MARVEL'S Luke CAGE, episode 2,CODE OF THE STREETS puts Cage back in the soup-- a place he'd tried so hard to avoid. Enquiring about Chico's whereabouts, Cottonmouth visits Pop. Pop, calling in an old favor, asks Cage to track down Chico for his protection. Chico refuses, but eventually relents, and surprises them at the barber shop. Unfortunately, there's witnesses.
As Detectives Rafael Scarfe (Frank Whaley) and Knight continue their investigation leading them to Pop, and Cage. Pop doesn't tell them anything, but after they leave, Pop asks Cage meet with Cottonmouth who agrees to parley with Pop given their close history.
Tone (Warner Miller), who gets a tip about Chico's location, shoots the up shop to hell shop in an effort to kill Chico. Cage protects one of the young kids , but Pop is killed and Chico is badly injured. Cottonmouth,who respects Pop and did not sanction the shooting, throws him off a roof. Cage, distraught about the loss of Pop, decides he can no longer sit on the side lines.
This episode, to me, seems like it'll set the tone for the rest of the series. It's dark and gritty. At times, though, it still "on the nose" where some of the dialogue is concerned. Cage is now aware of of Knight's true profession. They had a one night stand in episode one, and she lied to him.
Cage is basically just a good guy trying to do right by the people he cares about, but that can be difficult when you're living in a tough neighborhood.
I really like the fact that Cage is just an ordinary guy endowed with powers, but wants nothing more than to be an ordinary guy. He not going to put on a pair of tights any time soon. Now that Pop is dead, he's out for vengeance, so the quiet life he desperately craved is a fleeting memory. I can only imagine that as the series goes on, things will get, not only more complicated for him, but worse.
I really liked the episode. Despite some minor predictability with the plot, I'm eager to see how the series plays out.
