BLACK LIGHTNING 4.11

 

RECAP - BLACK LIGHTNING  4.11:  "The Book of Reunification - Chapter Two:  Trials and Errors"

We are down to the final few episodes of Black Lightning.  And we have seen Tobias Whale slowly and deftly manipulate everyone around him---other gangs, the police, and the mayor at one point...and then the Pierce Family---where he's gone to great lengths to exact his revenge on his longtime enemy, Black Lightning.  But it seems that now the Pierce Family are ready to fight back with new information...and with some assistance from an unlikely ally: Painkiller

After having EVERYONE in the family literally hit rock bottom due to Tobias' machinations....the Pierce Family was ready to strike back.  And Anissa and Jennifer didn't waste time, as they plotted a way to get ahold of some canisters that Tobias wanted delivered that contained metagene samples.  Lightning went in, and obtained the canisters, though she felt her powers sputtering a little bit.  Nonetheless, she returns with the precious cargo, and show it to her parents.  Jefferson wasn't thrilled they went and did this behind his back, but they showed them that their little mission was fruitful.  Anissa opens up the canisters, and shows their parents the metagene vials.  She goes on to tell them how Montevista had been working with Tobias to obtain metagene samples from pregnant women who had kids with the metagene.  He was then taking the vials and use them for who knows what.  But this is step one into proving that Tobias has been behind everything.  Tobias during this time, wonders why he hasn't seen his precious cargo, and taps into the security cameras to find out what happened, only to discover that Lightning had stolen his property.  He calls Red to have him look into it, and wants a DNA sample comparison between Jennifer Pierce and JJ.  

While Tobias is getting answers, Chief Lopez shows up, and he makes her an offer to help rid the city of the metahuman element....at least those whom HE feels "do not deserve it".  He is preparing for his speech as the new Mayor of Freeland, and offers Chief Lopez a chance to put down meta threats---by giving her vials of metahuman powers for her police to use against metas.  Chief Lopez isn't thrilled about it at first, since she hates metas.  But she accepts Tobias' offer nonetheless.  After she leaves, he gets the results of the DNA test, and it shows that Jen and JJ are the same person. 

Jefferson is at the bar, thinking when Gambi shows up.  He keeps wondering just who he is without his powers, and Gambi tells him that he's a hero...even without superpowers.  Later on, the family begins to plan on how to take Tobias down, as they realize that Tobias is picking up where the ASA left off.  Jefferson talks to Lynn, and she may have to accept a plea deal, and though Jefferson doesn't like it, and won't accept it, Lynn hasn't made her decision yet, and it's her decision alone.  Jefferson then meets up with TC at the Sanctum, and TC tells him that he's been working with Khalil to help him uncover Tobias' plan.  Khalil then informs Jefferson about the ledger and how Looker was used to manipulate people to carry out Tobias' plan...such as getting to Special Agent Mason.  Khalil says he'll hunt her down, but Jefferson wants her alive.  They discuss Jen for a minute, before they go about putting their plans into action.

Jefferson meets up with Detective Shakur, and talks about how he was set up by Tobias, and how Looker was behind it.  Jefferson explains Looker's powers, and how she can manipulate and control people like puppets.  Shakur finds it hard to believe, and he goes to leave, and Jefferson says he's going to meet Black Lightning.  When Shakur asks how he knows, Jefferson shows him that he's the one who sent the call.  Shakur is pissed at first, but Jefferson lays his cards on the table.  He also says that to turn the tide, they HAVE to get Looker's silver puppet strings out of Agent Mason.  He needs Shakur's help to pull it off.  

TC manages to show Jen that Uriah wasn't the one who set her up, and that Chief Lopez was behind the hacking of Uriah's phone.  TC then manages to set up a date between Jen and Uriah, which they go on.  They have a good time, but things go south real quickly when, while out for a walk after their dinner, they're accosted by Red, who tries to nail the both of them with his powers.  Jen uses her powers to protect the both of them, while Red tells her she either stops using her powers, or he'll kill everyone she loves.  Sadly, Uriah gets fatally wounded, and Jen's powers couldn't help him.  He tells her as he's dying to use her powers...to light the world up.  Later on...as she and TC mourn the loss of Uriah, she blames herself for him getting killed...because her powers were off, and they weren't right.  TC says she is too hard on herself.  

