Luke Cage FULL SEASON ONE Discussion (NO SPOILER TAGS NECESSARY)

[Wildcard]

You're right. It wasn't a horrible idea, it was just the execution in itself that was horrible. I'd have been completely fine with the plot twist had it lived up to expectations but it quickly fell flat. As quick as episodes eight & nine I could see that Mariah wasn't the credible threat the writers truly wanted us to believe she was.

There's always time to rectify this but as it stands, I wish they'd have given Cottonmouth more time to be in the center of things.

Btw, one confusing thing is that when Cottonmouth wanted to talk to Diamondback about backing him in terms of funding, Shades is so sure the latter won't do it & that it'd be a mistake just to call him. But then Diamondback is ready to kill Shades because of Cottonmouth dying, to the point that Zip's incompetent ass (of all people) had to save him. That was another total lack of consistency.

 

[Guard82]

Of the four primary antagonists, two of them were great, in my opinion: Cottonmouth and Shades. The other two villains -- Diamondback and Mariah -- were less consistent and more problematic. Mariah and Diamondback had their moments, but they didn't captivate me the way Cottonmouth and Shades did.

Mariah had an interesting storyline, but she didn't really come across as a credible threat because she was clearly in over her head much of the time. And whenever she did manage to accomplish something or slither out of trouble, it was generally because she got lucky or because she had help from someone like Shades, who is much more cunning than she is.

Diamondback could certainly be intimidating and menacing, but he was also so crazy that he often came across as ridiculous and unintentionally funny. This was a problem for the character towards the end of the season. Also, Diamondback's interactions with Luke were never as interesting as the interactions between Luke and Cottonmouth, in my opinion.

 

[Wildcard]

Exactly. No matter what was happening, you could always see the nervousness in Mariah. She kept getting by just by the skin of her teeth....not necessarily through cunning but out of convenience for the story.

I agree about Diamondback. And it didn't help that they put him in that ridiculous suit as well. It could've been so, so much better than what it was.

Portraying villains in the way Diamondback is being portrayed is always problematic because doing so takes away all the layers. It makes the villain that stereotypical "I'm just evil" archetype that's basically winking at the camera every five seconds to remind you he's the bad guy. Diamondback simply has no substance, an element Cottonmouth had in spades.

 

[King23DC]

So ... this show was awesome until Cotton Mouth died. The Biggie painting, and Jidenna were the best parts of the show. Luke Cage himself is boring as hell. The second Diamondback enters the fray, it became a dumb cartoon. But I like the idea of a ghetto superhero. Just not enough personality or entertainment there.

 

[ehh]

Finally finished the season. Watching this show just reminded me of how great Daredevil S1 was. I'm not in love with Luke Cage S1, but it was entertaining.

I felt a huge disconnect with the series. I didn't really care about most of the characters and couldn't relate to anyone. I cringed any time the lead character said, "Sweet Christmas," and the stage performances at Harlem's Paradise were headache inducing.

If this wasn't part of the MCU/Marvel Netflix bubble, I probably wouldn't have watched it. But it was worth at least 1 viewing and I have high hopes for The Defenders.

 

[The_Manhunter]

Just finished the show, got really busy with work but I'm taking some much-needed time off and so was finally able to binge-watch the show in its entirety.

My opinion is a bit different than the majority here (shocker! lol). I thought up until Cottonmouth was killed off the show was boring and pretty easily the worst of the Netflix Marvel series because it seemed way to similar to Daredevil (underground crime plotline, LC=DD, Misty=Karen, Cottonmouth=Kingpin). But it was when Cottonmouth got offed that the show really took off for me, because I had no clue what to expect next. I thought all 4 of the main villain were fantastic, and Mariah was the best because I actually felt some disgust at her.

So, I'd rank the shows as:
1) Jessica Jones (Season 1)
2) Luke Cage (Season 1)
3) Daredevil (Season 1)
4) Daredevil (Season 2)

2 and 3 are pretty much interchangeable though.

