We are seeing a rise in a new Villain, Bushmaster as well. Bushmaster is scary, but he also has a likable charm about him. There’s something about him where you don’t want to cross him, but you do what to be his friend. We see his true intentions in wanting to bring Mariah down to make his father and family proud. His family and her family have history and we learn about it in this season.
Mustafa Shakir is a wonderful actor with who breathes fantastic life into this character. In fact, his Jamaican accent was on point as well.
The thing that continues with Luke Cage is that it’s incredibly slow. Even when the action picks up, it still feels like a slow burn. The first few episodes of this season focused solely on Luke Cage’s celebrity and father issues and some of Mariah’s plans to rise. It was uninteresting and difficult to get through. It feels like things could be solved in one episode but they continue to drag it through an entire season.
Another thing that this season showed is that it always seems like the show is more about the other characters. It’s Luke Cage but it seems like most of the other characters are what we’re paying attention too. Their story and their problems are in the forefront, though Luke is always part of the problems.
Mariah and Bushmaster’s beef was the main focus of the season. She’s trying to get more money and power and in the process, she makes friends and enemies. Bushmaster takes her down and takes everything of hers and she strikes back. They are both vicious and killers.
As the season progresses, the action does pick up and stories start getting pieced together. Bushmaster and Luke get into two fights that Bushmaster wins, unfairly!, and what we notice is that they both want to protect Harlem in their own ways.
They both believe Harlem is under their protection.
The woman power of this season is something that was awesome to see. Alfre Woodard’s portrayal of Mariah is incredible. Throughout the season we see the shifts in her eyes and the balance between wanting power and trying to make Mama Mabel proud.
Misty has this entire season to prove to herself that losing her arm didn’t mean she lost all her mojo. Misty grows up in this season and we see her power grow. She knows she’s a badass, and she knows people know it.
While we don’t get enough of Clare, we still saw a great arc for her as well. We see Mariah’s daughter get time to shine and she begins to forgive her mother and care about her and gets wrapped up in Bushmasters plans. Nandi Tyler is another character who shines as well, good and bad ways.
Overall, this season, seemed almost just like the first one. A slow burn. A slow burn that did have action and interesting stuff, but mostly slow.
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