From showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker, Season 2 of the Netflix original series Marvel’s Luke Cage sees the man himself (Mike Colter) learning to adjust to having become a celebrity on the streets of Harlem. While kids love the bulletproof superhero, Luke Cage is feeling the heat, with an increased pressure to protect the community from formidable adversaries that are both familiar, like Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) and Shades (Theo Rossi), and new, like the mysterious Bushmaster (Mustafa Shakir), that will cause him to evaluate just where the line between being a hero ends and being a villain begins.

During this phone interview with Collider, actress Simone Missick talked about unleashing a bad-ass Misty Knight in Season 2, the many different facets of womanhood that you get to see in Luke Cage, what she most enjoyed about Season 1, getting to explore the darker parts of humanity, making the bionic arm work to her advantage, the show’s fun banter, how Misty feels about Luke’s position at the end of the season, and what fans can expect from her presence in Iron Fist season 2. Be aware that there are some spoilers discussed.

Collider: Just so you know, I’ve seen the entire second season, and it was so great to see how badass Misty Knight is!

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Image via Netflix

SIMONE MISSICK:  Thank you so much!

There’s such an interesting variety of female characters on the show.

MISSICK:  Yeah, I think you get to see so many different facets of womanhood on the show. I think (showrunner) Cheo [Hodari Coker] did a great job of finding really great female characters, and then allowing them to play.

When I spoke to Cheo Hodari Coker about this new season, he acknowledged the criticism of Season 1 and said that, even though it hurt, he listened to it. How do you feel about the criticism that the first season got, and were you happy to see that being addressed rather than ignored?

MISSICK:  I think that it’s always great to strive to be better, and to take a step up and to take a step back and examine what you do. A lot of times, with any artist, whether it’s the writer, or an actor, or a producer, or whatever, you’re doing the work in a vacuum and in a space where everyone around you is rooting for you. It’s not until you present your art to the world that people have opinions. There are some people who ignore those opinions, and then there are some people who look at the criticism and take it constructively. I think it’s great that Cheo is not so precious that he can’t take a step back and examine. But I don’t read critiques, for the reason that I can’t create my art and worry about what other people think. I can leave that to Cheo. So, I’m gonna be honest and say that, other than knowing that people weren’t happy with the way that the season fared after Episode 7, I couldn’t tell you what the specific criticism was, to know, one way or the other, if I agreed with it or not. That’s what Cheo is there for. I do know that one of the main issues was the killing off of Mahershala Ali’s character. People felt like that happened too early. I think that, this season, with Mustafa Shakir as Bushmaster, you definitely get to see the evolution and the full story of this one villain, and he’s so strong. That’s exciting to see.

Bushmaster is definitely a bit scary!

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Image via Netflix

MISSICK:  Yeah, just a bit.

Looking back at the first season, when did you feel that Luke Cage was really at its best?

MISSICK:  Frankly, I had a great first season. You see this woman, who is undercover when you first meet her, in all of her womanhood, and who’s sexually empowered and just enjoying her and Luke’s moment in time, become this woman who is determined to protect her community and look out for Harlem, in light of having this new person with abilities in her community. And then, you have her betrayed by her partner and having to question everything that she has looked at as truth in her life, from her relationships to her very job. That then goes to her being attacked by someone and taken hostage and having her gun taken away from her, and feeling like she could have died because she could have, and then there’s the emotional journey of coming back from that. Then, she gets shot and almost dies, literally, and that forms a bond between she and Luke that we get to explore in Season 2. So, for me, my Season 1 was a joy. As an actor, as a viewer and as a woman, you just don’t get to see those type of journeys occur for a woman, on screen. You just don’ts. Season 1 was spot on for Misty Knight. She is introduced to the world in her full bad ass-ery, and then Season 2 only builds on that, with the adding of her prosthetic arm and seeing that evolution.

It feels like Misty is a little bit down on herself, at the beginning of this season. She has to get her groove back a little bit, and it’s fun to see her build herself back up. What did you most enjoy about that journey, this season, and getting her groove back?

MISSICK:  As an actor, I look forward to those moments where I get to explore the darker parts of humanity and what it’s like to feel like your entire existence is based on your physical capabilities, as well as your mental dexterity. In Season 1, Misty questioned whether or not she really knew what she was doing because of all the things that happened, but she always had her physical abilities. She could run, she could tackle a suspect, she could beat somebody, she could pull her gun and shoot, and do all of those things. And now, she has no arm. What is that like, for the men and women who live with disabilities, every day? Whether it’s something that happens from a medical standpoint, or whether it’s a soldier coming back from war that has to figure life out when they are no longer their full self, what makes a person whole? As an actor, it’s just amazing to be able to explore that. To then see her fight off her own self doubt and say, “All right, I’m ready to go back to work,” to fight the doubt of the people that she is working with, who don’t trust that she can do her job, and to get to the place where she gets this prosthetic arm and you get to see her side by side with Luke, who’s a superhero, it’s a great journey for her to take, and for me, as an actor, to play.

