User Reviews

I couldn't disagree more with the previous reviewers. Everything about this episode works, and Season 2 was in many ways superior to Season 1.

Luke wants to be a rook, not a king, but the way he sees it, circumstances have forced his hand. He doesn't see that Mariah is reaching beyond the grave to set him up for a fall into disgrace. Speaking of Mariah, her own fall was pure poetic justice, and combined with the unexpected loss for Tilda, set up the daughter as an interesting potential foil for Luke in Season 3.

Will Bushmaster return? Personally I think it would be interesting to see him turn up in one of the other Marvel/Netflix series, now that his business in Harlem is done.

I was going to give this one a 10 but I didn't think Tilda's brief arc after her mother's death was very well drawn out. Everything else worked for me though, and the season as a whole was strong, lagging only during a couple of the middle episodes. Sorry to see Luke dismiss Claire so easily (unseen even!) but that also makes sense in this bigger game he is trying to play.

Can't wait for Season 3 to see how Luke's reign as "king" turns out. Not well, I expect!

I hate this growing trend in TV where everything is wrapped up in the penultimate episode and the season finale is used to set the stage for the forthcoming season.

It wasn't a bad episode, but it just lacked drama with Mariah out of the picture. Bushmaster just taking his ball and going home was anticlimactic as well.

Truer words. Re: Season 2: Well, the ending was probably not what people expected, but perhaps it was what the series needed. It would've been interesting to see where Season 3 would've taken Luke - so many possibilities - and Harlem. It made sense to remove Bushmaster from the scene when they did and not make the season's ending about his justice - much better for Mariah, rightfully, to be dealt with for the pain and shame that her family caused more overarchingly. The acting was where this series shone - superb performances: Luke/Mike...the heart and soul of everything, with steely charisma. Mariah/Alfre - seriously sensational - owned it. Shades/Theo - amazingly nuanced performance. Misty - terrific and Tilda - wow-voice! Loved how Claire - always awesome - cross pollinates and the Danny crossover. Definitely deserved a third season. Hope they at least bring back the Defenders. Luke is gold. At least use him - and Danny - in JJ or DD. Don't squander talent that is integral to the overarching storyline.

Now, obviously 7.8 is not a bad score, but considering that this score is extremely low compared to usual highly praised episodes and considering the hate in the reviews, I have to ask users, were they watching the same thing I was? Anyway, I know these are all opinions and nobody is right or wrong, I'm just confused by the anger, that's all.

Are people seriously angry that Luke Cage decided to become a crime lord? Like really guys? This was his arc throughout an entire season. His methods were never enough, he was constantly stopping the same criminals from doing the same crimes over and over. There were barely any results, and that kept bringing out his darker side.

After Mariah was taken down, crime goes up. In this episode, gang wars start occurring and obviously neighborhood was in the crossfire. Every gangster in the town wants to take Mariah's spot. Luke Cage, seeing no other option, decides to take the position and stop the war from getting worse. This is an absolutely unique way to end a season. A character who went out of his way to stay an idealist, decides to compromise, because he wants to stop people from dying. Mike Colter does a fantastic job conveying his character's conflict, he is definitely the most underrated MCU actor.

Another great thing about this episode was Mariah's death. Alfre Woodard, who was absolutely phenomenal this season, brought such a wonderful character to life. Mariah went out in the best way possible, through the hands of a daughter she despises. In the end, she gives everything to Luke, in many ways, as a one last "F u" to her daughter. She is the winner here, because she managed to turn Luke, make him compromise. What a great way to send off a fantastic villain.

First season of Luke Cage was indeed wonky. It constantly bounced back and forth between being incredibly campy to pretty damn serious, and in my opinion, tone was all over the place. Even action scenes were very lacking. The best things about the first season were Luke Cage himself, Cottonmouth, the atmosphere, the portrayal of Harlem, and the music. The showrunner, Cheo Hodari, noted the flaws, and improved on every single aspect of previous season. This time, not only action was great, but every character went through a huge boost. Mariah and Shades, who were both pretty stale in season 1, went through a fantastic development, becoming great characters on their own. The another great villain was added, Bushmaster played amazingly by Mustafa Shakir, who's character was always fascinating to watch. Luke always had a dark side in him, but he often tried to tame it, in this season Cheo focuses entirely on that dark side of him coming out, and it's done amazingly culminating in this great ending. The tone was amazingly consistent this season too, clearly finding a perfect balance between camp and seriousness.

It's a huge disappointment that Netflix decided to cancel so many great shows, but I'm glad that Luke Cage went out on such a strong season.

This ending has a way more better ending than season one. I'm still sad it got canceled. Cancel it on a mystery. It was a great season though

Season 2 has its lows and highs but this episode was definitely the lowest. This is supposed to be the finale of the last 12 hours of entertainment but it comes off like it just betrays everything that was built up. The fact that Luke Cage ends up running Harlem's Paradise is totally against his character even with the reasons they give us. Bushmaster, the MAIN villain, is still out there and he is barely in the season finale. Mariah dying doesn't help either because she was a complex character that was almost like a Joker to Luke Cage. Overall, this was the worst season finale to a Marvel Netflix show so far.

Iron Fist had no real value to the season except filling screen time. He's there and he's gone. A lot of stuff in this season is that: either rinse and repeat encounters with Bushmaster (heck, even Luke Cage frustratly jokes that it's all rinse and repeat) or stretching the narrative with redundant element until it loses its power. By the end of the season I was fed up with all the characters. Even Shades diluted into a parody of itself.

Also Bushmaster's ending was lame. I expected a showdown after seeing the conflict being built up for so long. Instead we see a weak person being transported in a van, "defeated by nightshade". So lame.

And Mariah handwriting her will... what a coincidence. Did she know her daughter poisoned her when she lied? That's really unclear. I believe when she says she knew she was lying but nowhere that correlated to her being self aware of her imminent death. And how did her daughter not die from that poison herself as she 'kissed' her mother?

This episode ended pointlessly and felt like the damn Twighlight Zone. I am less than pleased and dropping names like "Tell Claire to go home" at the end makes no sense when she is not present and hasn't been the entire season. I cannot tell you how annoyed I am with season 2. Dragging on with Mariah for so long because y'all couldn't come up with another storyline. Her talking made me lose attention to the show on multiple occasions. Please do better next time. Damn it man.

Well, this was a crushing disappointment, with no action to speak of and an obvious resolution to the storyline (and one that appears to have been ripped off from GAME OF THRONES). Luke is barely in it and the closing sequence - the ultra-embarrassing song eulogising him as hero - should have been nipped in the bud.