- "You know I've got your back, right? But just so we're clear, when we're out there, what I say goes. I'm not in the market for a sidekick."
"Who says you're not my sidekick?"
"Me. It's my show." - ―Luke Cage and Misty Knight
On and On is the seventh episode of the second season of the television series Luke Cage.
Synopsis[]
Reeling from the showdown on the bridge, Luke teams up with Misty to find Piranha. The hunt for the snitch heats up. Bushmaster reveals his endgame.
Plot[]
Defeated by Bushmaster, Luke Cage falls down into the Harlem River but manages to wake up and get back onto the surface. Cage returns to the Mount Olivet Baptist Church and loses consciousness, before James Lucas that Piranha Jones left the church despite Lucas' attempts to stop him. Cage tries to go back to the streets to find Jones before Bushmaster gets to him but Lucas says that he needs to rest after the fight.
Misty Knight is approached by Tom Ridenhour who tries to convince Knight to go back to the NYPD but Knight points out at Ridenhour's personal affection towards Mariah Dillard. Ridehour assures her that it does not cloud his judgement and informs Knight that he has a criminal informant within the Stokes Crime Family which surprises Knight due to Ridenhour's concern over her methods. Ridenhour tells Knight that the police is close to take Dillard down but they have Cage as a possible liability and he needs to hand Jones over to them. He asks Knight to bring Cage to the police and convince him but Knight refuses to go back.
The Stokes Crime Family is searching the city for Jones, and Dillard suspects that there might be a snitch within her gang. Dillard talks with her subordinates about loyalty and after stabbing one of them in the arm, she orders them to find Jones immediately. Shades tells Dillard that the she might alienate her subordinates and that she must be better than Mama Mabel or Cottonmouth were. He then promises her that Jones will be found and that he will personally take down the Stylers. Tilda Johnson visits the Harlem's Paradise and tells Dillard that he does not need her criminal life, but Dillard says that she must stay to protect Harlem and her family legacy.
Cage prepares to leave the church and get back to Pop's Barber Shop, but Lucas is worrying about him as his father. Cage calls him out on his talks about truth and integrity, considering everything Lucas did. Lucas says that Cage is still the same angry young boy despite all his strength before Cage gets back on the streets.
Jones ends up being kidnapped by the Stylers and Bushmaster demands him to log into the bank accounts and transfer Dillard's property to him. Jones is hesitant to betray Dillard and give him the access to he property but Bushmaster intimidates him into complying. Jones then tells him that Cage is coming after him and Bushmaster would not be able to kill him but he brushes it off.
Cage investigates Jones' disappearance before he is joined by Knight and together they conclude that Jones is too important for both Dillard and Bushmaster due to his access to Dillard's property. Cage and Knight track Bushmaster to the Irie Taxi Garage where they confront the Stylers but by that time, Jones is already killed. The NYPD investigates the murder and Ridenhour considers using Jones' death as a leverage on Dillard, although Knight doubts his decision. Nandi Tyler points out how Jones was merely a bait for Cage and asks him was it worth it, to which Cage replies that it was not.
Ridenhour informs Dillard that Jones was killed by Bushmaster, and warns her that the police is getting closer in the investigation that could ruin Dillard's business forever. Ridenhour offers Dillard to cut a deal and pretend to be coerced into running the Stokes family, so both Shades and Bushmaster would end up in jail but Dillard dismisses him. Ridenhour tries to convince Dillard to do what is better for her and Johnson, which angers her when Ridenhour asks her does Johnson know who her real father was. Dillard tells Ridenhour to leave but promises to consider his offer but Johnson should not know the truth. Afterwards, Dillard finds out that Bushmaster took everything from her bank account and realizes that she and Johnson are not safe from him.
Shades and Comanche discuss the current situation in the gang and their hunt for the snitch. Comanche tells Shades that it must be Sugar who could have cut a deal with the police after he became a father. Shades trusts Comanche to handle it on his own before he finds out that Jones is dead and Dillard is preparing to flee, so he goes to secure the club.
Anansi tries to convince Bushmaster to let his hatred for the Stokes family go, saying that his mother would not be pleased with his actions. Bushmaster, however, says that he carries the legacy of his family on him and he must make the Stokes family pay. Anansi still insists that the vengeance will not bring his mother back before Sheldon informs Bushmaster that the Stylers are ready.
Cage returns to the church and after the sermon, he talks with Lucas about what happened during his fight on the bridge with Bushmaster. Cage reminisces over his mother and the time she and Lucas visited him at Seagate Penitentiary, as well as how she never gave up on her son. Cage thinks that it was a message that even though the world might be his problem, it is not always his fault. Lucas tells him that they cannot move forward if they cannot forgive and apologizes to Cage for blaming him for Etta's sickness.
