The Marvel Netflix series are one of the main reasons why I am so attached to my Netflix account. From the gritty and brutal fight scenes in Daredevil to the aggressive and complicated hero we have in Jessica Jones, I’m rarely disappointed when it comes to Marvel series on Netflix. Although, I must admit that my love these is diminishing somewhat. No longer do I feel the need to binge watch every episode, only stopping for toilet and food breaks. On one hand, it can be put down to the fact that at my free time has significantly reduced since I left uni and began adulting (😭😭). On the other hand, it could have something to do with this feeling of sameness that I’m started to feel whilst watching the second series of some of these shows. Will season 2 of Luke Cage be the same? Here’s my review :
Overall, I quite liked season 2 of Luke Cage. It featured many of the things that I absolutely adored from the first season such as an awesome soundtrack, amazing performances from the cast notably Simone Missick as Misty Knight and contemporary references on life in the US as an African American. My favourite parts/aspects of this season where:
1) The episode with Iron Fist.
Now, I am aware that I am in a minority group of Netflix Marvel fans who actually liked Iron Fist the series and Finn Jones as the titular character. However, I believe that his appearance here might be the thing that finally wins people over to the character. Gone is the whiny man child that we had seen in Iron Fist and The Defenders! In the episode of Luke Cage that he appears in, the character has seemingly grown up. What’s more is that the character seems to have spent a lot of time off screen dealing with his own issues and anger which in turn helps Luke Cage address his own issues. In this respect, it is clear that Luke Cage as both a character and a series benefits from Danny Rand’s presence. In addition, the interaction between the two is also fun to watch. They would really make a good team of superheroes in buddy cop comedy kind of way.
2) Watching Maria Dillard/Stokes rise (or fall) and become Black Mariah,
This character has always kind of creeped me out as she always seemed on edge and two minutes away from a full on break down. So when she finally did become the hardcore gangster boss that I knew she was capable of, I was both intrigued and horrified. Intrigued because Mariah hadn’t really been let loose as of yet and I couldn’t wait to see what she would do. Then, I was horrified when I realised that the woman definitely was all kinds of crazy and unbelievably cruel. It was great to see her manipulating things even from behind bars and how her dark path eventually led to her downfall.
Although, I really did enjoy the series there were a few things that I weren’t impressed with. The first of them being the pacing. On many occasions, I have mentioned how the pacing of Marvel Netflix series can be slow at times which results in certain episodes to seem as if they are dragging along really, really slowly. Luke Cage, unfortunately, was not an exception. This is something that Marvel Netflix must fix if they want people to continue to binge watch their series.
In addition, I wasn’t a fan of the constant usage of the n-word. Now I understand the reasons why people use the word, in attempt to reclaim it and what not. However, I felt that it was overused in the series at times. It’s usage, in my opinion, was super blasé. However, this criticism may only be unique to me as I tend to try to not use the word because I don’t feel I or anyone for that matter should be using it. (And just in case you were wondering, yes I am black lol).
Now, onto my biggest criticism of the series- the Jamaican accents. They were something lol. I loved what the series was doing by introducing this well established Jamaican community into the narrative and in doing so, allowing for the country’s history and its people to displayed to the world. However, these accents were awful and distracting. The creole that characters spoke didn’t seem right and at the end of the day I just couldn’t get behind it.
To conclude, series 2 was another good, well produced and well acted Marvel Netflix series that managed to replicate all the things that I loved about the first series especially the regarding the soundtrack and fun crossovers with characters from other shows joining the narrative.
Rating: 7/10
Did you like the series? Let me know !!
Featured Image taken from an article on the IGN entertainment website
Simone Watches... 