This season of Black Lightning started off with an exceptionally bleak police state. The second episode doesn’t lighten things up at all. It starts off with one of the girls we saw being interrogated last week, Maryam, in the chair again. Her situation’s gotten even worse. Her hair’s falling out, parts of her body are turning invisible uncontrollably and she’s bleeding out her ears. The ASA’s project isn’t going entirely according to plan. Metahuman kids keep dying on their watch. Lynn is making the most of captivity, doing everything she can to keep them alive. That’s a sore point with Jefferson, who’s wary of giving Agent Odell his weapons.
The show’s making that the central conflict of the season so far, and it works. It makes it hard to pick who to root for. On the one hand, this police state in Freeland is demonstrably bad. The sooner the ASA packs up and moves on, the better. But without their resources, a lot of these Green Light babies and pod kids will die. Yes, it’s the ASA’s fault they’re like that in the first place, but resisting them likely means sacrificing innocent kids. Lynn can’t make that decision, and deep down, neither can Jefferson. He can only hope that somehow, they can stop the organization from turning kids into weapons after they’re better. Also, the Markovians are real and their army is nearby, so that complicates things.
Christopher B. Duncan as Commander Williams and Damon Gupton as Inspector Bill Henderson — Photo: Mark Hill/The CW
The show makes it clear that it isn’t both sides-ing things here. The ASA is evil, no doubt about that. The question is is it possible to do any good under this kind of evil. Lynn thinks she has to try. Meanwhile, the ASA already has their first metahuman weapon. They revived Khalil, gave him all his abilities back, and fitted him with a brain chip. He now has a masters-level knowledge of multiple disciplines and no memory of his old life. Then, they send him to kill his mother. A task he completes with terrifying efficiency. I mean terrifying, too. I don’t think any CW show has given me anywhere near the chills this one scene did.
As for the argument between Jefferson and Lynn, the episode doesn’t give us a clear answer. Lynn enlists Jefferson’s help to run some tests on Maryam. He tries to use his electricity to stabilize her body while she uses her powers. The hope is they can stop her hair and fingernails from falling out. Yeah, this episode didn’t shy away from showing us stuff that makes us squirm. Later, Jefferson uses his electrical field to talk to Maryam privately. She confirms his fear: That the ASA is forcing these kids to fight one another.
He brings the news to Lynn, but she’s more angry that he pumped information out of a sick girl. She also seems concerned about him endangering her plan. The ASA can’t listen in when Jefferson’s using his powers, but they’re able to track his energy signal. They know when he’s sniffing around where they don’t want him to be. Jefferson thinks Odell got to Lynn. I don’t think it’s that simple. Lynn very clearly has a plan to save these kids and stop them from becoming weapons. And the more suspicious Jefferson makes Odell, the harder it will be to pull it off.
James Remar as Gambi and Damon Gupton as Inspector Bill Henderson — Photo: Mark Hill/The CW
Things on the outside aren’t so great either. The ASA is rounding up suspected Green Light users and metahumans, and there’s nothing Henderson can do about it. Anissa survived the explosion blast she took last episode and leads the refugees to the Perdi. The situation there is strained. The Perdi are tired of hosting a city’s worth of metahumans, even with Anissa paying for their food. The Perdi daughter Anissa helped last season demands they leave. Anissa doesn’t take to well to the demand. She threatens the dad and beats up a shotgun-toting enforcer. After that, it’s only when the Perdi notice one of the metahumans making a plant grow instantly that they’re willing to work out some kind of deal. Still, both sides make it clear that there’s no trust here.
That’s… kinda it for that story this week. This episode introduced a lot of interesting ideas, but wasn’t able to take them anywhere. Gambi convinces Henderson to help him hack into the ASA’s computer system so he can ensure Anissa’s safe passage back into the city. We don’t see that happen though. Instead, he tracks Markovian special forces that are closing in on the Perdi’s farm. It’s an odd plot detour that comes out of nowhere, but at least it’s an excuse to see Anissa take apart a whole squad of soldiers. The fight scenes remain some of the best of all CW comic book shows, and this one provided a welcome bit of excitement amid all the depression.
China Anne McClain as Jennifer — Photo: Quantrell Colbert/The CW
Elsewhere in the story, Lala has Tobias’ briefcase and wants to be prepared for when Tobias comes to get it. So, he starts reassembling The 100 under him. That’s as far as the episode takes it story-wise, but the way he does it was pretty cool. He challenges the current leader and lets himself get shot. Then, he stands back up and watches all the bullets fall out of his body. That’ll earn you a few followers. He’ll probably stay a minor villain, but his story remains one of the show’s most interesting. I’m glad they’re keeping him around, even if they aren’t doing much with him yet.
Black Lightning’s second episode of the season is a lot of gesturing in directions the story will go. It brings up some big ideas and promises to explore them in the future. The trick is they’re very good-looking gestures. The scenes are well-directed and the inter-character drama is fascinating, even if the overall story doesn’t move as fast as I’d like it too. Plus, there are all those great fight scenes. Even Jenn gets into a fight at school for… reasons, but it’s a great scene. It’s satisfying watching her beat the absolute hell out of two male bullies. Even if it feels like it’s only there because the show needed another action beat. In any case, story threads have all been placed. Let’s see if next week’s episode picks them up.
Black Lightning airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on The CW
Previously on Black Lightning
- Black Lightning Season 3 Premiere recap
- Black Lightning Season 2 Finale recap
- Black Lightning Season 2 Episode 15 recap
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