Best episode so far! I liked his origin story.
"You look like a damn fool"
8.3/10. Best episode of the season so far. I've appreciated the show's resistance to doing a straight up origin story up t this point, but it was actually fascinating to see how Luke Cage became the superhero he is today. The dialogue was still pretty rough, especially in the scenes between he and Riva which were exchanges of either wooden exposition or silly cliches, but it's a cool story.
Also, it's the most I've liked Mike Colter in the title role. Maybe it's just the fact that he was doing the strong silent type a little better here. There's a purity to Luke Cage that can be a little annoying (Bullock on Deadwood is a good analogue) but seeing him be a little less in control, to the point where he's basically lost hope and is letting himself be sullied but slowly building himself back up, makes the character and the performance much more compelling.
There's also some fun mythology stuff. While the cuffs and the headband and the loud shirt come off a bit cheesy these days, making them be part of the magical machine that gave him his powers, in addition to a good ol' clothesline borrow, only to have him declare that he looks like a fool once he sees himself in the mirror is a nice way to nod to the source material without doubling down on it. At the same time, I appreciate the symmetry of Luke being at his wits end on his first day in prison and punching the walls, only for him to pull the same trick after recovering from the experiment and seeing the extent of his powers. The "Sweet Christmas" exclamation is corny, but ya had to do it. (That said, the explanation for how he got his name was really forced.)
In truth, there's a lot that's corny about the episode. The love story between Luke and Riva is a generic prisoner/Florence Nightingale routine. The asshole Warden is a cliche, as is the beloved friend who gets used as leverage and eventually killed because of things you've gotten mixed up in. Still, it gives us insight into Luke's psyche and how he got this way. Even little touches like his hair being wilder all around show how this was a more unrestrained, shaggy time in his life, and that he resolved to pull through.
The frame story of him helping his landlord out of the rubble was mostly just there, but worked well enough as a break between the backstory. Seeing him punch through the rubble at the same time he was punching through Seagate succeeded as a juxtaposition, showing how the things he's doing now are advanced versions of things he's been doing for a long time, and drawing a straight line between his time in prison to his time helping people now. We'll see what repercussions him announcing himself publicly have.
Overall, in the midst of all the major plot machinery that's been moved around in the first few episodes, it's nice to see Luke Cage take a step back and do what amounts to a character piece on its protagonist. There's a lot of narrative shortcuts (and I'm curious to see what role Levy from The Wire will have as the experimenting doctor), but it made the character less monolithic and more interesting, which goes a long way.
Another really good episode, was great to see the 'prison life' he had all in one episode instead of dragging it out for episodes upon episodes like a lot of other shows do, cool seeing how he got his 'abilities', no Cottonmouth but sure they'll make up for that ;) 7.8/10
Well, I think that they should've explained a bit more about how he gets his superpowers . So far was a great ep. :)
Absolutely the best episode so far.
Flashbacks, nice for a change of pace. Too bad the prison is just as cliche as the rest of the story. Good to have some origin story though.
The origin of Luke Cage in prison
Luke treated Shades like a bitch before he even had powers lol. So doubt that villain stands much of a chance against current Luke in future episodes.
...and even his origin story is only remotely interesting. I think I quit for now.
the best ep so far!
Great episode, this is already my favorite thing in the MCU.
Who the hell is diamond back?? I'm speculating that Rackham survived the explosion and is Diamondback and maybe even has a ability?
Shout by SqueakyNarwhalBlockedParent2016-09-30T20:54:51Z
I agree with Izsák, this is the best episode of the season thus far! I like how they incorporated his original costume from the comics into this episode. He's right, it does look ridiculous on screen. But it's a really great moment for fans of the character! Also, the ending of this episode could provide for a really interesting story going forward since now the public knows about him and his powers.