BLACK LIGHTNING 4.13

 

RECAP - BLACK LIGHTNING  4.13:  "The Book of Resurrection - Chapter Two:  Closure"  

Here it is, gang...the Series Finale and final bow for Black Lightning.  I've only been blogging recaps about our Electric Warrior and his family the last two seasons, but I have been here from the beginning of his story.  And I have said, arguably, that this show has been the BEST well-written, well acted, well rounded show they had in the Arrowverse.  It's tackled social issues without becoming extremely preachy, given us some AWESOME superhero action, and it's also given us a plethora of drama and unique characters.  It's time for the Pierce Family and their allies to finally take Tobias Whale down once and for all...but will it be WITHOUT the family patriarch?  We last left our family with Tobias beating the snot OUT of Jefferson, and then calling Jennifer to inform her that her father is dead.  Does this send her on a rampage to kill him?  And will Gambi, Lauren, TC, and Lynn find a way to take out the emitter?  And will Chief Lopez...now loaded up on superhero genes...exact her revenge on Lightning for exposing her as a prejudiced anti-metahuman cop?  We have TONS of answers to fill in this last dance, and it's time for us to dive in, and see how our FINAL act plays out:  

The Pierce Family are desperate to find Jefferson, as they've not heard back from him since Tobias contacted Jennifer, and told him that he killed Jefferson.  Revenge is heavy on the mind of the family, but Gambi and Lynn preach patience.  They need to plan to get Tobias, and that means taking down his little organization from the foundation down.  While they begin to plan to topple Tobias, Jefferson is actually quite alive....but worse for wear...and buried in an unmarked grave six feet under.  He's in panic mode and shouts for help, but his cries go unheard.  Jefferson spends a good part of this episode buried alive, as he feels that he's at the end of his rope and failed to protect Freeland, and get justice for his father.  We see him remember his family, and everything he's done from his past...including having doubts about his powers as a youth, as Gambi had told him that he'd teach him how to use his powers for good.  He also ends up having a conversation with his father as he nears death...and his father informs him that he's not through.  He tells Jefferson that he has everything he needs around him to get the job done against Tobias....so go do it.

As Tobias is accepting his win as Mayor of Freeland, and mapping out his plans, Detective Shakur goes to see Chief Lopez, only to enter her office, and find the case of metagenes with a vial having been used.  He then gathers his team and says that Lopez has gone rogue, she's powered up with energy absorption powers, and she's a loose cannon.  His team gets to work on finding her. Jen really wants to go after Tobias and kill him, but she knows she can't.  So, in order to stop him, she'll have to power up, so---against everyon'e s wishes---she heads back into the ionosphere, and soaks up more energy, and then returns.  She's a tad woozy, but says she's okay.  While she ended up flying back to the Sanctum, the collective that's been hanging in the sky the last few weeks starts to shift more, and it shows a face, and tries to reform itself.  One it reconstitutes...we see that it's actually the original Jennifer Pierce...or seems to be....she's back and she flies back to Earth.  

The Pierce family have laid out a plan, as Gambi has found the emitter hidden at Tobias' tower.  He gives Grace and Anissa orders to provide cover and distraction, while he sneaks into the building to take out the emitter.  Gambi uses his tech and training to get into the building, find the emitter, and plant a bomb on it to destroy it.  Once he leaves, it goes off, and when he surrenders himself to the group of guards searching the place for him...Thunder and Wild attack, their powers having been restored...and none too soon.  They all continue to fight and Thunder is it with a few DEG bullets.  She's wounded, but she'll be okay.  Gambi and Wild get her out of there and back to the Sancturm as quickly as possible.  In the moment the emitter was destroyed, Jefferson...hearing his father's words....wonders how he's got everything he needs to break free....but then he remembers...and starts channeling eneregy from all the Promethium that had been buried deep beneath Freeland in the wake of his battle with Gravedigger.  He harnesses that energy, and breaks free, and unearths himself.  Black Lightning is back, and he let's the family know it.  He asks where Tobias is, and he's off for their final showdown.  

TC and Jen work their way through the tunnels to try and sneak up on Tobias, when the real Jennifer appears.  It turns out, the New Jen was an entity that Jennifer called the ionosphere.  It thought it killed Jen when she split her apart, but Jen managed to survive the ordeal, and reform.  The New Jen said that she hated Jennifer for having a life, a physical form, and wanted that for herself.  So, she decided to take it.  New Jen attacks Jennifer, and TC tries to help, but he gets blasted by New Jen.  The two Lightning women fight, and it looks like the New Jen is going to get the upper hand and win.  But Jennifer smiles, and then powers up like never before---and absorbs New Jen into her....ending the threat.  At this time, Detective Shakur finds Chief Lopez siphoning off electrical power from the powerlines, threatening to cast Freeland into darkness.  Shakur tries to reason with her, but she's pissed that he brought her own officers to take her down.  She powers up and holds them off until Lightning shows up.  Lopez, furious, is intent on killing her, and they both start to battle.  But it doesn't last  long, as Lightning puts her down, and the fight is finished.  Shakur thanks her, and she takes off.  

