Line #37 Recap/LukeCage2016S2E3WigOut


1	Worried Luke is headed down a dark path, Claire pays a visit to his father. Bushmaster makes a bid for Mariah's guns. Colleen tries to help Misty with her pain.
2	----
3	!! Tropes in this episode include:
4	* AdaptationSpeciesChange: In the comics, Mortimer "Mr. Fish" Norris got mutated into a [[FishPeople humanoid fish]]. In the MCU, he's just a crook.
5	* ArtisticLicensePhysics: If a six-barrelled shotgun blast from "Josh", and a fall from a second story are enough to dislocate Luke's shoulder, then a grenade blast should've broken every bone in his hand. That is, unless the bullets fired from "Josh" were of the Judas variety (which, given this is Cockroach, they probably are), in which case it makes perfect sense that Luke is all right.
6	* AThreesomeIsHot: Bushmaster is introduced waking up after a one-night stand with two women.
7	-->'''Sheldon:''' You want coffee? Blue Mountain?
8	-->'''Bushmaster:''' You not see me just get two cups? ''[They both laugh]'' They keep me energized, y'know?
9	* BadassBoast: Misty probably really needed a drink with a badass woman who was willing to give her shit and take no shit. She definitely needed some two-bit punk to shit on.
10	--> '''Misty:''' You know, that's the second time someone's called me a bitch today, and it's gonna be the last.\
11	'''Morty:''' Bill Norris. Don't remember him?\
12	'''Misty:''' Sorry. I don't look down when I flush.\
13	'''Bar:''' [Fight]
14	* BatterUp: One of the two female Yardies that attack Luke fights with a baseball bat.
15	* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Luke and Claire's argument.
16	** She's absolutely correct that he needs to deal with his past and that his father isn't quite the abusive shitbag he used to be (we've seen the old man still has a lot to work through, though).
17	** Luke is also correct that his emotions are valid and black men have a metric fuckton to deal with, where monster and minstrel are just about the only two options available in the public eye.
18	** In the end, the fact that his rage boils over and becomes terrifyingly physical means that she was quite a bit more right than he was... but Luke needs ''therapy'', not to confront his abuser.
19	* TheCameo: Esperanza Spaulding performs at Mariah's fundraiser. Geoffrey Canada also shakes hands with Mariah.
20	* ChainPain: The first Yardie Bushmaster orders to attack Luke fights with a chain.
21	* CombatPragmatist: Bushmaster at first lets Luke fight his men without getting himself involved while his friend records it, which allows Bushmaster to study Luke's fighting style and prepare countermoves to it. He later opens his fight with Luke by suckerpunching him.
22	* ContrivedCoincidence: A minor one, but Luke heads down to Brooklyn to seek out Nigel at the exact same time that Shades heads down to get the money the Yardies were promising them.
23	* DamnYouMuscleMemory: During the bar brawl, Misty tries to hit a thug with her non-existing right arm.
24	* DecapitationPresentation: When delivering the money that Shades has come to collect, Bushmaster throws in Nigel's severed head with one of the bags.
25	* DomesticAbuse: The argument between Luke and Claire reaches its peak when he loses his temper and pounds a hole in the wall. This is treated exactly as seriously as it should be. Claire is visibly terrified and declares she needs to leave. Luke, who probably witnessed his father doling out violence as a child is visibly deeply ashamed.
26	--> '''Luke:''' Look, you know. You know I would never hurt you. You know that, right?\
27	'''Claire:'''\
28	'''Claire:''' You need to go.
29	* DwindlingParty: With Cockroach in the hospital, and Arturo dead, Mariah is down to only the Yardies as potential buyers, and sends Shades down to collect the cash.
30	* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumour: Bushmaster, twice.
31	** When Shades comes by to get the cash Nigel had promised, Bushmaster hands him a bag containing Nigel's head. When Shades looks up at Bushmaster to demand answers, Bushmaster "explains" that "Nigel had a big head. A big mouth and smart ideas. Him had no vision."
32	** When Luke asks about Nigel, Bushmaster chuckles that he is ''headed'' someplace else.
33	* EqualOpportunityEvil: Bushmaster has a pair of women as part of his Yardies gang.
34	* {{Foreshadowing}}: On walking in on her daughter playing the keyboard, Mariah says, "Those hands are pure Stokes". [[CreepyUncle Not the compliment Tilda probably thinks it is.]]
35	* FridgeLogic: An InUniverse example. Claire and Rev. Lucas both believe that [[Film/Titanic1997 there was plenty of room on that door for both Rose and Jack.]]
36	* HoneyTrap: Mariah has Billie/Stephanie seduce Mark Higgins and got it all on photographs and video so she could blackmail him into approving the sale of Atreus Plastics to Glenn Industries.
37	* LetsYouAndHimFight: Bushmaster has each of his henchmen fight Luke one-on-one with different kinds of weapons, while Sheldon films the whole thing. This is all so Bushmaster can study Luke's fighting style before he goes out to attack Luke in public.
38	* MacheteMayhem: The other female Yardie that attacks Luke fights with a pair of machetes.
39	* MatchCut: As the camera focuses on Bushmaster studying Luke's fight with his men, his face morphs into Mariah's and transitions to Mariah talking to Piranha in her office.
40	* TheMole: Billie/Stephanie is actually a plant by Bushmaster within Harlem's Paradise.
41	* MissedHimByThatMuch: Luke and Shades both head to Brooklyn to seek out Nigel, and both visit Bushmaster's lair, ultimately missing each other by a matter of minutes.
42	* MythologyGag:
43	** Much like in the comics, Colleen uses a tough love approach to get Misty to stop feeling sorry for herself over the loss of her arm.
44	** ''Luke Cage'' rogue Mortimer "Mr. Fish" Norris is the thug who decides to attack Misty as revenge for his brother's incarceration.
45	* PassThePopcorn: Colleen just sits there drinking her beer at the start of Misty's BarBrawl, refusing to help. [[LovelyAngels She does join in eventually]], however.
46	* PercussiveTherapy: Colleen tries two approaches of this with Misty, first in the ring and then by taking her to a bar where they end up in a BarBrawl with "Mr. Fish" and his boys.
47	* RageBreakingPoint: When Claire won't stop bringing up his father, Luke punches a huge hole into her wall, shocking her and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone himself]].
48	* RunningGag: Every time Luke talks to a Jamaican, they bring up the fact that a reporter said Luke was faster than Usain Bolt, very offended. And they act as if Luke himself said it.
49	-->'''Luke:''' I never said I was!
50	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Luke beating Cockroach to a pulp pushes Claire to talk to his father, because she's incredibly worried. During the argument that follows, Luke's anger and violence scares her and she decides to take a break.
51	** OhCrap: Luke can tell he's crossed a line. Claire is visibly terrified. Given his father's behavior in other scenes, it's not unreasonable to conclude that Luke has witnessed domestic violence.
52	* ShoutOut: The ''Bulletin'' front page headline for Arturo Rey's death is "Theatre/DeathOfASalesman".
53	* TapOnTheHead: {{Discussed\|Trope}}. Claire calls out Luke for beating Cockroach so hard that he sustained a concussion and says that Luke should've knocked him out with a simple "tap on the head" instead.
54	* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Luke invokes this as a reason for playing the ScaryBlackMan in order to fight the criminals of Harlem.
55	* WhamShot: More or less literally, since in the last scene, Bushmaster punches Luke so hard that he feels it.

Context Recap / LukeCage2016S2E3WigOut