I liked it. In short I thought it was good, even with a bit of a downer ending. Though maybe some threads can be picked up in Iron Fist and The Defenders etc. Kinda felt like a blaxploitation Daredevil with Harlem's crime family storyline.
Was it just me that was feeling throughout the entire show that things were happening for no reason and characters would just do things without there really being a reason why?
I don't know, it's really hard to explain what felt wrong about the writing in this.
Like Luke Cage becomes a celebrity, kind of, about 4 or 5 episodes in. And everyone knows that he's a bulletproof vigilante. And people are just fine with this? Shouldn't he have been arrested way sooner in that case?
There were tons of other moments where I was just asking myself "wait, why is this happening?".
Yeah I guess. I'm finding it hard to point out specific examples because it all kind of blends together, but whilst I was watching it there were many times where things just didn't feel like they made any sense at all.
Someone also has to press charges. Everything Luke did would reveal illegal operations in trial. Cottonmouth can't say "Arrest this man, he damaged my safe house were I keep my illicit gains" or someone say "arrest him, he assaulted me after I threatened violence to a shop owner and extorted money from them." That's the thing about attacking criminals they can't charge you without exposing themselves to the police.
What I didn't get is how Mariah wasn't wasn't in jail by the third episode. The police saw millions in unreported income is a close literally next to her office? No one points that out until the live interview and even then no one seemed to care. It's stuff like that, that would kill the plot for me.
I also felt like there were a dozen times where they would drop some exposition in order to set up a payoff for five minutes later.
Like how we found about Scarfe's dead kid in the same episode as he dies just so maybe we would feel a bit sad about it. Or how it's just casually dropped into conversation that the uncle molested Mariah just so that when she kills Cottonmouth in the same episode she has some kind of motivation I guess. This pretty much happens in every interaction between Cage and Diamondback also. "Oh they are brothers, I guess I'm supposed to care about them now". It's incredibly lazy storytelling in my opinion.
I think the show definitely would have benefitted from a more "show, don't tell" approach. So many instances where exposition would come out of nowhere only to be treated like the most important thing ever 10 minutes later.
So... my brain feels fried after binging this; all the episodes feels mixed up at the moment. But my overall impressing; it's a very good show. I will prefix though that I didn't know much of anything about Luke from the comics; other than his super powers, his stint in JJ, and his heroes for hire gig; but perhaps that worked in my favour since I didn't have any preconceived expectations about how he should be. I did, however, have low expectations for the show; I didn't think it was going to be good until I saw the trailers. But I really, really loved this show. I'm going back and forth between DD s2/s1 and this one. Both DD and LC feel in another tier compared to other superhero shows.
My negatives:
-A lot of people love shades; I personally didn't like him. The actor came off as fake to me; not convincing.
-The first 5 episodes feel somewhat wasted; the pacing was really slow and I think characters (particularly a certain villain later in the series) should have been established earlier and the relationship better explored.
-The last episode didn't really have much stakes. Which I guess might be a good thing for some people; but I never felt Luke was in danger, unlike when
he got shot by DB with the judas bullet. And that Hammer suit came out of nowhere. Felt like something out of Meteor Man. LOL. I wonder if that was intentional.
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I honestly can't think of many negatives... Maybe the lack of the coffee scene in the last episode.
The postivies
-Mike Colter/Luke Cage; the man oozes charisma. Mike plays the character with heart, charm and likability making him feel relatable.
- the music was great; was very well used in action scenes/montages.
-I enjoyed the action scenes; even though they were far and few in between. Wasn't up the level of DD, and it should because Matt is fighter and Luke is a brawler. There were really cool usage of Luke's abilites in a way that set it apart from the other Marvel shows.
-Loved that Claire had a big role in the show. Rosario is awesome, and I'm guessing she'll be in Iron Fist as well.
-Loved the supporting cast. Honestly, probably my favourite supporting characters in any of the Marvel series. (minus the punisher; who awesome ). Misty, Claire, Pops; really likeable characters.
- The show also gave me some genuine laugh-out-loud moments that the other netflix shows never really gave me.
The show really picked up for me at the end of episode 6 to the last episode. They did things I didn't see coming.
I thought Cottonmouth would have been bigger character; but when he got arrested, I figured he'd take a backseat to this Diamondback character they were talking about. But I did not expect them to kill Cottonmouth, especially at the hands of Mariah.