Black Lightning eventually makes his way to Tobias' Tower, and the final fight is on.  It's a bit back-and-forth, as the two men absorb each other's blows.  Tobias is trash talking Black Lightning the whole time, but Black Lightning isn't going for it.  Eventually, the battle takes a turn, and Black Lightning blasts Tobias out the window, where he is impaled on a spike on the roof.  Black Lightning says it's over, but Tobias refuses to give up....and quotes the last lines of Moby Dick (much like Khan did to Kirk in Star Trek II:  The Wrath of Khan).  He fires a few more shots at Black Lightning, but to no avail.  Tobias Whale dies, and vengeance...and justice...is served for Jefferson Pierce.

We later on see TC all healed up...his powers reactivated, and ends up entering the mind of Khalil/Painkiller.  He says he's found a way to turn off the kill order on the Pierce family once and for all---but Khalil won't like it:  it involves erasing his memory of the family...especially Jen.  Painkiller can care less, and Khalil thinks about it for a bit.  He then makes the call, and TC performs the process.  

The Pierce Family is celebrating their victory, and the fact that they are in the clear, what with Looker testifying to her crimes...and Tobias'...in the frame up of the Pierce Family.  Jennifer is still coping with being back, and the fact that everyone took the imposter Jen for the real thing.  They all apologize, but she says it's okay.  She's just got to cope with it...and she just wants to BE for now.  Then she changes the mood and says that it's party time.  Jefferson gives his best wishes in a toast to Anissa and Grace.  He and Lynn also announce that they're going to get remarried.  Lynn realizes that, all this time, her place was by his side...and with her family.  Jefferson also announces that he's stepping back as Black Lightning...and leaving the protection of Freeland to Thunder, Lightning, and Wild.  He believes in them, and is proud of them.  Gambi also decides to step back, believing TC to be more than capable of handing the logistics for this team.  The torch is passed to the younger generation, as Jefferson, Lynn, and Gambi will be there in advisory roles.  The party continues...

In the wake of Black Lightning and Tobias Whale's final battle....the frozen, sealed body of Lala...the Tattooed Man, has been cracked, and has allowed Lala to be revived.  As he awakens, shakes off the dust and concrete...and surveys his surroundings...he looks out the window, and sees the impaled body of Tobias still there.  He chuckles and says it's about time someone took him down.  And it looks like Lala is ready to take over and bring The 100 to new heights.   As our show ends....we know that evil will still lurk in Freeland---with the new Team Black Lighting ready to answer the call.  

Well....they had to speed things up, and cram A LOT into this last episode, but they did a fairly nice job of it.  It was good for Jefferson to get that "heart to heart" with his dad as he's facing death...and his father telling him what a good man he was, and to finish business.  For Black Lightning to draw upon the Promethium for his powers once they were clicked back on, was pretty cool.  I wasn't, however, expecting their final battle to be one to the death....but I guess there was no other way for Jefferson to move on, other than to kill Tobias.  I was just hoping for something a TAD more epic....to have Tobias watch his house of cards fall down...and THEN the big battle.  So, it was a tad bit of a letdown about Tobias' fall...but when you have about an hour to tell a finale, and you have a lot of moving parts....you take what you can get.  But it's a part of Jefferson's life that he can close the book on, and get on with life.  He and Lynn getting remarried is also a long overdue thing.

For me...the HUGE surprise was the return of China Anne McClain as our OG Jennifer Pierce, and defeating the New Jennifer...whom we thought was the actual real deal.  As it turns out, New Jen was a being called the ionosphere, whom blew Jen up, and then took her place, albeit with a new face.  To have our actual Jen back was a treat, and we know that Lightning, the REAL Lightning...is back and raring to go---with augmented powers, no less.  And I dug that it was HER that took down the now-snapped Chief Lopez...it was a fitting end to Lopez's revenge kick.  My curiosity is...what will happen to her?  Will she be put away, only to escape and plague Lightning again?  Makes me wonder.  The stories that could be mined there.  I was also glad to see Grace become more accepting of her powers, and of the life she has with Anissa.  This is who they are...and with these women leading the way....and TC taking over for Gambi...I've no doubt Freeland will be in good hands.  I also wonder about what will happen with Detective Shakur?  I hope he makes Chief....he'd be perfect for it.  And they'll need something fast....now that Lala has awakened...and we know HE will be ready to cause his own trouble now that Tobias is gone. 

We also got one more step closer to HOPEFULLY getting Painkiller greenlit to series, now that TC has managed to take out the kill order on the Pierce Family.  While it takes away the memories of the family to Khalil, it DOES make his dual personality easier to manage...plus, he's got his own villain to deal with in Odell and his daughter. 

Overall, it was an AWESOME 4 seasons, and arguably the best acted, well written superhero show of the Arrowverse.  I'm going to miss the Pierce Family...going to miss the many villains we got to experience in Freeland...but we know there will be MANY adventures they will have.  And as for Jefferson---I wonder if someday we will get him in a Justice League show?  I truly enjoyed this show, and it's hard to believe that it's over, and this is my last blog for Black Lightning.  I hope you guys enjoyed the blogs as much as I did writing them.  What was YOUR favorite thing about the show?  What will you miss?  Subscribe to the blog, and let me know.

That's it from Freeland, gang....for one last time....the Power is OFF.