Marvels Luke Cage: Season 1, Episode 8 The twists keep coming in this jam-packed episode of Luke Cage. While at the same time cementing Mariah as a Big Bad, “Blowin’ Up the Spot” also introduced what looks to be the series’ ultimate Big Bad: Diamondback. And, he makes quite the entrance. The episode takes its time revealing this, but Diamondback, a.k.a. Willis Stryker, is the one who shot Luke with the Judas at the end of the last episode. And, their beef goes way deeper than just Luke Cage messing with Cottonmouth’s business. It turns out Luke and Stryker grew up together, and Stryker has been behind some of the misfortune in his life, including his torture in prison. For reasons that have yet to be explained, Luke feels guilty for doing something to Stryker, who accuses Luke of leaving him to rot in the gutter. In his first appearance on the show, Diamondback seems to share part of Kilgrave’s sadism. He has a big smile on his face as he chases Luke and Claire through the streets of Harlem and seems almost gleeful when he disarms Misty Knight and prepares to execute her in an alley. (He changes his mind at the last minute because he wants to make Luke suffer.) Erik LaRay Harvey plays Diamondback very broadly and seems to be having a lot of fun menacingly taunting Luke with Bible verses. His scene-chewing performance is definitely at odds with the show’s tone, but I like how much he contrasts with Luke’s stoicism, which is heightened by the fact that he’s very wounded. “I gave you wings…I sent you to hell and you come back with superpowers,” is just one example of Diamondback’s theatrical dialogue. Their chase eventually leads them to the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights (we ain’t in Harlem anymore, baby!), and they finally come to blows. I continue to be impressed with the show because its fight sequences are still interesting and it’s branching out from just having Luke throw people around. Since he’s wounded, he’s forced to face off with Stryker in semi-hand-to-hand combat, and Stryker is definitely a trained martial artist, which makes the scene more dynamic than other fights we’ve seen so far on the show. Eventually, their fight returns to the streets. Right before he takes another shot, Stryker tells Luke he’s his brother, which is news to Luke’s ears. But, before he has time process it, Diamondback fires off another Judas round and Luke falls into a conveniently placed garbage truck and is whisked away to places unknown.

Marvels Luke Cage: Season 1, Episode 6 Sometimes Netflix’s Marvel shows can be quite heavy-handed with their nods to other shows or the events in the films (see Turk’s corny line at the end of episode 2). However, there are times when they connect their properties in a way that subtly fleshes out the universe. And “Suckas Need Bodyguards” is an example of the latter. The episode opens with Jessica Jones‘ Trish Walker talking about Luke Cage on her radio show. It’s only a voiceover cameo, but I really liked it because it feels natural. The radio segment plays out as Luke goes for a run around the city, and as he passes by Mariah’s brownstone, he lets her know he’s coming for both her and her cousin. His threat is enough to send her running to her cousin, who happens to have more important things to worry about since he shot a cop that morning. Earlier that day, he met with Detective Scarfe, who demanded more money for the guns. Things got heated and Cottonmouth ended up shooting him, but he had to flee the scene before finishing the job. So, now they have to worry about Luke Cage and a dirty cop with evidence that could bring Cottonmouth down. I definitely clapped when Mariah called Cottonmouth on his stupidity and listed a number of obvious ways they could kill Luke; she suggested drowning or poison. Meanwhile, Claire finally manages to track Luke down at her mother’s diner. Obviously, Luke doesn’t remember her at first because he spent most of the time in her care unconscious. Eventually, they head back to the barber shop and that’s where they find a wounded Scarfe waiting for Luke. In exchange for Luke’s help, Scarfe says he’ll come through with evidence to take Cottonmouth down. So, they make a plan to drive him down to One Police Plaza, which they hope is outside of Cottonmouth’s sphere of influence. Pretty much everyone in the episode who isn’t Mariah is looking for Scarfe, and while it wasn’t the most compelling plot, it did give us a chance to witness more of Misty’s ingenuity. The Captain pairs Misty with Lieutenant Perez, who is working for Cottonmouth, to find Scarfe. It doesn’t take long for Misty to figure out that Perez is dirty and she fakes a phone call, which tricks him into confessing, and she gets it all on tape. By the time Misty catches up with Luke, Claire, and Scarfe, who have spent the last few hours evading Cottonmouth’s men, Scarfe has died. But, before he died, he gave Luke all the evidence he had to take down Cottonmouth. Meanwhile, Mariah invites a news crew into her home for an interview, and it’s clear from the beginning that Thembi, the reporter, has more on her mind than hearing Mariah’s canned quotes about the spirit of Harlem. Midway through the interview, Thembi brings up Mariah’s connection to Cottonmouth and the Crispus Attucks center. I loved that scene because Alfre Woodard’s eyes go from warm to cold in an instant. I still may not completely understand Mariah, but I love watching Woodard’s performance. All in all, it’s a pretty bad day for the Stokes family. With Scarfe’s evidence, Misty and the rest of the police are able to arrest Cottonmouth. But, something tells me he won’t be behind bars for too long. The Captain complains to Misty about the city timidity about going hard on Cottonmouth.