'Luke Cage' Brings Back Its 'Coffee' Reference with Some Hilarious Twists

The first season of Luke Cage firmly established that coffee isn't just a hot cup of caffeinated [...]

By Nicole Drum

The first season of Luke Cage firmly established that coffee isn't just a hot cup of caffeinated liquid in the Netflix series and now that season two is here that euphemism is back with some hilarious twists.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for season two of Luke Cage. If you haven't had a chance to catch the show yet, proceed with caution.

Getting coffee with Luke Cage (Mike Colter) may be code for hooking up, but with Cage involved with Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) he's not exactly taking anyone else up on the offer or offering it himself, but in the new season which dropped on Friday, it ended up being something of a running joke.

First, in the second episode, "Straighten It Out", Luke goes looking for Dontrell "Cockroach" Hamilton, a low-level crook, thug, and enforcer who ended up released from prison because his case had been handled by Misty Knight's (Simone Missick) corrupt partner Scarfe. Once out, he starts causing trouble for Luke and Misty which leads Luke to go looking for him. He doesn't find Cockroach where he expects to but finds a woman there instead. When she gets his number to call him with information, she asks Luke "You want some coffee?" and he simply laughs it off.

The "coffee" references continue more humorously from there. In the third episode "Wig Out", new Season 2 villain John McIver, aka Bushmaster, (Mustafa Shakir) comes to New York to settle an old score with Mariah Stokes (Alfre Woodard) but he finds time for a bit of fun as well. In one scene, Bushmaster wakes up after participating in a threesome and his lieutenant offers him a cup of coffee. Bushmaster memorably responds, "Didn't you see I just had two cups?"

Perhaps one of the cleverer "coffee" references in Season 2, though, comes in the last episode, "They Reminisce Over You", when Luke goes to Little Italy to confront Rosalie Carbone (Annabella Sciorra), the queen of the Italian organized crime scene in New York City. Luke goes to see her to negotiate with her so that she will stay out of Harlem and when they're done, Carbone makes Luke something of an offer.

"Mr. Cage, next time we should do this over coffee," she says. When Luke responds that he doesn't drink espresso, she has a perfect answer for that.

"No one's made you a proper cup yet."

Considering that Claire and Luke's relationship ends the season in a very different place than fans might expect -- and considering that Dawson might not return to the role -- he might just find himself looking for coffee again soon.

Luke Cage Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

What did you think about the "coffee" jokes in Luke Cage Season 2? Let us know in comments!

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