Luke Cage: Who’s Gonna Take the Weight?

 “He was fine!"

This episode has, in contrast to the last two, a relatively simple plot. Luke Cage decides to strike back at Cottonmouth by attacking several of his stash houses and then his main fortress so that the money is all confiscated by investigating cops. The centrepiece is a big set piece of his doing exactly that, to a rather fitting Wu-Tang Clan soundtrack.

There are consequences though, not the least of which is Cottonmouth gettig his very personal and very fiery revenge at the end. Luke, I suspect, can't be hurt by this, but his friend at the rerstaurant very much can. The peoople he cares about are very much vulnerable, even if he isn't.

Misty Knight knows damn well what Luke is up to, as shown by an amusingly confrontational yet flirtatious conversation. A later conversation between Misty and her partner Scarfe is fascinating, and eches debates about vigilanteism in Daredevil- should we approve of what Luke is doing?

Yet all this, and the various criminal diplomacies and wars around Cottonmouth and Mariah, is overshadowed by the big reveal that Scarfe is working for Cottonmouth- and kills Chico to stop him talking.

This is good. Very, very good indeed.,

Luke Cage: Code of the Streets

 "Jesus saves." I don't."

Wow. That was an unexpectedly eventful and deeply layered second episode with a lot going on. This is classy, richly textured television.

There's a lot of development here. We get the backstory of Pop, Chico's dad and Cottonmouth all being young thugs together, until Pop turned himself around after serving a ten stretch in prison as his lady was pregnant. Ouch. That goes to show how the concept of prison is so problematic- it punishes not only the guilty, but their innocent family and children too. We get more of Pop encouraging "Power Man" to be a hero. We get the We get emphasis that the barber shop is "Switzerland", so it's a betrayal, and shocking, when Pop dies the way he does.

We get some fascinating philsophical debate between Cottonmouth and Mariah, much of it framed by black history. We get an eventful appearance by Turk. We get Luke learning who Misty really is. And we get a superb shot, by the same Paul McGuigan who directed similar scenes in Sherlock, of Misty standing at a scene of a crime and literally seeing what happened. She's pretty good at basketball too.

This is extraordinary, easily as good as Daredevil and Jessica Jones so far, in a similar style but definitely its own thing. I'm loving it.