'Luke Cage' Recap: 'Now You're Mine'

10/28/2016

Written by Scott Edwards

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

Showing up at Harlem’s Paradise and seeing Misty Knight making her way up to arrest Diamondback, Luke Cage knows that he needs to protect her, but when shots are fired, all attention is directed to her. Seeing that Misty has been shot, Luke is forced to run amuck through the club to get her to safety. Being pinned down behind the bar, Luke tries to think of a way to escape, but not for himself since he can take on the former Cottonmouth gang, but for Misty who is not bullet proof and is starting to lose plenty of blood. Seeing Claire in the distance, Luke gets an idea as only he can and is ready to wait out the standoff until he is able to get help.

Not overly surprised to see his brother looking to take him out, Willis Stryker is trying to figure out the perfect way to spin the story that Luke Cage is in charge of the new hostage situation. Assuming Luke’s role, Willis holds the hostages downstairs and brings his new friend Councilman Boone upstairs to talk to the police. With demands being made, Willis knows that Mariah will be able to get the approval for his weapons to be purchased to take Cage out and it is only a matter of time before she makes that happen. With Shades not giving him the answers that he wants, Willis puts the situation all on his own shoulders and needs to draw Cage out before the cops get in, and threatening to kill a hostage every ten minutes should do the trick.

Helping Luke get out of harm’s way for a moment, Claire makes her way toward all of the other hostages and sees that a young woman is in pain. Being able to treat young Candace’s injuries, Claire finds out that she is the one responsible for everyone suddenly trying to kill her friend. Telling Claire that she lied about seeing Luke kill Cottonmouth and that she was paid off by Mariah, Claire needs to find a way to get the information to the right people and get Luke out of the basement. Knowing that time is short for the hostages, Claire is able to make her way down to find Cage, but she does not know what she is in for when she heads downstairs.

Outside of Harlem’s Paradise, Inspector Ridley is trying to control the situation, but there are many people keeping her from doing so. With the trigger happy officers ready to break into the club to try and kill Luke Cage on the spot, she has to keep them under control until she is able to find out what is really happening. Not being able to reach Misty Knight, Ridley is forced to go by hearsay and when Assistant District Attorney Tower shows up, she knows that there is no time to waste. Getting word that Mariah Dillard and the Mayor are in talks about using more powerful weapons that could take Cage out, Ridley wants to avoid the bloodbath and when hearing that the freed hostages are not blaming Cage for the situation, everyone may have the story wrong. Wanting to keep everything under lock and key, Councilman Boone is delivered to the front door of the club dead and now there is no chance that she can keep her officers from doing what they are trained to do.

Knowing the layout of the club, Luke is able to hide himself and Misty in a hidden cellar from the prohibition days. With nobody being the wiser, the two will be safe for some time, but when Luke sees that Misty’s arm is bleeding more than it should, that time will be limited. Needing to find a way out of the basement to save her life, Luke is surprised that Claire has found them and is ready to work. Trying to keep everything quiet, Luke is tormented by the voice of his half-brother Willis and must come back up to the fight or more innocent people will die because of him. Hearing the punch that killed Councilman Boone, Luke turns it on into high gear and gets the hostages out of the club before Diamondback can stop him, but little does he know that his psycho brother has one hostage left and a choice for the re-engaged Power Man to make.

Did I say this last time, every episode is better than the last and I am starting to think that I have no idea what is about to happen next. While this does make me feel a bit helpless, it also makes me enjoy this show so much more. I must admit that I really liked Willis ‘Diamondback’ Stryker in this episode as we finally understand his hatred for his half-brother and none of it was told in a flashback! Thank you writers, that was a dream come true! Misty has everything figured out about Luke or Carl or whatever his name is, but has little power to accomplish anything with that knowledge as she is gushing out blood like nobody’s business. Claire is able to save Misty’s arm and shows that she is more than a nurse, she is a kick ass nurse that nobody should ever get in the way of. Luke is now faced with another foe as the police have gotten their hands on the Judas ammo and are not afraid to use it. It will be interesting to see what comes of this, especially since Misty is preaching to Ridley that he is innocent, but the Inspector does not seem to be listening for the time being. No music at Harlem’s Paradise this time as it has been shot up, damn, I was really hoping for another classic song.

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