Netflix Luke Cage Review (Spoilers allowed now :))

[Umbran]

Fair enough. I'll be back after I've watched it...

 

[Derren]

I think much of the idea of all the Netflix shows is that they are very "street level", and assume that issues of the world at large are rather lost in the local concerns. "Who cares about superhero registration in Washington? I'm not a superhero, or in Washington, I have this crime lord trying to lean on my business that is just scraping by as it is!"

Its certainly their intended to have street level "Defenders", but I would like if the existence of them to fit into the overall universe. They might not care about the accords and Washington, but Washington cares about them with Shield hunting enhanced people and even Tony Stark enforcing the Accords. And Luke is far from subtle so they should at least give us a plausible reason why Shield hasn't knocked yet (hopefully in Season 2).

 

[Tonguez]

Marvel movies have so far always been chronological. And according to a wiki Cage plays parallel to Shield season 4 and after Civil War.

Netflix Time runs according to when the show is filmed not when it is released.

We also know that Claire Temple turns up in the second half of Luke Cage straight from the fall out of DD2, so I'm sticking with the idea that the start of Luke Cage overlaps with the end of DD and that the Airport scene of Civil War happens after Luke Cage.

Of course Iron Fist will need to at least reference the Accords and maybe SHIELD will be what motivates Matt Murdoch to come to the aid the other heroes that form the Defenders

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Well finished up the series. It was a mixed bag. Liked the characters for the most part but the plot was mediocre at best, and the last three episodes were by far the worst of the lot. Though even before that I was losing interest in the nearly what 3 episodes he's stumbling around shot? I did like the 70's vibe, though too bad the main villain wasn't Mr. White or something like that. Maybe Cage could have a team-up with Black Dynamite.

The actor playing LC was great though, and there is a lot of potential there. So far DD still buries every other superhero show I've seen. Though JJ and LC are heads and shoulders above the DC stuff on the CW for the most part.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

I loved the first six episodes, and Cottonmouth was my favorite antagonist. The rest of the season was just alright. Diamondback was absolutely horrible and ineffective, and seemed opposite of a criminal mastermind and leader, sort of like the 1980s GI Joe villain Cobra Commander.

 

[Ryujin]

I loved the first six episodes, and Cottonmouth was my favorite antagonist. The rest of the season was just alright. Diamondback was absolutely horrible and ineffective, and seemed opposite of a criminal mastermind and leader, sort of like the 1980s GI Joe villain Cobra Commander.

Yeah, not big on the Diamondback thing either. Cottonmouth and Shades played much better.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I liked Cottonmouth much better then Diamondback, too. But I am not sure there is much they could go with there anymore. The moment the two want to confront each other, the story is over.

Diamondback really seemed not like the mastermind. I liked Shades calling Diamondback out on this.


Though it also feels to me that there was one core aspect to the show - plans are useless.
[sblock]
3 criminals plan a neat little heist and end up killing a lot more than most of them intended, and eventually a lot more dead than the had hoped.
Cottonmouth sends someone to take out his insider - and ends up with "Switzerland" blown up and Pop dead, something he never wanted.
Cottonmouth dies at the hand of Maria. Neither she nor anyone else actually expected that to happen.
Diamondback has to improvise the whole hostage situation (and sucks at it.)
Maria plans a political career to improve the situation in Harlem - and gets into deep trouble because Luke Cage beats up her headquarter with Cottonmouth's illgotten gains in it, and she ends up killing Cottonmouth and kinda has to take over his job...
Luke Cage just wants to live a peaceful live outside the spotlights and becomes a public hero.
[/sblock]
The show is kinda a sequence of seeing people's (life) plans derailed.

 

[Tonguez]

The show is kinda a sequence of seeing people's (life) plans derailed.

sorta like real life
I kinda liked that about the show, it had all these grand schemes undone because people are emotional and get stupid. I think it helped to differentiate Lukes villains from the meticulous ruthlessness of Wilson Fisk or the self-focused tantrum that was Purple Man

I liked Cottonmouth much better then Diamondback, too. But I am not sure there is much they could go with there anymore. The moment the two want to confront each other, the story is over.

Cottonmouth worked well as the gang boss working alongside Mariah and he should have been left in that role. He didn't need to confront Luke directly, he could have remained wearing Harlems crown while Mariah worked as 'puppetmaster' spinning the media to turn community sentiment against 'vigilantes'.

I also would have loved them to explore Cottonmouths musical talent further too, it gave the character a bit of depth that would have moved him from predictable cut out to interesting antagonist.

Diamondback should never have been part of the gang Hierarchy he would be more effective if brought in as an independent 'Contractor' a known extreme Hitman/Terrorist sent in to take care of Cottonmouths problem. Even having the half-brother 'twist' would have been okay then, but trying to overload every cliche onto his green scaled shoulders was just too much.

How I would have Ended it - Diamondback defeated by Luke, Cottonmouth arrested (and sent to the same cellblock as Fisk) and Mariah still out and rebuilding her political ambitions

 

[Janx]

Just finished the LC eps last night.

I liked it.I think that it's a good thing that a bunch of white people like a show about a bunch of black people. Maybe we'll learn something.

Though I still don't know what's up about barber shops. Is it a hair needs cutting often thing? Or just a meeting place for the community because their hair needs cutting? Didn't seem like a deal breaker if I knew the significance or not.

I think the show suffered from the same "too many episodes" problem the others did, where things felt stretched.

I liked Cottonmouth. I would have liked a bit more on why everybody's named after a snake and how it makes sense that Diamondback who isn't part of the family has a name like that. It's like a thematic hole. Probably made worse by making DB related to LC.

I'm a little fuzzy on how Harlem's Paradise got fixed up so fast, given we go from DB vs. LC there, a day or two later maybe and the big rematch at Pop's and as LC is being driven out by the Feds, the same night as the fight and BM getting released, people are streaming into HP.

I'm also confused on evidence rules on how if you got a tape of a witness outing the bad guy, and the witness is murdered, how is that NOT prosecutable? What jury doesn't hear the tape and think, "oh, the person who said that was murdered, how convenient, I vote guilty."

Otherwise, what use is recording evidence if you actually still need the witness to testify. You're basically admitting the recording was useless, and only a live witness matters. That feeds right into the bad guys hands, given they are the only people willing to kill others to further their ends.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

In some cities, Barber shops are where some older men like to get together to talk, while beauty salons fit the same needs for older women. Think of the popularity of old Paris salons in the late 18th century, carried on to modern times in a small way.

The second half of the show were full of plot holes, same as in Daredevil season 2.