Luke Cage: If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right
June 30, 2018 3:47 PM - Season 2, Episode 8 - Subscribe
While Shades, Mariah, and Misty come to terms with the previous night's events, Bushmaster searches for a way to boost his strength. (written by Nathan Louis Jackson, directed by Neema Barnette)
AV Club review - Luke Cage needs to rely on its more interesting characters instead of the well-trod plot
Den of Geek review
*On a rooftop, Shades flashes back through Comanche's murder as he burns the clothing tainted by the crime scene.
*At the police station, Mariah counsels a shaken Tilda to say nothing to the cops, that they will handle things on their own. Luke wonders where everyone is and why no one has tried to interview the Dillards yet, and tries to get Mariah to tell him why Bushmaster wants her dead. Misty and the rest of the squad return, and Misty tells Luke about Ridenhour's murder. She's convinced Mariah is involved, since Misty is the only one he told about having an off-the-books CI in Harlem's Paradise, and he was killed after going to the club to question Mariah about Piranha's death.
*Shades goes to see Comanche's mother about his death, and promises to take care of her.
*Misty looks over Ridenhour's office and finds that her badge and gun are still at his desk. Nandi tells her that he never turned in the paperwork of her registration, and the squad had a betting pool going on when she would take her job back. She tells her that since Misty is now the highest ranking detective in the precinct, she's been placed in charge until there's a permanent new captain. Luke informs Misty of Comanche's identity from seeing him in the crime scene photos, and Misty realizes he was the snitch. She asks Luke to try to get Tilda to tell him whatever she knows about Bushmaster.
*At Harlem's Paradise, Bushmaster replaces Mariah's artwork with his own, but is furious to learn that Mariah and Tilda were rescued from the fire by Luke and have been spotted at the Babylon precinct.
*Misty interrogates Mariah about the fire, but she claims it was a home invasion robbery, nothing to do with her personally. Misty tells her about Ridenhour's death and Comanche being a snitch, but Mariah seems genuinely surprised/upset by Ridenhour's death. Tilda tells Luke about what Bushmaster said about the club and Buggy, and about how bullets struck him (rather than bouncing off) but that they had no effect. Ben Donovan and Shades arrive, putting an end to Mariah's interview, but Misty says that Shades is a person of interest in Ridenhour's murder since his car was spotted less than 30 blocks from the scene.
*Misty interrogates Shades, walking through her visualization of the crime scene (in Shades' shades). She says they can put him at the scene, but Donovan points out that all she can do is put Shades' car at the scene, guessing she has no video evidence of Shades himself at the scene. Donovan ducks out of the room to take a call, then returns to say he is no longer representing Shades.
*At the club, Uncle Anansi tells Bushmaster that using Nightshade the way he has is dangerous, but Bushmaster insists he needs it, then calls for the Stylers.
*At the precinct, Donovan takes his leave of Mariah, as he was loyal to her money, not her, and her money is gone. Mariah leaves with Tilda, her men, and Luke (not waiting for Shades), but a bunch of Stylers drive up and open fire. Luke holds them off while everyone escapes, and learns from one of the attackers that Bushmaster has put out a one-million-dollar bounty on Mariah, Tilda, Luke, and anyone close to Luke.
*Misty continues her interrogation of Shades, trying to get him to turn on Mariah, but he says he'll wait to talk to his new lawyer. Nandi calls Misty out of the room and says that the tests reveal no gunshot residue on Shades, and there's no video evidence because Ridenhour must deliberately chosen that location to meet with his snitch because of it being in a surveillance-free zone. Shades takes his leave of the station.
*Back at the church, Luke tries to convince his father that his life is in danger, but he refuses to leave, that if Luke wants to protect him he can do it there.
*Mariah returns to the burned-out brownstone to look at the damage. As she looks through the cinders for her gun, Shades arrives and they argue and blame each other for what went wrong, but eventually reconcile and embrace, as Shades tells her to be the gangster she became when she pushed Cornell out that window, that she is a queen, and that they can do this together. After she leaves, Shades pulls the gun from his pocket.
*At Harlem's Paradise, Misty and Nandi and a squad arrive to execute a search warrant. Misty questions Bushmaster about the bounty, but he denies it. The search turns up no results and they leave, and Bushmaster shows signs of withdrawal/negative side effects from the nightshade.
*At her shop, Tilda is packing some things up and preparing to flee when Mariah arrives. Mariah tells Tilda about how difficult her labor was, but that the worst part was when Mabel took her away from her afterwards. Tilda is surprised to hear that it was Mabel who sent Tilda to be raised by the Johnson's, as she had always thought that Mariah abandoned her.
*Bushmaster and his Uncle Anansi argue about Nightshade again, with Bushmaster insisting he'll make a new mixture somehow, and Anansi saying that its power comes from the soil of the island and that there is no substitute. Anansi storms out, which Shades sees from his car as he lurks in the shadows.
*At the church, James performs a baptism on a man, and as Luke keeps watch a bunch of Stylers enter and shoot at James. Luke fights them off while everyone flees, then finds James fighting with the last man, because "you can't be shooting my baby."
*At the shop, Tilda says she thinks she may be able to come up with something to counteract the effects of Nightshade. Misty and Nandi arrive moments ahead of the Stylers, and a gunfight ensues. Luke and James arrive, and the Stylers are defeated for now. When Mariah says there's nowhere safe to go, Luke tells Misty it's time to call Danny.
AV Club review - Luke Cage needs to rely on its more interesting characters instead of the well-trod plot
Den of Geek review
*On a rooftop, Shades flashes back through Comanche's murder as he burns the clothing tainted by the crime scene.
