Luke Cage Netflix Season 1 Review
Luke Cage has been a fan desire to be on the big screen for some time, yet, when he was announced for the Marvel/Netflix collaborations, fans weren’t mad, they were just happy to have him. When he arrived in Jessica Jones as a more secondary character, fans were eager to see him in his own series. Well it’s here, and it’s good. Sweet sister, it’s good.
WARNING! Spoilers for the first season ahead! If you haven’t see it, don’t read this!
Still here? Ok. Let’s begin.
If Luke Cage was to be summed up plot wise in two words, it’d be: Family, and Community. Now, it’s fair to say that the city of New York has been a big character in both Daredevil and Jessica Jones, but never like what is done in Luke Cage. True, we saw the Kitchen get wrecked in Daredevil, and what that did to people. But usually, it was only a handful of people that were shown as victims. And in Jessica Jones, only the victims of Kilgrave were highlighted. But with Luke Cage, all of Harlem was a character. The good, the bad, the ones just trying to get by, all are on display, all are connected, and all are family. Naturally, Luke becomes involved in that, and the fun begins.
What I appreciate here, is that unlike Matt Murdock and Jessica Jones, Luke is honestly just trying to keep he his head down, and not seek trouble. It really speaks to his nature. Yes, he can be very loud in the comics. But as his core, he’s a soft speaking, honorable man. A man who has been dealt a raw deal many times in his life, but has kept getting back up. Yes, bad things again happen, and he has to “Power Man” up in order to make a difference, but it’s far from typical in many fashions.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t praise Mike Colter for perfectly portraying Luke Cage. He is the anchor of this series, and just like Charlie Cox and Krysten Ritter before him, gives a powerful performance throughout the series. From the softer moments, to the tense ones, to the times he’s riddled with pain, you root for Luke Cage throughout, no hesitation.
In what’s now a staple for these Netflix series, there is a perfect cast to surround the hero. Misty Knight, Ray Fish, Pops, the returning Claire Temple, and even the villains in Cottonmouth, Shades, and Mariah, all perfectly show themselves in ways that can either support or antagonize Luke.
Watching many of these characters evolve was a treat. Especially unexpected delights like Misty Knight and Shades, who were easily standouts in this season. That’s not to say Luke didn’t evolve too. He had to learn the hard way what being a public “hero” meant, and the show perfectly reflected that. Nothing was “given”, it was all earned.
This show could’ve easily played it safe, done the hero story, and been good. But, it’s focus on the events of the real world, and reflecting them in Luke Cage was important to its creative team, and the result was very telling. From views about cops, to undeserved brutality, to the restrictions of the law, the show doesn’t hold back. Yes, it’s still a superhero show, but why does that have to hold it back from being very relevant? Luke Cage proves it doesn’t have to be.
Now, I’ve been very honest in my description so far, but this show is far from perfect. Ironically, it suffers from stalling after the midway point of the season. Which is sad, because the momentum up until that point was strong. One event can be blamed for this, the death of Cottonmouth. Now yes, this will easily go down as one of the most shocking moments in all of Marvel media, movies, TV, or animation, because it was very, very shocking. That being said, the loss of Cottonmouth took away a stronger antagonist than what we were given in the back half.
The emergence of Diamondback was nice in some ways, but the character himself was thin in many aspects. He was also played very loud, which no doubt will rub some the wrong way. Yes, it’s clear he’s meant to be the opposite of the smooth talking Cottonmouth, but that doesn’t mean he had to be like he was. Also, though his conflict with Cage was understandable, it was very predictable. And the ending battle was anything but a standout.
What made Fisk and Kilgrave so special, was that they didn’t need to be fought to be “beaten”, not fully anyway. Even the final battle in season 01 of Daredevil wasn’t meant to be an epic showdown. It was to show the true arrival of Matt as Daredevil. Then with Kilgrave, it was to bring Jessica closure, which she got more or less. But for Cage and Diamondback, it wasn’t clear what the point was. Yes, they tease him coming back stronger than ever, but is that really a good idea?
Another sad side effect of Diamondback was Mariah and her lack of a presence in the back half. In a way, she needed Cottonmouth to make her relevant, and even with her “spinning” of situations after his death, it lacked impact at times. They played it too close to what Fisk did in Daredevil at times, and it showed. Furthermore, the foreshadowing of certain events involving her was not well handled. After the final battle with Diamondback, there was 30 minutes of show left. She was arrested right after the battle, so you knew she was going to get off. Then, a certain scene proved it beforehand, and basically spoiled the whole thing.
Editing was also weird at times. Especially in certain episodes where scenes were shown, but no clear purpose was given. Whether they were trying to emulate what the previous shows did, or they felt they were needed, they often confused, and their points were lost in the shuffle.
Before I conclude, I have to talk about the music. The music helped carry everything in Luke Cage, and I mean that in the best way possible. Various artists lent their voices to the series, and their passion and soul was evident. Not only that, they were a way to tell the story of what was going on. Music and Harlem are synonymous with one another, so having it be a character of its own was needed, if not required. Soul, R&B, and of course hip-hop and rap were all shown, many of which are still stuck in my head. I look forward to seeing what songs come in Season 02.
So overall, how do I rate Luke Cage? Well, it had great characters, great themes, fantastic music, and some very fun action. But, it lagged at times, especially near the end. The villains started out strong, but fizzled out. And while some twists were great, others just didn’t hold water. I’m particularly disappointed in how Riva was handled late in the season.
Despite all this though, it’s still a great series, and a perfect example of how the times can make a show better than it would’ve been otherwise. If you liked Daredevil and Jessica Jones, Luke Cage is a different of coffee…I mean tea! But it’s still a great show, I look forward to seeing the “Hero For Hire” back in Defenders, and hopefully, a second season of his own show.