The best thing about this show is that it felt contemporary compared to the other shows. It had a theme and tone that was specific and relevant today; JJ and DD were more universal. I think that gives the show a grounded setting compared to Hell's Kitchen.
I also felt like there were a dozen times where they would drop some exposition in order to set up a payoff for five minutes later.
Like how we found about Scarfe's dead kid in the same episode as he dies just so maybe we would feel a bit sad about it. Or how it's just casually dropped into conversation that the uncle molested Mariah just so that when she kills Cottonmouth in the same episode she has some kind of motivation I guess. This pretty much happens in every interaction between Cage and Diamondback also. "Oh they are brothers, I guess I'm supposed to care about them now". It's incredibly lazy storytelling in my opinion.
I think the show definitely would have benefitted from a more "show, don't tell" approach. So many instances where exposition would come out of nowhere only to be treated like the most important thing ever 10 minutes later.
If anything, it sucks that the season ended with Mariah and Shades coming out on top.
I mean, if Luke had to go back to prison couldn't the show have ended with neither side being victorious? This definitely the first Marvel's Netflix show that ended on such a downer note for its first season
My one real question about the show is why there was basically not a single mention of drugs or paraphernalia or narcotics police.
Not that this was a negative thing about the show, but i guess I just expected it what with the Luke Cage episodes in Jessica Jones revolving around taking out a grow house, and I mean, drug trafficking just being a big part of street crime. Even Daredevil had heroin in it.
I thought it was an interesting move on the creators part.
I also felt like there were a dozen times where they would drop some exposition in order to set up a payoff for five minutes later.
Like how we found about Scarfe's dead kid in the same episode as he dies just so maybe we would feel a bit sad about it. Or how it's just casually dropped into conversation that the uncle molested Mariah just so that when she kills Cottonmouth in the same episode she has some kind of motivation I guess. This pretty much happens in every interaction between Cage and Diamondback also. "Oh they are brothers, I guess I'm supposed to care about them now". It's incredibly lazy storytelling in my opinion.
I think the show definitely would have benefitted from a more "show, don't tell" approach. So many instances where exposition would come out of nowhere only to be treated like the most important thing ever 10 minutes later.
Overall I enjoyed the show but yes, I did notice this, in particular with Diamondback. All of a sudden the show was about him and Luke's past and it didn't feel properly earned or built up. The script definitely could have benefited from another polish or two.
That said, I still quite enjoyed it. Cottonmouth, Mariah, and even Shades will rank as some of my favorite MCU villains. Mike Colter has charisma for days, and I actually like him and Claire even though I hope he ends up with JJ. The ending was bold, and I'm really excited to see what happens next.
I overall enjoyed the series. But the show just lost something when they got rid of Cornell. He was a compelling, well played character, and like Fisk, they made you sympathize with him. He was just a boy, who wanted to play music, but had the criminal life forced on him.
Diamondback just didn't do it for me. At all. To me he was like one of those crazy villains you'd find in a bunch of action Movies from the 80's and 90's. Just way too over the top. He easily makes my list of worst Marvel villains.
And Mariah, I didn't hate her, I just don't really care about politicians. She's still better than Diamondback though.
I overall enjoyed the series. But the show just lost something when they got rid of Cornell. He was a compelling, well played character, and like Fisk, they made you sympathize with him. He was just a boy, who wanted to play music, but had the criminal life forced on him.
Diamondback just didn't do it for me. At all. To me he was like one of those crazy villains you'd find in a bunch of action Movies from the 80's and 90's. Just way too over the top. He easily makes my list of worst Marvel villains.
And Mariah, I didn't hate her, I just don't really care about politicians. She's still better than Diamondback though.
I personally didn't like Cottonmouth. I thought he was too similar to Kingpin up to and including his backstory.
If there's a second season (ans there should be since Season 1 broke Netflix), I hope that we see some more threatening villains who can actually hurt Cage.
Considering that Doctor Burnstein may be able to create multiple Luke Cages after getting hold of Diamondback, I feel like Warhawk and Atlas are possible now. (Maybe not Warhawk. His rights may be over at Fox.) Atlas should be a priority since he needs to be introduced as a villain before Thunderbolts can be a thing.
It's obvious that Mariah and Shades are coming back. I hope that we get to meet Shades' teenage son, Victor.
