The rest of the Arrowverse is right in the middle of a universe-destroying Crisis (we’ll get to that later), but it hasn’t touched Black Lightning’s Earth. At least not as of the beginning of this episode. The title, “Earth Crisis” doesn’t exactly inspire a sense of safety. We start with Jenn, who’s recording a confession to Anissa on her computer. She describes working with Odell while knowing her dad is part of a resistance against the ASA. She doesn’t know who to follow. Odell, who seems to have sensed her crisis of faith, calls her on the TV and tries to wave away all her concerns. He also gives her a patrol job to keep her busy. Odell’s holding onto every little bit of power and control he can.
Things aren’t going well over at the resistance either. That broadcast they sent out during last week’s episode appears to have been intercepted and altered. Their resistance is being written off as the work of “liberal anti-vaxxers.” Now, they’re desperate. They might soon have to use a level of force Black Lightning’s not comfortable with. Anissa explains that the ASA is using Khalil as a puppet assassin. She tells him everything that’s been going on as she knows it. He may not like the idea of killing people, but it might be unavoidable.
Nafessa Williams as Blackbird and Cress Williams as Black Lightning — Photo: Josh Stringer/The CW
Their situation is going to have to wait though, as the events of “Crisis on Infinite Earths” begin to encroach on Black Lightning. As Jenn waits for Anissa at her apartment, the sky turns red. As the wave of antimatter reaches Jenn, she’s teleported to a black void. There, she meets two alternate Earth versions of herself. This occupation seems to be playing out in different ways on every version of Earth. We get to see each one from Jenn’s point of view. It’s a smart way to make Black Lightning part of the crossover while allowing it to keep its identity and story. I’m also glad it focuses on Jenn. She has the most interesting conflict on the show, but her story has been kind of underdeveloped this season. Here, we get to explore all her thoughts and dilemmas as she experiences alternate outcomes.
In Earth 1, where Arrow and The Flash take place, Jenn put the metahuman cure into the water supply. As punishment, Odell locked her up in the pit. He let her out for Christmas, and she’s commiserating with Anissa about how her parents didn’t publicly stick up for her. They both took jobs with the ASA to protect the family. It’s interesting to see the differences between this Earth and the one we know. Some are happy, some are heartbreaking. In this world, Khalil survived and got a scholarship to UCLA. On the other hand, Anissa never felt comfortable enough to come out to her parents. Their night is interrupted when the ASA bursts through the front door. Odell interrogated the reverend and found out he and Jefferson had been running an underground railroad for metas. He shoots Jefferson in front of his family.
Cress Williams as Jefferson (center) — Photo: Josh Stringer/The CW
The Jenn on Earth 2 has gone the complete opposite way. She’s a full willing partner to Odell and has become the ASA’s enthusiastic weapon. It’s driven her apart from her family, as she sees herself as willing to do what her father never could. She kills all the Markovians outside the city and then all the metahumans in the ASA’s facility. She wants to make sure she’s the most powerful person in Freeland. As Jefferson says, she’s grown addicted to her power. When her family confronts her, she kills them all. This is the big father vs. daughter fight the ads for this episode have been teasing. It’s cool, sure, and the special effects look great, but it’s hard to watch. Poor Black Lightning too, getting killed twice in one episode.
Back on our Earth, as the sky turns red, Jenn is fading in and out of existence. Occasionally, she wakes up with memories of what she’s seen. Gambi, Anissa, Jefferson and Lynn tend to her as best they can. Jefferson can’t stay for long, though. The ASA is hunting down the resistance, and Henderson needs Black Lightning to hit them back hard. He destroys the ASA headquarters, prompting Odell to send a bunch of Green Light to the pit. He’s going to turn every kid in his custody into weapons. Gambi locks onto the truck’s signal and Anissa says she has a plan to stop the truck. We don’t see it though. This episode had a lot going on, I get it, but it’s weird to leave us not knowing if Anissa stopped the truck or not. Did she ever make it out of her apartment? Do we have to wait until January to find out?
Christine Adams as Lynn and Nafessa Williams as Anissa — Photo: Josh Stringer/The CW
We know some time must have passed because Jefferson is back in Anissa’s place at the end of the episode. After Jenn confronts the alternate Earth versions of herself, a wave takes out both of them. In Anissa’s apartment, Jenn has turned into a cluster of floating particles. Not even Gambi has any idea what to do about that. It doesn’t matter though, because the antimatter wave sweeps through the planet. Black Lightning is teleported out just before it hits him, but everyone else is left to die. We’ll see more Black Lightning in the next part of “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”
This was an incredibly cool way to bring Black Lightning into the big crossover on its own terms. It didn’t have to ignore the story already in progress, and it was able to use the antimatter wave to push one of its own stories forward. Jenn’s journey this season hasn’t been as fleshed out as the rest of her family’s, so it was nice to see her get her due here. The Crisis forced her to figure out exactly what she believes and where she stands between the ASA and the resistance. She realizes her powers will corrupt her if she lets them, and especially if she lets Odell keep turning her into a weapon. But that doesn’t mean they’re bad. She can’t completely give them up and become helpless either. This isn’t about both sides or the truth being in the middle, this is about Jenn learning to be her own person and make her own choices. When this Crisis is all over, hopefully we see more of that from her. This is the most comic book-y the writing has ever felt and the show used it to great effect. It was exciting to see Black Lightning join the greater Arrowverse, and I can’t wait to see what he does in Crisis.
Black Lightning airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on The CW
Previously on Black Lightning:
- Black Lightning Season 3 Episode 8 recap
- Black Lightning Season 3 Episode 7 recap
- Black Lightning Season 3 Episode 6 recap
from Geek.com https://ift.tt/341sPkI
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment