Luke Cage

I concur.

He got pretty huffy too, when I hit him with a Dude-ism:

9 Likes

The first half of the season is pure magic. Among other tricks, the story makes you forget the fact that no character depicted (except maybe Mariah and Cottonmouth) could ever afford 2016-Harlem rents. Black stereotypes are also a dime a dozen, but whatever, we whiteys wonā€™t complain if you keep churning out fight scenes with Wu-Tang soundtracks.

Unfortunately, the second half is a major letdown, it feels rushed. The big twist is not followed up properly. Black Mariah gets downright schizophrenic and uncharacteristically weak in a lot of scenes. The plot starts going to pot, bringing in a ruthless assassin with a literal magic bullet, who is so incompetent that he repeatedly fails his kills in trivial ways. The last episode is downright embarrassing for a series that started all urban and realistic.

It feels like Marvel had to do a Luke Cage to get to Defenders/Heroes for Hire, started producing it, then thought ā€œfuck it, this will do, letā€™s wrap it upā€. If a S2 happens, I hope they get back to basics and write it properly for the full season.

2 Likes

Some people donā€™t like to think that their tastes are just thatā€“their tastes!

8 Likes

I dropped Jessica Jones because Tennantā€™s character literally made me puke in disgust. For the character and his powers, and what he does with them. Great production, great story, justā€¦ man. Too much for me. As soon as he sends the kid to piss his pants in the closet I was like, nope nope nope.

3 Likes

Kilgrave is over the top evil, but thatā€™s the point, right? Heā€™s meant to be completely narcissistic and dangerous to those around him. The ending sort of makes it all worth while, though.

10 Likes

Did you read the source material?

The Purple Man is one of the most heinous villains that has ever existed in the Marvel Canon.

6 Likes

They did a great job with his character. Thereā€™s a only couple of series where the villain pisses me off so much I find it tricky to watch*. Good heel heat like that is rare.

*Lucifer. I should enjoy Lucifer, but heā€™s just so good at sleazy douche.

4 Likes

Tennant sort of stole the show, didnā€™t he?

Although, honestly, I loved the friendship between Trish and Jessica. That was the best part of the series, the most affirming, I think. When she leans around Kilgrave and tells Trish ā€œI love youā€ that was awesomeā€¦

I just realized there is no correlative to a womanā€™s friendship to ā€œbromance.ā€ Misogyny strikes again? :wink:

10 Likes

Womance?

4 Likes

Hmmmā€¦ Nah. Not working for me.

4 Likes

He was just deliciously evil. Petty, manipulative, amoral, vindictive and just an all-round dick. Proper bad guy. :slight_smile: I gotta re-watch it.

Yeah, the backstory on that was amazing. Like, you donā€™t often get that sort of levels of complexity between two characters in many dramas, let alone a superhero one.

Always figured that ā€œbromanceā€ was a thing invented to deflect criticisms of weakness because a deep friendship shows a suspicious amount of emotional depth. So yep. :slight_smile:

9 Likes

And this is sort of key, even here. Women are expected to be deeply connected, because we are ā€œmore emotionalā€, but in Jessica Jones, itā€™s clear that Jessica has a hard time connecting with others, and when she says I love you to Trish at the end, when sheā€™s about to snap that assholes neck, sheā€™s showing an emotional depth that the character hadnā€™t show throughout the series - but her behavior is much more masculine in the series, right?

5 Likes

Thatā€™s interesting. Iā€™d not really looked at it in quite those terms. Itā€™s a powerful scene right enough, but I hadnā€™t really thought too much about why it was so effective.

Now Iā€™ve really got to go and re-watch it, keeping an eye out for that sort of stuff.

6 Likes

Yeah, this is one of the reasons Jessica Jones is one of my favorite parts of the MCU. There was a fair amount of depth going on. Same with Luke Cage, too.

5 Likes

Agreed on all points.

And that was an absolutely brilliant scene IMO; right down to the subtlety of Jessica leaning ever so slightly around Kilgrave to make eye contract with Trish as she spoke that fateful phrase.

3 Likes

This is when I stopped watching too! Just, yeah. No.

2 Likes

You really might want to give it another try.

His comeuppance is well worth the wait, IMO.

4 Likes

A lot of it wasnā€™t in Harlem, most of the other characters lived around the 150th and Broadway area, both according to street signs and what I saw in the background. Hamilton Heights is still affordable to any of those characters. But even Mariah lived up on the straight section of Convent, which doesnā€™t start until 141st and only runs to 152nd.

This show was a lot more uptown than the traditional borders of ā€œHarlemā€ would indicate, the big fight took place all the way at 175th by the El Malecon sign in the background. Be sure to get the fried plantains.

6 Likes

Nope. Iā€™m just as content hearing about it and calling it a day. I just get squicked out at him doing incredibly horrifying things to people emotionally without their will, I ainā€™t got time to spend 11 hours being very uncomfortable and filled with dread just to watch them get theirs.

I donā€™t need a bad guy so, so, so bad that any revenge fantasy on them can be excused.

2 Likes

5 Likes