Liam Hoofe reviews the fifth episode of Luke Cage season 2…
Things continue to heat up in Harlem as we get closer to the half-way point of Luke Cage season 2.
Following on from Luke being served at the end of the previous episode, ‘All Souled Out’ opened up with a familiar face back on our screens in the shape of Daredevil regular, Fozzy. As it turns out, Luke is being sued by cockroach for beating him down at the end of episode 2, and it looks like he may have one hell of a settlement to pay up. Fozzy’s appearance, alongside that of Colleen Wing in a previous episode, was a nice touch, and they both really contribute to the shared Defenders universe.
Cockroach himself had a bit of a rough ride this episode. He’s been a fun side-villain over the last few episodes but like the rest of the show’s smaller villains this season, he ends up decapitated before the episode is over. While Bushmaster and The Stylers were largely absent from this episode, they certainly made their presence felt. The image of the three heads stuck on a pole at Mariah’s opening night was one of the episode’s best moments, and presents a whole load of new challenges for the would-be queen of Harlem.
Elsewhere, Luke is trying to get the money together to pay off his lawsuit and ends up having to work for a shady character called Piranha. Cage attends a party for Piranha and is basically his bitch for the night. We see Luke acting as a body-guard and a sideshow throughout but things come to a dramatic end when Luke, having bumped into Shades, realises that the party has been infiltrated by The Stylers. This leads to a brief showdown, and we even get to see Luke and Shades on the same side for a brief while. Will the impending Stylers invasion force Luke, Shades, and Mariah to abandon their issues to rid Harlem of an even bigger evil? It is certainly beginning to look like that.
Mariah and Shades continue to be one of the best things about the show, just as they were last season, and Mariah’s daughter, Tilda, continues to be the show’s most ambiguous character. The need for power in Harlem is in her blood, and it seems like it will only be a matter of time before she tries to take her Mother’s crown.
Finally, we also got to see the introduction of Misty’s bionic arm in this episode. We were told that the arm reacts to the severed nerves in her arm, and she looks to have gotten to grips with things fairly quickly by the end of the episode. I’ve enjoyed Misty’s story so far this season and hopefully, we get to see her in action before it’s all wrapped up. Luke is finding himself in an increasingly difficult situation at the moment, and it looks as though he is going to need all the help he can get.
So far, Luke Cage season 2 has done a solid job at juggling an impressive array of characters. Shades and Mariah continue to be one of the best things about the show, and while a lot of the side-villains have ended up with their heads impaled on a stick, they have been a nice way of keeping fans invested until Bushmaster’s plan becomes a little clearer.
Liam Hoofe
