BLACK LIGHTNING 4.5

 

RECAP - BLACK LIGHTNING  4.5:  "The Book of Ruin - Chapter One:  Picking Up the Pieces"

We begin the next book of our final journey with the Pierce Family this week with family and TC trying to save Jennifer from completely dissipating into space.  While they try to figure out what to do....IF they can do it...Jefferson still can FEEL her, and won't give up on her, even when everyone else seems like all hope is lost.  Jefferson and Lynn argue about how everyone knew that Jen was absorbing too much ionic energy, and they haven't hashed things out yet.  But Jefferson suggests that he can absorb Jen's energy, and if they can contain it, they can somehow reconstitute her.  Gambi says they'd need a particle condenser to attempt this feat, and the only place that would have one is STAR Labs.  Jefferson says he has a friend that can get it to him "in a flash".  So, sure enough, Barry raced the device over to Jefferson, and they set it up, as Anissa comments that it's nice to have "powerful friends".  So, Jefferson suits up, and heads up into the ionosphere.

Once up there, he manages to find Jen's particles, and absorbs them, even though it comes as a great risk because he's never absorbed that much power before.  He succeeds and gets back to The Sanctum, where they get Jen into a pod, and then the long wait begins for Jen to be reconstituted.  Over the course of the episode, we see TC taking the majority of the guilt trip here, as he felt he should've said something, even though he warned her about what she was doing.  Anissa reassures him that he did what he could, and not to blame himself for what happened.  Everyone seems to want to point fingers, while Anissa feels kind of lost without her sister...and shutting out Grace in the process.  That issues manifests as she keeps ignoring Grace's calls until she goes home, and Grace confronts her about it.  And as much as Anissa tries to get Grace to give her time, Grace tells her that it's not about HER anymore...but THEM.  So...eventually, Anissa tells Grace about Jen, and finally takes her to the Sanctum....after all, she IS family now.  Anissa also took this time to reconnect with Lynn, as they both talked about how much the missed the warning signs about Jen.  

Jefferson, having had words with Lynn about knowing what Jen was up to, needed to vent this episode....so he did...by busting up Lala's underground fight cage.  But he and Lala have a chat, and they discuss what's going down, what with the DEG guns the cops will have, Chief Lopez now hunting down metas, and looking to take his organization down.  He says, for what it's worth, that he's glad to see Black Lightning back...but he's not going to give up what he's worked for, and it seems that he and Jefferson have to have this uneasy alliance.  So, Lala is going after Chief Lopez to take HER down once and for all.  But before that happens, he gets a call from Destiny, whom suggests a cease-fire of hostilities until they resolve the issue with the cops.  Lala lies to her and says that yeah, he's willing to talk, KNOWING it'll be a setup.  

Chief Lopez assigns Detective Shakur to the Metahuman Taskforce in the wake of her press conference, where she accuses Lightning of killing the Mayor.  Shakur really isn't on board with it, but she gives him no option.  She's looking to take all the metas out, and show who is in charge of the law and order around Freeland.  So, Lala goes to meet Destiny in order to talk truce with the Kobra Kartel, only to find out it was an ambush.  In the gunfight that follows, Lala is shot, and presumed killed, while Devante tries to get away, but he's unable to breathe, and Detective Shakur arrests him.  Only to have Lala reawaken, take down a few cops, and disappear.  Meanwhile, in the background, we have Destiny putting in a call to Lady Eve, where she says they'll need an assassin who can take down metas...as she sees Lala's powers at work. 

Jefferson talks with Gambi about Jen, and a memory he had when she was younger.  Gambi reminds him that they'll get her back, but he's also got to let Henderson go....the city NEEDS Black Lightning....he's been gone long enough.  Jefferson and Lynn also apologize for how they've been acting, and the family seems to be getting back on track as they keep hoping for Jen to reassemble.  As they all gather in the Sanctum, it looks like the machine worked, and Jen is back in one piece.  There's just ONE problem:   she doesn't LOOK like Jen anymore!  

And while ALL this is going down----Tobias continues to play his own game of chess....using hidden cameras to discover where the Sanctum is, and still working on his own projects.  

The first chapter of the new book starts off with the family coming to grips with their grief over the possibility of losing Jen, NOT being there to stop her from doing what she was doing, and coming to grips with their own anxieties and grievances....especially Jefferson and Lynn...who have been the two main combatants in this story thus far.  As parents, they've NOT been on the same page, and that's been damaging to the family.  Jefferson has needed to work through his grief, but in the wake of all that's going down, he also cannot avoid who and what he is:  Black Lightning.  Like it or not---he's needed.  And thankfully, Gambi was able to get through to him this time.  Having him and Lynn on the same page again will hopefully right the ship, and get the family focused on the true target:  Tobias.  Tobias has been teflon so far, and he continues to be a step ahead of everyone.   He's now got Chief Lopez against the metahumans----especially Lightning.  And now assigning Detective Shakur to the Task Force puts him in direct conflict with Black Lightning...which sucks for him.  We'll see how THAT plays out.  

Couple of things to note for this episode:  THANK YOU to the writers for giving us what I had HOPED for in this show:  An Arrowverse reference!  Thank you for the STAR Labs mention and the "off camera" appearance of The Flash.  It's cool to know that Jefferson and Barry have kept contact.  So, who KNOWS what kinds of adventures these heroes are having off camera.  We may NOT get a true crossover this year due to COVID restrictions, but any MENTION of it puts a smile on my face.  So, that was MY big highlight of the episode.  

Number Two:  Last episode was the final appearance of actress China Anne McClain in the role of Jennifer Pierce, as she departs the show for other ventures.  Jennifer was easily one of my favorite characters on the show, and I was amazed at how great her character development occurred during the 3 and a quarter seasons that she was on the show.  Jennifer...to ME, anyway...has been the lynchpin of the family.  With new actress Laura Kariuki assuming the role, I'm curious to see what she'll bring to the role as Jennifer.  But kudos to China and all she accomplished on the show, and we wish her the best of luck.

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Until NEXT time.....the Power is OFF!