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Luke Cage S2

Started by Lord Mandrake, June 22, 2018, 08:34:28 PM

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Lord Mandrake

I know, we've been burned by these Marvel Netflix series more than once. I know by episode 8 it might run out of ideas, that Luke is probably the most boring, punchy hero of them all.... However, this is really, really good so far.


Mister Six

I thought the first season was shit for a billion reasons, but especially because they took a guy whose superpower is being impossible to beat up or shoot, and made the baddies able to shoot him. What's the fucking point, then? Jesus.

And this season? It's a baddie whose superpower is being able to beat him up.

Fuck offffffffffff.

Lord Mandrake

There were plenty of things to dislike about S1 (perhaps not a billion) but the basic storytelling method of the hero facing jeopardy was not one that struck me.

Mister Six

The issue is making the jeopardy so mundane and unimaginative. If your hero's big selling point is that he's bulletproof, don't introduce magic bullets into the story. It just makes it a show about a regular man trying not to get shot. Especially egregious in a show that's happy to wank itself off about how it's about a bulletproof black man without ever once attempting to tackle anything even vaguely related to BLM or cop violence.

What about a villain who harms him in an indirect way, dismantling his life piece by piece? What about putting him in an impossible ethical conundrum? They almost went this way by having Cottonmouth blackmail Luke into becoming his heavy, but fucked it up by killing Cottonmouth about 15 minutes later.

By the same token, having a villain whose superpower is that he can beat up Luke Cage is just stupid because it just makes it a show about a man trying not to get beaten up.

Lord Mandrake

Quote from: Mister Six on June 22, 2018, 11:33:15 PM
Especially egregious in a show that's happy to wank itself off about how it's about a bulletproof black man without ever once attempting to tackle anything even vaguely related to BLM or cop violence.

Not that I think a superhero show has a specific responsibility to take on such issues (regardless of the hero's skin colour) you'll be pleased to know that they do address this and other social problems in S2.


BlodwynPig

Black Lightning did that

Mister Six

Quote from: Lord Mandrake on June 23, 2018, 12:23:54 AM
Not that I think a superhero show has a specific responsibility to take on such issues (regardless of the hero's skin colour) you'll be pleased to know that they do address this and other social problems in S2.

I don't care where he they do or don't so long as the story is good, but Luke Cage S1 had a bit here Method Man was wheeled on to gibber on about how great it is to see a bulletproof black man, which was a bit fucking rich considering how they did nothing with that concept.

And as Blodwyn points out, Black Lightning dealt with those kinds of issues - right there in its first episode, no less.

Lord Mandrake

Anyway Luke Cage S2... Noticable sag around episode 8 as expected but brought back round for a rather compelling denouement. The latter episodes lean unabashedly on Luke's Blaxploitation origins and is much more fun as a result. Alfre Woodard is the standout actor and Mustafa Shakir as the Bushmaster is a riveting, multi layered antagonist. Without giving anything away his motives and powers are far more complex than Mister Six supposes. Luke himself is probably still the least interesting character although nullifying his power, giving him internal conflict and adding some more light and shade to the character leaves him in an interesting position for any future series. 

Minor spoilers >>>> Iron Fist rocks up for a pleasing cameo although no heroes for hire yet
Hip Hop spoilers >>> Excellent turns for Ghostface Killah & frigging KRS ONE!

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

I thought the first series was pretty naff, particularly the second half, but this one had me gripped. Alfre Woodard's performance see-saws between great and awful, and Mike Colter is still something of a charisma void - I'd prefer a whole series of Misty and Bushmaster kicking arse - but I reckon this is the best of the Marvel series since the first Jessica Jones.

I didn't expect things to go all Godfather at the end. Though whether that makes it good writing or just pulled from nowhere, I'm not quite sure.

The Culture Bunker

Just finished this and really enjoyed it - perhaps my favourite of the Netflix Marvel series since the first Daredevil. It obviously helped Bushmaster was a well-played and sympathetic (despite his very extreme measures) antagonist. I'm also glad they didn't over-use Iron Fist like I thought they might. Plus Misty is a much better sidekick/friend/moral compass figure than Patsy in Jessica Jones, who just gets right on my tits.

phantom_power

I am enjoying it a lot more than I thought, given how Season 1 was so disappointing after a good start. The music is excellent, and even better now they have added the reggae element with the Yardies. I like how it also tackles social and political issues as well as just being strong man throw weaker man through window

Lord Mandrake

Quote from: phantom_power on July 10, 2018, 09:21:41 AM
The music is excellent, and even better now they have added the reggae element with the Yardies.

I love that they use this as diegetic sound as if the Bushmaster is cutting his own dubs to play when he rolls up on a place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3MpE1l20QI

The Roofdog

Quote from: Mister Six on June 22, 2018, 11:33:15 PM
They almost went this way by having Cottonmouth blackmail Luke into becoming his heavy, but fucked it up by killing Cottonmouth about 15 minutes later.

Killing off Mahershala Ali and replacing him with that gurning one-dimensional tit has to be up there as one of the shittest decisions in TV history.

Ant Farm Keyboard


The Culture Bunker

Bit of a shame. Was quite interested in how they left things at the end of Series 2.

AsparagusTrevor

It's a shame, as mentioned above it left it in a potentially interesting place. If it wasn't for the upcoming Disney streaming thing coming up I'd be hoping for a 'Heroes for Hire' series announcement.

I've only just finished season 2, it was a really slow burner, dull in places but carried along by some great acting, but christ did it really kick up a gear in the last few episodes.

The Roofdog

S2 was superb I thought, far superior to the underwhelming Jessica Jones S2. Really very disappointed by this, Iron Fist S2 even had a line that made it sound like it might link into the end of Cage S2 in a really interesting way.