- "You scared?"
"Yes. Yes, I'm scared! I got no home; I got no club; Bushmaster, cops, Luke Cage, everybody is up my ass! Yes, I'm scared, because it's over!" - ―Shades and Mariah Dillard
If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right is the eighth episode of the second season of the television series Luke Cage.
Synopsis[]
While Shades, Mariah and Misty come to terms with the previous night's events, Bushmaster searches for a way to boost his strength.
Plot[]
Shades burns the evidence, reminiscing over the death of his best friend Comanche who turned out to be a snitch. Meanwhile, Mariah Dillard and Tilda Johnson recover from Bushmaster's attack at the 29th Precinct Police Station. Johnson panics, thinking that the NYPD cannot save them from Bushmaster, but Dillard reminds her that they have nowhere to go, as Bushmaster took over everything she had.
Luke Cage tries to settle the situation with Dillard, but no one at the precinct is there to help him. Dillard speaks with Cage, who refuses her offer for hire, saying that he saved her only to see why Bushmaster hates her so much. Dillard tells Cage that Johnson's safety is the only thing she is concerned over and asks Cage to ensure her safety. Misty Knight comes back to the precinct and informs Cage that Tom Ridenhour was murdered, assuming that Dillard had something to do with it.
Shades visits Janis Jones, Comanche's mother, comforting her due to her son's death. Janis recalls how lonely Shades was in Harlem, until he met Comanche who would always help him. Janis does not believe that her son would become a snitch and end up being killed by a sideways cop, and asks Shades what really happened, but Shades cannot bring himself to admit to killing Comanche. Shades then gets informed about the situation at Harlem's Paradise, so he leaves, extending his condolences to a grieving Janis.
At the precinct, Johnson is amazed by Cage's powers, while he calls Johnson out for not being honest with him. Johnson says that she cannot tell Cage anything about Bushmaster, since Dillard told her not to talk about it, especially with the police involved. Johnson tells Cage that she only wants things to get back to normal, but Cage replies that there is no normal with Dillard. Meanwhile, Knight grieves over Ridenhour's death and Nandi Tyler informs her that until the HQ appoints a new captain, Knight is in charge of the 29th precinct.
Investigating Ridenhour's death, Knight finds out about Comanche being the second victim at the scene and recalls Cage mentioning him. Cage informs Knight that Comanche was his and Shades' co-inmate at the Seagate Penitentiary, and recently was employed by the Stokes Crime Family. Knight concludes that Comanche was Ridenhour's inside man and decides to work on the case via Shades, since he was the only person of interest available. However, since Bushmaster was still a prominent threat, Knight asks Cage to unofficially assist her to avoid unneeded publicity.
Bushmaster takes over Harlem's Paradise, reclaiming what was taken away from his father, intending to use all the club proceeds to support the community back in Jamaica. Anansi reminds Bushmaster that he killed people to get what he wanted and his mother would not be proud if she was alive. Anansi fears that darkness consumes Bushmaster, but he replies that what he did to the Stokes family was simply a justice. However, Bushmaster gets informed that Dillard and Johnson were rescued by Cage and taken to the police precinct.
As Cage tries to get Johnson to talk to him, Knight proceeds to interrogate Dillard, although she is hesitant to cooperate with the investigation. Knight informs Dillard that the same night her brownstone burned down, Ridenhour was murdered, and notices shock in Dillard's reaction. Dillard still refuses to speak with Knight and Benjamin Donovan arrives to get Dillard out of the precinct. Knight has no choice but to let Dillard go, however, Shades gets apprehended as a person of interest, involved in deaths of Comanche and Ridenhour.
Johnson tells Cage about the night of the attack and that Bushmaster claims that the Stokes family ruined his life, which involved the rum business. She also tells Cage that Bushmaster wanted some special herbs from her but before she can elaborate, Dillard comes back to the room to wait for Shades. Knight interrogates Shades, accusing him of killing Comanche but Donavan disproves any of her claims as speculations. However, Donovan suddenly recuses himself as Shades' legal counselor, leaving him on his own with Knight.
