BLACK LIGHTNING 4.3

RECAP - BLACK LIGHTNING 4.3:  "The Book of Reconstruction - Chapter Three:  Despite All My Rage..."

There's no time for fussin' and fightin', my friend......or is there?  Appears that there's A LOT of that going on in Freeland these days---especially fightin'.  Appears that Lala has opted for a new venture to make some cash:  underground cage fighting.  And he managed to get Marcel Payton---one of Jefferson's fellow teachers---roped into it.  But Marcel is at the end of his rope:  his kids were taken away from him, and he needs to prove he's a good father---especially in the wake of his son dying.  Otherwise, Child Services will ensure he never sees his children again.  

But wait....there's more!

Lynn and Jefferson continue their separate therapy, Jennifer now has a new target:  cable news networks, and Gambi manages to work is way into Montevista to gain intel on the new GEN gun.  And Anissa---she gets some GOOD news for once.   Oh....and then there's Tobias...lurking about as usual.  

This week saw Jefferson still in the doldrums about life, about his role as Black Lightning, and how his family is torn apart right now.  He and Lynn are both seeing the therapist separately.  Jefferson feels that all the mistakes he's made is that he's trying to be the man he used to be---but he can't.  He's still convinced that being Black Lightning is more a curse than a cure, and that had he NOT picked up the mantle again, things would NOT have gone down the way they did.  This is further pushed along when he actually helps out Marcel, whom he notices looks a little beat up when he gets to school.  Jefferson later follows him to Lala's underground fight club.  He watches Marcel get the snot beat out of him, all the while talking to Lala about how illegal this is.  Lala can care less what Jefferson thinks, and says that this is going to be ONE way to make some bank.  Jefferson then heads into the cage himself to help his fellow faculty member out of this jam.  And despite taking a bit of a beating against a larger opponent, he manages to NOT use his powers, and wins the fight.  Jefferson is invigorated by this, and feels he's taken a positive step forward.  This is something he reiterates to Gambi later on, as Gambi tries to warn him about the GEN guns.  Jefferson feels he's done as Black Lightning, and that HE made a difference...as Jefferson Pierce.  Oh...there's also that issue with the nightmare he had at the beginning of the episode---the one where he couldn't stop Tobias in his own home.  

Lynn's therapy also makes progress, as she realizes that she's been trying to fit into Jefferson's world again.  She has kept using the different drugs that grant her powers to better understand them.  This week, she's using Jen's, and using the electrical powers while in the bath, which causes yet another argument between her and Jefferson.  She said she'd keep going out there until HE suited up again, which he calls her out on her hypocrisy---rightfully so---as she had BEGGED him to give up Black Lightning 10 years ago, and he did.  We also get more backstory on HER, as we find out that she comes from a military family, but she decided science instead.  She comes to the rationalization that she's trying to fit in where she doesn't belong, and that she should do what she does best:  be a scientist.  

Jennifer has found a new focus for her energies:  cable news networks...especially talk shows that tend to eschew the facts in order to tell their own narrative.  We see this in a news show hosted by a woman named Rebecca Larson (who just gives off BAD Laura Ingraham vibes), using doctored footage of Lightning's presence at the gun fight between the Cobra Cartel and The 100.  This pisses Jen off enough to have TJ (isn't he useful?), to track down the kid who had the original footage.  She offered to make nice with the boy if he gave her the uncensored footage to post, and throw the narrative back in Rebecca Larson's face.  She has TJ construct a website for her, and she starts getting followers immediately.  I am not sure how THIS angle will play out, but it has the potential to blow up in Jen's face.  This is stuff taken RIGHT out of real life---as ANYONE knows that EVERY single "news network" on cable is nothing more than a crass commercialized propaganda machine to instill fear in the public, and get them to choose sides.  That is Larson's duty on this show---to get people to hate metas.  

Some GOOD news that came out of this week's installment is that Grace finally awakened from her coma.  And it also meant that her and Anissa could do what they had planned on before the Markovian battle last year:  get married.  And thanks to Lynn's new staff member, and Anissa's new buddy, Dr. Darius Morgan, got himself ordained and married the happy couple off.  Glad that SOMETHING good happened this week.  

