Television: Luke Cage, "Moment of Truth"

I'm fond of Paul McGuigan's direction, and this pilot episode for Luke Cage is nicely done. It's just so s...l...o...w... I realize they wanted to take time to establish Cage as someone longing only for a quiet life under the radar. We see he's lonely, and good deep down. They're also setting up the overarching situation of how club owner Cottonmouth is powerful and bad, and this may be where they lost me a bit because I have little to no interest in mob or mob-like things, the seedy underworld of making deals with politicians, etc. It's why I wandered away from Gotham, and if anything drives me away from Luke Cage, it might be that or—unless things begin to move—the pacing.

In short, less plot and more of Luke himself, please.

I felt like I waited the entire episode for that bit at the end, in which we finally see Luke do his thing by taking on henchmen menacing his landlady. It's a fabulous moment, and McGuigan's style shows through. I suppose it's the payoff for sitting through all the rest, but I really just want more of that. Afterward, his landlady offers to hire Luke [for protection] but he declines. For someone who has spent the last hour talking about needing money, this feels silly, though it doesn't at all feel out of character. Still, I thought he was supposed to be a "hero for hire." Looks like he's more of a boy scout.

It's probably too soon to tell how it will all play out. Unlike with Jessica Jones, I didn't feel like I could watch more than one of these at a go. If it starts to move faster, maybe I'll feel differently.