Comanche meets with Ridenhour, telling him that Shades knows that he was the police's informant but Shades suddenly catches both of them. Comanche tries to convince Shades that Ridenhour was working with Sugar and he caught him and when Ridenhour tries to offer them both a deal, Comanche kills Ridenhour. However, Shades knows that Comanche was a snitch so he kills his friend, making it look like he was shot by Ridenhour before he died.
Dillard and Johnson arrive at the Brownstone, preparing to flee from Bushmaster's rage, however, he ambushes them both. Bushmaster has them both tied and tells them about Buggy Stokes and Quincy McIver who were friends and the founders of Harlem's Paradise, until Stokes betrayed him and killed McIver. When Gwen escaped and tried to claim her ownership of the Bushmaster Rum company, Mama Mabel had her killed. Bushmaster prepares to burn the brownstone with Dillard inside but allows Johnson to leave.
Meanwhile, the police discovers Ridenhour's body and Knight mourns her captain, while Shades thinks of Comanche. Bushmaster walks into the Harlem's Paradise as a new owner of the club. Eventually, when Johnson tries to get Dillard out of the burning house, Cage rescues her, and Dillard tells him that she wants to hire Cage.
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
- Chaz Lamar Shepherd as Piranha Jones
- Sahr Ngaujah as Paul Mackintosh/Anansi
- Kevin Mambo as Sheldon
- Antonique Smith as Detective Nandi Tyler
- Justin Swain as Detective Mark Bailey
- John Clarence Stewart as Alex Wesley
- Jeremiah Richard Craft as D.W. Griffith
- Taylor Selé as Brendan
- Joniece Abbott-Pratt as Etta Lucas
- Sean Ringgold as Sugar
- Tarah Rodgers as Stephanie Miller
- Khalil' La'Marr Pickett as Styler
- Dapper Dan as Himself
- Stephen Marley as Himself
- Melanie Nyema as Herself
- Sophia Stephens as Herself
- Carrie Bernans as Styler (uncredited)
- Melvin Cross as Styler (uncredited)
- Parisa Fitz-Henley as Reva Connors (uncredited)
- Philip Michael as The Mechanic (uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- New York City, New York
- Georgia (flashback)
- Seagate Penitentiary (flashback)
- Savannah, Georgia (flashback)
- Mount Olivet Baptist Church (flashback)
- Teterboro, New Jersey (mentioned)
- Cayman Islands (mentioned)
- Kingston, Jamaica (mentioned)
- McIver Residence (mentioned)
Events[]
- War for Harlem
- Assassination of Tom Ridenhour
- Assassination of Candace Miller (mentioned)
- Murder of Cottonmouth (mentioned)
- Destruction of McIver Residence (mentioned)
- Destruction of Midland Circle (indirectly mentioned)
Items[]
- Misty Knight's Prosthetic Arm
- Stokes' Revolver
- Bushmaster Rum (mentioned)
- Judas Bullet (mentioned)
Creatures[]
Vehicles[]
To be added
Organizations[]
- New York City Police Department
- Stylers
- Stokes Crime Family
- Irie Taxi
- Hammer Industries (mentioned)
- Atreus Plastics (mentioned)
- Emberly Bank (logo)
- Italian Mob (mentioned)
- National Basketball Association (mentioned)
- New York Liberty (mentioned)
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
- Donnie Chang
- Tone
- Mama Mabel
- Cottonmouth
- Candace Miller
- Jackson Dillard
- Cockroach Hamilton
- Rafael Scarfe
- Desiree Jones
- Benjamin Donovan
- Diamondback
- Gwen McIver
- Quincy McIver
- Janis Jones
- Buggy Stokes
- Dana Stryker
- Ray Charles
- Martha Stewart
- Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán
- Marion Barry
- Nino Brown
- The Voice
- This Is Us
Trivia[]
- On and On is a song from the album Mecca and the Soul Brother of the hip-pop duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth.
- Luke saying that Misty is his sidekick, not the other way round, because "it's my show" may be a subtle fourth wall break. The only other real example of such so far in the MCU films or TV series are in the end credits of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2; this would be the first example that is indisputably in-universe.
Music[]
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Wake Up | Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad |
|
| You're Gonna Leave | Stephen Marley |
|
| Garage Fight | Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad |
|
| The Ambush | Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad |
|
| Feel Alive (feat. Karolina & Loren Oden) | Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad |
|
| Ridenhour Comanche - Pt. 2 | Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad |
|
| If | Kings & Queens |
|
| Chase Dem | Stephen Marley |
|
