New Details Revealed About Luke Cage Season Two Villains, “Heroes for Hire” and More
The first issue of Empire‘s Pilot magazine features several juicy sneak peeks of what’s to come on the second season of Marvel’s Luke Cage. The magazine interviews the Netflix series’ showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker, as well as stars Mike Colter and Simone Missick. They discuss season one’s shortcomings, a spinoff and what’s to come in the new season.
Here are the most interesting spoilery scoops:
Bushmaster
This version of the villain is described as “bullet resistant” by Coker and he explains that “It’s not gonna bounce off, but he has his ways of healing. And he has very similar strength to Luke in terms of being able to take a punch and give a punch.”
“Jamaica has always been a country of resistance,” he says, touching on Bushmaster’s Carribean background. “They were the first to cast off their shackles and say, ‘We have our own government, this is how we’re doing things.’ We put a lot of that stuff into the character of Bushmaster.”
Misty Knight
“It’s her shooting hand, it’s her basketball hand, it’s her everything,” Missick says, referring to the character’s newfound disability and the impact it will have on her. “How does this person who is identified by her strength and her power as a cop do that job? She can’t. So we see Misty at the top of the season walking away from the thing that defined her.”
Missick adds: “I’ve got a lot more stunts this season.”
Danny Rand and “Heroes for Hire”
“Danny helps Luke channel his chi,” Coker says, which results “in a fight to end all fights that was just one of the most fun things we’ve done.”
“Me and Finn get along rather well, we’re pretty cool. I think our characters play well off each other,” Colter teased before making it clear that the chances of a Heroes for Hire show is “a question above my pay grade.”
Coker, on the other hand, is a little more positive. “It’s something that’s in the air. Internally at Marvel Television, everybody knows there’s a part of that combination that is inevitable, particularly when you watch them together in the way that we did it. If feels right. It feels good. It feels like, ‘I want to see more of this combination. Heroes for Hire is really not off the table.'”
Season One’s Shortcomings
“The standard conventional wisdom is that the show was great up until episode 7, and then went downhill because Diamondback wasn’t as good a villain as Cottonmouth,” Coker admits. “But as Jeph Loeb, the President of Marvel Television jokes, Mahershala couldn’t have followed Mahershala!”
“It was a great try,” Colter confesses when asked about that first run of episodes. “Some people enjoy the full season. Some really felt the second part was not as strong as the first. And I get both…but you’ve got to take a chance to make your series different, and I thought it was commendable. If people thought it was a miss, that’s fine. We have a different approach for the next season.”
The magazine confirms that Gabrielle Dennis will be playing Nightshade, a character from the comic books who was a biochemist with a strong interest in lycanthropy.
Season 2 of Marvel’s Luke Cage streams June 22 on Netflix.
H/T: ComicBookMovie
REVIEW: The Gifted, Episode 101
One of the most awaited series premieres of this fall is probably The Gifted. Well, the wait is finally over, because last night this new show kicked off with its pilot entitled “eXposed”.
Because this is a show which has history behind it, and also doesn’t at the same time, I think it will gain a big audience real quick. By that I mean that a lot of people know about the X-men, and it has a big fandom, so that will draw attention. But it also doesn’t at the same time, because people don’t really need to have watched those movies to understand the show, and this is of course a plus, because it draws both kinds of people.
Moving on to the story now, this is a little bit classic X-men: 2 teenagers who find out they have the gene, and they drag their family on an escape from people who want them locked away. The only difference is that they don’t have Professor X to protect them. But, of course, that with the X-men gone, there are new mutant protectors: The Mutant Underground Headquarters. This escape requires two very different sides to work together, and that is always nice to watch: a mutant leader and a guy who hunts mutants. Of course, they didn’t trust each other (and they probably won’t for a while), and that is what is greater about it.
