Before reading any further, please be aware that this article contains SPOILERS!

As is usual, we start with a recap of events before.

We are then taken to Lawanda’s funeral, where Jefferson, Lynne and Jennifer are in attendance. Jennifer wonders where Anissa is.

Cut to Anissa, who is out in a scrapyard aiming to test out her new-found powers.  However, it doesn’t go terribly well for her straight away as the washers she’s trying to give a kicking to, goes nowhere.

We cut between the funeral and Anissa while music is playing and, even though it shouldn’t, they do fit together nicely, so as Rev Jeremiah preaches at the funeral, Anissa keeps going for that washing machine.

After the funeral, Jeremiah talks to Detective Henderson and Jefferson, making it know that he believe the police force are in the pockets of the 100.  Something Henderson denies – it’s a tense moment.

Anissa tries to control her breathing back at the scrapyard as she’s determined to get the most from her powers.  Sue enough it happens and…..BOOM…..the washing machine flies across the yard.

Back at the church and Jefferson is trying to talk some sense in to Jeremiah, to make him realise what he is doing.  Jeremiah feels that Jefferson, while a pillar of the community, only has the interests of the kids in his school, as well as his own family, at heart and not the further community of Freeland.  The good Reverend feels it’s time to take their lives back, even if it means them dying.  He talks of Lawanda and how Black Lightning gave her hope and feels that Him being back is the hope that the people of the city need.

Title card – so much earlier than last week.

Jefferson and Gambi – Gambi is telling Jefferson about upgrades to the Black Lightning suit and they put it to the test.  It’s just like a videogame but one that Jefferson isn’t the best at yet (good idea for the game though here).  After a few false starts Gambi tells Jeff to focus.  Once he does, no problem.

Tobias Whale (where did he get the idea for a ginger beard??), he arrives to see a new character we haven’t seen before.  Lady Eve.  Lady Eve seems to be Whale’s boss, giving him orders and telling Tobias to take care of business after she gets wind that Jeremiah wants to march/protest and take back the streets.

Jennifer is, as usual, on the roof of their house with her boyfriend, Khalil.  They talk of “doing it” and all of a sudden Khalil tells Jennifer he has been lying about having done it before and confesses that he’s a virgin.  Ultimately, Jennifer tells him the same about her.

We go back to Anissa who is in the library, checking out text on genetic mutation.  While there, she meets Grace who is reading (nice mention here) and Outsiders comic and tells Anissa what it is about (a nice touch).  Grace suggests that Anissa reads it due to the content and how it could be relevant to what she is looking for.  Further to that Grace invites Anissa to a party, a fancy dress party, a superhero fancy dress party and we get a nice little Supergirl mention.

Jeff and Henderson talk of Jeremiah and how he’s inspired by Black Lighting.  Henderson doesn’t care for BL and feels that he will get people killed and he isn’t convinced that he is good for the city.

Jeff goes back to Gambi, talking about the protest march and how Black Lightning can protect those who march.  Gambi, much to his displeasure, will be on hand to create a diversion. Have I mentioned how much I love James Remar?

On to dinnertime and Lynne and Jeff are getting ready for their family dinner – minus Anissa, who hasn’t been around the family as much as is usual.  Jeff and Lynne do get on to Black Lightning talk but they are cut short as Jennifer comes down for dinner, who says it “sucks” that Anissa won’t be there.

“Sucks” – bad language, really??

Anyway, as they are about to sit and have dinner, Jennifer very kindly blurts out that she is “ready to have sex”, to which Jeff chokes.  They sit, have dinner and all the talk is of how Jennifer wants to have sex with her boyfriend.  Lynne gallantly gets on with listening to her and offering advice while Jeff is uncomfortable through the whole thing.  It’s a great scene and brings normality to this family’s life, even with everything going on.

Later on and Anissa has arrived home and she is talking with Jennifer about her big reveal.  However, it soon turns to talk of Anissa not being around as much, something that Jennifer can’t get to grips with.  Jennifer also mentions that she is attending Jeremiah’s march and would like Anissa to be there.  Despite her initial reluctance, Anissa agrees to be there for Jennifer.