Bushmaster starts to experience the withdrawal symptoms from the Nightshade usage, and although Anansi says that he already won, Bushmaster cannot find piece until Dillard is dead. Ignoring Anansi's warning, Bushmaster orders Stylers to hunt Dillard down and make sure that she is gone for good. He notes that with Dillard's money and the top-ranking lawyer, he is untouchable, but Cage was still a big obstacle on his way. Bushmaster then decides to find his loved ones and use it against him, so Cage would have no choice but to stay away.
Dillard lashes out at Donovan for abandoning her after everything Mama Mabel did to him and the years of his loyalty to the Stokes family. Donovan simply replies that he was only loyal to Dillard's money, and since all her finances were taken away by Bushmaster, he had no reason to stay with her. Dillard has no choice but to leave Shades and leave the precinct with Johnson, however, they get attacked by the Stylers the moment they left the building. Cage protects them and finds out that Bushmaster put a one million bounty on both Dillard and Johnson, and also that Cage and people close to him are targeted as well.
Knight continues to interrogate Shades, who claims that Comanche was practically a brother of his, refuting her accusations. Knight recalls Shades' past relations with Rivals, and Zip who was the son of Romeo, but ended up being killed while working for the Stokes family. Tyler interrupts the interrogation and informs Knight that Dillard was attacked in front of the precinct, while Mark Bailey tells her that the NYPD has no evidence that Shades was present at the time of the murder. Knight lets Shades go, but tells him that Dillard had abandoned him and he better talk to her until Dillard does.
Dillard comes to the ruins of her brownstone and starts searching for her the Stokes' Revolver, until Shades arrives there as well. She accuses Shades of bringing Comanche into her business which ruined everything, and suggests that Shades might be a snitch too. Shades argues that Dillard was the one who abandoned him at the precinct, but Dillard tells him that Donovan walked away on his own. Shades tells Dillard that she is the only one to blame for everything that happened but still stays with her, suggesting to strike Bushmaster when he lets his guard down.
Knight, Tyler and the NYPD SWAT unit arrive at Harlem's Paradise with a search warrant, and Sheldon tells Knight that Bushmaster was waiting for them to come. Bushmaster tells Knight and Tyler that the club was his birthright, as it was founded by his father, and he simply reclaimed what he owned. Benjamin Donovan reveals himself as Bushmaster's legal counselor and helps him to disprove any of the police's accusations, since they had no evidence to link the crimes with Bushmaster. He then tells the police to leave, as the search of the club ended with no results.
Dillard comes to Mother's Touch where Johnson was preparing to leave the city to hide from Bushmaster. Dillard tells Johnson that she has nothing and no one she can trust, except for her, but Johnson has no interest to staying with her mother, who never cared about her. Dillard then tells Johnson that Mama Mabel took Johnson away from her after the birth, while Dillard wanted her to stay. Johnson learns that she was given to Mamie Johnson's family because she lost her child and Dillard wanted her to be raised with love.
Desperate for more Nightshade to fight Cage, Bushmaster takes over the weed business in Harlem to grow his own Nightshade, but Anansi tells him that it cannot grow without Jamaican soil and sunlight. Anansi warns Bushmaster that Nightshade had poisoned his mind and soul but Bushmaster cannot stop until he finishes what the Stokes family started. Anansi refuses to help Bushmaster destroy himself and leaves the club, unaware that Shades was stalking him.
Cage comes to the Mount Olivet Baptist Church to protect James Lucas from the Stylers, but he refuses to leave. Cage stays at the church while Lucas performs a baptism, however, the Stylers end up attacking him there. Cage manages to fight them off and tells his father that they should leave before he gets hurt. Meanwhile, the Stylers attempt to attack Dillard and Johnson at the Mother's Touch, but Cage, Knight, Tyler manage to stop them. Assuming that the precinct was not safe enough, Cage asks Knight to contact Danny Rand and ask him for help to ensure the safety of Dillard, Johnson, and Lucas.