Jefferson and Shakur put their plan into action, by lacing the coffee they'll drink with a countermeasure Lynn cooked up in order to draw Looker's manipulating powers out of Agent Mason.  Once Jefferson starts going on his "confession", he watches Agent Mason drink...and soon Lynn's countermeasure takes effect, and Looker's influence is extracted from Agent Mason, but not before fessing up that she should've killed Jefferson.  Now with Agent Mason free of Looker's influence, he's all in on helping Jefferson and Shakur with whatever they need.  

Gambi meets with Lauren, and apologizes to her for being underhanded with her.  She isn't happy with him, and says that she's pissed that the Emitter was stolen, and he has no idea why or how it happened.  But then, he shows her the info he got from Anissa, about how Montevista's R&D department was used in manipulating pregnant women who had the metagene, and getting it from them.  He says that Tobias was behind it.  She's on board to help Gambi out, and they're on the hunt for the Emitter.  So, their search leads them into the tunnels beneath Freeland.  As they find the readings of the Emitter getting stronger, they find a spot in the wall, that Gambi blows, only to find a bit of Promethium within the walls.  He now understands why Montevista wanted to come to Freeland in the first place.  They leave before they get exposed to the high radiation levels.  

While the Pierce Family do their thing, as Jefferson informs Lynn that she may not have to make the plea deal once he informs her of what Khalil uncovered, Khalil himself found Looker, and intended on taking her back to Freeland, but she's not going to go easily, as she tries to use her powers to manipulate him.  So, the fight between her, Khalil, and Painkiller begin in his head.  She thinks that she's gotten the upper hand, and then Painkiller hits her with his poison powers.  Her threat ends, and Khalil tells her that he's keeping her alive long enough for her to go to Freeland, and confess her part in Tobias' plan.  Once she does, he'll give her the rest of the antidote.  She's powerless, so she's no longer a threat.  

We turn back to Tobias at the end of the episode, as he's practicing his speech after he's sworn in as Mayor, when he wonders where one of his right hand goons are.  He once again goes to his security cameras, and sees Painkiller on camera.  He then makes a call to Ishmael...as he has a job for him to do.

With only 3 more episodes left (if you include this one), these episodes are going to start moving at a quicker pace, and the story is going to move in a rapid fashion, as they try to wrap up this story...and this show...in a tidy and orderly fashion.  We see Tobias feeling at his strongest, as he feels he's gotten most everything he's wanted.  He's now going to give Chief Lopez the chance to eliminate all the metahumans altogether, and will have total control of Freeland as the Mayor.  But...as I had stated about the Pierce Family...they had hit rock bottom, and there was nowhere to go but up.  Now, the family has found the cracks in Tobias' armor.  They now have Special Agent Mason free of Looker, and he'll be using his ability to help the family take down Tobias.  They have the evidence of the metagene manipluation from Montevista that can be tied to Tobias.  There's also the digital ledger Painkiller obtained, as well has defeating Looker, and sending her back to Freeland to confess to her part in the Pierce Family downfall.  We also see that Lauren has been informed about what her company has been up to, and why Gambi pulled the stunts he did.  Their discovery of the massive amounts of Promethium underneath Freeland was an interesting discovery, and explains why her company was here.  So, expect this kind of fast paced storytelling in the last two episodes as we reach the finish line of this series.

I wasn't exactly pleased that Uriah had to be a sacrificial lamb in order to get to Jen, but upon thinking about it, it makes Tobias a bigger heavy, and now will give Jen motivation when she DOES get her powers back.  Now...will her powers be stable once the Emitter is turned off and her powers DO return?  There's still that little bit of energy she left behind in the ionosphere, and I hope they resolve that before the series packs it up.  And a showdown between Painkiller and Ishmael is like a heavyweight fight looking to happen, and I'm down for it. 

Did you all enjoy the fast paced story this week?  What do YOU want to see happen before the series leaves the air?  Subscribe and leave a comment below.  

The countdown is at 2....and until next time....the Power is OFF.