Black Lightning Season 4, Episode 3
Jefferson said in the season premiere, “Black Lightning’s dead.” In this episode, Jeff relinquishes his suit to Gambi, putting another nail in the coffin of his vigilante alter-ego. It’s one thing to have the suit and not wear it, and something else entirely to put the suit out of reach. Jefferson is unsure about a lot, but one thing he is sure of is that being Black Lightning endangers his family and wearing the suit does not protect them. When Marcel returns to work after grieving the loss of his son (in last week’s episode) Jefferson notices his bruises, and follows him after work. When Jeff discovers Marcel has been fighting in Lala’s illegal live-streamed cage matches, he takes on Lala’s “ringer” himself. He wins, and gives Marcel the earnings, in addition to letting Marcel stay in his childhood home. The feeling of helping someone as himself and not Black Lightning solidifies for Jeff the choice to let Black Lightning go. What is Freeland without Black Lightning, though? Black Lightning answered this question in season one– gangs ruled the city while local law enforcement remained corrupt or ineffective. It is no coincidence then that Tobias and Lala have re-emerged as power players this season, while Jefferson’s suit has been collecting dust. Jefferson has to contemplate whether his personal stakes are more important than the wellbeing of the entire city. He will have to decide if he can hang up his suit for good while his daughters–the people he wants to protect most– take up the fight in his absence. This is an existential crisis befitting of a final season, and Black Lightning writers should seize the opportunity to take Jefferson to places they do not have to pull him back from, bad or good. I want Black Lightning to continue to be unapologetic in its depictions of the Pierce’s mental health journeys, be it Jennifer coming to grips with her power, or Jeff and Lynn working to rebuild their faith in each other and themselves. It is still rare to see heroes, powered people, Black people, openly engaging with their emotional realities in a healthy and productive way. Therapy is not just a way for Jefferson and Lynn to work through their emotions in-universe, but a way for them to have a conversation with the audience, without vagueness. We don’t have to wonder why they make certain decisions or what the thought process is behind them, we are told, explicitly. More importantly, we see them doing the necessary work to heal. Anissa is already a fully realized hero, as herself, as Blackbird, and as Thunder. She’s not just a vigilante, who uses her powers to stop drug deals, or an organizer, who makes treaties with gangs to create safe spaces in Freeland, she’s also a Doctor. Anissa has been the most consistent with her goals and her relationship with her meta abilities, and it is comforting to see her so established in the roles she’s taken on in the city. I want her to stay the path, and to be happy. And now that Grace is awake, and the pair are officially married, I hope to see more of them as a couple, and as a team. Jenn, like Lynn, has completely reversed her position on meta powers and vigilantism. When Jennifer discovered her abilities, she wanted nothing to do with them, and nothing to do with being a hero. But now, Jenn is Lightning through and through, and her power is not just a part of her but maybe the most important element of personal identity. When Rebecca Larsen (Amanda Baker)– this universe’s Tomi Lahren– uses doctored video of a Lightning altercation with the 100 to spread “fake news” about her lethality, Jenn takes pains to find and release the original video. She wants to use social media to control her own narrative, but social media makes heroes and martyrs everyday, and it is a huge part of the culture. It’ll be interesting to see Jenn navigate this new, and volatile element, while grasping with her evolving powers.