At school and Lynne arrives to see Jefferson and talk of Jennifer’s plans.  Were they too liberal?  However, Lynne has more on her mind because Black Lightning is back.  She feel, because of that, that Jennifer should live with her, Jeff, quite defiantly disagrees with this.  Still at school and Jeff bumps in to Khalil, the boy who Jennifer wants to lose her virginity to.  He talks to him, like a lot of fathers would to protect their daughters (I’m pretty sure I will), and asks Khalil how he washes in the shower.  Khalil tentatively explains before Jeff asks him how he gets out of the shower.  As Khalil explains, Jeff chastises him for the way he gets out, drying his “athletes” feet before his “other” areas and that he doesn’t want his daughter getting athletes foot elsewhere on her body and that they should “slow down”.  Making Khalil as nervous as he can, he turns around and walks away with a great smirk on his face.  Another great scene of the protective father, as we saw earlier with the sex reveal.  Again, it brings a bit of the normal family life to the Pierce’s.

Later on and we see Anissa at the party, dancing with Grace.  All of a sudden, her girlfriend Chenoa arrives, notices her dancing with Grace and immediately wants to know what is going on.  Anissa states that she isn’t cheating etc. and they go outside to talk.

We then see a short scene of Gambi setting up the aforementioned diversion.

 

We cut to the office of Tobias Whale, where he sits, a gun on the desk in front of him with a young lad sitting at the other side of the table.  The lad looks nervous as Tobias gives orders on what is expected from him – death of the marchers.  Tobias picks up on him being nervous and asks if there is a problem to which the young lad replies thats he’s wearing no gloves and can’t pick up the gun he is to use.  Tobias throws a hanly on the table, the lad reaches for it but, before he can grab it, Tobias sticks a knife through his hand, tells the lad he agreed to do this, especially if he wants to move up the pecking order of the organisation.  The guy thanks him (??) and leaves.  A scene that shows what Tobias is all about.  No nonsense, will not take any messing, takes no prisoners and will hurt anyone who is not up to the task.  For the young lad to say thank you after the knife in the hand shows the fear that Whale puts in to those who work beneath him.

Back at the Party and Anissa is back in the club talking to Grace.  She explains that her and Chenoa are over.  She tells Grace how it would be great to have superpowers whit Grace replying that being a superhero could well be a lonely place, with the double life that would have to be led.  Nothing to do with the content of the scene but I do love how Anissa has a look of a cross between Catwoman and the late, wonderful, Whitney Houston.

Jeff and Gambi and making sure that all is in order with their plan to stop any harm coming to this who are marching.  Gambi thinks that, rather than just kill the Reverend, that they want to kill all who march.  Gambi gets the suit ready for action.

The march arrives – Jeremiah leads they way as they chant “Freedom”.  Black Lightning is watching from the rooftops, in contact with Gambi, before noticing that Lynne and the girls are also there.  Black Lightning then notices the young lad that Tobias sent, with a gun and walking towards the marchers.  He jumps from the roof, landing on a car and uses his powers to stop the lad from hurting anyone.

The people marching, obviously happy with Black Lightning saving them from harm, break out into a rendition of Amazing Grace.  However, as they are singing, Tobias pulls up in his car, with Syonide alongside him.  Disappointed in what he sees, he orders Syonide to shoot (what I assumed at the time) Black Lightning.  Instead, she shoots Jeremiah and he falls to the floor.  We see panic in the crowd and we then focus of Khalil.  It seems that the bullet that hit the Reverend went straight through him and hit Khalil who also falls to the floor.

We then see Khalil on a hospital bed being rushed through with Jennifer at his side and she is worried that he isn’t going to be ok.

We see a news report on what transpired and an interview with Detective Henderson, who states that Black Lightning is partly to blame for what happened/what is happening.

Lynne and Jeff talk at the hospital and she apologies for suggesting that Jennifer goes to live with her.  She lashed out.  She knows that Black Lighting is back, she knows she can’t win the argument of BL not being around, even if she doesn’t like it.  Jefferson assures her that herself and those girls are his priority.

We then see Gambi at a computer screen, looking at what happened that night.  He sees the car that Tobias Whale arrived in, zoomed in to see it was him and, after an apology to Jefferson, deletes the file. Now, as I’ve said before, I really do love James Remar as an actor and I think this could be a very interesting development for the show.

The final scene and we see Lynne talking to Anissa.  Her mothers intuition suggests that she knows something is going on with her daughter and, even after Anissa tells her that she and Chenoa have broken up, Lynne knows there is more.  Jennifer arrives to them and explains that the bullet that hit Khalil hit his spine and that he will never walk again.

A news reports shows a lady saying that people believe in Black Lightning and that he is the answer to their prayers.

Ok, so not a bad episode but one that never really gets going.  This is more on character development rather than action, something that is lacking in this.  No bad thing but we really didn’t see enough of Black Lightning this time out.  I know this will change as the shows goes on.  

A solid 7/10.  Good, not spectacular.  Please let us know what you thought of this episode either below on on our social media pages.

Cheers, John