As somebody who knows precious little about the Marvel universe other than Iron Man, I appreciated the pilot for this very reason :nodding:
We both enjoyed the pilot and would’ve binge watched the next few episodes if I didn’t have to go to bed (early AM shift, bah).
I also appreciate the fact that it wasn’t as graphically violent as either Daredevil or Jessica Jones.
I’m only three episodes in, but it seem that there is already a massive plot hole. Cottonmouth and Mariah are frantically searching for the stolen money because Mariah stole from the development donations to rehab Cottonmouth’s club, and if they don’t get it, she can’t cover her tracks. She explicitly says, we need all of the money or we both go to jail. By the third episode, Cage is raiding their safe houses, and exposing their cash reserves- Cottonmouth says he has lost seven million dollars. So I guess they really didn’t need that stolen money, and could have been much more careful about the whole thing.
Although it took me until the third episode for me to really get into it, I liked this one quite a lot. Netflix has really hit it out of the park again with its Marvel shows. Luke Cage is a bit more stylized, but otherwise is like the others wherein the style and all the details really work well to make it its own show that also fits well in the universe with the others.
I thought they did a great job with the whole Harlem thing - from the music, the themes and plotlines, and the cinematography - it really evoked that feel (much the way Stranger Things evoked 80’s kids thrillers). Although there were a lot of villains, it wasn’t tough to follow, and I felt it made sense - Harlem’s problems, even in a post-Incident world, are going to include corrupt cops, sleazy politicians, downright gangsters all vying for power and survival. I like Nava’s use of the term “choral work”.
I also really like the little brilliant touches.
These might be a little spoilery if you haven’t watched the show yet.
The first I noticed (actually, my wife caught it first; I’m so proud), was the blind man hanging out at the old-fashioned newspaper stand. Anybody else feel that this was a solid Watchmen reference? I know it’s a bit of a trope, but the scene was shot just like several of the panels of the graphic novel, so I feel it was intended to be a reference.
Another one I caught was a delightful two-fer. Cottonmouth is played by the guy who played Remy on House of Cards. At one point we have him soliloquizing to the camera, a la House of Cards - although of course in this case he was actually talking to a person, but the reference was really clever I thought. And then of course at the end of that shot, the crown in the photo behind him lined up with Cottonmouth’s head. Not too subtle, but nicely done.
The third one’s from near the end of the show, but I will withhold details to reduce spoilery impact.
The, erm, style choice of that one bad guy was very reminiscent of the old Power Man costume (I never read the comics back then, but I’ve seen stuff here and there, enough to notice the homage). I thought that was a nice touch.
Overall, very enjoyable and watchable addition to Netflix’s Marvel shows. I’m glad I was able to binge it, to keep the flow going (it would have felt way to slow if I had to wait a week in between episodes).
Like the other Netflix series, this had great supporting characters particularly the villains.
Finished the final episode and it was great. No spoilers but it was biblical and all about the soul of Harlem. I especially loved the emphasis on how Harlem is in many ways an immigrant community as well, just an immigrant community from the South with everything that entails.
I also loved the recurring themes and references to African-American writers, particularly ones that white audiences might not be as familiar with.
Can’t wait for its next season.
On another note, ironically enough I think Luke Cage, the character, has far more in common with Daredevil than he has with Jessica Jones.
I’m only up to episode 3, but so far, my big ‘concern’ is there’s not enough…super-hero…stuff. Daredevil had Kingpin, Jessica Jones had The Purple Man, and (as of episode 3) Luke has a…low-rent Kingpin wannabe punk-ass bitch. Bleh. Cottonmouth isn’t impressing me as a bad-guy*. I want to see Cage kick someone’s ass who’s worthy of having his ass kicked. The Wrecking Crew or something.
*I like the actor though
Agree it starts really slow. If it weren’t a superhero show I’d pass.
People seem aware there is a super powerful guy running around. Surprised the government isn’t sending an army after him, the way they would with Hulk or any other potentially dangerous super.
Give it time.
I enjoyed it. I didn’t quite like it as much as Daredevil or Jessica Jones, but it had a lot of very well done moments. I did think the whole deal with Scarf was telegraphed pretty blatantly.
For anyone else like me, who thought that the first episode or two was dull, things kick into gear around episode four and if the first half of five is any indication of what’s coming there will be no more boredom. It really starts to rock 
I still won’t be happy though until cottonmouth and diamondback and the rest of the serpent society get silly looking spandex costumes. Plus, I demand princess python! 
Why do I feel like I’ve seen this before? I watched the pilot episode today, there were several scenes I could swear I’ve seen before.
Two things there:
I have three episodes left. I like the characters and the feel. But I am not liking the Big Bad arcs as much as I would like. Diamondback was kept in the shadows, and Cottonmouth/Mariah put forward. I thought DB would be more of a hand’s off Kingpin type. But then DB just steps in and, without spoiling too much in this post, becomes much more front and center as a Big Bad and in Luke’s life. I think it could have been woven into the plot more effectively.
The guy at the news stand in Watchmen wasn’t blind. And Watchmen was a DC property, so it’s extremely unlikely a Marvel show would reference it. And as you said, “Wise man at the newsstand” is a pretty standard trope.
The money Mariah needed back was the money that Chico and has buddies stole. She got that money back; Luke watches her carry it into the Crispus Atticus complex, and recognizes the backpack. Mariah presumably has time to go make a bank deposit before Luke shows up to take out “Fort Knox”.
The seven million that Luke gets locked up by the police, is Cottonmouth’s day-to-day operating funds.
What the hell happened during the hostage situation in Ep11? After Shades tells Diamondback about Claire escaping and Candice being a problem Diamondback tells him to “take care of it”. Next thing we see is Shades washing blood of his hands which leads him to find the hidden area in the kitchen, but Candice is still alive and unhurt. Who’s blood was he washing off?
There was a blind newsstand vendor in the SUPERMAN movie – mostly just to make Otis look even worse – but I’m guessing this also wasn’t a reference to that.
I liked it enough to keep watching but didn’t it didn’t grab me immediately like Jessica Jones or Daredevil (season 2) has.
I thought most of the side characters’ acting was noticeably poor, which I don’t remember being as bad (or noticeable) in other Netflix Marvel series. In particular, I felt the acting of Misty was crazy wooden and it made me remember I was watching a show every time she was on screen.
Luke is great though and I like that shades villain. So that’s enough for now!
Dangit! You’re quite right - I superimposed the scene over my memory of the comic.
I could see a show like this slyly referencing Watchmen despite it not being Marvel, especially if they were going to go after any parallel motifs - but they didn’t really, and they really didn’t.
I’ll have to let the wife down gently.
They are, it’s mentioned in JJ.
Is anyone else getting deja vu? Were some scenes from Jessica Jones lifted and put in Luke Cage?