- "Your way was taking too long. I killed two birds with one stone by sticking a body on Luke Cage. He's hiding somewhere in the blessed aquarium, so I turned the heat up. Old Carl, he's either gonna stand up and defend his name or he's gonna run and hide like a bitch. Either way, it doesn't matter. I've got the gun to take him out."
- ―Diamondback to Mariah Dillard
Take It Personal is the tenth episode of the first season of the television series Luke Cage.
Synopsis[]
Luke gets closer to the truth about Reva and her part in his fate, while Mariah wrestles with morality of her new role. Misty hunts for Luke.
Plot[]
Luke Cage's condition is becoming critical, but Claire Temple figures out that the temperature is the key to the successful procedure. Noah Burstein voices his concern, considering what happened at the Seagate Penitentiary years ago because of Albert Rackham, but decides to go with Temple's suggestion. After raising the water temperature to the dangerous level, Cage's skin temporarily loses its durability, allowing Temple to remove the shrapnel and save Cage.
Diamondback summons Mariah Dillard to the Pier 22 Warehouse where he shows her the Judas Bullet 2.0 supplies he intends to sell to the NYPD, using the public fear of Cage. Dillard questions Diamondback's plans and tells him that she cannot sell the armory this expensive in such a short amount of time. Diamondback decides to shake the public to increase the fear and murders Officer Jackie Albini, pretending to be Cage with his power gauntlet.
The NYPD investigates Albini's murder and the witness testimonies and evidence points out at Cage being the culprit, as the entire department is on the edge because of Albini's death. Misty Knight doubts that Cage would suddenly become a cop killer out of the blue but Mark Bailey tells her that they do not have enough evidence to rule Cage out, while more and more officers grow frustrated. This also does not please Dillard who confronts Diamondback on Albini's murder. Diamondback intends to use the public unrest to lure Cage out and tells Dillard to use the situation to her advantage.
The NYPD hits the streets, apprehending civilians in an attempt to find Cage.
As Cage recovers from the procedure, Burstein considers restarting the project with new information he had acquired, but Temple questions the ethics of his experiments. Burstein denies his connections with his former employers and defends the scientific value of his experiments, although Cage and Temple do no trust him. Cage and Temple check Reva Connors' files on the project and find out that Connors was the one who chose Carl Lucas for the experiments, and she was lying to him the whole time. Angered by the revelation, Cage confronts Burstein and destroys his equipment to prevent the further experiments, before leaving with Temple. However, Burstein manages to repair the drive and recover Connors' project data.
Meanwhile, Lonnie Wilson ends up being taken to the 29th Precinct Police Station for interrogation, since he knew Cage personally, but he refuses to speak. Dorsey, who was close with Albini, loses his temper and hits Lonnie, which causes a great uproar in the public. Dillard and Patricia Wilson confront Priscilla Ridley on what happened, and Dillard publicly speaks out on the police brutality in Harlem and Luke Cage being the public enemy.
During the investigation, Bailey helps Knight find the man who attacked her and they find out about Willis Stryker. Although Ridley tells Knight to focus on Cage, she looks into the records and finds the connection between Stryker and Carl Lucas, whom she recognizes as Luke Cage. Knight concludes that Stryker was connected with everything, from the Stokes Crime Family to Cage, and tries to get more information from Domingo Colon, who suggests her to look at Harlem's Paradise.
Cage thinks about Connors and his delusions about her, considering to turn around and leave everything behind, while Temple tells him that she will stay with him no matter what. Cage decides that he must understand the reason why Stryker hates him so much, so they visit the Mount Calvary Baptist Church where Cage recalls that Dana Stryker had an affair with his father, James Lucas, and that his mother threatened to keep it and her son Willis a secret. Cage realizes that Diamondback was indeed his brother and that the distress the Lucas family caused to him and Dana was the reason why he framed Carl Lucas back in the day. Cage takes responsibility for everything and decides that he must end it all with Diamondback once and for all to prevent further bloodshed.
Dillard holds a rally in Harlem's Paradise, encouraging people to take a stance against the enhanced people within the community, as well as hold the NYPD accountable for their actions. Damon Boone confronts Dillard on how she uses Wilson's situation to stay politically viable. Boone then accuses Dillard of being connected with Cottonmouth's criminal operation, as well as having a hand in his murder.
Cage and Temple return to Harlem where D.W. Griffith tells him that he is wanted by the NYPD for murder of the police officer. Cage and Temple head to Harlem's Paradise, while Knight does the same and confronts Diamondback at his office. Diamondback resists arrest and shoots Knight, wounding her in the arm, but Cage protects her from the bullets. Diamondback orders his men to open fire and kill Knight, while taking everyone in the club hostage.
