The second season of 'Luke Cage' kicks off on a high note, picking up where the last season left off, but also setting the stage for what's to come.
Unlike 'Jessica Jones', we actually see reference to the events of 'The Defenders', this largely comes from Misty's presence as she still comes to grips with the loss of her arm. This does give her character a bit of a mini-arc, as she starts off wanting to back off from crime fighting, but decides to get her job back when she learns that Scarfe's corruption has resulted in the release of several criminals.
For Luke's part, he is still Harlem's hero and is becoming something of a local figurehead. People come out to get selfies with him and there is even Luke Cage merchandise, both mundane and illegal. On more than one occasion, Luke is told to try to monetize his herodom. He (again) declines, but valid arguments are made for it. The barbershop is struggling and he could also put the money to good use. Claire also points out that cops and firefighters get paid, there's no reason he shouldn't.
On that note, it kind of sounded like the police chief was offering him a job. His speech started off like an anti-vigilante tirade, but the "you should do what you're doing legally" part gave me that impression. Granted, Luke throws it back in the guy's face, but assuming that was his intent, it was an interesting curve ball to throw the street level hero.
The bit with Luke's reverend father was an odd addition. His "sermon" lost some of its kick due to the fact that he was just rehearsing. One also can't help but wonder how well it would have been received seeing as everybody seems to like Luke. He also has a quick run in with Luke. Maybe more will be made of it later in the season, but it seemed oddly out of place and didn't really add a whole lot to the plot.
It does seem like the fame is getting to Luke's head. He's still likable and charismatic as ever, but the unbreakable skin and the constant attention are subtly starting to have an effect. At one point in the episode, he challenges Harlem's underworld to come at him. Given that he survived an explosion and even managed to shrug off a Judas bullet, I understand the rush, but the scene also gave me flashbacks to Iron Man 3 when Tony called out the Mandarin in a similar fashion. As I recall, that didn't end well. Whether this is setting up a "pride comes before the fall" thing remains to be seen. It's still early in the season.
While drug dealers make for the episode's primary antagonist, the end of the episode does mark the arrival of what appears to be the new "big bad", a martial artist crime lord who goes by the name of Bushmaster. His hand to hand combat skills are impressive, but I was very perplexed as to how the gangsters he was attacking kept missing when they were trying to shoot him. Even stormtroopers would have been able to hit a target from that distance. Come to find out, the bullets did hit, they just don't hurt him. It'll give the season a figure who can fight Luke on that level. Mariah makes a play to get Luke off her back by threatening Claire, but even that doesn't end up working as well as you'd think it would.
Speaking of, it looks like Mariah wants to retire. She is presented with the opportunity to get controlling interest in a successful plastics company and give her family name a rebranding. It does require quite a bit of capital. Why she doesn't just invest what she can, I don't know, but that appears to be her arc so far.
Like I said at the top, this was a strong start. The main characters are all given something to work with. The episode's well written and paced well. You're never bored. There's a healthy dose of humor to keep things from feeling "grimdark" and the fights are still entertaining, even if they are all fairly one sided. I wasn't expecting Lucy Liu's name to pop up as director, but she did a good job; so there you go.
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