*At the police station, Mariah counsels a shaken Tilda to say nothing to the cops, that they will handle things on their own. Luke wonders where everyone is and why no one has tried to interview the Dillards yet, and tries to get Mariah to tell him why Bushmaster wants her dead. Misty and the rest of the squad return, and Misty tells Luke about Ridenhour's murder. She's convinced Mariah is involved, since Misty is the only one he told about having an off-the-books CI in Harlem's Paradise, and he was killed after going to the club to question Mariah about Piranha's death.
*Shades goes to see Comanche's mother about his death, and promises to take care of her.
*Misty looks over Ridenhour's office and finds that her badge and gun are still at his desk. Nandi tells her that he never turned in the paperwork of her registration, and the squad had a betting pool going on when she would take her job back. She tells her that since Misty is now the highest ranking detective in the precinct, she's been placed in charge until there's a permanent new captain. Luke informs Misty of Comanche's identity from seeing him in the crime scene photos, and Misty realizes he was the snitch. She asks Luke to try to get Tilda to tell him whatever she knows about Bushmaster.
*At Harlem's Paradise, Bushmaster replaces Mariah's artwork with his own, but is furious to learn that Mariah and Tilda were rescued from the fire by Luke and have been spotted at the Babylon precinct.
*Misty interrogates Mariah about the fire, but she claims it was a home invasion robbery, nothing to do with her personally. Misty tells her about Ridenhour's death and Comanche being a snitch, but Mariah seems genuinely surprised/upset by Ridenhour's death. Tilda tells Luke about what Bushmaster said about the club and Buggy, and about how bullets struck him (rather than bouncing off) but that they had no effect. Ben Donovan and Shades arrive, putting an end to Mariah's interview, but Misty says that Shades is a person of interest in Ridenhour's murder since his car was spotted less than 30 blocks from the scene.
*Misty interrogates Shades, walking through her visualization of the crime scene (in Shades' shades). She says they can put him at the scene, but Donovan points out that all she can do is put Shades' car at the scene, guessing she has no video evidence of Shades himself at the scene. Donovan ducks out of the room to take a call, then returns to say he is no longer representing Shades.
*At the club, Uncle Anansi tells Bushmaster that using Nightshade the way he has is dangerous, but Bushmaster insists he needs it, then calls for the Stylers.
*At the precinct, Donovan takes his leave of Mariah, as he was loyal to her money, not her, and her money is gone. Mariah leaves with Tilda, her men, and Luke (not waiting for Shades), but a bunch of Stylers drive up and open fire. Luke holds them off while everyone escapes, and learns from one of the attackers that Bushmaster has put out a one-million-dollar bounty on Mariah, Tilda, Luke, and anyone close to Luke.
*Misty continues her interrogation of Shades, trying to get him to turn on Mariah, but he says he'll wait to talk to his new lawyer. Nandi calls Misty out of the room and says that the tests reveal no gunshot residue on Shades, and there's no video evidence because Ridenhour must deliberately chosen that location to meet with his snitch because of it being in a surveillance-free zone. Shades takes his leave of the station.
*Back at the church, Luke tries to convince his father that his life is in danger, but he refuses to leave, that if Luke wants to protect him he can do it there.
*Mariah returns to the burned-out brownstone to look at the damage. As she looks through the cinders for her gun, Shades arrives and they argue and blame each other for what went wrong, but eventually reconcile and embrace, as Shades tells her to be the gangster she became when she pushed Cornell out that window, that she is a queen, and that they can do this together. After she leaves, Shades pulls the gun from his pocket.
*At Harlem's Paradise, Misty and Nandi and a squad arrive to execute a search warrant. Misty questions Bushmaster about the bounty, but he denies it. The search turns up no results and they leave, and Bushmaster shows signs of withdrawal/negative side effects from the nightshade.
*At her shop, Tilda is packing some things up and preparing to flee when Mariah arrives. Mariah tells Tilda about how difficult her labor was, but that the worst part was when Mabel took her away from her afterwards. Tilda is surprised to hear that it was Mabel who sent Tilda to be raised by the Johnson's, as she had always thought that Mariah abandoned her.
*Bushmaster and his Uncle Anansi argue about Nightshade again, with Bushmaster insisting he'll make a new mixture somehow, and Anansi saying that its power comes from the soil of the island and that there is no substitute. Anansi storms out, which Shades sees from his car as he lurks in the shadows.
*At the church, James performs a baptism on a man, and as Luke keeps watch a bunch of Stylers enter and shoot at James. Luke fights them off while everyone flees, then finds James fighting with the last man, because "you can't be shooting my baby."
*At the shop, Tilda says she thinks she may be able to come up with something to counteract the effects of Nightshade. Misty and Nandi arrive moments ahead of the Stylers, and a gunfight ensues. Luke and James arrive, and the Stylers are defeated for now. When Mariah says there's nowhere safe to go, Luke tells Misty it's time to call Danny.
I would very much like to see Mariah, who subsists on alcohol and spite, attempt to run a food truck.
I thought Mariah had her gun on her in a previous episode. Maybe that was just when Tilda saw it? (I'm not sure if I'm remembering that correctly, though.) At least all that Shades/Mariah groping served a purpose this time.
I am here for Tilda's herbal experiments.
posted by minsies at 8:03 AM on July 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
I thought Mariah had her gun on her in a previous episode. Maybe that was just when Tilda saw it? (I'm not sure if I'm remembering that correctly, though.) At least all that Shades/Mariah groping served a purpose this time.
I am here for Tilda's herbal experiments.
posted by minsies at 8:03 AM on July 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
When Luke is walking around the depopulated police station, I thought, “maybe this is the Thanos moment in the TV MCU...”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:31 PM on July 15, 2018
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:31 PM on July 15, 2018
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I... would watch that spinoff.
posted by asperity at 8:36 PM on July 12, 2018 [1 favorite]