Marvel's Luke Cage Netflix Original Season Two Review

Major spoilers in this season review! Read with Caution!

Welcome to Harlem and the season review of the second season! If you hadn't binged watched the entire season like I did over the weekend, I'd suggest you do that before reading this. 

Still here? Awesome, let's get into it.

Unlike the other shows Daredevil and Jessica Jones, Luke Cage survived sophomore slump and came out as a stronger season than the first one. It allowed the other characters in the show to breathe and to take the stage, even overshadowing Luke himself most of the time. I dare say... Luke became a supporting character in his own show.

But let's talk about the superhero and his dark path. I enjoyed how the Public's views of Luke Cage impacted the show and its direction, particularly in Harlem's Hero App. Using that in humorous ways played out great in the form of D.W., the super fan. 

The public opinion is effective in the sense that it shows how people can turn on our heroes. This is a typical trope where the main hero makes one mistake, and the public is all too willing to turn on them.

When Bushmaster, arguably the main antagonist, arrived and took out Luke in their first encounter, the public turned and wanted more footage of their hero getting knocked down a few more times. 

Speaking of Bushmaster, I enjoyed his character a lot. He rightfully wants justice for his family and does whatever it takes to take down Mariah Dillard --- I mean Stokes. His hatred is so great he is unwilling to call her anything else. This reminds me a lot of Killmonger from Black Panther who is also a tragic villain and how we low-key rooted for the villain to succeed. 

Mariah Stokes is truly the MVP of the season and how they handled her worked so well; it makes me wish we could see more of her in the future. What I enjoyed most is her relationship with her daughter Tilda, and how dark their paths got toward the end of the season.

Let's say this: Mariah's actions and sins, along with the name Stokes, caught up with her in the season finale. 

BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT SHADES! 

Shades, Mariah's right hand man and lover, proved his worth in this season. For most of the season, I thought he was a dick, but he was a brilliant dick! How he pushed for the darkness inside Mariah to come out, and when it does, he backs out, becoming the one who turns her into the police. In the end, he goes to jail for his crimes but is the cleanest out of the three villains.

Misty Knight is also a fantastic protagonist, who carries the scars of the first season and The Defenders with her. She struggles with her former partner's corruption and the loss of her right arm. 

Then there's a clear dynamic with Colleen Wing in one episode, which proves that Daughters of the Dragon should definitely happen. I want more of those two together and their friendship chemistry is there.

Marvel Netflix People! Please invest in Daughters of the Dragon! I'm sure it'll succeed!

Speaking of Iron Fist love interest, let's dive into the Danny Rand of it all. 

Danny Rand worked in the second season. I'm surprised like y'all probably are. I think it helps that they're making his annoyance self-aware to the other characters, who cannot comprehend that he fought an actual dragon.

STOP TELLING US AND SHOW US THE DAMN DRAGON!

They have funny moments and a fantastic fight scene that proves Heroes For Hire could potentially happen down the road. Instead of trying to force it down our throats like in The Defenders.

Now let's talk about what I didn't like: Claire and Luke's Father.

In the first half of the season, they set up these big arcs with Claire and Luke's father that got dropped in the second half. They literally vanished, especially Claire, and no real closure occurred for either of them. This also goes in hand with the pacing, which makes it feel like there are too many episodes in the season. 

I found myself wondering how much time is left in almost every episode I watched and groaned whenever I saw I was only halfway through. 

Thanks for reading my review y'all. Sound off in the comments for a discussion on the current season.