Another great thing about it, was the scene in the high school dance. It was really a very intense scene, full of suspense and emotions. I think it makes sense the gifts first reveal in an intense moment of people’s lives, since that is usually when we do things we didn’t know we could (of course that in the daily life it isn’t such unlikely things). It was even greater they added, before all this, that scene in which Andy and Lauren were talking about mutants, and how Andy was a bit racist.
In this pilot, we were able to see some mutants already, and I have to say that I always love seeing people with different abilities work together. It is so amazing how some people/powers complement each other when fighting the bad guys. I think this really is something I will never get tired of watching.
This is still the pilfirst episode, but I can already see a great story unfold. There are really many great possibilities for future episodes/seasons, and, unlike some shows, I think this show will be able to tell a long story, without getting cut off. The story is great, the cast is great, the special effects too. There is really no reason for cancelation here (adding what I already mentioned about the X-men connection).
Also, I think this show can even be something we can connect to our daily life, if we see the mutants as a metaphor to other outcast people in the community, like black people or LGBT members. As long as there is an “us” and a “them”, there will always be trouble and war (maybe not like a world war, but nevertheless a fight between the two sides). And this is exactly what we see in this show: people who see things in sides and that are not able to give in, always seeing themselves as superior and the others as a threat. The thing is that, of course, things always change when it is someone you know, like what happened with Reed. People can say they hate mutants all they want, but this is all up until a certain point. “Things change when it comes to your kid”, as Jace said, and this is really true for everything.
Overall, as I have been saying, this was a great pilot, full of action, suspense, thrill… everything a pilot needs to get people’s attention. The story was set in a good way, and we can hope all this will continue. I am giving this episode an 8.3/10 (I don’t want to raise the bar too high, since this is just the beginning).
Next episode is going to air next Monday, October 9th,and it is entitled “rX”, so don’t miss it.
REVIEW: Stranger Things, Episode 101
I don’t watch that many shows from Netflix, but Stranger Things is definitely my favorite one from this company. This show is that kind of great combination between clichés and something you have never seen before. Even though it is inspired by some of Stephen King’s works, I don’t think Stranger Things’ goal is to terrify us and provides us with sleepless nights, but else to make us want to binge watch all of the episodes as soon as possible, and then hate Netflix for taking so long releasing the following season. And that is exactly what we are doing right now, because it usually takes about a year to release another season, but this time we will have to wait 15 months instead. The good news is that it is almost over (only about one and a half month away), so in the meantime, let’s take a look back into its first season.
For a show that almost wasn’t advertised (I think they only released a poster and a trailer a few days before the show premiered), Stranger Things was a huge success. Younger generations liked it, probably because it has so much suspense, mystery and science-fiction; while older generations also liked it, probably because it reminds them of the good old days, because I hear that the details (wardrobe, scenarios, relationships…) are really well represented, since that is how things were in the 80s, but don’t ask me about this, because I really wouldn’t know.
Some people ask what the point is of making this show take place in the 80s while it could be done in present day, and for that I have a few answers. Firstly, it seems like much more fun to play Dungeons and Dragons like Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas were playing right in the beginning of the episode, than playing it alone (or even with online friends) in your computer or PlayStation. Secondly, I think it is a lot more entertaining to mess with the past than with the present. Some weird and unexplained things have happened many times in the past, and I like it when a show/movie tries to “explain” it. Of course that in the end of the day that is still left unexplained, but it really does make you wonder “What if that is what really happened?” And especially when the movie/show has science-fiction and/or fantasy as a gender, that just makes the world much more magical. Lastly, because I think in the past there isn’t such a sense of safe as there is now. Of course that, like before, people can still be kidnapped, murdered, get lost somewhere… but now we all have phones and that is where the sense of safe comes from. If we get lost in woods, our phones have flashlights and it is just a matter of time before we get signal and call help. In the 80s the only phones they had were in the walls and had to be plugged, so they couldn’t just carry it around. Can you imagine if Will and the others had a cellphone? The story would definitely take some different turns.