Eagerly anticipating Iron Fist now as he's my favorite of the 4 core Defenders.

 

[TheVileOne]

Diamondback was just more of a generic villain. Quoting Bible verses and everything.

 

[ehh]

Diamondback just felt like a rip-off of Jules from Pulp Fiction.

 

[The_Manhunter]

Question: when does Luke Cage take place in relation to the other Netflix shows and the movies?

 

[Silvermoon]

Question: when does Luke Cage take place in relation to the other Netflix shows and the movies?

It's at **least** 5-6 months after Jessica Jones season 1 (because that's how long he's been working for Pops). And then Claire showing up having just been let go from the hospital (due to the events going on in Daredevil Season 2) puts it overlapping with those last couple/few episodes of DD season 2.

This also means that it takes place *before* Captain America: Civil War.

 

[Random490]

It's at **least** 5-6 months after Jessica Jones season 1 (because that's how long he's been working for Pops). And then Claire showing up having just been let go from the hospital (due to the events going on in Daredevil Season 2) puts it overlapping with those last couple/few episodes of DD season 2.

This also means that it takes place *before* Captain America: Civil War.

What tells you they overlapped. From what I can remember Claire didn't say she immediately went to Harlem. If I recall she stated that tried looking for other work but found she has been blacklisted from other hospitals. This implies there's some time between here quitting and here getting off that train.

 

[The_Manhunter]

It's at **least** 5-6 months after Jessica Jones season 1 (because that's how long he's been working for Pops). And then Claire showing up having just been let go from the hospital (due to the events going on in Daredevil Season 2) puts it overlapping with those last couple/few episodes of DD season 2.

This also means that it takes place *before* Captain America: Civil War.

Given the debate over trusting Luke Cage, your logic makes a ton of sense. Thanks for that!

I do an MCU timeline that I like to keep updated for fun: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075030853/

 

[Silvermoon]

What tells you they overlapped. From what I can remember Claire didn't say she immediately went to Harlem. If I recall she stated that tried looking for other work but found she has been blacklisted from other hospitals. This implies there's some time between here quitting and here getting off that train.

Finding out that she's been blacklisted wouldn't necessarily take all that long. Have a little bit between her being fired and starting to see if she can get another job, sure. But once she starts looking for another job? All it would take would be to call to see if she can set up an interview at a couple hospitals and be told 'no' in response (and then she probably put 2+2 together that it was Metro General's doing). That type of searching could easily happen within a day.

When she was talking to her mom in episode 5, to me it sounded like the hospital trying to cover up the attack and Louisa's death was something that was still pretty recent and fresh.

Maybe that's just me though.

Edit: There are other things to, though, in the episodes themselves that also indicate the rough timeline. For example, there's the basketball conversation in the very first episode that reflects the Knick's status in real life as it was in fall/late 2015 (17 and 65 record, getting the fourth round pick on the draft, etc...) and most timelines I've seen (from fans that have tried to piece things together) usually have DD Season 2 also taking place in late 2015

 

[Random490]

Finding out that she's been blacklisted wouldn't necessarily take all that long. Have a little bit between her being fired and starting to see if she can get another job, sure. But once she starts looking for another job? All it would take would be to call to see if she can set up an interview at a couple hospitals and be told 'no' in response (and then she probably put 2+2 together that it was Metro General's doing). That type of searching could easily happen within a day.

When she was talking to her mom in episode 5, to me it sounded like the hospital trying to cover up the attack and Louisa's death was something that was still pretty recent and fresh.

Maybe that's just me though.

Edit: There are other things to, though, in the episodes themselves that also indicate the rough timeline. For example, there's the basketball conversation in the very first episode that reflects the Knick's status in real life as it was in fall/late 2015 (17 and 65 record, getting the fourth round pick on the draft, etc...) and most timelines I've seen (from fans that have tried to piece things together) usually have DD Season 2 also taking place in late 2015

Job hunting can take awhile normally, finding out you're black listed isn't really a quick thing. I'm just saying it could be a few weeks between her being fired and showing up in Luke Cage which would be after those events. And I wouldn't use that comment on the Knicks as anything special. It's more reflective of when it was written and filmed then where it is in the timeline. They're not paying that close of attention to continuity for things like that.

