June 22

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU4Xn__5Qjg

Despite the obvious diminishing returns, they are keeping it moving with these shows.

Except for Jessica Jones, they have all lead to disappointment in one way or another, but still, it'll be a slightly sad day when they finally admit defeat and cancel one or more of them.

>Despite the obvious diminishing returns, they are keeping it
>moving with these shows.
>
>Except for Jessica Jones, they have all lead to disappointment
>in one way or another, but still, it'll be a slightly sad day
>when they finally admit defeat and cancel one or more of them.
>
>
>


They can keep "Daredevil" and "The Punisher" and I'm good. I'll ride with "Luke Cage" outta loyalty, but TBH, my enthusiasm was tempered more out of "they finally gave Luke a TV show" than it actually being good. It was fun to watch, and i liked it, but it wasn't *great*.

Although I really liked Mahershala Ali as the villain...while he was the villain.

Yeah the Punisher was solid too.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

Episode titles will be named after P&CL tracks

Going more into the street dude that just happened to have these fantastic powers. Hopefully enable dude to be a little more charismatic and less wooden when he's not talking to ladies.

https://youtu.be/sB1in0KkoG4

They really get in his shit.

https://youtu.be/TGYxYEgIa70

Appears to be an "in-universe" promo clip, as opposed to a scene from Season 2. Just noticed this (posted a week ago) and thought I'd share.

https://youtu.be/tCGHOKENC3Y

Daughters of the Dragon!

Marvel's Luke Cage - Season 2 | Official Trailer #2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8cI8SHLaLQ

The profanity seems forced, and the hip hop references are corny.

I think what bothers me most is that Daredevil Season 1 and Jessica Jones Season 1 set the bar to a level that the rest of these shows couldn't live up to, for the most part. Also, connecting it loosely to the MCU is hasn't paid off in any way and turned out to be a misdirect to get the diehard superhero nerds' hopes up. It might have been better if these shows weren't in a shared universe at all.

Having said that, this was definitely better than season 1. Do I still miss Mahershala Ali's Cottonmouth? YES. But holy shit Alfre Woodard gives this her ALL. If there was any justice, and there isn't, she would get an Emmy or Golden Globe for this. Her character Mariah Dillard/Stokes is easily the best part of the show. No contest. Next is Misty Knight. After that, the actor that plays Mariah's Daughter Tilda. In fact, the female characters are stronger, more fleshed out and developed than any of their male counterparts.

Shades? Still kind of a shitty character. Luke Cage himself? Boring UNTIL (I'll get to that below). The main story arc deals with a Jamaican gang out to take over AND, more importantly, get revenge. They're villains, then not exactly villains, then villains again, and then not. The problem is that they're not compelling enough to root for them or love-to-hate them. The performances themselves just weren't strong enough to make me care, even when you get their backstory.

THE BEST PART OF THIS was the complete left turn at the end. All the while, it had been casually referencing The Godfather, but by the end it hits you over the head with it and takes a direction that you probably will not see coming. To the point where one of the last shots in the final episode is a blatant copy of the iconic last shot in The Godfather. Not an homage--it's the SAME SHOT. I give it points for going that route in what most people see as a superhero show.

To put it best: I was messaging my friend about this, who had only seen the first episode. His issue was he wanted to see Luke whooping white people, not other black people. His exact words were "You can't punch away an opioid crisis."

To the show's credit, it tries to answer that question. No, even a superhero can't punch away an opioid crisis. So maybe the only way to protect the place you love might to take out the kingpin and then BECOME the kingpin. I for one didn't see that coming.

Is it as good as The Punisher? Or even Daredevil Season 1 or JJ Season 1? No. Yes, 13 eps is still too long. AND even worse, everyone's favorite Iron Fist shows up towards the end to inevitably bring everything down a notch. But still, this is worth watching.

As a final note, I hope they are planning to reunite Luke Cage and Jessica Jones at some point. I'm still annoyed that they built up that love story, *THEY ACTUALLY HAD CHEMISTRY TOGETHER* and then totally abandoned it. For JJ being such a self-destructive loner, and Cage such an altruistic man for his people, it would be a shame to totally abandon a tie between them that was so crucial in the comics.

http://www.indiewire.com/2018/06/luke-cage-netflix-season-2-ending-godfather-marvel-iron-fist-interview-1201978075/

The “Godfather” ending was the direction that Coker always meant Season 2 to go: “It was one of those things where both Marvel and Netflix, they were just electrified. That was the thing that I pitched at the very beginning of the season, was that at the end of the show, we’re going to see Luke on the balcony. We just didn’t know how he was going to get there.”