But anyway, the pilot of Stranger Things is entitled “Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers” and it is definitely an episode full of mystery and suspense. As the title suggests, the episode was mostly about Will, even though he was only in 2/3 scenes. Unfortunately, most people’s favorite character (including mine) was a bit sidelined, but that didn’t make the episode any less great. I am talking about Eleven, of course.
Because it couldn’t happen in any other way, everyone was worried about Will and so everyone started looking for him. At first people wanted to believe that it was nothing, that he would eventually show up, but, even though that happens 99 times in every 100, that obviously does not apply in this case. But not all hope was lost, and there was an amazing scene close to the end of the episode in which Joyce became convinced that she got a call from Will. This was really an incredible scene where we saw a truly desperate mother who wanted nothing more than being with her son again.
Everyone knows that kids who are good students and who play nerd games in their parent’s basement have to be bullied, and so the 4 (now 3) friends are no different. I really hate bullies and I really hope they find out through the Stranger Kids that it is better to be a Nerd, than being like them. What I liked most about this scene was that they kind of don’t care about the bullies, and just think of them as a normal morning activity.
As I said, I really enjoyed this episode. There was mystery, death, action, girls with powers, confident Nerds, not to mention some funny scenes too in the middle of all this. Stranger Things is really a great show, and this pilot sets up Season 1 in a very good way. I am giving this episode an 8.6/10.
Don’t go anywhere because in episode two the Strangers and the Nerds won’t either, and the title of episode 2 is a proof of that: “Chapter Two: The Weirdo in Maple Street”.
REVIEW: Dead of Summer, Episode 101
When the fall is over all you can do is rely on summer shows to keep yourself entertained. As summer shows come and go, Dead of Summer was a very enjoyable one. It is creepy, sometimes scary, the characters are really well developed, there is a big mystery that ultimately makes sense, and not to mention that it is also very surprising, especially closer to the end. This now being the era of anthologies (at least that is what it looks like because there seems to be a new one at every corner) this show didn’t really add anything special to the world of television. If it had been done a few years earlier it would probably had been more successful and thus it would have been renewed. Dead of Summer was, in my opinion, a show with potential but which was cut down before it had the chance to make an impact, which unfortunately happens a lot. Who knows if this show would have been able to turn into the new American Horror Story?
“Looks can be deceiving” can definitely be this season’s mantra and we kind of start to see that in this first episode, entitled “Patience”. But of course that what is deceiving in this pilot is just a taste of what’s to come, because it isn’t even comparable to some plot twists that we will see throughout these short 10 episodes.
The main plot of the show happens in 1989, when a woman known as Deb decides to reopen a summer camp, Camp Stillwater. Deb was kind of a sideline character in this episode, so let’s move on to the people who weren’t: the counselors. The first one we meet is Amy, who is not just a newbie to Camp Stillwater, but to summer camp in general. Everyone else is in for the ride mostly for some nostalgia of the good old days. She has a bit of a hard time fitting in at first, but by the end of this episode she is a lot more into the camp spirit.
But everyone has secrets, and sweet Amy is no different: in flashbacks we found out that, while trying to sneak out of a party with a friend, Margo, because Amy couldn’t pull her back up nor hold her hand forever, Margo fell to her death. Camp Stillwater knows about this, and so it uses it against her in multiple times. While trying to restore electricity and later while she was just thinking by the lake, multiple creepy hands start reaching out to her. This is what Camp Stillwater does, it finds your most terrifying moment and makes you relive it time and time again.
But Amy was far from the only counselor we met in this episode. We also met: Jessie, who seems to be the camp Bitch; Drew, a boy who turned out to be a girl in the end; Alex, who seems to steal shirts; Cricket, who wants people to think she is way more naughty than she actually is; Blair, who actually doesn’t seem to be hiding much; Joel, who seems to live with a camera in his hand; and Blotter, who seems like the “consequences be damned” kind of guy. Even Deb seems to have some secrets of her own, because people with nothing to hide don’t usually go unbury boxes in the woods during the night. Aside from the camp people, we even got to meet Deputy Sykes, also known as Townie, who really seems to be interested in this new mystery surrounding Camp Stillwater.
