The first five episodes of this season of Black Lightning have been called “The Book of Occupation.” That occupation might be coming to an end, though. After a bunch of ASA guards beat Jefferson on video, a resistance is gaining momentum. So much that the arc got a new title: “The Book of Resistance.” That’s exciting. Just because a resistance exists though, doesn’t mean everything’s going to be OK. There are clearly some tough times ahead for the Pierce family especially. They all have major roles to play in the coming conflict, but they’re not all on the same side at this point.
The show starts off creating an undercurrent of dread that runs through the whole episode. We see Anissa recording a goodbye video to her family. Whatever’s about to happen though, Anissa seems sure she doesn’t have much longer to live. In a later scene with Gambi, we see why. She took a powerful hit of venom during her fight with Painkiller. Gambi has dealt with the venom before, but never this powerful. He doesn’t know how long it’ll take to make a more powerful antidote, but Anissa only has a couple weeks. The venom knocked out her healing ability and now it’s spreading through her body.
James Remar as Gambi — Photo: Mark Hill/The CW
Her scenes this episode are at once worrying and sad. She’s alternately lying and pushing away the people she cares about. First, Jefferson comes by to check on her, and she cuts the visit short. She tells him Tavon’s murder was her fault because she brought him back even though she knew it was a bad idea. Then, she asks him to leave. Then, when Grace finds her passed out on the floor, she brushes it off as being lightheaded. She insists she’s fine and that Gambi’s going to have a cure for her any minute now. That’s obviously way more confidence than she actually has.
As hard as it made the episode to watch at points, this story absolutely worked. There wasn’t a scene with Anissa on screen where I wasn’t genuinely worried. Yes, I knew the show wasn’t going to kill one of its main characters like this, but in the moment, that didn’t matter. The drama was well-written and acted. Logically, the show wasn’t going to kill off Anissa, but as the story played out, I became less sure. Especially when Grace finds Anissa on the floor for a second time. This time, she’s not getting up. Fortunately, Gambi figures out how to boost the anti-venom just in time to save her. It’s going to take Anissa some time to recover, but she’ll be OK.
Chantal Thuy as Grace Choi — Photo: Mark Hill/The CW
Anissa’s not the only one affected by Tavon’s death. At his funeral Lynn thanks him for not doing anything crazy. Meaning not dressing up as Black Lightning. They clearly disagree about how best to handle Odell. All it takes is a reporter asking Jefferson what he’d want to say to Tavon to get him thinking. He says Tavon’s death won’t be in vain. That night, he goes out and beats up a few ASA guards, leaving a lightning bolt symbol charred into a wall. Odell later comes by to threaten him, and finds he can’t threaten Jefferson anymore. Both men have it out for each other now.
Odell gets a ton of great moments in this episode, and I was thinking the show was building him into the season’s big villain. In addition to his heated exchange with Jefferson, and there’s Lynn’s work with Tobias. He promises her information on Odell in exchange for the files on the pod kids. He slowly teases the information out, which makes both him and Odell seem more terrifying. I loved Lynn and Tobias’ scenes together. Lynn hates Tobias, but she needs him, and the show mines a ton of great drama from that tension. We don’t quite get all the answers from Tobias, but Odell is made out to be a much greater monster than Tobias.
Christine Adams as Lynn and Cress Williams as Jefferson — Photo: Annette Brown/The CW
That’s why it was so strange when he died. The ASA sees that the Markovians have made it inside Freeland, thanks to the teleporting mercenary. They raid Club 100, resulting in a big shootout the episode never built up to. It’s just here because a superhero show needs an action scene. The problem is, all the other stories come to an abrupt halt once the shooting starts. Anissa’s recovery? Done. The twisted work friendship between Lynn and Tobias? Over. That over-boiling feud between Jefferson and Odell? Doesn’t matter. Even some intriguing story developments only get one scene and aren’t brought up again. Lynn breaks up with Jefferson and goes to live at the facility full time. Jenn finds out that Brendan is looking for Dr. Jace to get revenge after she killed his mom. Also, he’s a metahuman that can control earth, including turning coal into diamonds. That’s cool, but it all stops here.
Black Lightning breaks up the gunfight and shields Odell with an electric force-field. He’s just too late, though. Odell took a bullet in the stomach. The Markovian leader is teleported out along with Dr. Jace. Odell’s last words are to call Black Lightning pathetic for not killing them. It’s so weird that after all that buildup of Odell that they’d kill him right here. That’s why I think he’s not really dead. We’ve seen plenty of people come back to life on this show, it wouldn’t be exactly shocking to find out Odell had some contingency planned. And if they are trying to build him into this season’s big bad, what better villain is there than one who will keep coming back even if he’s killed? Still, the death doesn’t feel as big a moment as it should. Even if they plan to bring him back, it just feels like a way to put the story on hold for a few weeks. I guess we’ll find out where the show takes the story next week. It’s just hard to get to excited after such an abrupt ending.
Black Lighting airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on The CW
Previously on Black Lightning:
- Black Lightning Season 3 Episode 5 Recap
- Black Lightning Season 3 Episode 4 Recap
- Black Lightning Season 3 Episode 3 Recap
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