Five Favorite Episodes of "LUKE CAGE" Season One (2016)

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season One of “LUKE CAGE”, the Marvel Netflix adaptation of the Marvel Comics hero Luke Cage. Created by Cheo Hodari Coker, the series starred Mike Colter as Luke Cage:

FIVE FAVORITE EPISODES OF “LUKE CAGE” SEASON ONE (2016)

1. (1.07) “Manifest” - New York City Councilwoman Mariah Dillard’s political career comes under fire following some violence between her gangster cousin Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes and vigilante Luke Cage. Also, Cottonmouth picks up information from Hernan “Shades” Alvarez, his arms dealer’s liaison, that could put Luke on the run.

2. (1.11) “Now You’re Mine” - In one bold move, a person from Luke’s past and Cottonmouth’s arms supplier, Willis Stryker aka Diamondback, puts Luke on the defensive, NYPD Detective Mercedes “Misty” Knight in dire straits, and Harlem’s safety in jeopardy during a confrontation at the Stokes family’s nightclub, Harlem’s Paradise.

3. (1.02) “Code of the Streets” - Luke is pulled deeper into the fight for his neighborhood in Harlem when, as a favor to his close friend Henry “Pop” Hunter, he tries to help a kid who’s in trouble with Cottonmouth after participating in the theft of the gangster’s money during an arms deal.

4. (1.04) “Step in the Arena” - Following Cottonmouth’s attack on the restaurant/apartment building where Luke lived, the latter recalls his past as former Savannah police officer Carl Lucas and the experiments that he had endured while as a prisoner at the Seagate Prison in Georgia.

5. (1.12) “Soliloquy of Chaos” - Misty digs deeper for the truth regarding Luke and Diamondback’s connection and a recent murder, while Harlem’s power players throw the city into confusion.

"LUKE CAGE" Season One (2016) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "LUKE CAGE", the Marvel Netflix adaptation of the Marvel Comics hero. Created by Cheo Hodari Coker, the series starred Mike Colter as Luke Cage:



"LUKE CAGE" SEASON ONE (2016) Photo Gallery

"LOST" RETROSPECT: (2.14) "One of Them"

"LOST" RETROSPECT: (2.14) "One of Them"

I have a confession to make. There have been certain episodes from "LOST" that I had either ignored when they first aired or paid scant attention to them. In the case of the Season Two episode called (2.14) "One of Them". 

I have a second confession to make. I had never bothered to watch "One of Them" for many years after it first aired. Even after I had purchased the Season Two DVD box set. I cannot explain what led me to ignore the episode for so long. Nor can I explain what led me to finally watch "One of Them" after so many years. But after my recent viewing of it, I now realize that I had wasted a lot of years avoiding it.

"One of Them" is a Sayid Jarrah-centric episode that focused on the character's past as an Iraqi soldier, the origins of his position as an interrogator/torturer and how it related to his time on the island. The episode began with Sayid's encounter with fellow Oceanic 815 survivor, Ana-Lucia Cortez, who informs him that she may have found one of the Others lurking in the jungle. The person in question turned out to be long-time castaway, the French-born Danielle Rousseau. Sayid learns from Danielle that she has captured a stranger in one of her traps. The man claims to be one Henry Gale, who had found himself stranded on the island with his wife, while they were traveling by hot air balloon. Danielle claims that the man is lying and shoots him in the shoulder with her crossbow, when he protests. Sayid takes "Gale" back to the Swan Station to be treated by the survivors' leader, Jack Shephard. While Jack and fellow survivor question the validity of "Gale's" story, Sayid takes matters into his hands by interrogating the stranger inside the station's armory.

The episode's flashback focused on Sayid's experiences as an Iraqi soldier toward the end of the First Gulf War. Sayid and his fellow soldiers are ordered to destroy documents by their commander, Tariq, when they are captured by a platoon of U.S. Army troops led by Sergeant Sam Austen, stepfather of survivor Kate Austen. The Americans are looking for a missing helicopter pilot and believe that Tariq knows the former's location. Sayid is manipulated by an Army intelligence officer named Inman to interrogate Tariq. At first, a loyal Sayid refuses to help Inman. But when the latter presents evidence that the Iraqi officer was responsible for subjecting Sarin gas to an Iraqi village - where some of Sayid's relations lived - Sayid becomes willing to interrogate his commander.

After my latest viewing of "One of Them", I must admit to feeling some regret that I had paid scant attention to it in the past. It is quite good. Let me rephrase my comment. Actually, it is a first-rate episode. I do not consider it to be one of my favorite episodes from Season Two, but I cannot deny that it is excellent. The episode featured another excellent portrayal of Sayid, whom I consider to be one of the series' more complex characters. The flashback gave viewers a peek into how he became a torturer in the first place. More importantly, "One of Them" moved the series' main narrative in a major way with the introduction of an important character - namely "Henry Gale".