Gambi's friend and head of Montevista, Lauren, showed him around the premesis, and gave him a gander at the GEN guns.  She gave a little info on them, and said that they're looking to get mass produced and out on the streets quickly as possible.  Gambi managed to pilfer one, and bring it back to the bunker to check it out.  TJ also gave it a look-see, and found it had no tech.  But Gambi fired it at the Black Lightning suit, and it burnt a hole clean through it...and that was on the LOW setting.  These guns aren't just dangerous to metas....they're dangerous to EVERYONE.  Gambi's going to have to pull in some OT in the spy game to try and stop these weapons from hitting the streets....because not only will law enforcement have them....but so will the criminals.  ESPECIALLY if Lala gets HIS way.  

Speaking of the ACTUAL bad guys, Lala was NOT pleased with Lydell for killing the kid last week.  And despite Lydell saying it wasn't personal, just business...it's NOT good business when he kills a kid, and that brings Blackbird and Lightning to his front door.  And though Jefferson helped out his faculty member, Lala's fighting cage is still going to operate....long as Black Lightning stays on the sidelines.  

Tobias, however, continues to play HIS cards close to he vest, though he starts putting his plan to work to ruin the Pierce Family.  He tries to bribe the Mayor to defund any city monies to Garfield High, and invest in his new hospital plan....but the Mayor is onto his act.  But then there's the OTHER card he plays...and it's right at Lynn.  As Lynn was supposed to meet Jefferson for dinner....to reconnect...she is met by Tobias, who wants to use her talents as a scientist to help find a cure for the disease that killed his sister Tori.  Lynn is reluctant, but he still makes his pitch nonetheless.  And guess who should bump into them as he finally makes his way to the restaurant?  Yep....Jefferson.  He spots this and is NONE too happy, as he bails as the show ends for the week.  

This show is always good at selling the drama, and setting things up for the next chapter.  So, we are getting a slow build into the next "book" with what is transpiring now.  I'm STILL not happy Jefferson is talking out of both sides of his mouth, but it seems as if the therapy is doing SOME good...albeit, he can't run from Black Lightning....no matter WHAT he does.  But it WAS nice to see him NOT have to solve a problem with powers...just the will to help a colleague.  We'll see how long this lasts---especially with Tobias making his moves against the family.

Lynn seems to be in a BIT of a better place after tonight, though SHE is getting worked by Tobias right now.  We'll see how well he feeds into her ego about being a great geneticist.  If there is anyone who MIGHT be easily swayed by Tobias...it's Lynn.  But at least we know she won't be doing the hero thing anymore..which is a relief.  

Jennifer is taking more and more risks.  She's emboldened.  And while that can be a GOOD thing sometimes, I have a rotten feeling she's going to get singed in the ass because of it.  Too much time in the ionosphere, sucking up all that ionic energy, is causing her powers to fluxuate and become unstable.

And with all the good will she THINKS she'll get from that video going viral....what happens when she CAN'T control her powers, and someone DOES get hurt in a battle?  She'll have no way to spin a positive narrative on that.  But in reflection of how today's media operates---it's like trying to fight City Hall.  

Was glad that we got Grace to wake up, and that Anissa and her can finally tie the knot.  What happens going forward is anyone's guess, but I'm curious.

Gotta love this version of Tobias---continues to be fairly hands-off as a villain, and seems to be taking a page or two from Lex Luthor's bag of tricks.  He's far more calculating, and he's planting the seeds of dissent in the Pierce Family starting with Lynn.  No matter HOW noble he comes off...his intentions are dubious and sinister, make no mistake.  He's being built back up as a badass and a threat, and look forward to the final confrontation between him and Jefferson.  It has all the makings of a heavyweight title fight.  And don't forget our Tattooed Man---Lala is also making his moves to take over Freeland and be the only gang in town....and that means eliminating the Cobra Cartel of Lady Eve's.  My question is....will SHE return?  Last we saw HER, she went to Metropolis to join The Council.  And will THEIR presence creep back in?  We got some pretty decent bad guys here, with stories to tell.

I wonder how long Gambi can play HIS cat-and-mouse game with Lauren and Montevista before he's caught?  

We got questions, but we also got entertained this week.  Loads of drama, not much on action, but the story is moving forward.  Let's see where the chips fall.  So....what did YOU all think of the episode?  Subscribe and leave a comment below.  