Some people may think that it is too soon for bodies to start piling up right in the pilot, but the Dead of Summer writers beg to differ. Aside from a dead deer, Amy found the body of the Gardner of the camp, Dave, when she was swimming in the lake. This took her and Sykes to his cabin where they found lots of creepy pictures of dead people and a map that made the lake look like a beast. Apparently not everyone was OK with them finding it, so they burned down the cabin with Amy and Sykes still inside.
This was, in my opinion, a good pilot. It was full of mystery, some action, some creepiness. What is really interesting about this show is that each episode will focus on a different character, allowing us to see the story through their perspective, to see a glimpse of their past stories, find out how they decided to join Stillwater again and also discover what they are hiding.
Now looking at this episode in an isolate way, I will give it a 7.5/10. I don’t want to aim too high, because, even though this episode was cool, much better ones are coming.
Dead of Summer is just getting started, and so are my reviews. Episode 2 is entitled “Barney Rubble Eyes”, and it will be Alex’s centric, so don’t miss it.
REVIEW: Big Little Lies, Episode 101
Big Little Lies begins with an episode that totally fits its name: “Someone’s Dead”. We found out there is a body but we still have no idea who is dead and if it was or wasn’t a murder (it probably was).
Before I actually start reviewing the episode, let’s take a moment to appreciate the killer cast this show brought together: Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern… And these are just some of the big names. This is definitely one of the reasons this show was successful. Of course the story contributes, but a new show must always catch people’s eye so that they watch it. And a cast like this is totally a big eye catcher. And because of this, of course this show couldn’t possibly be left out of the Emmys. It is nominated for 16 Emmys including both Outstanding lead and supporting actress, Outstanding limited series, Outstanding supporting actor, amongst others.
The episode followed both present and future (or present and past, depending on your point of view) and that is nice to watch because gives it a faster pace. In the flash-forwards we see the police questioning some suspects that knew the people involved in that found raiser and possibly the victim. I was assuming we would find out who died by the end of the pilot, but I guess I was wrong. But at least it is a miniseries, or it would end up like “Pretty Little Liars”. It was a good show, but it was a very long one for the story they had to show and so they repeated the same idea over and over. As a 7 part show, this will probably not happen here. I do love a good mystery and that is what “Big Little Lies” seems to offer.
We see the struggle of 3 moms about to “lose” their children to first grade. Things are definitely changing in their lives and some of them feel uneasy about that. That first day the daughter of Renata Klein, who is Madeline’s “enemy”, had bruises in her neck and she blameed Ziggy for them. It may not seem like much of a dig deal, but according to what we hear in flash-forwards, that was when it all began (or maybe a bit before when Madeline tripped and twisted her ankle, according to another person). The point is that there wasn’t really a big event, a big explosion of anger. Something smaller happened and the butterfly effect managed to do the rest.
There was also something that caught my eye (and my ear) in the episode. We saw Celeste and Perry in the beginning of the episode, and then through the course of it, and they seemed really sweet (maybe too sweet according to a lady in a flash-forward). But of course that things aren’t always butterflies and there is something going on underneath. Celeste told Perry the incident at the school and how Amabella blamed Ziggy for what happened to her and Perry said he didn’t want their kids near him, just to be safe. After Celeste replayed that she was sure she girl was lying or mistaken, Perry got violent and grabbed her. This is to say, if you think that someone’s life is perfect while yours sucks, then stop, because there is no such thing as a perfect life, and when someone makes their life look perfect, that is usually because their life sucks more than yours.
