After a short Olympic break, Black Lightning returns with Jeff still in bad shape after his fight with Joey, and the cops closing in on his location. Gambi gets to him in the nick of time and calls Lynn to come help.

Joey tells Tobias that he almost killed Black Lightning, but couldn’t finish him. He tipped off their police contacts. The police in Freeland might be more corrupt than the Star City PD.

Anissa is arrested at a protest against a confederate statue. Jeff is upset because he knows that being a black woman doesn’t give her the luxury of the other protestors. This show continues to tackle the issues like no other on TV.

China Anne McClain as Jennifer Pierce. Source: ComicBook

However, it has to be careful to stay out of Law & Order “ripped from the headlines” territory. The story of a car being driven into a protest against white nationalists is just too soon. It’s a new show, so there will obviously be missteps, but it’s important to find a delicate balance as it continues to weave real life stories into its superhero universe.

Jeff is still obsessed with killing Tobias because he killed his father. Gambi wants Lynn to talk Jeff out of killing Tobias, so he doesn’t cross a line, but she can’t deal with anything involving Black Lightning. Revenge is understandable, but this single-minded pursuit doesn’t seem very smart for such an intelligent superhero.

Jeff’s brain scans look the same as Green Light addicts and that may explain some of his erratic behavior lately.

Charlbi Dean as Syonide. Source: ComicBook

Jeff visits Tobias’ doctor to try and set up a meeting for an ambush, but Lynn is able to talk him off the ledge by reminding him that he’s a hero and a father.

Following a young girl’s death during the protest, Anissa uses her powers to destroy the statue, but is overwhelmed by her emotions afterwards. That moment passes when there’s a break in at the lab and Anissa shows up to save her mom. We need to discuss how she rolled up on the bad guys with that “just listened to Lemonade” attitude. There was definitely a Beyonce soundtrack playing in her head.

A case of mistaken identity leads to an awesome fight between Jeff and Anissa. If the Pierces could just figure out how to communicate and tell one another the truth, their lives would be a lot less complicated.

As it turns out, Gambi trained Lady Eve at the agency and when he retired, he made a deal that the Pierces were off limits. As usual, he’s lying just to protect everyone. As we’ve seen so many times before, this won’t end well.

The most powerful moment of the episode comes when Jennifer is being bullied for not being “black” enough. Jeff explains why some black people lash out others and it’s such a real moment between father and daughter.

This also leads to a break up with bitter and angry Khalil, who is later seen joining Tobias and Syonide. Can we get some backstory on her, because enquiring minds need to know?

In the final moments, Anissa comes to at home and sees Jeff standing over in his Black Lightning costume, so the secret is out.

Also happening around Freeland:

Anissa is listening to a cool cover of Just Like Heaven, another musical homerun.

Lady Eve sent Tobias ground up Albino bones. We need to know more about her and Gambi’s history. It’s got to be all kinds of fascinating.

Published by Stephanie Holland

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