Cottonmouth’s death
Just like the first season of Daredevil, Luke Cage has Cottonmouth – a broken character who could have been something other than a gangster. Thus, via flashbacks, we find out where it all went wrong for Cornell Stokes. As with Fisk, it can all be traced back to his childhood.
And while the confrontation with Domingo was the first sign that Cottonmouth’s empire would crumble, the reveal that he could have had a different life (and be a musician, as he wanted) signals that he is moments from his death.
Even more surprising is the reveal of his killer. Even if I expected Diamondback to make a first appearance for this, even if I expected Shades to do the deed, it’s actually Mariah who kills him, in a fit of anger.
What seemed to be just another disagreement between them ended up with Cornell being violently disposed of. I guess I should have seen that coming from the flashbacks, in which Mariah is also revealed to be one of the elements that irrevocably changed Cornell’s life.