 

[TheVileOne]

I remember debating with someone who for sure believed Luke Cage took place before Daredevil S2.

 

[Brawl]

I think those that dint like the show wrote it off before even watching it due to their preconceived notions on what a super hero should be.

 

[Brawl]

True Cage fans LOVE it!!

SWEEET CHRISTMAS!

 

[Havok83]

Just finished watching it and I think its my least favorite of the 4 Netflix seasons. The other started off slow but grabbed me by the midpoint, but that didnt happen here. It did get better but not by much. It was fairly consistent.

Wasnt really feeling the story or villians. I actually think I liked Cage better in JJ than here. The one character that did shine was Claire though. She really came into her own. Misty was also amazing and I dug Mariah. They really did great casting with the women here

 

[Slick]

Lol Turk thinking that Hell's Kitchen is safer than Harlem. He almost got his foot cut off by some Hand goons.

 

[TheVileOne]

Yeah but then Luke Cage sealed him in a dumpster.

 

[Slick]

I know some folks didn't like that the villains besides Diamondback won but that's going to make their fall that much sweeter in S2.

 

[TheVileOne]

We'll have to wait and see how that plays out.

 

[Flint Marko]

I still can't believe they had Diamondback punch Cage into a slow moving dump truck and then just a few scenes later freak out and demand his minions find him. He was right in front of you, and then you punched him into a slow moving dump truck.

 

[haephestus]

I finally finished watching Luke Cage.

Personally, it was my least favourite out of all of the Netflix MCU series to date. I can't quite put my finger on why.

I think firstly, it's because the story seemed to take a while to really get moving. Luke Cage seemed to take a very long time before he became proactive or motivated in any way. Secondly, the flashbacks for the various characters seemed to be excessive and unnecessary. I didn't really need a detailed explanation for how Luke Cage got his powers. In fact, a little bit of mystery goes a long way. Thirdly, none of the villains ever seemed to be credibly threatening. Cottonmouth came across as a spoiled child to me. Mariah was barely competent at criminal activity. Shades was just a flunky. And Diamondback, after substantial build up, ended up being a one-dimensional caricature of a villain, complete with a nonsensical connection to Luke Cage and a last-minute super-suit. Fourthly, some of the writing was a bit odd. And it's particularly odd that they've written themselves into a corner when it comes to The Defenders and season 2 by giving the police (and therefore the criminals) access to Judas bullets. There's not much point to a bulletproof hero if everyone has bullets that can severely injure and possibly kill him.

Finally, I just didn't find Luke Cage to be a particularly endearing hero. He seemed to be solely reactionary and until Claire showed up, he didn't really seem to exhibit any kind of personality. It seemed to be quite different to Jessica Jones or maybe he just seemed more three-dimensional in JJ because his stoic personality was contrasted by Jessica's brashness? Also, he didn't seem to do much planning. It was bizarre that in his physical fight with Diamondback, he didn't just rip the obvious battery-looking device off Diamondback's body, which would have presumably immediately de-powered the super-suit.

It was still a decent series. Very well filmed and very well acted, despite the limitations of the script. I thought that both Misty and Mariah were complex characters and I look forward to seeing how both of those characters develop in season 2. I also thought that "Harlem" was well established. And the series did have its bright moments, particularly Luke Cage's one-man assault on Mariah's campaign headquarters early in the season. With a new status quo as Harlem's "hero for hire", hopefully season 2 will be an improvement.

 

[scarlet-witch]

I've just started watching it. I'm already preferring it over Jessica Jones. (Daredevil is still my #1) the fighting is just better choreographed.

I liked how Luke also got a hallway scene like Matt did in Daredevil.