Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard (left) and Mustafa Shakir as Bushmaster (right). Photo courtesy of Netflix.
**This review contains spoilers for “I Get Physical” and events that occurred in Marvel Netflix shows prior**
“I don’t live my life for others’ entertainment.”
After the end of the last episode, I thought more would go down. But really, “I Get Physical” stalled on the fact that Luke Cage got his ass handed to him by Bushmaster. It was a cool sequence that again showed off Bushmaster’s extremely agile talents as he laid Luke on the floor. But that’s all the episode really focused on. It’s good to have Luke rethink his indestructible mindset, but it came at the cost of a fairly uneventful episode.
Most of what Luke did this episode was sulk– not only about his embarrassing defeat, but also about his rough break with Claire. On top of all that, his fandom keeps shoving it all in his face. Luke experienced a couple tough self-revelations: he can still be beaten and he has been his own worst enemy. I just wish we had better balance between him sulking and taking action.
Though Luke’s story didn’t advance much this episode, he did go to investigate the Jamaicans’ hideout with Misty, which in turn led to a trip to Mother’s Touch. This is where Luke met Tilda. I feel like Tilda is aiming to have a bigger role in this season’s storyline, especially when it comes to Bushmaster. But while we are still in the dark on that, the two of them did have a heart-to-heart, and she offered him herbal remedies to help with the beating he took. There is an air of mystery to Tilda, and I’ll be glad if she grows into a role that expands further than just a pawn in her mother’s game.
Theo Rossi as Shades (left) and Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard (right). Photo courtesy of Netflix.
As for Mariah, she’s rich! Her schemes have worked, and she has legit stocks worth millions. Things are about to go downhill for her, even if she doesn’t realize it yet. Shades is warning her that Bushmaster may be trying to weaken them instead of helping them. On top of that, Comanche was revealed to be a mole placed within Mariah’s crew. It’s a nice twist for a character that I’ve found myself questioning what he’s doing on the show in the first place. So giving him a purpose and potentially making room for more character depth, are always good things.
We got more backstory on Bushmaster this week–expanding his motivations beyond simply putting Luke Cage in his place. Apparently, Harlem was founded by his ancestors, even though no one remembers. This was shown fantastically when Bushmaster comes to Harlem’s Paradise, only to taunt Mariah on her own turf. We also learned that there may be two factions of Jamaicans in play—something that would explain the murder in the first episode. This adds some complexity to the turf war, and will make it all the more interesting as things progress.
An embarrassed Luke Cage spent most of this episode sulking about his problems. It doesn’t seem like life is going to get any easier for him, either—I mean, getting served is never a good thing. Tilda became more intriguing as a character as she became entangled with both Luke Cage and this mysterious Nightshade character that Bushmaster seeks.
What did you guys think about the episode? Make sure to leave your thoughts down below! Please be courteous by not talking about any details or spoilers from future episodes. Also make sure to check out our Luke Cage Season 2 HUB to keep up to date on all of our reviews for the new season!
Bonus Notes:
- Looks like Misty is finally getting that new arm!
- The conversation with Bobby at the end was really touching, and quite a nice moment for the character.
- Luke has said “Sweet Christmas” dozens more times than last season. Which is great and all, but can he wear more yellow shirts now?
You can catch Luke Cage Season 2 available now on Netflix.
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