This is what the critics think about Luke Cage season 2

Marvel's other Netflix shows have faced criticism of diminishing returns - but how has the bulletproof hero fared?

Marvel's film output has reached record-breaking highs this year - thanks to Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther - but its TV shows haven't quite found the same level of unanimous success.

Particularly, with the likes of Jessica Jones and Daredevil, Marvel's Netflix series have often faced criticism of diminishing returns. So how has Luke Cage's second outing fared?

Season 2 sees the bulletproof hero, after clearing his name, becoming a celebrity on the streets of Harlem; now having to confront his new-found reputation and what it spells for his need for anonymity in order to keep the community protected, Luke faces a new villain who really makes him question what it means to be a hero.

The new season has found a fairly mixed reception from critics: many have noted the show still struggles with pacing, which has haunted so many of the Marvel series, while praising both the performances and the complexity of the themes on hand.

You can check out some of the critical reactions below.

David Betancourt - The Washington Post

Season 2 of Luke Cage is spectacular, full of unforgettable performances, and has not one but two top-notch villains battling each other and Cage for the heart of Harlem.

Autumn Noel Kelly - Newsweek

the first season of Luke Cage shifted dynamically with numerous peaks and tangents. There was also just a whole lot to explain to a general audience.

The second time around, though, some things just don’t need to be explained. Between seasons, that pressure of living up to the hype has slowly dissipated. While still rich with multiple storylines, the series feels more harmonious and confident in Season 2. There’s less pressure on Luke as a headline character, replaced by more pressure on him as living, breathing, human being.

Alan Sepinwall - Rolling Stone

There's just not remotely enough material there to support 13 hours of TV, and the amount of running in place until it's time for the endgame is palpable. Characters change allegiances seemingly at random while others make the same choice again and again (Misty tries to quit the police force at least three different times), all because there's too much time and not enough plot.

Brian Lowry - CNN

For all that, the season does a whole lot of meandering, yielding long stretches that are not just talky but almost flabby, focusing too much on the jockeying for position and shifting alliances among the bad guys, who aren't consistently interesting enough to warrant all that attention.

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw - The Daily Dot

Luke Cage’s crime storytelling just isn’t very interesting. This is less of an issue if you only watch one or two Marvel/Netflix series, but if you’re a completist—in other words, a Marvel fan, a TV critic, or a Netflix addict—then you’ll find some elements repetitive.

Daniel Fienberg - The Hollywood Reporter

The second season of Luke Cage is far from a disaster. It's a step up from other recent Marvel/Netflix shows when it comes to a memorable villain with season-long objectives. It's still a season with wildly fluctuating spikes and valleys in energy.

One moment it walks with the same swagger and purpose and ideology that carried the initial seven episodes of the first season, the next moment it slumps into a fallow funk as if saving its energy and budget. There's some suggestion that Luke Cage knows where its biggest problem lies.

Danette Chavez - The AV Club

But as season two unfolds, the show and its protagonist draw power from the past, both in confronting and embracing it. And in doing so, Luke Cage becomes the first Marvel show (not including Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.) to not only best its first season, but also maintain most of the momentum (it’s not omnipotent, after all).

Princess Weekes - The Mary Sue

There is a lot good in this second season and as far as Netflix MCU shows go, this may be the best sophomore season we’ve gotten. Still, they need to work on figuring out pacing, for a show only 13-episodes long, the first five shouldn’t seem like such a chore, even if you do stick the landing.

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