What I’m Watching: Luke Cage

Luke Cage: Season 2, Episode 4 “I Get Physical” (B+)

There aren’t many shows aside from musicals that can get away with essentially featuring a concert midway through an episode. That proved especially effective as Mariah tried to confront Bushmaster and wish him well as he headed back to Jamaica, only to be condescendingly called by the last name Stokes, which really got her angry. In this season’s exploration of social media as a boosting factor for Luke’s persona, it’s interesting to see just how much people in Harlem are entertained by the video of Luke getting knocked out by Bushmaster. Having it covered on ESPN and compared to famous boxers being defeated made this all feel like a sporting event, one which Luke is definitely losing. Misty could tell that he was out of it when he didn’t fight her quite enough to be in charge when they went in together and then didn’t argue at all when she had to go to ICE with Tomas and couldn’t take him because he’s an ex-con. Claire leaving is really bad for him since she was a certain kind of support, and Bobby tried to offer some sage advice before jetting off to California to be a hero of another sort. Comanche seemed to be going out of his way to try to piss Mariah off, and therefore the revelation that he’s actually working as an informant for the police is huge news. We don’t yet know who is suing Luke, but that look on his face shows that he’s not at all happy about it.