Luke Cage “Blowin’ Up the Spot” sees our hero’s condition preventing him from receiving treatment. Claire attempts to treat the wound and Luke’s skin prevents any medical instruments from penetrating his skin.
Shades takes Mariah through the steps to set up Luke Cage for the murder of her cousin. Shades helps to plant evidence to implicate Luke. He beats the dead Cottonmouth’s face to a pulp wearing Cage’s old washing up gloves. Later he plants them at Luke’s place.
Mariah and Shades have paid Candace to implicate Luke. Later, after her statement, it sounds like she believes Mariah’s account of events. Although she questions her new boss. “Are you sure,” she asks Mariah after taking an envelope full of money.
While Mariah tells everyone that it was Luke Cage who killed her cousin, the man shot by Diamondback is suffering. The shrapnel in his torso is causing intense pain.
Claire has a friend get hold of an ambulance and they start to take Luke somewhere for treatment. An explosion topples the van on its side and both Luke and Claire have to make a break for it.
Misty is on the hunt for Luke and when she first finds him Claire has been defeated by his condition and cannot treat the bullet wound. Initially she tells them that the ambulance is Luke’s alibi. However, when she is told about the gloves she tells Cage he is under arrest.
As Claire starts to confront the cop, Diamondback shoots at Luke again. The bullet misses and drills its way into the wall before exploding. Misty returns fire and the changes position.
Diamond back reaches through the broken window to grab Claire and she stabs him in the arm with some scissors. Luke drags Diamondback through the window and the two men fight. Stryker tries to shoot Luke again but the rifle either misfires or is empty.
Stryker gets hold of Misty and grabs her gun. He shoots Luke and then drags the cop upstairs and outside. He starts to shoot her and the detective tells him to shoot her if he is going to . Instead he knocks her out and goes across the street.
Diamondback breaks into a theatre and Luke follows. The two fight again and the two reveal though their conversation that they were children together. Later, Stryker claims that they were brothers.
Misty questions Claire and the nurse gets annoyed when the detective decides that Luke needs to be arrested. Temple gets a bit assertive and Knight grabs her by the throat. Ridley comes in and offers to let Claire press charges.
Detective Knight is in trouble.
Luke is shot again by Diamondback just after the makes the statement that they are brothers. Cage falls into the back of a rubbish truck and the vehicle pulls away.
Luke Cage was rather slow this week. This did not stop the series from throwing out some revealing facts, like Diamondback being released to Cage, aka Carl Lucas.
The music was different in this episode. It was very reminiscent of the old Adventures of Superman and The Lone Ranger “incidental” music. It sounded very much like the music from many shows from the ’50s and ’60s. A nice touch that made the events seem all the more significant.
The show shifted for this episode and moved away from the “blaxploitation” theme relied upon so far. The music helped to put the show more firmly into “good guy” territory, or in the vein of generic superhero.
For those who only discovered Luke Cage when he appeared in Jessica Jones this is all new territory. Cage, like Jones, presents a grittier side of Marvel. Focusing on the mean streets and the ongoing battle for control of Harlem.
Luke Cage is streaming in its entirety on Netflix. Tune in and enjoy an alternative Marvel-verse without spandex.
Cast:
- Mike Colter – Luke Cage
- Mahershala Ali – Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes
- Simone Missick – Misty Knight
- Alfre Woodard – Mariah Dillard
- Theo Rossi – Shades Alvarez
- Frank Whaley – Rafael Scarfe
- Cassandra Freeman – Partrica Wilson
- Jacob Vargas – Domingo Vargas
- Ron Cephas Jones – Bobby Fish
- Jade Wu – Connie Lin
- Thomas Q. Jones – Comanche
- Rosario Dawson – Claire Temple
- Jaiden Kaine – Zip
- Manny Perez – Lt. Perez
- Sonja Sohn – Captain Betty Audrey
- Tijuana Ricks – Thembi Wallace
- LaTanya Richardson Jackson – Mama Mabel
- Karen Pittman – Inspector Pricilla Ridley
- Erik LaRay Harvey – Willis “Diamondback” Stryker
Guest starring Danny Johnson as Ben Donovan and Deborah Ayorinde as Candace.
Mikes Film Talk 