This episode picks up where the last one left off, with Luke hanging around after beating Cockroach up something fierce. You have to figure that was awkward for all parties. His family is still cowering in the corner and he's just sitting there. Yeah, he's waiting for Claire so she can administer some first aid, but they don't know that. Having Misty come in to effectively let Luke off the hook probably didn't help matters. She does get flack for it later, but again, they don't know that.
Claire, on the other hand, is still concerned. To the episode's credit, it isn't quite as blunt force as its predecessor was, it just continues the plot thread. There is still tension between the two and it culminates in one of the episode's final scenes where the two hash it out. It's an appropriately intense scene, and the two actors do pretty solid work, but there are script elements that undercut it. Luke tying his whole hero endeavor to his manhood comes out of left field. It's never been an issue with him before and it, frankly, makes no sense that he's bringing it up to the extent that he is. In any event, the two seem to have parted ways, as Luke's anger issues are clearly becoming more apparent.
On other fronts, we do see Mariah using blackmail to help set herself up for her upcoming "retirement". It is very much akin to something you'd see on "Melrose Place" but it worked. She is also bonding more with her daughter. It's nice to see the two coming closer, though Shades is still not on board with the whole arrangement.
He does note that he's being reduced to errand boy when Mariah tells him to go get the money from the last viable buyer. Oddly enough, him bringing up manhood would have made more sense than Luke's did. Considering Mariah just tells him to shut up and do it, it's probably a moot point.
This does allow Shades to meet Bushmaster face to face. It's a pretty memorable scene. Of course, having the latter hand the prior a duffel bag full of money with a decapitated head in it would leave an impression. Credit to Shades, though, he doesn't flinch. I thought he'd be unnerved, but a later scene shows that he's happy to see the deal going through.
In a similar fashion, Luke also meets Bushmaster. He's trying to stop the deal from going through and tries to exert some pressure. Up until this point, it didn't seem like the two had any real conflict. Even one of Bushmaster's men points out that they have a common enemy in Mariah. But, Bushmaster is still a criminal seeking to grab power, so that puts the two at odds. Bushmaster does propose an alliance to take her down together, but he could have been joking. Luke doesn't bite anyway so it looks like we'll have a three way face off this season.
Misty's part of the plot had the most meat to it. She's still grappling with the loss of her arm, which she equates to a part of her identity and soul. Unlike Luke's manliness thing, this actually makes sense. She did lose a literal piece of herself, but she also invokes her playing basketball and being right handed when lamenting what she'd lost and how she's struggling to adapt.
Luckily, Colleen pops by to help. The two do play well off each other and it is a nice way to show the linked nature of the shows in a more subtle way. I know Danny's going to pop in later, but for now, it was like a little mini-crossover.
All in all, this episode was decent. It had a good bit of humor, and there was enough action to keep things going. Almost all of the characters saw some progression and it ends in such a way that you want to tune in to see what happens next. It did feel like there was some padding here and there. The script also needed some work, but not a bad entry by any stretch.
Random musings
- Even if Luke was faster than Usain Bolt, doesn't his status as a metahuman render that comparison invalid? If anything, the comparison is complimentary to the runner as he would (I presume) hold his own and come in a close second in a race
- Colleen is given grief for wanting to go to a library if she had a million dollars. Perhaps a better option would be to buy a ton of books and put a library in her house. Assuming she doesn't want to just fund a local library, that's also an option.
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