Cast[]
Main Cast:
- Mike Colter as Luke Cage
- Simone Missick as Misty Knight
- Theo Rossi as Hernan Alvarez/Shades
- Gabrielle Dennis as Tilda Johnson
- Mustafa Shakir as John McIver/Bushmaster
- Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard
Special Guest Star:
- Reg E. Cathey as Reverend James Lucas
Guest Stars:
- Peter Jay Fernandez as Captain Tom Ridenhour
- Thomas Q. Jones as Darius Jones/Comanche
- Sahr Ngaujah as Paul Mackintosh/Anansi
- Kevin Mambo as Sheldon
- LaTonya Borsay as Janis Jones
- Antonique Smith as Detective Nandi Tyler
- Justin Swain as Detective Mark Bailey
- Sean Ringgold as Sugar
- Stefan Holdbrook as Mouse
- Danny Johnson as Benjamin Donovan
- Shauna Miles as Mother
- Carlos Guity as Father
- Anthony Capers as Young Man
- Gene Presendieu as Gypsy Cab Styler
- Bahiyah Hibah as Patrol Cop
- Justin Clarke as Yardie #3 (uncredited)
- Merritt Matthew Chase as Harlem Precinct Detective (uncredited)
- Jaiden Kaine as Zip (archive footage; uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- New York City, New York
- Maui, Hawaii (mentioned)
- New Orleans, Louisiana (mentioned)
- Seagate Penitentiary, Georgia (mentioned)
Events[]
- War for Harlem
- Assassination of Tom Ridenhour (flashback)
- Attack on Shades (flashback)
- Assassination of Candace Miller (mentioned)
- Attack on Harlem's Paradise (mentioned)
- Murder of Cottonmouth (mentioned)
Items[]
- Misty Knight's Prosthetic Arm
- Nightshade
- Bushmaster Rum (mentioned)
Vehicles[]
To be added
Creatures[]
Organizations[]
- New York City Police Department
- Stokes Crime Family
- Stylers
- Donovan and Partners
- Rivals (mentioned)
- The Fresh Air Fund (mentioned)
- New York Yankees (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
- Tom Ridenhour
- Piranha Jones
- Candace Miller
- Darius Jones' Father
- Romeo
- Shaw
- West
- Callahan
- Brigid O'Reilly
- Noah Burstein
- Arturo Rey III
- Nigel Garrison
- Cockroach Hamilton
- Rafael Scarfe
- Quincy McIver
- Gwen McIver
- Claire Temple
- Mama Mabel
- Cottonmouth
- Rafael Scarfe
- Earl Scarfe
- Sugar's Wife
- Mamie Johnson
- Danny Rand
- Marcus Garvey (picture)
- Devil Anse Hatfield
- Randolph McCoy
- Jesus Christ
- John the Baptist
- Raggedy Ann
- Top Gun
Trivia[]
- If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right is a song from the album Mecca and the Soul Brother of the hip-pop duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth.
Music[]
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Bounty on Stokes | Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad |
|
| Scarfe's Dying | Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad |
|
| Stylers Arrival | Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad |
|
References[]
External Links[]
If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right on IMDb- If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right on Disney+
- If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right on Marvel Database
| Season One | Moment of Truth • Code of the Streets • Who's Gonna Take the Weight? • Step in the Arena • Just to Get a Rep • Suckas Need Bodyguards • Manifest • Blowin' Up the Spot • DWYCK • Take It Personal • Now You're Mine • Soliloquy of Chaos • You Know My Steez |
| Season Two | Soul Brother #1 • Straighten It Out • Wig Out • I Get Physical • All Souled Out • The Basement • On and On • If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right • For Pete's Sake • The Main Ingredient • The Creator • Can't Front on Me • They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) |