'Luke Cage' Recap: 'Code of the Streets'

​Written by Scott Edwards

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Things are going to get worse in Harlem before they get better as Luke Cage is starting to find out. With a shooting that he knows that Chico was a part of and now Shameek being found dead in the street, Luke knows it is only a matter of time before he sees Cornell Stokes again. Knowing that he is the only one that is willing to fight for what is right, the shakedown artists that work for Cottonmouth and Councilwoman Dillard have stepped into his world and he will not let them go quietly. After disposing of three of the goons and letting one walk away, Luke finds that helping people is one of the few things that brings him joy in life and it is time to expand on that.

Talking with Pops about the previous night’s activities, Luke has a smile on his face that nobody has seen before. Taking credit for beating up the goons and having coffee with Misty, Luke is a new man, but knows that there is still plenty to do. After a quick visit from Cornell Stokes in the barber shop, Luke is asked to find Chico before the old gangster does to hopefully save the boy’s life. Searching the city as only he can, Luke is able to find the youth, but when Chico refuses to pay for his actions, Luke gives up and passes the information back to Pops. With a couple words of encouragement from Pops, Luke feels like he might be able to save more people than he thought and when Chico comes out of hiding, he knows that this is the case.

Cornell ‘Cottonmouth’ Stokes is on the hunt for Chico as well and after winding up with nothing from Pops, he turns to his enforcers. With a twenty grand bounty on the kid's head, somebody will come talking sooner rather than later, but what he is really after is the money and can care less about the respect. Dealing with his cousin, Councilwoman Dillard, Cornell has his soldiers keeping an eye on her to keep her out of trouble, along with passing out pamphlets for a better Harlem, but that is not enough for her as she needs to get all of the money she took from the donation pot to get his club back up to speed before she is audited. As time is not on either one of their sides, word comes in that Chico has been located and Tone is ready to do his boss proud and be the hero of the night.

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Checking out the crime scene photos, Misty is able to visualize how it all went down leaving several people dead. Thinking that the shooting was personal, not random, she is not ready to point the finger at Chico just yet, but needs to find him before someone else does. Taking to the streets and showing the young bucks that it is her neighborhood as well, Misty finds out that Chico worked for Pops and decides to give him a visit. Not being able to find out anything from the old timer, Misty has to continue the search for the kid, but when she gets called back to the barber shop, she will find out that the lies that were told are more costly than any amount of money.

This is a great episode and it is all due to Pops and his story. Growing up in the neighborhood and being the enforcer that could make anyone bow to his will, Pops ran with a couple of other hoods, one being Cornell. Taking the rap for a gun charge back in the day, Pops knows that Cornell will not do anything to harm him, making his barber shop Switzerland and a safe place for anyone to lay low. Taking long shots on the people he employs, he believes in second chances and even more if that is what is needed. But when Tone comes to his door with machine guns blazing, he sees that his time is up and begs his friend Luke to continue to look forward towards his new path.

A strong second episode of the season and you get to find out a little bit more about Cornell and his cousin Councilwoman Dillard.  Both want to make a name for themselves, Cornell wants to do it with money while Mariah wants to do it with respect. There is no wrong answer when it comes to this, it will come down to who wants it more and is willing to take over. Detective Misty was getting so close to finding out what happened at the junk yard, only to discover that Luke and Pops were lying to her about the whereabouts of Chico. Then there is Tone and Shades who go on the errand to bring the money back to Cornell and wind up killing one of the gangster’s oldest friends. Wanting a parlay does not resonate with everyone but Tone has a one track mind and wants to earn some respect of his own. On to the next one and I am sure that it will have something going on between Luke and Misty since she is baffled as to why Luke was not harmed in the shooting while protecting a child.

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