Netflix Retrospective: Luke Cage episodes 7-8 - Manifest/Blowin' Up The Spot

Manifest

Luke breaks up a gun deal run by Zip, one of Cottonmouth’s right hands. He doesn’t even get a hole in his shirt, but… he does discover that because of various reasons, the evidence isn’t enough to bring Cottonmouth to trial and he’s released. None-the-less the damage is done, roll credits.

Cottonmouth is cocky initially, Domingo got his guns as planned and he got away with it. But he’s less happy to know that Diamondback isn’t willing to supply a Judas bullet so they can deal with Cage. Err, hey, Mariah gave him several suggestions to deal with him in the last episode. We know he’s vulnerable to gas since they use that in the Defenders. He wants to talk directly to Dimaondback, which Shades agrees to set up.

So, after some chit-chat at Pops, Luke gets a phone call. Cottonmouth agrees to a Parley between the two of them. Looks like the chief of police has just been sacked, before she leaves she tells Misty to lay off getting Cottonmouth whilst she’s stuck with internal affairs. Mariah is greeted by press as she gets a visitor, a Damon Boone, she wants Mariah to step down and let him run projects on her behalf. Mariah isn’t convinced, he’s been trying to take her off for 6 years.

Shades pays Mairah a visit. Cottonmouth flashes back to growing up with Mama Mabel and Uncle Pete. Mabel ran a strict house and wasn’t that fond of Cornel, Cottonmouth in those days, being more into music than the gangster business. She’s also less kind to her employees, cutting off a guy’s fingers for trying to sell drugs and then having him beaten up when he refused to tell her who gave him this idea.

In the Present, Cottonmouth threatens to expose Luke Cage’s name as Carl Lucas and get him sent back to prison, or more to the point have his street rep shattered, unless he agrees to work for him, which would immediately and irreversibly ruin his street rep, so I don’t know why he doesn’t immediately refuse but back to business.

Shades tells Mariah that he things the family name ‘Stokes,’ he grew up with Mama Mabel being the ‘solution to everything’ he tells her when she gets the nerve, she can be capable of a lot. Luke Cage meanwhile is packing his bags. OK, I’m getting a little bored with Claire’s attitude, it’s not helpful to be this vague, if you have something constructive to say, SAY IT! Cottonmouth tells Shades what he did, but Shades is not please, Diamondback had other plans for Cage and it’s possible this would cause him to run.

Flashback, we see Mabel taking care of a woman who was injured, Cornell was supposed to be her defence but he was away, he was taken to an audition but as well they stopped in Spanish Harlem, where his friend talked to one of the Puerto-Rican druggies whilst he chatted it up with Domingo. Luke approaches the guy selling the stupid DVDs about the invasion

Speaking of Luke, Luke goes after Domingo, he gets his shirt ruined this time, again. He threatens Domingo, asking about the guns. Meanwhile Misty and someone whose name I don’t know are looking into Luke Cage’s history. He only has 1 official picture, his driver’s licence, the other guy claims he’s too clean and this has to have been falsified.

Mariah’s party backing ditches her over the allegations. Flash back again, Mabel discovered that Uncle Pete had been instigating talks with the Peurto-Ricans about the drug trade, also he may have sexually assaulted Mariah *shudders* she has Cornel waiting with a gun, ready to shoot him. Not a clean kill, but it worked.

Mariah and Cottonmouth argue about their past and when Cottonmouth suggests that Mariah wanted to be sexually absued she loses her sh*t, pushing Cottonmouth out a window and beating him to death. Shades arranges it so it looks like Cage murdered him. Meanwhile Luke gives the guns to Misty to deal with and promises to ‘take care of’ Cottonmouth and you can already see where this is going. He tells Misty to trust him and her reply

“If you gave me one good reason why, I would”

There are hundreds of them in that goddamn truck, you complete moron! Back at the office, she gets a call, presumably about Cottonmouth’s death. Luke talks to Claire about his father, who was less than happy about Carl Lucas being a criminal, Claire and Luke bond but it’s time for Diamondback to make his big entrance, shooting Luke with his pathetic stupid plot device bullet. The end

This episode is interesting, I just hate the idea of a judas bullet, it’s lazy when there are other better ways to take him out, some of which Mariah brought up just an episode ago!