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

 

BATWOMAN 2.5

 

RECAP:  BATWOMAN 2.5:  "Gore On Canvas"

We're getting some little plot twists and turns on this show, and I'm liking it.  This season of Batwoman has hit the ground running, rather than having to take the time to find its footing.  It KNOWS where its footing is at, it just needed to walk before it could run.  But the cast has settled in, and I'm very intrigued by the story being told, and how all the players on the board are moving about.  

This week, we had a focus on two major plot points:  Alice's search for Ocean, and her connection to him....and the hunt for the Jack Napier painting.  The Napier painting has drawn attention, because not only is it the only painting from Jack Napier AKA The Joker, but it also contains a secret map to Coryana underneath the blood spattered masterpiece The Clown Prince of Crime left us.  So, Jacob is on the hunt for it, even going so far as to talk to his stoolies on the street about its whereabouts, only to be confronted by a man who's also looking for it....who kills Jacob's stoolie.  Batwoman intervenes, and---much to Jacob's dismay---takes off with the assailant to pump HIM for information about the whereabouts of the painting herself.  She also makes sure to take a dig at Jacob and the Crows, reminding him of the graffiti on the wall:  "ALL CROWS ARE BASTARDS".   PR work is apparently needed for The Crows.  Ryan and Luke disagree and just how to pump the assailant for info on the whereabouts of the paining, as well as getting info on how to find Kate.  

Meanwhile, Ryan herself is mending bridges with Angelica...her former girlfriend (soon to be again?), about how Angelica was back in the day.  Angelica IS concerned about Ryan's shoulder wound, and urges her to get it looked at, but Ryan insists that she can't afford time off for an injury.  Meanwhile, we got Sophie and Jacob trying to question Kate's old art friend Evan about what he might know about the Napier painting, and he gives them the brush as well.  Sophie thinks they should ask Batwoman for help.  Sophie and Batwoman meet, but it isn't pleasant at all.  Batwoman agrees that it's a one-time deal, and only because of Kate, and that Sophie admits that Kate is the love of her life.  All the while, we got SOMEONE spying on THAT conversation.  Ryan is still not thrilled with working with them, but Luke and Mary feel it's one of the ways that could possibly help them get the painting and get Kate back.  Ryan recalls her story about how she got busted with Angelica's drugs, who had left her high and dry.  And how the Crows treated her.  This also allows Luke to open up about how they were responsible for the death of his father Lucius.  It seems that for the first time, we see Ryan and Luke finally start tearing the walls down between them a bit. 

While Team Batwoman plans out a way to get to the painting from this underground art show, having gotten the info that the painting and Coryana are connected, Alice has been in pursuit of Ocean, and manages to track HIM down at a bar.  After some light conversation, she again as a memory of he and her, and it was something familiar about him.  He leaves the bar, and she follows, only to be knocked out by him.  He ties her up, and they talk about why she's after him.  She tells him that Safiyah wants him dead, and HE reveals that she is his sister.  He did try to kill Alice, but when he touched her, he got hit with a memory of her as well.  Turns out, Ocean was being followed, and his sister's assassins come after him, so Alice and he escape, and hit the road before they are followed.  

Ryan arrives at the art show, bringing a Batarang as a way in, but gets held up by Evan at the door.  Out of nowhere, Angelica arrives to vouch for her, and she's in.  Angelica has plans of her own, though, much to Ryan's dismay.  But Ryan sticks to the job, and she gets to the painting.  She manages to smudge her fingers on it enough to get a sample of it to have Luke verify it.  All of the sudden, the event is under an attack from the masked guy we saw underneath the roof listening in on Batwoman and Sophie---a man named Wolf-Spider.  There's chaos in the building, and soon Batwoman comes face to face with the thief.  They fight it out a little bit, but Batwoman's injury causes her to lose focus a bit.  The Spider flees, and Batwoman takes a beat to recover, and then is hot on his tail, but she informs Sophie that he booked.  A Crow vehicle is on him, and then runs him down, nearly killing him.  They grab the case that the painting is in, and take off....leaving the Spider for dead.  Batwoman arrives, and tends to him...only to unmask him and find out that it's Evan.  

Batwoman is pissed, and tells Sophie in no unreleated terms that THEIR partnership is DONE.  Even though the two Crows members were fired, it's not enough for Batwoman.  Mary tends to Evan, who will recover, and advises him on finding better ways to help Kate....since THAT is why he suited up to begin with...to get the painting to get HER back.  It turns out, however, the painting was a forgery, because the blood on it was pig's blood---and NO WAY The Joker would use pig's blood.  