It was also really great to see Madeline’s side of things. Usually in movies or shows someone like her is the bitch mom no one likes, but I am glad this isn’t the case. It was nice seeing her struggle with her daughters and especially that last part when she and Abigail talked. I think Madeline is a bit like Renata and I thought it was weird they didn’t like each other, but maybe the reason for that is because they are so alike.
This was a nice first episode. As I said, I was hoping to find out more in the flash-forwards, but this way is good too because I get to make my theories on who is dead and who killed who. I will give this episode a 7.8/10.
Hope you guys check my next review of episode 102, because there is some “Serious Mothering” coming our way.
REVIEW: Midnight, Texas, Episode 101
I never watched True Blood, but I did hear great things about it, and for it to last 7 years it had to be cool. Since “Midnight Texas” is based on books by the same author (Charlaine Harris) I was hoping I could “atone for” not watching “True Blood” by watching this one. Let’s see how it will turn out.
Right in the first second of the pilot we are introduced to the main character: a psychic named Manfred Bernardo, who can talk to dead people. I thought the first scene was funny in a bit of a dumb way. Apparently Harold didn’t want his wife to move on from him as much as he said he did.
Because of some people that are after him, Manfred moves away. Following his dead grandmother’s advice, he goes to a town in Texas called Midnight. Like usually happens in supernatural shows, this town isn’t like the others. We learn later that it draws supernatural creatures to it. There they can lay low because the barrier between the living and the dead is thinner. But Manfred isn’t very lucky because we learn closer to the end of this episode that whoever is after him knows where he is.
It doesn’t take long for bodies to start piling up. Short after Manfred gets to Midnight he goes on a picnic and finds the body of Bobo’s fiancé (who had been missing for 2 weeks). Like most shows, the police doesn’t take long to start suspecting the new guy. Wanting to find out more about the murder, Manfred contacts Aubrey with an Ouija board and she tells him one word: “Pecados” (which is Portuguese for “sins”). In this scene things go terribly wrong but unfortunately it gets cut by a police officer who shows up in his house.
It also appears that every Midnighter either is a supernatural creature or knows about them. Like always happens on a pilot we are introduced to many characters, and here are the ones I think are the most important (since you can’t really know based only on a pilot): Lemuel, a vampire that not only feeds on blood, but also on emotional energy; Bobo, I am not yet sure if he is human or not; Olivia, this one is said to be human and she is also very experienced with weapons (at least guns and bow and arrow); Joe, a fallen angel; Fiji, a witch that kind of looks powerful (at least in the final scene); Mr. Snuggly, Fiji’s cat, which can talk; Rev. Emilio, who I am also not sure if he is supernatural or not, but who has a pet cemetery, which, for a Stephen King fan, has a weird special tune to it; and Creek, who is human and kind of that cliché character everyone loves to hate because she is so sweet and interested in the main character.
The episode ends with Bobo being arrested for Aubrey’s death and people aren’t too happy about it, especially not Fiji. We also see that Manfred’s house has become a much hunted house, consequences of the interrupted scene.
I didn’t have a lot of expectations for this show and I am happy I didn’t. I found the supernatural part of it a little silly. My first supernatural show was “The Vampire Diaries” and I think supernatural creatures were well made there (maybe because it was my first) and I find all the creatures that are very different from it a bit weird. But this isn’t the only reason. I am going to mostly blame the fact I thought it was weird on the talking cat. Maybe some people found it nice, but not me. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against talking cats, but I think animals that speak are more fit in animated movies and not shows like this, nor live action movies. But maybe I took this show too seriously. If I had been prepared for the fact that there was going to be a talking cat, maybe I would have taken it more lightly. But I know now, and it is better late than never. Now I will be prepared for when it comes back.
I am going to be honest, I felt this was a “meh” episode. Not “meh” as in “meh, who cares”, but more like “Did you like it? Meh, it was OK”. I hope it gets better. I will give it a 6.8/10.
Hope my “meh” didn’t pull you away, because I will keep watching and reviewing it next week with episode 102 ”Bad Moon Rising”.