Blowin' Up the Spot is the eighth episode of the first season of the television series Luke Cage.

Synopsis[]

Mariah campaigns to turn the city and the police against Luke, and not even Misty or Claire may be able to save him.

Plot[]

Heavily injured by the Judas Bullet, Luke Cage is taken by Claire Temple to an ambulance to get medical assistance. Temple wonders what kind of weapon could get through Cage's bulletproof skin, however, Diamondback detonates an explosion beneath the ambulance, flipping it over, causing them to get off the road. Diamondback attempts to follow them. However, the NYPD's arrival chases Diamondback off which allows Cage and Temple to escape.

Mariah Dillard reminisces over the murder of Cornell Stokes, while Shades helps with covering up her involvement. Misty Knight and the police arrive at Harlem's Paradise where they discover Stokes' body and Dillard tells Knight the story Shades invented to avoid the suspicion. Knight then questions Candace Miller about the incident and she tells her that Cage was the one who murdered Stokes. Dillard makes a public statement to the media, condemning Cage as the murderer, while Shades plants the evidence at Pop's Barber Shop.

Knight brings Miller to the 29th Precinct Police Station for an interrogation, during which Miller tells her that she was one of Stokes' flings and she witnessed the murder after meeting with him. Knight doubts her testimony, however, Benjamin Donovan interrupts her and gets Miller out of the precinct, since she was not under arrest. Knight calls Miller out on her lie but Miller still insists that Cage was the culprit and she witnessed the murder herself. Knight then confronts Dillard, knowing that she is lying about Stokes' murder but Priscilla Ridley tells her to focus on Cage and his potential involvement.

Temple takes Cage to the Harlem Women's Clinic and takes a closer look at his wound, but Cage's bulletproof skin prevents her from removing shrapnel from his body. Knight contacts Cage and Temple, informing him that Stokes is dead and he needs to come to the precinct for a questioning, but Temple insists that he was with her all night and could not be a culprit. Mark Bailey helps Knight to trace the call and gives her an approximate location of Cage, so she goes after him, asking Bailey to keep it a secret from Ridley.

With Stokes dead, Zip and the rest of the Stokes Crime Family talk with Shades about the future of their organization. Shades puts himself in charge of the gang, while Dillard acts as an owner of Harlem's Paradise. Meanwhile, the NYPD examine the barbershop and find bloodstained gloves, planted by Shades which makes Cage a prime suspect.

Temple tries to examine Cage's tissue cells to figure out the nature of his extreme endurance but Knight finds them. Cage and Temple tell Knight about the attack which convinces her that he has an alibi but Bailey informs her that the police found evidence, so Knight has to arrest Cage. However, Diamondback attacks the clinic and Knight engages in a firefight with him, before Cage pulls him inside and looks at his face, recognizing him as Willis Stryker. Diamondback finds himself out of ammo, so he hits Cage in the wound and takes Knight hostage to get out of the hospital.

Despite his wound, Cage follows Diamondback and finds an unconscious Knight on the ground before chasing him to the United Palace Theatre. Cage tries to reason with him but Diamondback is determined to get revenge for all the pain he suffered by making Cage suffer. Diamondback admits that he was the one who put Cage in the Seagate Penitentiary, but despite that and Reva Connors' death, Cage still managed to prevail. Cage confronts Diamondback and overpowers him in the fight. Although Diamondback uses his wound against him, Cage's strength is too much for Diamondback.

Knight returns to the precinct and interrogates Temple about the attack, but Temple cannot provide her with anything. Due to the stress Diamondback put her through, Knight lashes out on Temple and demands her to cooperate before Ridley stops her.

Dillard meets with Miller and gives her payment for supporting her story to the police. Dillard assures Shades that Miller will not compromise them, but if she does, they would have to kill her — as well as everybody else on their way. Returning home, Dillard worries that she is becoming more similar to Mama Mabel but still convinces herself that it is not the case.

Weakened and wounded, Cage goes through the streets before Diamondback confronts him, armed with the Judas Rifle. Cage apologizes to Diamondback for everything and tells him that they are friends. However, Diamondback tells Cage that they are actually brothers, before shooting him with another Judas Bullet and causing him to end up in a dumpster truck.

Cast[]

Main Cast:

• Mike Colter as Luke Cage
• Simone Missick as Misty Knight
• Theo Rossi as Hernan Alvarez/Shades
• Erik LaRay Harvey as Willis Stryker/Diamondback
• Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple
• Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard

Guest Stars:

• Danny Johnson as Benjamin Donovan
• Deborah Ayorinde as Candace Miller
• Karen Pittman as Inspector Priscilla Ridley
• John Clarence Stewart as Alex Wesley
• Justin Swain as Mark Bailey
• Jaiden Kaine as Zip
• Sean Ringgold as Sugar
• R. Marcos Taylor as Amos
• Robert Jimenez as Manny
• Tristan Laurence as Reporter #1
• Qurrat Ann Kadwani as Reporter #2
• Charles Prendergast as Charles (uncredited)
• Justin Michael Woods as FDNY Paramedic (uncredited)

Appearances[]

Locations[]

• New York City, New York
  • Harlem's Paradise
  • 29th Precinct Police Station
  • Pop's Barber Shop
  • Harlem Women's Clinic
  • United Palace Theatre
  • Mariah Dillard's Brownstone
  • Genghis Connie's (mentioned)
  • Mount Olivet Baptist Church (mentioned)
  • Cecil's (mentioned)
• Mount Calvary Baptist Church (mentioned)
• Seagate Penitentiary, Gerogia (mentioned)

Events[]

• Incrimination of Luke Cage
  • Attack on Luke Cage
  • Duel at the United Palace Theatre
• Murder of Cottonmouth (flashback)
• Destruction of Genghis Connie's (mentioned)
• Duel of Delaney Hall (mentioned)
• Chase of Rafael Scarfe (mentioned)

Items[]

• Judas Bullet
• Judas Rifle

Vehicles[]

• Humvee
• Ambulance

Organizations[]

• New York City Police Department
• Stokes Crime Family
• Donovan and Partners
• Fire Department of New York City
• WHiH World News
• WKGU News
• Timely Trash

Creatures[]

• Snakes (mentioned)
• Lions (mentioned)

Mentioned[]

• Claire Temple's Uncle
• Cottonmouth (corpse)
• Joel Spurlock
• Tony
• Pop
• Dolores Miller
• Rafael Scarfe
• Jessica Jones
• James Lucas
• Dana Stryker
• Etta Lucas
• Reva Connors
• Cooper
• Sean Miller (indirectly mentioned)
• Cole Miller (indirectly mentioned)
• Mama Mabel (picture)
• Duke Ellington
• Count Basie
• The Warriors
• Academy Awards
• Lego
• First Epistle of Peter
• Golden Calf

Trivia[]

• Blowin' Up the Spot is a song from the album Hard To Earn of the hip-pop duo Gang Starr.

Music[]

References[]

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Blowin' Up the Spot.

External Links[]

• Blowin' Up the Spot on IMDb
• Blowin' Up the Spot on Disney+
• Blowin' Up the Spot on Marvel Database