I'm torn on using those exact shots. On one hand, it's pretty heavy-handed. By that point, we get what's going on, you already connect the dots and see the Godfather influence. I mean, they had already dropped the name Corleone by then.

But at the same time, the way it played out, I was still grinning at it.

I almost done want a season 3, because I know it's just going to show all his new power and cred getting stripped away and he realizes he has to go back to his roots and not go down that path blah blah blah. And it's not going to be nearly as compelling. I am WAY more interested in a superhero Breaking Bad.

Peace,

Spirit (Alan)
http://wutangbook.com

>As a final note, I hope they are planning to reunite Luke Cage
>and Jessica Jones at some point. I'm still annoyed that they
>built up that love story, *THEY ACTUALLY HAD CHEMISTRY
>TOGETHER* and then totally abandoned it.

Especially in the latter eps. Or even earlier on when Luke needed a place to stay & Misty said he couldnt stay with her, I swore he was going to hit up Jess.

>As a final note, I hope they are planning to reunite Luke Cage
>and Jessica Jones at some point. I'm still annoyed that they
>built up that love story, *THEY ACTUALLY HAD CHEMISTRY
>TOGETHER* and then totally abandoned it.

Especially in the latter eps. Or even earlier on when Luke needed a place to stay & Misty said he couldnt stay with her, I swore he was going to hit up Jess.

Definitely more even and better than season 1. And I really liked season 1.

(mild spoilers below)

Alfre Woodard KILLS it. Some might say she's chewing the scenery, but she brought every bit of her skill as a veteran actress to the forefront. Every bit as menacing as Cottonmouth in season one and a hell of a lot more devious.

Simone Missick KILLS it. Her Misty Knight is one of the strongest and consistent characters of the show. She's actually the moral compass for the whole enterprise, save for one almost-misstep in the second half of the season.

Shades? eh. On the fence on how he was played this season. I guess we'll see where they go with it. I really didn't buy the romance angle at first, but they made it work for what it was. His semi-turn at the end was kinda eh too, but early episodes, he's played very well.

Iron Fist, as has been noted in one article I saw, was really redeemed here. I'm guessing someone gave Finn Jones some serious notes. His appearance in the season is the IF we should have had in his own show. Instead of some hippie doofus spouting off about how he's the Immortal Who Gives A Fuck, he's actually played here as skilled, sage and introspective, with a lot more swagger. The fight scene with him and Luke whippin' ass is one of the best of the season.

Speaking of fight scenes, I dunno if it's the budget or what, but Marvel/Netflix overall needs to hire the fight choreographers from Arrow (A show that's sorta jumped the shark, but damn if the action ain't damn near cinema worthy, especially this last season).

Mike Colter still gives us the goods as Luke, but is still a wee bit wooden in the role. He hasn't really inhabited the character fully, but I think that's cause they need to give him more to work with, and the twist at the end was pretty damn good and allowed him to really start to take hold. I can't wait to see how it plays out for the next season.

Complaints? Not many.

1. the Jamaican accents? I mean, i'm not even from there and could tell that some of them were really, really bad and overdone. "raasclaat, raatid and pickny" every third word ain't how all Jamaicans talk.

2. The fan service could be a bit more subtle. The closing Godfather shot? The "it's my show" drop. C'mon b. We're not stupid and you don't have to hit us over the head with it.

3. The character progression of Mariah's daughter just didn't feel too authentic to me. No problem with the actress, but really didn't feel where they went with the character. Though given how things ended, i'll tune in to see where it goes.


______________________________________________________________________________

"To Each His Reach"

but.....

Fuck aliens.

she was simply amazing throughout. more than a couple times I was like "WHOA" at her performance. Black Mariah indeed. she was ruthless, damaged and desperate.

Misty was my next favorite. she really is a good detective and I love the way that she works out problems. her conflict between being a cop and getting things done was interesting. surprised that she didn't stay away from the force for good. would have liked to see more of her and Colleen together. kinda seems like there should have been a bit more training with the new arm. she just put it on like nothing and kept it moving. we need Daughters of the Dragon proper.

