact that he is becoming increasingly volatile at the start of this episode. While he is saved an arrest thanks to his relationship with Misty, it becomes increasingly clear that Luke is struggling to keep his anger in check, and it looks as though that is going to lead to some serious problems for his relationship with Claire as the season carries on.
Luke wasn’t the only character who was under inspection in this episode though. We were given a greater insight into Mariah’s family issues and her relationship with her daughter, Tilda and we also saw the beginning of a budding partnership between Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. Colleen was one of the best things about Iron Fist, and the scenes between her and Misty were some of the most enjoyable of the season so far. The bar scene, which saw the two women get into a massive bar brawl was excellent.
Talking of big brawls, this was the episode where we got to see the most of the season’s antagonist. Bushmaster, as well. Luke came face to face with his nemesis for the first time in this episode after following a Yardie back to a warehouse. While we still don’t know too much about his character, he remains an intriguing element of the show. His motivations seem to be to take back control of Harlem, and he clearly sees Luke as his biggest stumbling block in that mission.
This wasn’t to be the last we would see of him either. In the episode’s penultimate scene, Claire and Luke ended up having an almighty row, especially after Luke discovered that Claire had gone to visit Luke’s father behind her back. The argument was suitably intense, if not a little cheesy at times, and it ended with Luke flipping out and putting his fist through a wall. As Luke storms out of the house and heads down onto the street, we see a fist fly out of nowhere, and Luke is dropped to the floor. As he regains his composure and looks up, Bushmaster pops up and reminds him that Harlem is not Luke’s yard, it’s his.
‘Wig Out’ was probably the strongest episode of season 2 yet. The characters all feel much richer because of the episode and it sets Luke on an interesting path going forward. Bushmaster is an intriguing villain, the relationship between Luke and Claire is surprisingly engaging, and the possibility of a Daughters of the Dragon spin-off is awesome.
Liam Hoofe
