Step in the Arena

Step in the Arena is the fourth episode of the first season of the television series Luke Cage.
==Synopsis==
As he rescues a victim of Cottonmouth's vengeance, Luke remembers his earlier life and the conspiracy that led to his superhuman strength.
==Plot==
A year ago, Carl Lucas is arrested and incarcerated at the Seagate Penitentiary under Albert Rackham's supervision. Lucas decides to keep a distance from other inmates, but still attends therapy meetings with Reva Connors. Connors asks him if his lack of trust has something to do with his service as a police officer but Lucas replies that trusting someone in such a place is setting oneself to a failure. Squabbles warns him that being lonely in the Seagate could lead him to death but Lucas dismisses him.
Rackham takes interest in Lucas and discusses him with Shades and Comanche. At night, Rackham opens Lucas' cell doors and lets Shades and Comanche to attack him but Lucas manages to defend himself before the guards arrive. Noticing Lucas' strength, Rackham offers him to participate in the Seagate's underground fighting ring but Lucas refuses. Lucas considers getting revenge on Comanche but Squabbles stops him before he attacks.
Lucas calls Connors out, telling that if she wants inmates to talk about themselves, she needs to set up an example. In private, Connors tells Lucas that her brother died in jail while she was absent, which she deeply regrets. Lucas apologizes for pressing on her but Connors realizes that Lucas did it so she would not press him. While talking with Connors, Lucas tells her that he is innocent but he is aware that it does not matter at this point.
On the next therapy session, Connors addresses the rumors that Seagate runs an experimental program and offers it to the inmates in exchange for an earlier release. Connors claims that these rumors are baseless but inmates are hesitant to believe it, since Connors works for Seagate. Connors later asks Lucas why he is so hesitant to opening up to her since he is an innocent man, but Lucas tells her that talking to people made him end up in Seagate in the first place. Lucas however admits that he is more open with her than with anyone else, since she gives him hope.
Rackham notices Lucas' attraction to Connors and promises that he can get her for him if Lucas agrees to his offer but Lucas is still against it. Rackham then has an inmate frame Squables for stabbing another inmate and threatens to extend his sentence if Lucas does not comply. Lucas eventually agrees but only if Squabbles stays by his side. After his training with Squabbles, Lucas is introduced to the fighting ring where Rackham earns money through streaming the fights between inmates.
Thanks to his strength and combat training, Lucas achieves success, defeating any opponent Rackham finds for him. Squabbles notices that Lucas diverts all his attention to the fighting and risks losing himself in the process. Lucas tells him that he is trying to figure out how to expose Rackham, so he and Squabbles could get out from his watch. Connors is concerned over Lucas' injuries he earned in the fights and realizes that he's in a bad place but Lucas refuses to communicate with her. Rackham, however, makes it clear that he is aware that Lucas cares about Connors and Lucas is afraid that Rackham might use it.
Lucas speaks with Connors, asking if she has any ties with anyone in the prison to which Connors says that she only works with Noah Burstein. Lucas tells Connors about Rackham's fighting ring and that the defeated inmates end up disappearing, as well as that Rackham might target Connors because of him. Lucas asks Connors to get out of Seagate and arrange an official testimony, so he could take Rackham down. Lucas tells Squabbles that he is planning to leave the fighting ring and build evidence to expose Rackham, but the guards start question Squabbles.
Later, Lucas is approached by Shades and Comanche who are aware of his plans to quit fighting and expose the fighting ring. As Rackham gave them an order to beat Lucas up if he will not reconsider, Shades and Comanche violently attack Lucas, leaving him heavily injured. Burstein treats to Lucas' wounds, saying that the damage he suffered might kill him and Connors tells him that Shades and Comanche killed Squabbles to get the information out of him. Connors convinces Burstein to subject Lucas to the experiment he has been running in Seagate in the last ditch effort to save him.
Burstein starts the experiment on Lucas but Rackham finds out and attempts to kill Lucas, so he could not expose him. Rackham turns up the heat in the machine to boil Lucas alive, however, it results in an overload and explosion that kills Rackham. Stepping out from the machine, Lucas finds out that he has received superhuman strength and durability. When the guards ring the alarm, Lucas breaks through the wall and escapes Seagate.
Lucas contacts Connors who helps him with wiping out all records about him, telling Lucas that he is the first test subject to survive the experiments. Lucas asks Connors why she lied about not being aware of the experiments but Connors says that she cannot reveal much about things she was involved in before Seagate. Lucas thanks Connors for saving his life, while Connors is grateful to Lucas for changing hers, and they share a kiss. Connors tells Lucas that he will need a new name, so he starts a life as a new person, being known as Luke Cage. 