Bushmaster was pretty good. I wasn't sure what to think at first but I warmed up to him. his story is pretty tragic and gives him a proper motive that isn't just evil for the sake of being evil though he was definitely extreme. I was even more impressed to find out that Mustafa Shakir is not Jamaican in real life. he did that well (to my non-Jamaican ears). curious to see if they'll bring him back somehow.

Tilda Johnson (Nightshade in the comics) was pretty good as well. curious to see where they go with her character as well. they kinda made it seem that she wasn't really a bad guy but the way things turned out at the end seems like she may go that route. she was wearing her hair like she does in the comics at the end. Gabrielle Dennis played her very well.

Luke was decent. wasn't the best part of the show and that's not really all that bad. his conflicts with Claire (kinda glad that's over), his father and with his place in the city were all pretty well handled. wondering how long they're going to draw things out before they go full Heroes for Hire. I guess they want to give everyone their time. the last episode was interesting for sure. didn't really see that coming at all. definitely wanna see where they take that.

always kinda thought Shades was just there. never really seems like he has his own story. seeing him unravel a bit this season was definitely more interesting that he has been in the past.

shout out to my man Sugar. LOL

SPOLIERS for those who haven't watched the season in full, so please don't read if you haven't watched this second season yet.

To start off on a good note, I do like how the season got stronger as this season progress, which was in complete contrast to how the first season got weaker as the season progressed. This season did a bang up job exploring the motivations and nuances for the villains as they were very fleshed out. I also applaud the show pushing Claire to the background as the relationship issues with her and Luke would have gotten very stale. Plus given that Claire has been in the majority of the other Netflix Marvel shows, there's the risk of her character being over-exposed as well. The female actresses for the main character roster all did flawless work and there wasn't a moment I wasn't too taken out of the reality the show was trying to present when they were on screen. Also, some props should be given to Thomas Jones and how he handled his increased screen time this go around. I don't remember getting too frustrated while he was on screen. And lastly, I wasn't too frustrated with the Iron Fist when he appeared. I was expecting for the episode he was in to suffer tremendously, but I was pleasantly impressed with the chemistry between Luke and the Iron Fist. I supposed that bodes well for the Heroes For Hire spin-off if Netflix goes down the road.

Alright, now onto the negative elements. I couldn't count how many times I literally had my head in my hands over those terrible Jamaican accents. I suppose this is because I was born there, but good grief were those accents beyond terrible. I do applaud the show actually going to Jamaica in the second half of the season and it appeared the woman that healed Bushmaster was from Jamaica as her accent was the real deal, but I was so thoroughly frustrated sitting through those butchered accents. I wonder if other fellow Jamaicans are trashing the accents on twitter. The sudden turn for Luke Cage handling business with the criminal underworld felt way to sudden to me. I was confused when it happened, but if that's the direction the show wants to go, I suppose I'll have to see how credible the third season will be. I also didn't buy the entitlement Mariah's daughter had for Harlem's Paradise. The daughter and the mother weren't close at all and more importantly, she just killed her off.

>June 22
>
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU4Xn__5Qjg


Peace,

Spirit (Alan)
http://wutangbook.com

I really think they upped the ante, Alfre Woodard's performance this season was masterful.

It was corny in some places, but it IS a comic book show afterall, I thought the over the top bits served as a good counter piece to the much heavier material regarding incest and rape and racism.

Bushmaster was a great villain with compelling backstory and he just LOOKED like he should be in a comic book.

sooo.... we STARTEd to watch this 2nd season...got 2 eps in, and at THAT point, after the first 2, were just like....ehhh. Bored. Thought those 1st two were just bland, rather poorly written, really corny in spots and... so UNexcitingly presented...just no 'creativity', no...fun. i mean, I'm not saying EVERYthing has to (or should) go the way of "Legion" with its creative ways of telling a story, but i'm saying at LEAST remember that we ARE telling 'comic book superhero stories' here...and with 'THAT' in mind, it SHOULD allow the directors/creators to go at least a LITTLE out of the box with their PRESENTATION of the story....have SOME friggin FUN with it people, cmon! Its not that difficult or more expensive to present something in a kinda creative/cool way.

soo...we watched those first two on that Friday release, and honestly were so bored we almost tapped out there....sat on the rest till yesterday, when we begrudgingly said 'well lets give it one more shot and watch another episode'. Started watching episode 3 and ended up binging straight through episode 7 in one day....

