The war between Bushmaster and Mariah Dillard (or Stokes, as he keeps saying) is hitting a fever pitch in these episodes of Luke Cage. He still wants to see her burn, literally, and she will do anything to stop it…
even asking Luke to help him, which he reluctantly does

SPOILERS BELOW

First off, Luke does survive from falling in the river. The paralyzing dust Bushmaster uses does wear off in time, but it takes a little longer for him to recover.
Then the story takes a brutal turn early in episode seven when Mariah is finally worried about Bushmaster. She is worried about leaks, and deals with it by stabbing someone in the hand with a letter opener. This marks the start of her shift from distinguished benefactor to successor to her cousin Cornell.
She has reason to worry: Bushmaster does get Piranha Jones (Chaz Lamar Shepherd) , and forces him to transfer her money to him. He thinks it’ll save him…until we see his head in an aquarium.

This will put the cops in a tough situation. They may have to make a deal with Mariah to protect her from Bushmaster, an idea Luke hates and the cops reluctantly accept.
Mariah learns what Piranha did, and how she lost everything. In horror and disbelief, all she can think about is getting back to her brownstone, while Comanche tries to deflect blame by claiming Sugar was the snitch.
The big scene in episode seven is when Shades discovers that his best friend Comanche (Thomas Q. Jones) is meeting with Ridenhour (Peter Jay Fernandez). Yep, Comanche is the real snitch, and it breaks Shades’ (Theo Rossi) heart. He kills Ridenhour, and shoots Comanche. Shades goes on a long monologue about how they were best friends and maybe more, and how he never saw it coming. You almost feel pit for Shades and his broken heart…until he fires that fatal shot.

That was a big scene….until a bigger one appears when Bushmaster is all set to burn Mariah alive in her home, yet lets Tilda go. Luke is still able to save them both, but refuses to work for her. He’ll keep her alive, though.
They head to a secure area owned by Danny Rand aka Iron Fist.

Meanwhile, Bushmaster declares himself king of the Harlem Paradise, and wastes no time placing himself on Mariah’s throne. As he sees it, he’s taking back what is his. Even her lawyer Ben Donovan (Danny Johnson) knows when to switch sides.
Shades also admits to Mariah he shot Comanche and Ridenhour and why. However, thanks to burning his clothes, he cops can’t prove anything.

Episode eight is basically a victory lap for Bushmaster, but not a complete victory. He’s hooked on the nightshade he needs to maintain his super voodoo strength, and he’ll turn to Tilda (Gabrielle Dennis) for help.