‘Luke Cage’ Recap, Season Finale: “You Know My Steeze”

Much like Luke Cage (Mike Colter), who did not get a taste of that robust Cuban coffee, I, too, ended the season finale of Marvel’s Luke Cage feeling unsatisfied. There was no real resolution to a number of the conflicts, only setbacks, making the second half of Luke Cage a letdown.

Cottonmouth’s death was a bold choice and the showrunners never properly managed the fallout from. Diamondback (Erik LaRay Harvey) wasn’t nearly the complex, compelling Big Bad that Cottonmouth was, and Diamondback’s distance from so many of the other characters led us away from the people and locations that so enriched the first half of the series. Diamondback didn’t know Pop, and so he didn’t have any reason to visit the Barbershop (and the only time we ever see him there, he’s destroying it!), and Harlem’s Paradise wasn’t a business his family legacy was tied up in the success of (and wait, he managed to destroy that venue too!).  

Diamondback brought a level of absurdity that was jarring and pretty unbelievable — yes I’m complaining about something being unbelievable in a superhero story! — which made his story arc one to really invest in or take seriously. Take this BIG SHOWDOWN between Luke Cage and Diamondback. The audience knows that Luke is going to come out of it alive, as he’s the story’s protagonist, but the stakes feel especially low. This was a battle over the complexities of a sibling rivalry I was wholly uninterested in, peppered with flashbacks of younger versions of Luke and Diamondback sparring with one another that have come too late in the season for proper character development. We’re meant to understand that Luke has always been the lesser fighter, but’s hard to believe that adult Luke is in any real danger when Diamondback’s advantage comes in the form of a green Hammer Tech suit. It just looks silly. Add in a those incessant Biblical quotes, and weird banter about their terrible dad, and I’m just rolling my eyes more than I’m worried for Luke.

(I know Luke is not a killer, but Diamondback is. Maybe the fight would have meant more if one of the residents gathered around them watching the fight was in imminent danger? )

During all the fighting, Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) and Shades Alvarez (Theo Rossi) escape the Barbershop. Mariah knows that Misty Knight (Simone Missick) will arrest her for her role in Cottonmouth’s death (she confessed within earshot of Misty when trying to parley with Luke Cage at the end of the last episode) and she has lost the files that give her and Shades any leverage on Luke. So Mariah instructs her assistant Alex to send a journalist in to cover the scene.  When the journalist arrives, Mariah is there in front of the cameras to give her spin on the fight. In the midst of her rant about “super freaks” she reveals that Luke Cage is Carl Lucas.

And then, the “battle for the soul of Harlem” as Mariah puts it, ends anti-climactically. Luke lets Diamondback tire himself out — a strategy he learned from Diamondback himself as a teenager— and lands a final blow that sends Diamondback flying. After the dust settles, Misty arrests Mariah in full view of the cameras, and Diamondback is taken to the hospital where he will be under arrest. Claire has left her mother and Candace (stashed there by Misty for her protection) at the house, and arrives on scene to be reunited with Luke. But their reunion isn’t happily ever after, as Misty has to bring Luke in to the precinct for questioning.

Luke’s victory over Diamondback will be the last of the wins for the good guys in this episode, and every single one of Misty’s gloats will prove to be premature. Misty finds her case against Mariah lost, when her interrogation is interrupted by Bailey with news of Candace’s death. Shades, who stole Misty’s phone at the Barbershop during all the commotion, texted Candace to come and meet and executes her as she waits for Misty. With a dead witness who has changed her story in the past and no physical evidence, Misty has to let Mariah go.  Misty loses it, lamenting the failures of the system, angrily telling Inspector Ridley that “this shield ain’t worth the tin it’s printed on!” Misty is a new woman now.

Luke takes a pretty big loss as well.  Luke has defeated Diamondback, cleared his name, declared himself the hero that Harlem needs to a precinct full of police officers who no longer feel threatened by him, and is about to have “coffee” with Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson). Things seem perfect. But suddenly, two marshals arrive at the precinct to take Luke Cage in. Mariah’s revelation to the journalist has drawn attention to Luke’s fugitive status, and he owes the state of Georgia time, even if he is innocent of the crimes he was convicted of before.

In the final montage, Luke is being driven in the back of the marshals’ car through the city. Mariah has reopened Harlem’s Paradise. Claire spots a flyer for self-defense classes and takes the number. Bobby Fish finds the file on Luke Cage in the Barbershop. Mariah replaces Cottonmouth’s painting of Biggie Smalls with that of a two-faced queen. It’s the headquarters of her criminal empire now. She kisses Shades, because every queen needs a king.  Misty is back at Harlem’s Paradise too, only now she is undercover and dressed like the vigilante comic book version of herself. And, in a super twist (!) Dr. Burstein has arrived at Diamondback’s hospital room.

Marvel’s Luke Cage hasn’t ended as well as most of us would have liked, but it was a pleasure to have a show so super black. Everyone needs a hero to look up to, and a bulletproof black one who loves his people and Harlem was perfect for these times. 

[Watch Marvel’s Luke Cage, Episode 13, “You Know My Steeze” on Netflix]

Rae Sanni is a comedian and writer from Brooklyn, NY who has been bringing her unique perspective on everything from pop culture to race and gender relations to audiences all over. Rae co-hosts the monthly stand up comedy show LoudMouth!. You can find Rae on Twitter @Raesanni, where she muses on her love for Rihanna, NBA players, and being a black person.