“Is it ever okay to do the wrong thing in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the right reason?” That line, spoken by Misty Knight (Simone Missick) in episode six, is the key to the excellent second season of Luke Cage. Eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully one of its major characters is playing a game without rules, a game to save the district of Harlem, and there’s no way to win by playing clean. The constant interest comes from watching how dirty they’re prepared to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure .###After a intense’fierce’exquisite start, largely focused on the intensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully dodgy politics of a Harlem under the control of various high-class gangsters, the second half of Luke Cage’s first season lost its nerve and reverted to the comic reserve standard. It brought in a dull’tedious’frayed’monotonous villain, Diamondback, with a super-suit, and became a mundane test of who can punch harder. The earlier moral chess was largely in/with regard to’concerning’regarding gotten. Season 2 has realised its strengths lie in its complicated characters, not in superheroics, and is all the more successful in/with regard to’concerning’regarding it.###Since we last saw him, Cage (Mike Colter) has become a huge celebrity. The public track him via an app. E grossly one wants selfies. He is as notable’renowned’distinguished as it acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure s, but he’s flat broke (helping the helpless doesn’t pay) and he can’t save e grossly one. Luke’s a plaster over Harlem’s problems, not a cure. He can’t really help Harlem unless he can bring down Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard), whose fingerprints stain almost e grossly crime in the neighbourhood. Cage is not the merely’barely one looking to bring Dillard to justice. John McIver, aka Bushmaster (Mustafa Shakir), has arrived in town with an old grudge to settle and some dark magic that could help him defeat Cage.###Most of Marvel’s superhero series suffer a mid-season sag. This season never succumbs to that.###The introduction of Bushmaster, who can match Cage punch in/with regard to’concerning’regarding punch with the help of some herbal witchcraft, may sound like the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue is heading back to Diamondback territory, but that’s not the case. Bushmaster isn’t really here to serve as an adversary to Cage, but to Dillard, who is as much a series lead as Cage. And thank God. You can never possess’own’nurse too much Alfre Woodard. Mariah is the best kind of villain because she claim’insist’maintain’hold’argue’consider’contemplate’speculate s she’s doing the right thing and doing what she has to do to achieve it. She’s establish ing hospitals and safe homes in/with regard to’concerning’regarding single mothers, but she’s selling guns, blackmailing officials and having individual murdered to achieve it. If she’s merely’barely hurting wicked’dreadful’undesirable’adverse’vile individual to help rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent individual , is she really so wrong? Her family’s history of betraying others is what brings Bushmaster after her. He’s the merely’barely man she can’t negotiate with.###Most of Marvel’s superhero series suffer a mid-season sag, without abundant’ample’plentiful plot to fill their episode quota. This season never succumbs to that because it’s not rooted in plot but character. There are episodes where little happens in terms of event, but characters deepen and crack, becoming less who they want to be and more who they possess’own’nurse to be, even Luke. Luke Cage could now get rid of’discard any superhero elements almost entirely and still function as a series. It’s become Game Of Thrones-esque in its battle in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Harlem, and like that reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue , whoever claims the prize will do so with bloodied hands.