Luke Cage: Season 1

So yesterday I finished all of Luke Cage on Netflix. Like the other Netflix Marvel shows, I was really excited to start watching it. Especially how it's another part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which you all know I love. Also I'll be talking about spoilers. So if you're watching it and you don't want it ruined, watch it all, then read this. So I started episode 1 very excited and when I finished yesterday, I ended really angry. Not because it was bad, it's another great Marvel Netflix show, it's because the ending of this show is not a happy one. You're supposed to be angry at the end of this. Some old characters are back in this and some new ones are brought in. Mike Colter is still fantastic as Luke Cage. I mentioned in my Jessica Jones review of how he was super cool as well as extremely likable and a good choice for the character. They also managed to give him a lot of humanity and you do feel for him. And we even get some old characters back as well. Claire is back. You know that nurse from Daredevil and who helped Jessica with Luke at the end of season 1 of Jessica Jones and Rosario Dawson is still great as that character. Now, this show doesn't have a main villain. It has multiple villains. It doesn't exactly have a main villain. There's a man named Cottenmouth who you think is the villain but then he get killed during the middle of the show. He gets killed by his cousin named Mariah Dillard, played by Alfre Woodard. And you think she's the main villain but then there's another guy named Diamondback who wants to kill Luke and he's also Luke's half-brother. There's just so many an you don't know who the villain is. There's also a detective named Misty Knight who's on Luke's case and is trying to prove he's innocent. This show reminds me a lot of the other Netflix shows before this like Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Especially Jessica Jones because they both try to not focus mainly on the action but on the character and to understand everything and when there is action, it's awesome. And when this show has emotion to it, it's there. You feel a lot of emotions in this. Sometimes you're happy, sometimes you're sad and sometimes you're just angry. Alfre Woodard in this show plays Mariah as an absolutely despicable human being. You absolutely want to punch her in the face. I mean it's like Kilgrave in Jessica Jones or Samantha in season 2 of Daredevil only I think even more hatful, which I really saying something. And just when it looks like something bad is about to happen to her, something happens that helps her. And I can't say this enough, Mike Colter, I think he's even more likeable here than in Jessica Jones. You feel for him a lot more and he really sells those emotional scenes. There's also another character in this named Pop and I really liked him. He actually dies in this in episode 3 or 4. I can't remember exactly but I really liked him. And I will admit, I was actually starting to feel for Cottenmouth before he died. You learned more about his past and I did actually start to feel sorry for him. It was also awesome to get connections to the larger M.C.U. There's a few episodes where a guy is selling DVDs with recordings of the Avengers in New York. They reference Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Hulk a few times. Claire keeps talking about Matt and how he might be able to help. They also reference that scene in Jessica Jones where she had to shoot Luke in the chin as well as the scene where she killed Kilgrave. They even manages to find a way to hurt Luke with these special bullets that drill into his skin and then they explode. That's kinda scary when you think about it. Now, as much as I really like this show, is it the best Marvel Netflix show. No I prefer Daredevil and Jessica Jones a tad bit more. But that isn't stopping me from enjoying this. It's still a great show and it's actually like Jessica Jones in the sense that it doesn't try to focus on the powers but really on the character and that's something I've gotta respect them for. It is a great show and you should definitely watch it. Especially if you're a Marvel Cinematic Universe fan.