And of course, Chemistro. He's Luke's greatest enemy. it would feel weird to not have him.
And considering that Season 2 is going to happen after the events of Defenders, I expect Alias Investigations to renamed Heroes for Hire and for Luke to take on the role of being a professional superhero.
I liked Cottonmouth, felt like he died too soon. Mariah just never felt like a credible threat throughout the entire season. Her character just felt like almost nothing when compared to the other antagonists. Almost like she was, for a lack of a better term, going with the flow.
Diamondback was good but I feel he went too crazy too soon. The season built him up to be a criminal mastermind that had Shade's complete trust and Cottonmouth's fear. But immediately Shade starts questioning him, this would work better if we saw why Shades had so much loyalty to begin with. That undercuts him as a mastermind but fortunately not as a threat.
It was during the flashbacks with young Cornell and Mariah, Mama Mable mentioned that they only dealt with guns, sex, politics etc. but no drugs. So at the end of the day, yes they were criminals but even they understood the havoc drugs have already caused in the black, urban community so they purposefully kept that stuff out.
That's why she had young Cornell and his uncle kill that kid - because he was dealing.
Diamondback was just too one-note. Dude's entire attitude was set to hate. Best example is their exchange in the club. Cage asks him if they couldn't have made amends a long time ago. Diamondback's response "Couldn't you have died during child birth?". Cage expresses that he felt sorry about Dana and how he always liked her. Diamondback call's Cage's mom a bi**h. That's the moment when I was just rolling my eyes.
With Cornell, you had a guy who would shoot his own henchmen for making stupid suggestions, or do other gangster **** like beating the life out of someone who stole money from him. But he would also shed tears for pops, and try to do right by him by taking over all the costs for his funeral. He was a person that would respect history, and if possible follow the rules that used to exist in this crime business. There was just so much more range with him.
It was during the flashbacks with young Cornell and Mariah, Mama Mable mentioned that they only dealt with guns, sex, politics etc. but no drugs. So at the end of the day, yes they were criminals but even they understood the havoc drugs have already caused in the black, urban community so they purposefully kept that stuff out.
That's why she had young Cornell and his uncle kill that kid - because he was dealing.
Diamondback was just too one-note. Dude's entire attitude was set to hate. Best example is their exchange in the club. Cage asks him if they couldn't have made amends a long time ago. Diamondback's response "Couldn't you have died during child birth?". Cage expresses that he felt sorry about Dana and how he always liked her. Diamondback call's Cage's mom a bi**h. That's the moment when I was just rolling my eyes.
With Cornell, you had a guy who would shoot his own henchmen for making stupid suggestions, or do other gangster **** like beating the life out of someone who stole money from him. But he would also shed tears for pops, and try to do right by him by taking over all the costs for his funeral. He was a person that would respect history, and if possible follow the rules that used to exist in this crime business. There was just so much more range with him.
With Cottonmouth we saw them peel back the layers, and we saw the pieces of a human being that were underneath.
Even though we knew Diamondback's backstory, the show didn't really give a visceral sense of it like they did with Cornell Stokes. He just seemed like he was being cruel for cruelty's sake even though he resented Luke Cage for being his half brother and feeling neglected by his biological father.
I believe that's possibly why killing Stokes so early was an error.
Just finished the series and I have to say it's my least favorite out of the Netflix series, but I still liked it. I felt that it was missing something and I think that was the villains. Other than Shades, none of them really did anything for me and it really wasn't until the last couple of episodes where Shades started to stand out, imo. I also might be in the minority but I felt the show really picked up in the second half and episodes 5-9 were probably where the show was at its best.
Highlights: I felt Colter did a good job and I'm looking forward to seeing him interact with Danny.
Misty was a positive for me and I'm looking forward to seeing her interact with Danny as well.
I also felt out of all the shows this one felt the most connected. There were a ton of references to the movies and the other shows. Also a few characters and who doesn't love Turk Barrett?
I said earlier, but none of the villains really wowed me like Fisk and Kilgrave did. Scarfe being dirty felt a little bit of an overplayed trope to me.
I liked the show and it was good, but not as good as either season of Daredevil or the first season of Jessica Jones.
Side characters really shined for me too. I liked Scarfe in the first few episodes, Zip and Sugar were pretty fun and of course Turk and Bobby Fish were great.
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). Misty, Claire, Pops; really likeable characters. 
