Luke Cage: 17 Burning Questions (and Answers) for Season 2

Done watching all 13 episodes of Marvel's Luke Cage? Us too! We binged the entire first season faster than you can say "Sweet Christmas!" -- but that doesn't mean we don't have a few lingering questions that need to be answered, ASAP. Some for Season 1, most for Season 2, and some we're guessing will be picked up in the next Marvel/Netflix series Iron Fist and The Defenders.

Here's 17 burning questions we need answered, now! And spoilers past this point, in case you couldn't figure that out.

1. Will Luke make it to Seagate?

The last time Luke Cage (Mike Colter) was taken in by law enforcement, he escaped. Granted, as they drive over the bridge out of Manhattan to take Luke (neé Carl Lucas) back to Seagate Prison, he seems prepared to do his time; but also, as the two marshals mention, it's a long drive. A lot can happen before they put Luke back in his cell.

2. If he does make it, how long will he stay?

Luke may not be in the next Marvel series, Iron Fist (though that would be a shame because in the books, the two characters go together like peanut butter and chocolate), but he's definitely in The Defenders. Assuming that series doesn't take place years or decades in the future, Luke won't be in the slammer for very long.

3. Does the evidence actually clear Carl Lucas?

Shades (Theo Rossi) tells Luke he has a folder of evidence that will clear Carl Lucas' name, revealing that Diamondback (Erik LaRay Harvey) framed him and sent him to jail. At the end of the series, Bobby Fish (Ron Cephas Jones) has that folder. But is it enough to clear Luke's name? Things certainly haven't been that easy for Harlem's vigilante so far...

4. Is Misty full on vigilante now?

When we last see Misty Knight (Simone Missick), she's in Harlem's Paradise dressed very similarly to how comic book fans know her best: as a bionic-armed vigilante bringing justice to the streets of Harlem. She's been a straight and narrow, by-the-book cop up until this point, but with Mariah (Alfre Woodard) set free on a technicality, Misty has that final push to take justice into her own hands. Or, it's also possible she's just starting over again, infiltrating Harlem's Paradise just like she did when she tried to take down Cottonmouth (Mahershala Ali) way back in the premiere.

5. Are Mariah and Shades in loooooove?

They do smoocheroo, but given Mariah's past in particular, all may not be copacetic for the new king and queen of Harlem. After 13 episodes of wavering back and forth, Mariah has embraced her destiny as the new "Mama" Mabel; which makes Shades her "Pistol" Pete Stokes. As we saw in flashback, Mama ended up having to have Pete killed. All's fair in love and war, but when money is involved, the rules get thrown out the window.

6. Can Mariah hold it together?

On a similar note, Mariah went through a massive evolution over the course of the season, wavering back and forth on whether she wanted to become the new crime boss of Harlem. Going into Season 2, will her uncertainty be her downfall? Not to mention her temper...

7. What's Shades' plan?

Now that he's finally the one in charge (or co-charge), Shades has everything he ever wanted. But after spending all that time yelling at both Cottonmouth and Diamondback for their lack of a plan, what's his? He's in charge of Harlem's Paradise, he's got Mariah ... but what's next? It's hard to move up from being a flunky to running the show, and it's entirely possible he might not be ready for the responsibility.

8. Is Claire about to become a superhero?

Nah. But Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) is headed straight from Luke Cage to Iron Fist (and then to The Defenders after that). There's a little tease at the end where she picks up a tear sheet for self-defense classes from someone named Colleen Wing, but it's Colleen, not Claire, who has the superhero creds. She'll be played by Jessica Henwick on Iron Fist, and is most frequently paired with Misty in the comics as part of a vigilante team called The Daughters of the Dragon.

9. Will Claire ever get that coffee with Luke?

Maaaaybe. But with Claire having already hooked up with Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and Luke, and Luke having also hooked up with Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), when they eventually all meet up for The Defenders, things are gonna get awkward.

10. What's going to happen to Pop's?

The gang all agrees that, after getting wrecked twice, maybe Pop's store doesn't want to be a barbershop anymore. Bobby Fish notes that, as the site of the big Diamondback/Luke Cage showdown, people are going to talk about the place for years. So, what's next for the storefront? Will it become a Luke Cage museum? A place for the community to organize and fight back against Mariah and Shades? Or maybe it could be a coffee shop? That would be pretty funny/sorta gross in context.

11. Is Diamondback about to get superpowers?

I mean, yes. Of course. Dr. Noah Burstein (Michael Kostroff) is last seen entering Diamondback's hospital room, where he lies paralyzed after his fight with Luke. And remember, Burstein kept a back-up of Reva's (Parisa Fitz-Henley) files, including the process for how he "made" Luke. Whether Diamondback will have exactly the same powers as Luke is up for debate, but my bet? Post-procedure he morphs into another frequent Luke Cage enemy, a super-strong mob boss named Tombstone.

12. What else is on Reva's drive?

She's got Luke's files, had evidence on Kilgrave (from Jessica Jones) ... what else did Reva know about? And who was she working for? Chances are she won't have a ton to do with the mystically infused Iron Fist, but even if Luke has moved on from her memory, we're definitely not done with whatever shadowy organization was funding her research.

13. How are things going for Connie?

We didn't get a glimpse of Connie (Jade Wu) since Luke rescued her from the collapse of her building back in Episode 4. Hey, maybe they could reopen Genghis Connie's in Pop's old shop. Eh? Eh????

14. Who is on the Harlem Council?

Mariah is evil; Damon Boone (Clark Jackson) is dead; so who is Harlem's new councilperson? My vote: Turk Barrett (Rob Morgan), as long as he got out of that dumpster Luke left him in.

15. Did Method Man's "Bulletproof Love" become a #1 hit?

Probably not, but it should. Someone call Sway and make this happen!

16. Where were Jessica Jones and Daredevil while all this was happening?

One of the most frequent questions about any Avengers' solo movie is always, "Why didn't Iron Man/Captain America/Thor/etc. show up to help?" Granted, with the new movies involving every character all the time, that's lessened a bit; but you could ask the same thing here: why didn't New York's other street-level vigilantes show up to help Luke?

The in-continuity answer is most likely that Luke left things with Jessica on a pretty bad note, and he doesn't know Daredevil (despite Claire bringing him up every few minutes). The more realistic answer is: New York is a really, really big place. A million things are always going on at the same time, so even if huge news is breaking in Harlem, chances are it might not seem as big of a deal in Hell's Kitchen. Anyway, they're gonna team up in Defenders, so chill out.

17. When are we going to get Luke Cage Season 2?

Netflix takes their time announcing these things, but given that the show may have broken the service on Saturday, it's going to happen. Can I get a "Sweet Christmas?"