With a run time of over an hour, this episode had a lot to fill. Fortunately, there was a lot of material to work with as various sub-plots advanced across the board.
Admittedly, the first half is very dialogue heavy, giving off a feeling that nothing is really moving. We do get some introspection on Misty's front, as she sits down with a shrink to discuss her issues. Making her sympathetic after what happened with Claire seems like an uphill battle, but the episode does a good job of making her more complex than you might originally think. This is also helped by the fact that Missick turns in a strong performance, especially in the later scenes as her issues are brought to light.
Speaking of strong performances, Alfre Woodard probably turns in her best yet as Mariah is slowly pulled into her deceased cousin's affairs. She still puts up the front that she doesn't want to be a part of it, but is able to pitch Diamondback on an endeavor that surpasses anything they would have thought of.
I know one of the criticisms of the MCU as a whole is that the shows "don't matter". Even if the movies don't directly acknowledge the events of the shows, it's hard to argue that there aren't ramifications. "Agents of Shield" created a new wave of superpowered inhumans across the globe and Mariah suggests that the Judas bullet can be useful even beyond disposing of Luke Cage, suggesting going as far as to wage a war on all of the superheroes. Whether anything comes of it, I'm not sure, but it could become a problem later on down the line.
I'm actually enjoying Diamondback as a villain. I know reception to him has been mixed, and I was a big fan of Stokes, but Diamondback has a commanding, frightening presence that lends credence to his position as the new big bad. Harvey just owns every scene he's in and the fear that is instilled in those around him is palpable. You can't blame them either, as he shows no qualms about killing people with little to no provocation.
For those craving social commentary, the real standout scene is going to be the one where Luke (while wearing a hoodie) is confronted by two cops. I guess it was inevitable, but isn't the scene a subversion? Note, the cops don't draw their weapons until they confirm that he's a wanted fugitive and a trigger only gets pulled after Luke attacks the cop who was about to cuff him. I suppose you could argue that this is a depiction of how things SHOULD be, as opposed to how they are.
Sadly, this was one of Luke's better moments, as this episode really puts him through the wringer. Where the last episode had him largely shrug off the bullet in his stomach, we start to see him succumbing to the effects to a much greater degree. His wounds are becoming infected and he's starting to cough up blood. Not good.
On the plus side, with the help of Claire and one of the Seagate doctors, he's able to at least start getting medical treatment. The downside is that said treatment involves having a needle shoved down his throat to draw blood and than being dipped in acid. Both scenes are very squirm inducing for obvious reasons.
The doctor says that the intent with the acid bath is to soften his skin (would that be temporary or would it rob him of his powers for good?) so that they can operate, but the way he keeps looking at the ultrasound, it seems like they're trying to dissolve the shrapnel. I suppose it's moot as the endeavor is unsuccessful on every front. It's times like this where an arc reactor would have really come in handy.
Again, we have a cliffhanger, and again it falls flat. True, Luke doesn't get shot with a third Judas bullet, but we are supposed to think that he died. This is, of course, ludicrous as there are still four episodes left and we know he's joining the Defenders. Luke raising his fist (an agreed upon signal for when Claire should pull him out because the pain is too much) before his hand fell limp was pretty funny, though, so points for that.
The episode did have a bit of a slow start, but things definitely picked up as the episode went on. We got new insight on multiple characters and we saw the new villain really step up to the plate and grab the role with both hands.
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