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Image via Netflix

She definitely pretty quickly figures out how to make it work to her advantage.

MISSICK: There’s that moment where she and Luke are fighting some people in a garage and she punches a guy, however many feet back, and there’s this moment of, “I didn’t know this bitch could do this,” which is great. Even though she’s figuring out how to use it to her advantage, she’s still figuring it out herself, and figuring out how she can be useful and kick ass.

One of my favorite moments this season is the sidekick banter between Misty and Luke. Do you enjoy those moments of humor?

MISSICK:  Oh, absolutely! In Season 1, the majority of that for me and my character was with Frank Whaley, who played my partner, Scarfe. We would go to set and have a ball, finding different ways to find the humor. And when that relationship ended and [that character] died, it was like, “Where is Misty finding this levity?” So much of it can feel so dark. And so, to have that with Luke, when they started out as lovers, and then became adversaries, and then became trusting friends and now partners, it’s so much fun to see the evolution of that, especially when, so often, you see men and women, after they’ve had a sexual relationship, where they can never just be around each other and be human. There always has to be this weirdness. With Luke, it’s so great to see he and Misty having this bond and being able to really forge it through humor. Those are my favorite parts of this show. I’m always looking for ways to insert jokes. Because of that, the writers try to write them, and then I’ll still come in and go, “What about this one, too?” I’m constantly looking for the levity and the humor.

I love Misty Knight because it feels like, especially with what she went through with losing her arm, she’s just not gonna take shit from anybody this season.

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Image via Netflix

MISSICK:  Not at all. Maybe never. Misty has a, “I would like to see you try,” attitude throughout this entire season.

How would you describe the dynamic between Misty and Mariah, who seems to be a thorn in the side of just about everyone?

MISSICK:  Right. It’s like that person in your family that you have to be around and you do not like them, at all. That is Mariah and Misty. Misty hasn’t found a way to eliminate Mariah yet. She just won’t go away, at every turn that you try to get rid of her. She’s that strong and that resilient. And so, I think that Misty has the stance of being patient. She can’t let go of getting rid of Mariah or taking her out because she’s a poison and a cancer, but that didn't work. And so, she’s like, “All right, I’ve gotta figure something else out.” It’s a strange relationship. When they’re going against Bushmaster and they’re just trying to just stay alive, there’s still this feeling of, “I just wish he would maybe kill you. Maybe not all of us. If he could just kill you, then we could all be okay.” That’s fun to play. They become almost like bickering siblings, in some moments. The performance is just crafted so beautifully by Alfre Woodward. She’s just so phenomenal, as an actor, to work with because she finds the truth in every scenario. She’s a wonderful actor to play with, and it made for fun times on set.

What have you most enjoyed about having Mike Colter, as the guy leading this series?

MISSICK:  Mike is just a very generous actor. He doesn’t have ego. He doesn’t come in and say, “This is my show,” or “You have to fall in line with me.” He’s a wonderful person that you would want to be the number one on your call sheet because he cares about the story and he cares about every person that comes on set. You hear these horror stories about people who work with other actors on shows, where they send their stand-in in to do their coverage. That’s just not Mike. He comes to work ready to work, and he does just that. He’s a great guy, and he’s just a wonderful person to work with.

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Image via Netflix

With where things are left at the end of this season, how would you say Misty feels about what Luke has taken on? Does she believe that he can succeed, or is she going to wait and see?

MISSICK:  I think Misty is extremely skeptical. You know that the phrase, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”? If you have a man who is perched at the highest point in Harlem, the place where crime is the epicenter of this community, and he’s got abilities, it’s a recipe for someone to be corrupted, and Misty knows that. She knows that you can’t work within a crooked system, in order to try to turn it around. Luke is arrogant in thinking that he can be the one to do it. She’s definitely going to wait and see, but she’s pessimistic, in this situation. She’s definitely being a realist.

We also know that you’ll be appearing in Season 2 of Iron Fist. What did you most enjoy about taking Misty and joining their world for a little bit?

MISSICK:  Wow! Without giving too much away, obviously, the relationship between Misty and Colleen is going to be explored, and that is the greatest gift that I could have. Working with Jessica Henwick has been a pleasure, not only because of who she is, as a person, but because you know you’re giving the fans what they want to see, with these two characters together, with the hopes that it will eventually be Daughters of Dragon. Hopefully, that’s something that they’re satisfied with, once they see the season. But then, because this is not Harlem, it’s Chinatown and it’s downtown, it’s not really Misty’s beat. I just get to find the humor in these outstandingly unbelievable scenarios. With Luke, it’s like, “Okay, this person has impenetrable skin.” With Danny, he’s like, “I am the immortal Iron Fist from K’un-Lun, that was forged with a dragon.” That is just so much fun to explore, as well. And everyone over at that show has been great.

Marvel’s Luke Cage Season 2 is available to stream at Netflix on June 22nd.

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Image via Netflix
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Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix
Image via Netflix