Luke Cage 2.03 “Wig Out”

This review contains spoilers for this episode! Please avoid leaving spoilers for future episodes in the comments section below when discussing this season.

Wig Out puts Luke and Misty at the forefront, giving both characters tests that continue to shape their nature, both in their personal lives and at home. The season so far has been remarkably consistent in its execution, gradually providing the familiar slow-burn approach that keeps the series entertaining throughout. One of my favourite sequences of the season so far focused on both Colleen Wing and Misty Knight simply talking about what they’d do if they had a million dollars in a bar – Misty would buy a car while Colleen would go to the British library, which is second only to the Library of Congress. It’s a simple scene yet it tells you everything about both characters, and it’s great to see more of Colleen after being introduced to her in Defenders. She’s quickly become one of my favourite characters from the Netflix corner of the Marvel Universe so far.

Misty learning how to cope without her arm was interesting. The brawl at the bar where the two friends showcase their skills against a couple of low-ranked criminals out for revenge was exciting, especially seeing Misty’s struggles and how she hasn’t entirely forgotten that her arm is no longer there, lashing out with where it should be.



One of the more devastating sequences of the season came with the eventual breakdown in the Luke and Claire relationship that was kind of sad to see coming, especially given how well these two characters have worked together in the past. Rosario Dawson is the best actress that Netflix Marvel has to offer, and she does her hardest to sell this ultimately contrived moment that feels like it was thrown in to create some romantic tension between the two characters. The normal calm and collective Luke doesn’t back down, and as a result, it kind of puts a damper on the show. I understand that given Rosario Dawson might be leaving Netflix Marvel, but surely, they couldn’t have come up with a better way to handle it than this?

Bushmaster continues to make some waves in this episode. His conflict with Mariah is interesting, quickly calling her “Stokes” against her wishes, but it doesn’t prevent him from dealing with her. It’s interesting to see Mariah at the fundraiser too, with her experiencing family drama of her own, using her daughter as a political pawn in an attempt to gain the legitimacy that she craves. Tilda has seen that Mariah isn’t getting out of that life anytime soon, and although she doesn’t turn her back on her mother completely, both characters aren’t exactly on the same page anymore. It’ll be a long time before they find themselves reunited. It seems at this point, the only relationship that isn’t falling apart in Harlem these days is Colleen Wing and Misty Knight! It’s a shame that the Colleen scenes only appear to be an extended cameo for her, as she would have made an excellent addition to the supporting cast for this series.

Bushmaster has been testing, prodding and poking Luke Cage in an effort to see what works and what doesn’t against him and that action sequence where he has his goons test him with a variety of different weapons was a very cool scene, with Luke shrugging them off one by one, and thankfully, Marc Jobst knows how to direct an entertaining action sequence, building on Matt Owens’ script. By the end of the episode, we’re left on a tantalising cliffhanger that has Luke on the ropes against Bushmaster, and by the looks of things, it hasn’t taken long at all for Luke’s cockiness to come back to haunt him. Things have gone south very quickly now for Luke – and it’ll be interesting to see if he has any chance at a recovery.