I just finished the last episode and liked the show as much as DD and JJ. I can't wait for Iron Fist and Defenders now. Here are some random thoughts:
-The series had absolutely fantastic music throughout. I really liked the Method Man track about Cage, which was surprising to me since I am not a fan of Method Man. The OST was really phenomenal, as well as the performances at Harlem's Paradise. Cornell's piano playing was very moving, along with the scenes that it usually bookended. I really liked the Jidenna song/performance and it was cool to see The Delfonics and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. I think my favorite that really sticks out in my mind was Charles Bradley though; I had never heard of him and have now been tuned onto him. I definitely have some new music to listen to.
-While I didn't care for Diamondback as a whole, I did like that costume in the last episode. It was so awful and cheesy that it worked for him. I'm not too familiar with blaxploitation films but it gave off a vibe to me like it could have come from a 70's movie or something, the same era where the yellow disco shirt and tiara that Luke wears could have come from. And the undershirt beneath the jumpsuit had a bit of horizontal ribbing on it that reminded me of a snake's belly. So I give the costume a thumbs up. And Luke had some good ones too, from the throwback tiara and disco suit, to the dark hoodie with yellow interior fabric. He had a very iconic look and it looked a lot better to me than most images I have seen of him in recent comics where he just has like a tight black or yellow T-shirt on.
-I was very happy to see Turk pop up and liked that Claire had a more important role in this series. Fish needed more screen time. I didn't know that Theo Rossi was going to be in this beforehand because I didn't keep tabs on production but I was surprised to see him show up; I'm currently marathoning Sons of Anarchy and am in S6 right now so I am used to seeing Juice. I watched The Wire for the first time recently too, so seeing so many actors and actresses from The Wire like Sonja Sohn was welcome.
-Some of the themes from the show and the way they relate to what is happening in America right now, like with Luke being a Bulletproof Black Man, were pretty powerful. Luke lecturing the mugger with the gun about Crispus Attucks was especially good.
-While I did enjoy the series, I thought the final episode was a miss. The fight scene fell flat for me. I didn't care for Mariah getting away with everything but also just didn't like her dialog or performance for the majority of the episode. I was hoping for more something more from Misty at the end after seeing Candance's body, other than just walking outside the morgue door and stopping. There was more also that I didn't like and I was let down.
-The line about Diamondback looking like a Pimp Stormtrooper made me laugh pretty hard and was my favorite line of the show, followed closely by Luke's corny-ass "I've heard Cuban blends are the most robust" line at the end.
I'm not sure where to slot in in regards to DD S1 and 2 and JJ but all in all, I loved it. Netflix is batting 100% with their Marvel shows in my book. Luke Cage is a hero that I didn't have much familiarity with at all; I never read much Defenders, never read any solo stuff or H4H teamups, and never read any Avengers comics with him on the team. It was really good though. Now I really look forward to Iron Fist, who I am also not that familiar with (I recently bought Volume 1 of the Fraction/Aja Immortal Iron Fist because of my love of their Hawkeye run, but I have had trouble getting through it). Very good though and I cannot wait to rewatch it in a couple months when I rewatch DD and JJ for the third time.