In this era of “Too Much Television” it is hard to make too
much out of the cancellation of a TV series.
No matter how good or how unique a series may be (after any TV show gets
filtered through network notes, censorship limits, and budgetary limitations),
there will always be another show coming along.
Between broadcast networks, basic cable, premium cable, streaming
services, and so on, it’s almost impossible for any television show to offer a
form of entertainment so individual that its passing makes an impact on the
universe.
Still, the news that Luke Cage was cancelled after season 2
makes me a little sad. It had a
perspective unlike pretty much any other show other than Black Lightning,
another show that dealt with issues of humanity in general and the
African-America experience in America specifically through the prism of the
superhero genre. Here was a superhero as
physically imposing as anyone imaginable, but he often agonized over how he
used force. Despite all the machinations about control of Harlem and the drug
trade therein, the show had an acute sense of humor. Luke Cage generally avoided slipping into
clichés when creating characters, giving the bad guys multiple dimensions and
conflicted motivations.
The show was about an ex-cop/ex-con who was subjected to
medical experiments in prison that rendered him invulnerable to bullets, explosions,
or any other implement, as well as giving him super-strength. Instead of running around in some lame
costume with a mask, he openly performed acts of superhero-dom (sometimes with footage
going viral) while trying to be a role model for the African-American community
in Harlem.
The series lead, Mike Colter, had the physical heft to make
Luke Cage imposing, as well as a genial, “aw shucks” persona that made the
character more human than other superhero types. He had a nice chemistry with Rosario Dawson’s
Claire Temple, the character that crossed over between the Netflix Marvel shows
and provided some cohesive quality. In
fact, Colter also had chemistry with Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) when his
character was introduced in that series, as well as Detective Misty Knight
(Simone Missick) at the start of the eponymous series. If Peter Parker knew how much action Luke
Cage got, maybe he’d re-think the costume.
The odd thing about Luke Cage was that the show made the
same mistake in each of its two seasons.
In season one, Luke’s primary antagonist was Cornell “Cottonmouth”
Stokes, the head of the criminal underworld in Harlem. As played by future Oscar winner Mahershala
Ali, Cottonmouth was a smart, calculating, charismatic rival who posed a real
threat to Luke’s physical prowess. But
then (spoiler!) half-way through the season he is dispatched and replaced by
his sister, Mariah, played by Alfre Woodard.
Woodard is a great actress, but her character was never smart enough to
pose a real threat to Luke Cage.
In season two Luke faced another worthy opponent, a Jamaican
named “Bushmaster” who used special Jamaican pharmacology to give him enough
strength to match Luke Cage in a one-on-one fight, although his main beef was
with Woodard’s character. Luke spent the
season alternating between battling Mariah’s efforts at consolidating power in
Harlem and protecting her from Bushmaster.
I believe at one point Luke Cage says he should just let Bushmaster kill
her just before he saved her life yet again.
As with season one, the worthy rival petered out mid-way through the
season and at the end he is battling Mariah.
It’s frustrating when a series creates a number of
characters who you like spending time with, then has them do stupid
things. Luke Cage was great at character
building, not so great at understanding what characters wanted and what they
would do to get it. The show often got
lost in its own convoluted plotting, which is maybe why the character of Luke
Cage came across better when he was in the Jessica Jones series, or in the
crossover series The Defenders.
Season two of Luke Cage ended on an interesting note, with
Mariah willing ownership of her nightclub to Luke Cage (presumably to ensnare
him in the underworld activity necessary to keep the place afloat), while Luke
rebuffed the attempt of Claire to renew their relationship after being apart
for most of the season (I don’t know if this was scripted or due to Dawson’s
unavailability, but it definitely hampered the second half of the season). Given that Claire’s role was often that of an
angel perched on Luke’s shoulder urging him to do the right thing, the
situation was set up for Luke Cage to go down a dark path.
But there will be no season three of Luke Cage. I hope the character will appear in more
crossover events like The Defenders, which (while somewhat erratic) was greater
than the sum of its parts. With Iron
Fist and Luke Cage cancelled, Netflix has only 50% of its Marvel properties
on-going. I haven’t gotten through
Daredevil season 3 yet, but early reviews are promising; on the other hand, I
felt Jessica Jones season two was a significant let down. Will Marvel maintain its Master of the
Universe status with two of its four Netflix series cancelled and after the
resolution of the Infinity Wars motion picture?
Only time will tell.
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