Thanks to the Olympics, we’ve had to wait an extra week to see what happened to Jefferson from the last episode of Black Lightning. With new modifications to his suit, Jefferson was getting his Iron Man on and able to fly across the city and continue to take the fight to the One Hundred. After receiving a tip from Inspector Henderson, Jefferson was able to track down Toledo, Tobias’ right-hand man. While in the process of kicking the crap out of him, Jefferson starts to have massive headaches. This allows Toledo to escape while Jefferson is left on the ground outside of a club in agony.
The episode begins with the police receiving an “anonymous tip” that Black Lightning is outside of a club and is not responsive. Being that he’s been a vigilante for more than 20 years, this is the perfect time for them to take him down. Inspector Henderson is on the task force, but noticing the extreme firepower the police are prepping, he asks his captain for the source of the top, which he doesn’t tell him. Something tells me that Henderson is the only officer not in Tobias’ pocket. Lucky for Jefferson, Gambi is able to save him just in time for the police to arrive.
While Gambi is helping Jefferson recuperate, he’s now focused on a mission, he knows that with Toledo still in Freeland, that means that Tobias is still around. Tobias is responsible for his father’s death. Now, it’s not about saving the city for Jefferson. Now, it’s personal, and he wants justice done: Punisher style. Gambi is trying to keep Tobias’ off Jefferson’s radar, but he also doesn’t want Jefferson to do the one thing that will be crossing the line. If Jefferson goes forward and kills Tobias, he will lose a part of his soul. Gambia tries to enlist Lynn to try and talk Jefferson out of it, but she’s so angry with him returning back to his vigilante activities, she doesn’t want any part of it.
While Black Lightning is a defiantly black show, this week they went extra, and in a good way. While Anissa is still investigating her grandfather’s death for investigating genetic manipulation, this week she gets to do a little extra, thanks to her protesting activities. Coming straight out of our very real life, she’s a part of a group that is protesting Confederate statues at her college. She gets arrested for shooting water guns filled with red ink at the Confederate status. After bailing her out of jail, Jefferson gives her “the talk,” and it seems like it’s not the first time he’s had it with her. He explains to her that all it takes is one trigger-happy cop, who thinks her water gun is a real gun, and her black skin will be more threatening than it really is, and she would be killed. Meanwhile, Jennifer is having her own drama. Because Khalil was paralyzed as a result of attending the protest against the One Hundred, he’s angry with her for asking him to come. He posts a clip on social media calling her a white girl and “Becky” for being the daughter of the school principal and an overachiever. Jefferson talks with his younger daughter about the “crabs in a barrel” mentality. He offers her advice to give him some space so he can work out his anger. Of course, she does the opposite, and he lashes out at her even more. White nationalists protest Anissa’s group’s protest, which pretty much echoes last years Charlottesville riot, to the point that they having one of them kill one of the protesters by driving a car through a crowd. This is very bold for a CW show! This sets Anissa over the edge. She costumes up and destroys the statue with one stomp. She’s still in pain from the events and knows that now is the time to talk with her mother about what she has been doing and her powers.
Jefferson is dead set on killing Tobias. He manages to discover one of Tobias’ doctors who treats him for his albinism, and tells the doctor to set up for Tobias to come to his office so that Jefferson can kill him. Just before he can proceed with a lightning strike, Gambi gets Lynne to talk him off the cliff. Just as she’s just about reached him, someone breaks into her office, forcing Jefferson to call it off. Anissa comes to her mom’s office (still in costume) just as the henchmen have tied her up and she easily beats them. Jefferson arrives and thinks that Anissa is the person attacking his wife. This causes Jefferson to attack his own daughter. She is impervious to not only bullets, but also to his lightning powers. Because the two are wearing masks, neither can tell who the other is. Jefferson beats his daughter and once the dust settles, realizes who she is. When she awakens in her home from a concussion, he father is waiting by her side in his full Black Lightning costume. The two will have a very interesting conversation next week.
Next week, Anissa and her father will have a heart to heart. Hopefully, this means that the two will start fighting crime together. Just wait until Jennifer realizes her powers and they become an unstoppable trio!