As I watched Kevin Inman manipulate Sayid into interrogating his command officer, it occurred to me that one of the consistent aspects of the Iraqi's nature is that he can be manipulated into violating his own moral compass whenever someone he cares about is harmed or threatened. Kevin Inman managed to easily manipulate him into torturing Tariq, after revealing the latter's role in the deaths of some relatives. Also, Sayid's grief over Shannon's death made him willing to torture "Henry Gale" during the interrogation inside the Swan Station. I was also impressed - somewhat - at how cinematographer John S. Bartley and the visual effects team led by Kevin Blank re-created the last days of the First Gulf War in Iraq . . . despite the episode being shot in Hawaii. This episode also featured the continuing deterioration of Jack Shephard and John Locke's relationship, as the latter refused to cooperate with the former regarding the armory and Sayid's torture of "Gale". Although Locke called himself hoping that Sayid would learn the truth from "Gale", his reluctance to cooperate with Jack over the combination to the armory's lock.

But the one aspect of "One of Them" that stood apart for me, were the performances. Naveen Andrews gave an outstanding and intense performance, portraying Sayid during two periods of his life - as the hardened island survivor grieving over his dead lover and the young and wary Iraqi soldier, whose experiences with American soldiers changed his life. Another intense performance came from Mira Furlan, who continued her excellent portrayal of the tough, yet slightly off-kilter castaway, Danielle Rousseau. Both Matthew Fox and Terry O'Quinn were superb as usual as the castaways' two philosophical rivals - Jack Shephard and John Locke. The episode benefited from some first-rate performances from its guest stars - especially Clancy Brown as the quiet, yet ruthless military intelligence officer, Kevin Inman; and Marc Casabani as Sayid's arrogant commanding officer, Tariq. Michelle Rodriguez was not in the episode long enough for me to comment on her performance. But Michael Emerson was. "One of Them" featured his introduction as the elusive and manipulative stranger, "Henry Gale", who tries to convince Sayid and the other castaways that he is one, himself. Emerson's performance proved to be the first of many excellent ones for the series' remaining four-and-a-half seasons.

One would notice that I had not comment on Josh Holloway and Jorge Garcia's performances as castaways James "Sawyer" Ford and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, who were featured in the episode's "B" plot. That is because I was far from impressed with this infantile subplot about Sawyer's determination to seek some island frog that was disturbing his peace. I could assume that the frog's noise represented Sawyer's guilt for the con job he had pulled on his fellow castaways in the previous episode, (2.14) "The Long Con". But honestly? The subplot seemed so irrelevant that I merely dismissed it.

Aside from a nothing "B" plot about Sawyer's search for a frog, I must say that I was more than impressed by the rest of"One of Them". It is a first-rate episode filled with suspense, tension, great characterizations and some excellent performances - especially from Naveen Andrews and Michael Emerson. More importantly, "One of Them" pushed the series' narrative in a major way that I found very satisfying.

"JERICHO" Retrospect: (1.08) "Rogue River"

"JERICHO" Retrospect: (1.08) "Rogue River"

Once in a while, a television series would air an episode that proved to have a wide effect upon its remaining storylines. This certainly seemed to be the case for (1.08) "Rogue River", the Season One episode of the CBS post-apocalypse television series, "JERICHO". 

"Rogue River" was not the first episode to have a major impact upon the storylines for "JERICHO". The  series' first episode, (1.01) "Pilot: The First Seventeen Hours" obviously had an even bigger impact, considering it featured the explosion of a nuclear bomb in nearby Denver and other cities across the county - an event that initiated the series' premise. "Rogue River", on the other hand, could have easily been a solitary episode in which the main premise - acquiring needed medication for gravely ill mayor of Jericho - could have been resolved by the end. Instead, the series' producers and screenwriters Matthew Federman and Stephen Scaia used a minor incident from the episode to echo throughout the remaining Season 1 and most of Season 2.

The end of previous episode, (1.07) "Long Live the Mayor", left off with Mayor Johnston Green's collapse, thanks to an infection that had turned deadly due to the lack of proper medication. His daughter-in-law, Dr. April Green, reveals that the mayor needs a more specialized antibiotic - Cipro - to overcome his infection. Since the medical clinic in Jericho is dangerously depleted of needed drugs, the mayor's sons Jake and Eric Green (April's husband) need to travel to the nearby town of Rogue River and acquire Cipro from that town's larger hospital.

"Rogue River" opened with Jake and Eric driving across the Kansas countryside toward Rogue River in the former's muscle car. The pair spot a woman's body sprawled across the side of the road. Eric wants to check on the woman's condition, but Jake insists upon continuing their journey. He had spotted a second set of tire marks and concluded that the woman had been ambushed and murdered for her money and any supplies. Upon their arrival in Rogue River, the two brothers notice that the entire town had been abandoned. And when they reach the town's hospital, they are fired upon by someone inside. Jake and Eric discover a wounded mercenary from the Ravenwood private security firm named Randy Payton and a doctor named Kenchy Dhuwalia. The two strangers reveal that Ravenwood troops were sent to Rogue River to assist FEMA in evacuating the town's citizens. The difficulty in evacuating the hospital led one Ravenwood to snap and start shooting some of the patients. His actions led to an all out massacre of many other patients. Before the Green brothers can get their hands on the medicine they need, a large group of Ravenwood gunmen led by a man named Goetz arrive to confiscate the hospital's remaining supplies.

