At the club, Cornell auditions another singer.
Luke uses his super-strength to help clean up the wreckage of Genghis Connie's. As the locals take photos, Misty arrives.
Nurse Claire Temple arrives in Harlem and heads down the street. A mugger takes her purse and Claire runs him down and knees him in the groin. She kicks him down and takes her purse back.
Luke gets Pop's swear jar from his apartment's wreckage. After he walks off, Misty goes through the wreckage and finds Luke's photo of Reva.
Cornell goes to his office with Shades, and his men tell him that after Luke's raid on the Complex, Cornell is all but broke after losing the $7 million. Koko says that he's been reading a book on social conditions, and figures that if they leave Luke alone then he'll leave them alone. Cornell shoots Koko dead and tells Zip and the others to hit the streets and get all the money they can in "protection." Shades says that Cornell knows why Diamondback sent him there, and Cornell makes it clear Luke isn't going to take him down. He then tells his men to have the people talk to Luke about why Cornell is squeezing them if they have questions. He then tells Zip to call Spurlock and say that they're going to need the mortician's services.
Cornell's thugs hit the streets and take all the money they can. Zip goes to get protection from a collectible store owner, Aisha Axton, and tears up her place when she can't pay. He takes her father's championship ring and tells her to ask Luke why they're doing it.
When Luke returns to the barber shop, he finds Bobby waiting with Dapper Dan. Dan has a suit for Luke to wear to Pop's memorial. Once Dan leaves, Bobby tells Luke that messages have been coming in for Luke about his appearance on TV, but Luke just wants to focus on Pop's memorial. Bobby works out the seating arrangements for the service and gives Luke the keys to Pop's upstairs apartment. Luke says that he'll earn his keep, and Bobby insists that they have to fix the shop up and reopen the place.
Aisha comes in and tells Luke what's been going on. She wants Luke to get her father's ring back, and tells him not to be a punk and just stand by. Once Aisha goes, Bobby warns Luke that Cornell is trying to get Harlem to push Luke out. Luke goes out to find Cornell and tells the people on the street that he's on it.
Claire arrives at a diner to meet the owner, her mother Soledad. She says that she wanted to come back where things make sense.
Luke breaks into an apartment where Zip and his men are keeping their stash. He then gets one of the victims, Alicia, and confront two of the thugs who took her tips. Alicia gets her money and Luke tells them to tell everyone that they've got nothing to fear from Cornell. As he walks down the street, Luke hears a man yell. It's Sugar, who someone shot. Sugar refuses to tell Luke anything, and as Luke walks off another local, Blue, warns that Luke isn't moving fast enough for Aisha's satisfaction. Blue says that Aisha shot Sugar and tells Luke where she can find the girl.
Misty and Scarfe pull up and Misty asks Luke who the woman in the photo is. He tells them to talk to Cornell, not him, and all he says is that Cornell fired him as a dishwasher. Misty says that innocent people are getting hurt and tells him to leave, and Luke says that he will once he does right by Pop. She tells him not to go to the memorial and leaves with Scarfe.
At the club, Shades tells Cornell to let it go because it makes him look weak. He advises Cornell to sell the club, but Cornell says that Harlem's Paradise is his blood and his legacy. Luke comes in and four thugs surround him. Cornell and Shades step out, and Luke tells him that he just wants him to stop messing with Harlem. The thugs attack Luke, who easily takes down three of them. The fourth one shoots at Luke and the bullets bounce off. Meanwhile, Shades realizes who Luke is.
Cornell and Shades come down and Shades says that Luke is supposed to be dead. He tells Cornell to keep his name out of his mouth and leaves, and Cornell demands an explanation from Shades.
At the diner, Claire is sitting around, nervous. She finally tells Soledad that men in masks attacked the hospital and one of them had an autopsy scar on his chest. The hospital covered it up and she quit, and can't work anywhere else in New York. Claire talks about how she's seen Daredevil and Luke's special abilities, and they both needed her help. She wants to keep helping people with abilities, and Soledad warns her that the world isn't the world anymore. Soledad figures that everything happens for a reason, and it's fate that has Claire crossing paths with the specials.
