LUKE CAGE Season 2 SPOILERS - 7 Things That Worked And 3 Things That Didn't

@MrDandy - I was one of the better paced Netflix Marvel shows... and it still wasn't paced well enough. That's how outright terribly the others have been.

@MalseMarcel - I agree as long as they also have a Daughters of the Dragon series.

@MalseMarcel - Nah, what made Heroes for Hire was the dynamic of a brash Cage with a laidback warrior Iron Fist.

You dont have that on the Netflix shows

@DerekLake - New plot? I mean, all season finales plant some seeds for what can come next.

And that shift makes sense and was alluded to all season. There was constant conflict about choice and decisions. Nothing ever went as planned, this was the final nail. It also plays into the “power” of Harlem’s Paradise. Power in general was a major theme this season.

@DaLaBrAcK - It cuts from him telling the lawyer to burn it down to him running the joint and hosting the other crime lords. There’s no sense of deliberation, just a cut from one declared decision to the opposite decision (and not only that, but to Luke suddenly embracing the power fully — even being cold toward former allies and friends). Then there’s Mariah whole range of actions that just lead nowhere (like meeting and killing her cousin, or planning out ways to turn Shades’ confessions to her favor). And then there’s the sudden crime increase and introduction of the idea that the Stokes were actively protecting Harlem from multiple adversaries (despite having little respect or real comparative power). This isn’t the sort of thing you introduce in the penultimate episode and finale. Up until this point, Luke’s arc has been about the temptation to anger, brutality and murder (despite casually threatening to murder people multiple times). Yet suddenly he’s on about being a diplomat and sheriff. It was quite the left-turn and it wasn’t earned. It would have been better had Mariah been dealing with the other gangs from the beginning, and if Luke had been wrestling with the idea of needing to be something more than just the solitary street hero from the beginning. It is most certainly an interesting place to take the character, but you can’t start that in the last episode.

@DerekLake - I mean, you don't have to like it, the show is admittedly a little heavy handed with having characters remark "boy, Luke, you sure have gotten dark." But it is not a sudden left turn. Luke's arc throughout the whole season has been dealing with his growing frustration at feeling like he's powerless to really turn the tide of crime. At multiple points in the season characters say something along the lines of "maybe there should be a new king" to Luke. His arc with Bushmaster involved him telling Luke they aren't so different and suggesting Luke may need new tactics to get what he wants. Hell he already accepted making himself the new king in the scene right before the will scene. The point of cutting straight from saying burn it down to him running it is to show you that difference between what he wants (to burn it down and be rid of it) and what he thinks Harlem needs (him to run things so he can truly "save" it).

Again, if you aren't into it that's fine but it is something that was foreshadowed and built towards all season.

And the show has been saying since season 1 that the Stokes were keeping other gangs and things like drugs out of Harlem since the Mama Mabel days, also not out of nowhere but maybe done a bit heavy handed in the show.

And yeah, Mariah "loves" Harlem, she truly wanted to do something good for Harlem with her Family First Initiative (that and try and wash the blood of her family's sins off her hands). But her sense of love is really skewed, so she does messed up things to Harlem while still believing that she is what's best for Harlem.