Cast[]
Main Cast:
- Mike Colter as Luke Cage
- Simone Missick as Misty Knight
- Erik LaRay Harvey as Willis Stryker/Diamondback
- Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple
- Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard
Guest Stars:
- Michael Kostroff as Doctor Noah Burstein
- Parisa Fitz-Henley as Doctor Reva Connors
- Joniece Abbott-Pratt as Etta Lucas
- Jacob Vargas as Domingo Colon
- Karen Pittman as Inspector Priscilla Ridley
- Deborah Ayorinde as Candace Miller
- David Austin as Young Carl Lucas
- Clifton Cutrary as Teenage Carl Lucas
- Jared Kemp as Teenage Willis Stryker
- Jeremiah Richard Craft as D.W. Griffith
- Natalie Paul as Dana Stryker
- Clark Jackson as Damon Boone
- Darius Kaleb as Lonnie Wilson
- Cassandra Freeman as Patricia Wilson
- Justin Swain as Mark Bailey
- J. Bernard Calloway as Detective Dorsey
- Gene Harrison as Officer Jackie Albini
- Lee Sellars as Sergeant Jake Smith
- Andrew Pang as Detective Donnie Chang
- Helmar Augustus Cooper as Reverend John Pope
- Marquis Rodriguez as Darryl
- Jennifer Brito as Female Uniformed Officer
- Roger Wayne as Male Uniformed Officer
- Thiree Pinnock as Angry Teen
- Julian Rozzell as Vendor
- Rafael Benoit as Cameraman
- Akua Santewa as Protester #1
- Anthony Vaughn Merchant as Protester #2
- Norma Aurel as Protester #3
- A.J. Franklin as Protester #4
- DeLance Minefee as Protester #5
- Adam Shippey as Ty (uncredited)
- Deshane Granger as Protester #6 (uncredited)
- Owen Rogers as Protester #8 (uncredited)
- Johnny Alexander as Undercover Detective (uncredited)
- Justin Michael Woods as FDNY Paramedic (uncredited)
- Maggie LeVine as Detective (uncredited)
- Merritt Matthew Chase as Harlem Precinct Detective (uncredited)
- Michael Armand DeMatteo as Undercover Cop (uncredited)
- Sean Archer as Hostage / Protester (uncredited)
- Teniece Divya Johnson as Protester (uncredited)
- Ramon Aleman as Boxer #1 (uncredited)
- Unknown Actor as Reverend James Lucas (uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- Georgia
- New York City, New York
- Savannah, Georgia
- Mount Calvary Baptist Church
- Lieber Academy (mentioned in flashback)
- Bloomingdale
- Mount Everest
- Mount Pukaki
Events[]
- Incrimination of Luke Cage
- Massacre at Colon's Gym (mentioned)
- World War II (mentioned)
- Skirmish at the Hudson Ferry Terminal (mentioned)
- Raid of the Crispus Attucks Complex (mentioned)
- Murder of Cottonmouth (mentioned)
Items[]
- Thrust Capacitator
- Judas Bullet
- Hammer Industries Assault Rifle
- Judas Gauntlet
- Diamondback's Bible
- The Incident
Vehicles[]
To be added
Organizations[]
- New York City Police Department
- Stokes Crime Family
- Colon Crime Family
- WJBP-TV
- WHiH World News
- WZTM News
- WKGU News
- Fire Department of New York City
- New York City Council
- Hammer Industries (logo)
- Yardies (mentioned)
- Macoute (mentioned)
- Cuban Mob (mentioned)
- United States Army (mentioned)
- Tuskegee Airmen (mentioned)
- Kubota (logo)
- Isotoner (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
- Albert Rackham
- Tony
- Cottonmouth
- Squabbles
- Jacques Alef
- Juan Carlos Castro
- Luke Cage's Grandfather
- Jessica Jones
- Kilgrave
- Brenda
- Newspaper Writers
- Cheryl Owens
- Matthew Lopez
- Emily Foundray
- Taylor Cooper
- Jeff Kujan
- A. Price
- J. Nichelle
- Newspaper Highlights
- Franklin Chapin
- Charlene Roose
- Reginald Smith
- Brock Slenar
- Jim "Jim Jam" Jones
- Dylan Whippit
- Jenny Evens
- Rick Spivey
- Mac Fly
- Meranda Freitas
- Michael Sampson
- Anthony Elder
- Neville Barnwell
- Mayor of New York City
- Al Sharpton
- Mike Tyson
- Rick James
- Snickers
Trivia[]
- Take It Personal is a song from the album Daily Operation of the hip-pop duo Gang Starr.