GLAD we stuck around after first 2, because 3-7 FINALLY peaked our interest. FINALLY there was some 'fun' in the recipe. Yeah, those 3-7 Eps were all genuinely solid...

so yeah...were IN now...hoping this season does the opposite of last season...hoping season two starts out weak but closes out strong...(whereas season 1 started out strong and ended on a weak note...yes, I'm STILL bitter about Cottonmouth getting nixed too early...)


�
have you listened to
her stuff?
v
https://www.facebook.com/officialmeshell?fref=ts
http://www.meshell.com/site/
http://www.freemyheart.com


RIP David Williams:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Williams_(guitarist)

we're up to Episode 9 now, and my girl Alfre Woodard is THE star of this show if you ask me.
I look forward to EVERY scene she's in, (similar to the way i looked forward to every scene of Lady Grantham on Downton Abbey (Maggie Smith) and Olenna Tyrell on Game of Thrones (Diana Rigg).

i can feel Alfre having SO MUCH FUN delivering great lines as Mariah Dillard (STOKES, Mariah STOKES! ;)

and props to Misty Knight too....digging any scenes with she & Mariah together especially....
who's show is this?
its all about the ladies this season for me, they are the true standouts and I'm totally groovy with that....

prob finish off the rest over the weekend...




�
have you listened to
her stuff?
v
https://www.facebook.com/officialmeshell?fref=ts
http://www.meshell.com/site/
http://www.freemyheart.com


RIP David Williams:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Williams_(guitarist)

Picked up momentum as the season went on.

Alfre Woodard - ICONIC. We finally get an actual plot driven explanation for why she killed Cottonmouth that night.

Misty - Strong

Bushmaster - Complicated

Danny Rand - Effective in a limited and secondary role


I'm good with him and Claire being done. He's got unfinished business to handle.

Interesting end twist, but I REALLY HOPE they sustain this ending to build off of for next season and don't have one bullshit incident make him revert back to hoodie wearing walking the streets dude. Anything else and this was just a fucking tease.

only halfway through the season and it feels like i should be nearly done.

Bushmaster and his crew are all acted to perfection. Much more compelling villains than season 1.

The dude playing Bushmaster OWNED this season. I loved every scene he was in. Not sure if its true, but I heard the actor isn't even Jamaican, and doesn't even really have an accent. His Fight scenes (and fighting styles) were the amazing too, WAYYy more compelling than Cages. Bush's fighting style kinda reminded me of one of those characters in Tekken...cant remember his name though). But yeah, Bushmaster dude was awesome, i'm really glad they didn't kill him off because he's earned a return. Hell, i'd watch a Bushmaster show, i actually think he's more interesting & charismatic than Luke is currently.


�
have you listened to
her stuff?
v
https://www.facebook.com/officialmeshell?fref=ts
http://www.meshell.com/site/
http://www.freemyheart.com


RIP David Williams:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Williams_(guitarist)

The character acting was great. So many good scenes with just two characters in a room.

That ending tho. Damn.

ok seriously, despite some slow parts and probably being a couple episodes too long i was enjoying this show right up to the point that danny rand/ironfist showed up. geezus that character and actor are terrible. he also looks so stiff in the fight scenes its so hard to watch.

i'm so glad i didn't watch the ironfist series after reading all the negative reviews. i can't imaging watching an entire series with him!

What is up with Netflix and these Friday night news dumps? First Iron Fist and now Luke Cage.

https://deadline.com/2018/10/luke-cage-canceled-marvel-netflx-mike-colter-cheo-hodari-coker-1202486487/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

for both shows.
guess it had nothing to do with the creative decisions though? as per that article anyways.

in the Iron Fist cancellation articles they kept hinting at him being back in some form, most assumed popping up on the other shows, but at this rate? we'll be lucky to have any Marvel Netflix shows left by this time next year.

unless they're just moving em all over to Disney's new streaming service?

Iron Fist i could understand (even though i was a big fan of what they did in season 2), but cancelling Luke Cage is a big head-scratcher.

V.

i can see Iron Fist being done but it would not surprise me if Marvel/Disney continue these on their service not on netflix.

Iron Fist season 2 was not great, but not as terrible as season 1. There was enough to enjoy to stick with it for another season.

Luke Cage season 3 was fire though. Alfre Woodard carries the fuck out of it. It ended on a solid note.

I really hope they're either doing Heroes for Hire or slowly moving all those shows to the Disney streaming channel. If so, along with the Loki and Scarlet Witch shows (not even to mention the Star Wars show), that might be the push to get me pay for it when it comes out.