The episode featured two subplots. One of them centered around the efforts of the Green women, Emily Sullivan and Heather Linsinski to keep the ailing Johnston alive long enough to receive the Cipron. Their efforts led Heather, a science teacher, to create enough ice from chemicals to keep the fever down in Johnston's body. In "Long Live the Mayor", businessman Gray Anderson had questioned Eric about the town's newcomers. He made good on his threat to learn more about them, when he and new sheriff Jimmy Taylor appear at the Hawkins home to question Rob and his family about their decision to move to Jericho.

Earlier, I had pointed out how some of the plot elements in "Rogue River" end up having a major effect on some of the series' future plotlines. This was especially apparent in Jake and Eric's confrontation with the Ravenwood gunmen and their leader, Goetz. And this is one reason why I view "Rogue River" as one of the series' finest episodes. But it occurred to me that even if the episode had merely been a stand alone, my opinion of it would have remained. "Rogue River" is truly a first-rate episode. Although previous episodes like "Long Live the Mayor" and (1.04) "Four Horsemen" hinted the devastating effects of the nuclear bombs that struck the country, "Rogue River" revealed the full force of those effects with scenes that featured the Green brothers' encounter with a dead woman at the side of the road, and their experiences in Rogue River. Thanks to Federman and Scaia's screenplay, along with Guy Bee's direction, "Rogue River" was filled with enough danger and tension to keep any viewer on his or her toes.

But the Rogue River trip was not the only plot that impressed me. I was also impressed by the storyline that featured Gray Anderson and Jimmy Taylor's interrogation of Robert Hawkins and his family. The interesting thing about this particular subplot is that Gray Anderson, who had no experience as a law officer or politician, seemed smart enough to use interrogation tactics that someone with that particular background would normally use. Gray was no dummy. Unfortunately, he had more than met his match in the mysterious Robert Hawkins and surprisingly, the latter's very intelligent daughter, Allison. Between the two of them, they played Jimmy and especially Gray, like a fiddler. But as the episode proved, playing Gray did not prove to be an easy task. And I must say that for a subplot that featured no epic scenes or action, it was filled with a great deal of tension, drama and a little comedy as well. Very satisfying.

The subplot featuring the effort to keep Johnston Green alive before Jake and Eric's return proved to be solid, but not particularly mind blowing. Well, I did learn one thing from this storyline. Heather Lisinski is a warm, vibrant and intelligent woman . . . who also seemed to possess nerves of Jello. It amazed me at how easily she nearly fell apart in her efforts to create ice to cool down Johnston. It was a good thing that Emily Sullivan managed to put her back on track. And if one might think I am exaggerating about Heather's tendency to lose her cool, she did it again in Season Two.

I could pinpoint the performances that impressed me. But I must be honest, all of the cast members featured in this particular episode did. Skeet Ulrich and Kenneth Mitchell proved they had superb chemistry portraying the two brothers, Jake and Eric Green. I was especially impressed by their scene in which Jake's past and Eric's affair with tavern owner Mary Bailey were discussed. Lennie James continued his superb portrayal of the always fascinating intelligence agent, Robert Hawkins. Michael Gaston also impressed me with his portrayal of Gray Anderson's paranoia. But I was really impressed by Jazz Raycole's spot-on performance as Robert's equally intelligent daughter, Allison. Darby Stanchfield gave a poignant performance in a scene in which her character, April Green, reveal to the unconscious Johnston that she was pregnant. The episode also featured outstanding performances from the three guest stars. Theo Rossi gave an appropriate performance as the frantic and remorseful Ravenwood soldier, Randy Payton. Aasif Mandvi gave the first of several outstanding performances as the talented, but alcoholic surgeon, Dr. Kenchy Duwhalia. And D.B. Sweeney proved he could a subtle, yet menacing villain as the leader of the Ravenwood gunmen, Goetz. In fact, Sweeney would eventually return and solidify his position as one of the best villains I have seen on television, hands down.

What can I say about "Rogue River"? Unless I am mistaken, it is considered to be one of the best episodes that aired on "JERICHO". The episode literally vibrated with suspense and tension in two story lines that featured the Green brothers' trip to the nearby Rogue River and Gray Anderson's interrogation of the Hawkins family, thanks to director Guy Bee. The entire episode was well written by Matthew Federman and Stephen Scaia, and featured outstanding performances led by Skeet Ulrich, Kenneth Mitchell and Lennie James. If "Rogue River" is not that highly regarded, then I believe it should be.