Luke Cage Season 2, Episode 6: “The Basement” Review

Mustafa Shakir as Bushmaster. Photo taken via screenshot of the official Luke Cage season two trailer.

**This review contains spoilers for “The Basement” and events that occurred in Marvel Netflix shows prior**

“You must find peace in your heart.”

This was a jam—and action—packed episode as Luke went into hiding protecting Piranha, his new-found employer. We learned that Luke had to protect him at all cost– not just because of the money, but because Piranha is the key to everything. Whoever controls Piranha, controls Mariah and her entire operation.

With this protection, came plenty of action sequences. The show really has stepped up since last season, and it was fantastic watching Luke rip apart the Jamaicans as they almost kidnapped Piranha twice. The second kidnap escape was particularly stunning on a visual level. Luke ripping through the wall as red light burst out with him was almost scary, as he grabbed the thugs and threw them aside.

We finally got the fight we’ve been waiting for. The true first fight between Luke and Bushmaster did not disappoint. Bushmaster’s fighting style is extremely impressive, and a blast to watch as he goes against Cage. Mustafa Shakir really is doing a great job as Bushmaster; his presence and bravado are impressive. It felt like two true power houses standing across from each other, as they gave their final speeches. It’s a shame Luke didn’t see that powder trick coming, as he’s now paralyzed and drowning.  Clearly he isn’t going to die; nonetheless, I am super curious as to how he is going to get out of it.

Mustafa Shakir as Bushmaster (left) and Mike Colter as Luke Cage (right). Photo courtesy of Netflix.

A really interesting aspect of this episode was the additional background we got on the Jamaicans. Anansi was angry with Bushmaster. He felt that Bushmaster’s terrorization of Mariah and Harlem was undignified, cruel, and unnecessary. Anansi is afraid of how Bushmaster is making the rest of the Jamaicans look, thanks to his crusade. But for Bushmaster, simply killing Mariah outright isn’t enough. His vendetta is so personal, he doesn’t even seem to care about how it may backfire on his people and his family. It would appear that we can expect conflicts to start to arise within the Jamaican clan against Bushmaster and his brutal actions.

This episode, Mariah started her downward slide The cops are on her ass; her daughter is ghosting her (boy do I hope she still has a role to play); and Bushmaster has ruined her image. On top of all of that, the cops unintentionally tipped her off that there may be a mole under her umbrella. Mariah may want to get out of the game, but something tells me by the end of the season she is going to be drawn even deeper into it.

We got a surprising amount of new background on Shades and his right hand man, Comanche. Their connection is closer than we were led to believe, as the two of them had a relationship of sorts in prison. It’s an interesting tidbit that explains why they are so close, and why Comanche is so adamant about protecting Shades as he snitches on Mariah as the mole. I wouldn’t be surprised if Comanche’s objective is to get Mariah behind bars so that Shades can fill that role.

Mike Colter as Luke Cage (left), and Mustafa Shakir as Bushmaster (right). Photo taken via screenshot of the official Luke Cage season two trailer.

Misty continued to struggle with how to go about fighting crime. What she is willing to do to save people is constantly being called into question, especially after her repeated failures to defend Dontrell’s family. Misty doesn’t want to become Scarfe, but she knows that doing it the proper way hasn’t worked for her either. So she made the move that I predicted a few reviews back, and one that feels incredibly natural with where her character is now. She left the precinct. No longer on the force, it would seem her crime fighting days will now be in the same vein as Luke Cage.

A dense episode advanced the plot significantly and fleshed out the motivations of our key players. We got some really great action sequences, including one that led to Luke being bested by Bushmaster. I guess he probably should have called Danny.

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:

• The Netflix shows seem to like to do similar storylines at roughly the same point in the season for some reason.
• It was nice to see Luke make a small step towards putting resentment aside and reconnecting with his father.

You can catch Luke Cage Season 2 available now on Netflix.