Sophomore Slump? Why I'm Worried about Luke Cage's Second Season.

Photo Credit: Netflix

Sophomore slumps happen. As a matter of fact, they’re almost guaranteed in the television and movie industry. Some movies or shows should only have standalone chapters, and others suffer from lack of direction beyond the initial outing. One of example of something being better as a one-off is “Jaws”. The original film was a fantastic horror movie that didn’t need a follow-up, yet got too many of them. There are 3 sequels to the original that nobody asked for or wanted. Seriously, how many people do you know someone that would even recommend any of the other three? How many of you even KNEW the other three existed before you read this?!

An example of a sophomore effort that is a victim of its creator not having anything left in the tank after a stellar start is season 2 of “Heroes”. MAAAAAAN this one hurts. The first season of “Heroes” is a freakin’ masterpiece. The show was the best effort at making an X-men tv show without being an X-men tv show EVER. The story, characters, and action were all top-notch and the finale is nothing short of amazing. I always tell people to only watch the first season, because it goes from sugar to s**t in no time, fam. The second season shows, to me, that the creator and showrunners did NOT expect a renewal. There’s no way the story that plays out over the course of the second season was a part of the original plan. I know you may want to check it out now that I’m roasting it, but please don’t. JUST. DON’T.
Boy, the digression was real, huh?

*Spoilers Ahead for Season 1 of Luke Cage*

So this all brings me to Luke Cage: Season 2. The original trailer dropped not long ago, and it looks good. I’m actually looking forward to watching, but I can’t help but to worry for several reasons that all kind of tie back to the same character: Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes. Cottonmouth is definitely a top 5 Marvel Cinematic Universe villain and his death at about the halfway point of the first season of “Luke Cage” HURT EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY!!! Up until that point, Mahershala Ali was putting on an acting clinic as the villain who had a surprisingly tragic past. Cottonmouth had the proverbial “sauce” that no other character in the show was capable of. He made every other actor who shared a scene with him elevate their game, and when he left the show dropped off significantly. With that being said, here are the things that have me worried about season 2:

1. Luke Cage is not portrayed in a way that makes him interesting, and it’s partly because of Mike Colter- I get it.  He has the look.  Anybody can see that.  However, he does not have the most important thing that you need to be an effective Luke Cage.  He doesn’t have the swagger.  Luke is the kind of guy that fits the phrase “women want to be with him, and men want to be him.”  Luke has plenty of cool quotes and jokes throughout the comics and it takes a certain “IT” factor to pull the kind of character he is off.  Colter just doesn’t have it.  Some of his delivery falls flat.  As a matter of fact, the only thing he really gets right to me is when he offers sex in the form of coffee.  That’s not good enough.
   
2. Mariah Dillard was trash, bruh- I love Alfre Woodard but I hate this damn character.  The fact that she’s the one who mistakenly killed Cottonmouth only drives that hate home more.  The writers should’ve written her character to be more crafty and/or sinister than what they went with.  We’re supposed to accept that she doesn’t mind criminal activity, but does not want to be directly responsible for criminal acts.  It’s a good premise, but it gets fast-tracked after the death of Cottonmouth.  The story needed at least another season to breathe and give more time for the audience to really see and digest Mariah turning full heel.  At worst, they should’ve had her turn on Cottonmouth and send him to prison instead, but killing him altogether was just a bad choice.
3. It is no way in hell acceptable that Diamondback was allowed to live- I really like the Diamondback character, but the fact that he got to live (and, apparently get super powers) over Cottonmouth is some straight up, DC Movie Universe style bulls**t!!!  Diamondback was a savage and having him die would’ve given season 1 a solid resolution while allowing Cottonmouth to become the new top crime boss in Harlem.  Additionally, we never really get to see Erik Harvey and Mahershala Ali face off on screen and that was a horribly missed opportunity.  Cottonmouth spends some of his time on Earth fearing having to deal with Diamondback, who is clearly above him on the crime boss food chain.  They should’ve had both characters interact and maybe even have the season end with them starting a war over Harlem.  We would’ve had two interesting characters and a story in season 2 that writes itself.
   

I just don’t know if season 2 can produce a story interesting enough to keep me locked in for another season. I was barely engaged in the second half of the season after Cottonmouth died.  As much as I liked Diamondback, he just didn’t have the same “sauce” that his predecessor did. It was something that we pointed out in our review (Episode 22: WTH is Going On) and each time we’ve revisited the show since it became more apparent that Cottonmouth flat out should not have died.  I don’t give a damn about any other obligations Mr. Ali had, Dr. Ian Malcolm told me that life finds a way.  DAMMIT Marvel, Netflix, or whomever is in charge there should’ve found a WAY!!!

*Sigh*

Luke Cage: Season 2 is going to attempt to cultivate faith and good will in us when it releases on June 22, 2018. Keep listening to the NJL podcast for updates and a reviews on Luke Cage and other shows and movies you may or may not care about.

J2
From Jackson, MS, and is mostly proud of that. Trash will not be tolerated no matter how old it is. Legend has it that he once was in the running to play Panthro in a "Thundercats" adaptation.  There was a nude scene and all, but ultimately the project was scrapped.