In the present time, the NYPD and the Fire Department of New York City arrive at Genghis Connie's ruins after it was destroyed by the explosion. Misty Knight and Rafael Scarfe investigate the explosion, as Knight points out that Cage lived upstairs of the restaurant and was there during the explosion. The police examine the video footage of the explosion and Knight suggests that Cottonmouth was the one responsible for the explosion but they lack evidence to press charges. Scarfe then removes the hard drives with the footage and contacts Zip to discuss the situation with Cottonmouth.
Cage regains his consciousness underneath the rubble, finding himself and Connie Lin trapped. Cage reveals his true strength to Lin and starts moving the rubble to free both of them. Cage manages to free Lin from being trapped from the rubble before he is discovered by Knight and the firemen. The media approach him on how he survived the explosion and saved Lin, and he publicly reveals himself as Luke Cage.
==Cast==
Main Cast:
*Mike Colter as Luke Cage
*Simone Missick as Misty Knight
*Theo Rossi as Hernan Alvarez/Shades
Guest Stars:
*Frank Whaley as Detective Rafael Scarfe
*Parisa Fitz-Henley as Doctor Reva Connors
*Chance Kelly as Albert Rackham
*Michael Kostroff as Doctor Noah Burstein
*Thomas Q. Jones as Darius Jones/Comanche
*Craig Mums Grant as Squabbles
*Jade Wu as Connie Lin
*Clem Cheung as Jin Lin
*Manny Pérez as Lieutenant Perez
*David Marston Fobbs as Keely
*Harry Sutton Jr. as Guard #1
*Isaac Esau Gay as Guard #2
*Miles Mussenden as Guard #3
*Chris Lazzaro as Inmate
*Michael Chmiel as Cameraman
*Andy Schneeflock as Video Tech
*Bill Riccardulli as Firefighter #1
*Robert Keiley as Firefighter #2
*Amy Halldin as Newscaster #1
*Malika Nzinga as Newscaster #2
*Joe Harrell as Drill Sergeant
*Jonathan Benevento as Inmate (uncredited)
*Roger Brenner as FDNY / EMT (uncredited)
*Caliph Jones as Basketball Inmate (uncredited)
*Preston Lopez as Prison Inmate (uncredited)
*Lynn Marocola as FDNY Paramedic (uncredited)
*Brandon McClary as Fighter #2 (uncredited)
*Chiko Mendez as Fruit Vendor (uncredited)
*David Walcott as Correction Officer (uncredited)
*Thomas D. Weaver as Seagate Prison Guard (uncredited)
*Unknown Actor as Johnson (uncredited)
==Appearances==
===Locations===
*New York City, New York
**Genghis Connie's
**29th Precinct Police Station
*Georgia (flashback)
**Seagate Penitentiary (flashback)
===Events===
*Destruction of Genghis Connie's
*Escape from Seagate Prison (flashback)
===Items===
*Electro-Biochemical System
===Vehicles===
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===Organizations===
*New York City Police Department
*WJBP-TV
*WZTM News
*Fire Department of New York City
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*Savannah Police Department (mentioned)
*United States Armed Forces (mentioned)
===Mentioned===
*Zip
*Cottonmouth
*Jimmy Quinto
*Justin Hammer (indirectly)
*Tyler Stuart
*James Lucas
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*Beyoncé
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*Tupac Shakur
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==Trivia==
*Step in the Arena is a song from the of the hip-pop duo Gang Starr.
*Luke Cage spots metal headgear and bracelets after getting his powers, a yellow shirt and blue jeans that he wore in the comics as Power Man. He's accidentally dressed in a similar outfit after his escape from prison, and when he sees himself in a window, he says "You look like a fool".
==Behind the Scenes==
*Cage mentions to Squabbles. Kravitz reacted to the reference on on October 5, 2016, and while flattered she disputed the claim that she is more attractive than her mother.Zoë Kravitz on Instagram, 5 October 2016
==Music==
Song title 	Artist 	Location(s)
Feel Alive (feat. Karolina & Loren Oden)	Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad	
*(Flashback) Luke Cage thanks Reva Connors for saving his life and she in turns thanks him for changing hers, then they come up with a new name for him taken from quotations from Cage's father;
*(Present) Connie Lin is loaded into an ambulance.
==References==
==External Links==
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Category:Luke Cage (TV series) Episodes