Shades tells Cornell about Carl Lucas, the man who is now using "Luke Cage" as an alias. He says that Diamondback taught him that there's a bullet for everyone, and brings up a video of a shooting test in the Ukraine. The bullet in the test blows up after penetrating a Kevlar vest, killing the man wearing the vest. The rounds are a composite that are undetectable and incinerate after being shot, eliminating any forensic evidence. Shades says that the metal is from the Incident, and that Cornell either pays for the "Judas" bullets or gets Diamondback to handle it. Cornell insists that he'll do it himself, but Shades warns that Diamondback won't front him a dime because Cornell has made so many mistakes. The crime lord doesn't believe it and calls Diamondback himself, and Shades warns that if Diamondback helps Cornell then he'll take Harlem from him. Cornell says that he'll get Domingo his guns and square everything away, and then Diamondback can square him the loan.
At the station, Misty finds Captain Betty Audrey and Lieutenant Perez waiting for her. They tell her that IAB has Scarfe under investigation, and he was off the books when Chico went missing. Misty insists that the IAB is wasting their time, just as Scarfe comes in. Once Audrey and Perez leave, Misty claims that they were talking about Luke. She wants to go over the case when she gets back from the memorial, and Scarfe agrees. Once she leaves, Scarfe's phone rings. He answers and says that he's got it.
Luke confronts Zip and his thugs in the Jackie Robinson Park. They all walk away from Zip, who shoots Luke. Luke shrugs off the shots and destroy the guns, and demands Aisha's ring. He takes the ring out of Zip's pocket and walks off.
Scarfe secretly meets with Perez, who tells him that IAB is on to him. He tells Scarfe to get Domingo's guns from Evidence, and explains that he's got a sergeant in Evidence that can get them the weapons.
Luke goes to the collectible shop and finds Aisha's father Eddie sitting there. Eddie is an ex-junkie, and complains about how things aren't like they were in the old days. He says that the ring isn't worth anything, and Luke tells him to stop letting Aisha down. He then has Eddie tell Aisha that he has something for her and leaves.
At the diner, Claire sees the footage of Luke breaking out of the wreckage and recognizes him.
Luke returns to the barber shop and realizes that his shirt is filled with bullet holes. He swears and puts a dollar in the swear jar.
Misty arrives at the church for the memorial and Aisha comes in behind her. Cornell and Shades arrive, and Cornell texts Scarfe to make sure he's picked up the guns. Scarfe hesitates, and then ignores the text and drives off with the guns. Meanwhile, the memorial starts and when Aisha sees Cornell, she starts to take a gun out of her purse.
Luke arrives and everyone stares at him. He sees Cornell and Shades, and then sits down next to Aisha. Luke tells her that he took care of it and she doesn't have to anything. She leaves the gun in her purse and Bobby asks if anyone else wants to say anything. Cornell goes up to the pulpit and talks about how Pop was his mentor and tried to use Harlem to breed artists. He promises the mourners that he'll stay true to what they have because that's what Pop would have wanted.
Luke goes up next and remembers seeing Pop shot down in front of him. He then says that he came in late because he was helping people in need, just like Pop would have wanted. Luke says that they have to carry on Pop's legacy and warns them that they have to stand up to any bully, even the ones who say they're friends. Afterward, Luke gives Aisha the ring and they hug. Outside, he approaches Cornell and says that he's glad Cornell came so he could embarrass him in public. Luke says that he'll charge Cornell for his next suit that gets damaged, and Cornell laughs as Luke walks off.
Misty approaches Luke and tells him to stop the pissing contest with Cornell. She insists that she'll get Cornell the right way and the system will win, but Luke tells her that there's always a bigger angle and Cornell will get off. Misty warns him that it's the people of Harlem that will pay for what he's doing, She tells him to leave before he makes things worse if he's not going to help her, and Luke says that he isn't going anywhere.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 7, 2016