This episode is something of a mixed bag. While I'd certainly mark it as weaker than its predecessor, there is still a lot to like here. By that same token, the flaws are more pronounced.
The first thing you notice is Luke's bizarre regression. After defending his landlord, you'd think that he would have committed to being a hero. He even notes that it felt good and gave him a sense of peace, yet he also has to be essentially press ganged by Pop in order to take action in not only finding the last remaining survivor from the shootout who had absconded with Stokes' cash, but in acting as an intermediary in order to negotiate a peaceful resolution.
Fortunately, the writing makes up for it by giving pretty much the entire cast more layers. We see that the barbershop ensemble are more than happy to engage in more intellectual pursuits: talking about poetry and playing chess. Misty Knight, the cop who Luke hooked up with last episode, is shown to be a skilled basketball player (a scene made more effective by the fact that Simone Missick was actually making the shots and it wasn't just camera editing to try and trick the viewer), and even Stokes gets to show some depth as he displays a strong code of honor, especially in the episode's final act.
While the dialogue and characterization were a strong point, tone wasn't, namely because the episode couldn't find one. Some parts were effective and dramatic, but there were points where it veered into being comically over the top. Was that pun intentional? I don't think so, but it's there none the less.
Take the scene when Stokes goes into the barbershop to get a shave. There's some tension, what with the main villain prone to violence being in a neighborhood sanctuary, but some of the dialogue was more silly and not intentionally so. Overall, it was a strong scene, largely thanks to Ali's performance, but without those drawbacks, it could have been much better.
Of course, the avuncular mentor figure has to bite the dust, because that is frequently how the hero's journey plays out. If for whatever reason, you didn't see it coming before going in, the episode throws up a couple of red flags that let you know where his plot line is going before it gets there. As a result, this doesn't really feel like a spoiler, though by all accounts, it probably should be labelled as such.
I was worried that the episode was going to re-do the schtick where a shooting would be overlapped with a musical number from a club performer as we see her singing while the goons' car approaches, but thankfully, the episode manages to avoid that. Doing it twice in a row would have been rather bizarre and would have certainly undercut the effectiveness of the scene.
You'd think his death would be a major emotional moment. It tries to be, no doubt, but it didn't work for me. Again, it suffers from being a little over the top, but at the same time, while I certainly liked the character, it seemed like it was too soon to get invested in him enough to warrant a tearjerker scene. As a result, we have to see the characters in mourning (even Stokes himself) to try to get the point across.
Turk's appearance was a nice touch. Just having him hang out in the barbershop probably would have been sufficient. It would have been a nice cameo to help sell the idea that all of these shows are fairly closely connected. The writers kicked it up a notch and had him actually play a pretty prominent role in the plot. His screen time is limited, but it's because of him that Luke is going to begin his conflict with Stokes in earnest.
As noted, this episode was a mixed bag. There's more than enough charm to get you through it, but it doesn't have the feeling of raising tension that it probably could have used. I'm not sure whether the next episode will feature the scene from the trailer where Luke barges into one of Stokes' strongholds. Given his rage, it could, but at the same time, that could also be the precursor to the final confrontation. I guess I'll just have to watch and find out.
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