Rating 8/10

Blowin’ Up the Spot

Luke is still suffering from the bullet wound. Claire calls an ambulance and takes him towards the hospital but trouble is afoot as Diamondback is in pursuit and eventually blows up the truck with a grenade launcher. Clearly didn’t get his weapons from HYDRA. HYDRA – the number one place to go to when you want to effectively blow up a vehicle.

They all survive and we get Diamondback’s first line, bear in mind he’s been built up most of the season, so this should be a big deal

“CAN YOU DIG IT?!”

Seriously? Yeah… Claire realises the two know each other, but Dimaondback retreats upon hearing police sirens. Mariah thinks over her violent murder of Cottonmouth but Shades coaxes her down, and goes over the plan to frame Cage. They have a girl named Candace, one of the waiters, tell the cops that it was Luke, so Mariah could pretend she didn’t see the murder in person.

She then goes to make a statement to the press, calling out Luke Cage for being a coward. Luke doesn’t want painkillers because it could compromise him, but the scalpel needed to dig in to get the bullet out isn’t penetrating his skin. So Misty Knight found traces of blood in the shower, and wants to know how it got there, Candace doesn’t answer but her lawyer is Cottonmouth’s lawyer, he’s good. Even though Misty doesn’t believe a word of her testimony because it’s full of holes.

Claire finds the bullet fragments in his skin and needs to go through the same procedure as she did in Jessica Jones to get the bullet out. Misty’s been trying to call him, and says what’s been going on, Claire defends that he’s been with her all night and Luke tells her to hang up since the police are tracing the call. They may not have narrowed it down entirely but they do have a general location, which leads to Misty working out where they are.

Zip and 2 of Cottonmouth’s other lieutenants confront Shades, I honestly thought it would lead to something but not really. I thought there was some mistrust of him among Cottonmouth’s ranks but… essentially, Shades is taking charge of the club with Mariah as a figurehead. The police find gloves with Cottonmouth’s blood on them, clearly a plant but it’s enough to make most of the cops, hey how about you check for Luke’s DNA inside the gloves!

Misty confronts Luke, then hears about the evidence and is about to arrest him, when they come under fire. Diamondback is still about, remember, he tries to break in and Luke recognises him, he uses Misty as leverage but knocks her out on the street. He heads into a locked up theatre, still bleeding nigh to death I might add, Diamondback took some damage and has a blood trail, leading Luke straight to him. I’d figure the theatre might’ve had the lights off. Oh yeah, and Diamondback’s real name is Stryker and he blames Luke for something or another, I don’t care. Have I mentioned how much hate the idea of a Judas Bullet yet? Anyway, Stryker claims responsibility for all the bullsh*t so erm… why is he such a dull villain?

I think it’s in part because he wins by exploiting a wound, and then gets his ass handed to him, that might be why. Claire isn’t giving much in terms of information so Misty has a crack at her, and… it goes very badly. Claire doesn’t know very much and what she does know would compromise Luke so she doesn’t say. After criticising Misty on a professional level, Misty attacks her. Violence is not strength, compassion is not weakness.

Stryker leaves after that humiliating display. Mariah gives Candace the money for making such bold lies, even though Misty could poke holes in it all day. Also, is it me or is the lip syncing off, might just be my wifi. Mariah looks at a photo of Mama Mabel and is still convinced she’s not turning into her. Oh, god, Stryker’s still here, and he shoots Luke into the trash because of course he does.

I don’t like this episode much. Misty is stupid, Diamondback is a joke, and without Cottonmouth, I don’t really care about the Shades subplot.

Rating 4.5/10