Jennifer Pierce flew into the ionosphere and absorbed so much energy, she exploded. This is how “The Book of Reconstruction: Chapter Four” ends, with particles that used to be Jen dispersing into space. For one week we sat with the possibility that Jen could be dead. And with China Anne McClain having announced an early departure, it didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility that Jen wouldn’t return in any form. But, in “The Book of Ruin: Chapter One,” Jefferson is able to absorb the particles that make up Jennifer’s essence and put them into a hadron particle condenser. And after days, the machine 3D prints Jennifer, who survives the entire ordeal… Except she comes out of the machine different. She has an entirely new appearance and is now portrayed by newcomer Laura Kariuki. It would’ve been all too easy for Black Lightning to let Jennifer Pierce die. Death is an inevitability in narratives that center powered people and even more so when those people are at odds with each other. And this being the last season of Black Lightning means that no one is off limits as a potential character death. The writers could’ve taken Jennifer off the board, destabilizing Jefferson and Lynn even further. They could’ve fridged Jen, and used her death as a way to motivate Jefferson… Or Khalil. But death is an easy way to introduce conflict, and though there is narrative value in exploring the resulting grief, the choice to keep Jennifer in the story is one of my favorites of the entire series. Black Lightning is a superhero show that deals very heavily in real-world politics and depicts violence against Black characters that mirrors the real-life violence against Black people. Because it so accurately reflects the reality of anti-Blackness and systemic racism, it is not always an easy or comfortable viewing experience. Watching characters we love get profiled and harassed by law enforcement can hit too close to home, and those feelings are only amplified when these characters are put up against people and organizations that don’t value their lives at all. Triumphs for Black Lightning are more than wins for the show’s hero, but often, they are wins for the majority-Black population of Freeland—and by proxy, wins for all those who find a sense of familiarity with the fictional city.
