Now Luke's fully trying to stay under the radar and not cause any trouble, working two jobs under the table and barely able to pay his rent. It's through his small, quiet life that viewers are introduced to the bigger threats unfolding, though at least in the first episode the viewer is far more aware of them than Luke is. As much as Luke's relationship with Jessica Jones was a key part of her series, his own show is far more focused on exploring his relationship with his late wife Reva, his time in prison and the experiments that left him bulletproof.Mahershala Ali's Cornell Stokes -- aka Cottonmouth -- is the most intriguing new character from the start. He's a man who views himself as the king of Harlem. There's little subtlety establishing that: Stokes has a massive portrait of Biggie Smalls hanging in his office, crown on his head. One of the best scenes in the first episode has Stokes standing in front of it so it appears as though he's wearing the crown -- again, not subtle, but still effective.
For all his control of the Harlem drug trade and claws in the government thanks to his cousin, Councilwoman Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard), it's established pretty early on that several threats could topple the castle Stokes has built for himself. The mysterious Diamondback is exerting his presence through the muscle of Shades (Sons of Anarchy's Theo Rossi), a former convict who shares a history with Luke from his time in prison, which is one of the biggest hints of the conflict to come. Meanwhile, police detective Misty Knight (Simone Missick) is seemingly working to try to figure out what illegal things Cottonmouth is up to.The casting in Luke Cage is fantastic, from Ali to Woodard (who, it should be reminded, is playing a different character than her role in Captain America: Civil War) to Rossi to Missick. The plotting of the premiere is fairly slow, taking its time to settle into the drama in Harlem. It's a staple of Netflix's brand of drama to have a slow burn introduction, but both Jessica Jones and Daredevil had better hooks in their first episodes than this does.
There's a good amount of promise here, and Coker imbues Luke Cage with a very different feel than Daredevil or Jessica Jones. The premiere focuses on laying groundwork for the conflict and setting up Luke's eventual decision to become a superhero instead of just an on-the-run vigilante. Beyond references to the "Incident" and more than one notable MCU businessman, Luke Cage begins by avoiding its title character's superhero identity as he tries to stay off the radar. But by the end of the episode, the path he has to become a hero (for hire?) begins to reveal itself.