And WHERE is this painting, by chance?  Well...it just so happens that the two fugitives on the run from Safiyah's assassins have it, as Ocean reveals a case to Alice that has the painting in it.  She then has another memory of him....but this one shows that they were romantically involved.  

I really liked this episode.  It had good pacing, some more background on both Ryan, Angelica, and even Evan.  It also shows that despite ALL of Jacob's desire to do good in Gotham...the Crows have a SERIOUS PR nightmare...and it DIDN'T get better this week with the two agents who left Evan for dead after running him over.  Ryan's distrust because they busted her without probable cause continues, and she isn't fond of Sophie, because Sophie herself has run Ryan in on several occasions without a real reason.  Even Evan stonewalls Sophie and Jacob because of how they handle things.  For supposedly being the GOOD GUYS....they totally SUCK at it---and Sophie is going to have to make a choice at some point---stay the course and TRY to change it from the inside?  Or walk away?  

Ryan and Angelica mending fences is good to see...but will Angelica be able to STAY on the straight and narrow?  Her own past is black-marked, and will Ryan be enough to save her from going over the cliff?  For now, we at least see Angelica TRYING to make an effort to reconnect with Ryan.  And with tonight's revelations between the two...has the ice melted a little more between Luke and Ryan?  Luke is still holding out hope for Kate, but Ryan is TRYING to make Batwoman work for HER.  She is trying to feel comfortable in someone else's skin...and it's not easy for her.  While she has had Mary's support, Luke is the harder sell, because he just sees her as a fill-in.  And as for her injury....that little Kryptonite wound is getting WORSE by the day, and it's becoming a liability.  How much longer can she think she can get away with hiding it from Mary and Luke before it costs her in the field?  Pride only goes so far....

And apparently, Alice and Ocean's relationship goes much deeper that we could ever realize, and what IS it with this connection they have, where all they have to do is TOUCH each other, and they get these flashbacks?  And what does Ocean having the Napier painting do for him?  Is this his leverage against his sister , which is a big reveal in itself, and what does he hope to gain from it?  And how long will Alice ride with him until she makes her OWN move?  Curious to see where THIS relationship goes.  

Again, we're getting more questions, but were also getting some fairly solid storytelling that isn't dragging the show down.  IT's all steady, and entertaining.  I'm invested, and not bored.  

What did  YOU all think of this week's edition?  Subscribe and leave a comment below.

Until next time....the signal is OFF.  

BLACK LIGHTNING 4.2

RECAP - BLACK LIGHTNING 4.2:  "The Book of Reconstruction - Chapter Two:  Unacceptable Losses"  

It's not a good time to be a part of the Pierce Family right now....nor is it a good time to be living in Freeland.  You would've thought that after the Markovian War and the ASA Occupation, that this town would get a breather.  But nope....we get over THOSE humps, just to go right back to dealing with the ORIGINAL threat the town faced:  gang war.  Seems that things have amped up between Lala's group The 100, and Lady Eve's group, the Cobra Cartel...which is actually been run by Eve's lieutenant.  All the while, Tobias returns to town, determined to use his brand new role as philanthropist to work on his OWN machinations.  All the while, we see Jefferson spiraling out of control.  

This week saw the family splinter even more, as Jefferson and Lynn continue couples therapy, where things don't get better, and now they're being seen by the therapist separately.  Jefferson continues to allow Henderson's death dictate his behavior, and his reluctance to suit up as Black Lightning again.  Meanwhile, Jen is overexerting herself again, Lynn is continuing to experiment with everyone's different powers, and go out into the field, even though she is in NO WAY qualified to do such....a point that---at one point in the episode---BOTH her kids call her out on.  Jen's recklessness with her powers, and her determination to play superhero has caused a problem between her and Lynn, as she decides to skip going to college to be a hero full time.  And while Anissa seems to come OFF as the smart one, and the most level-headed....she's also pulling double duty with TRIPLE ID's:  herself, Thunder, and Blackbird.  And, as Blackbird, she's trying to negotiate SOME kind of control over the gang war situation by trying to keep BOTH the 100 AND the Cobra Cartel within a limited working space---something Lala ain't too keen on.  He's also NOT keen on Lady Eve's gang, either.  He already had his boys attack hers, and is also wanting to put Lightning down, as he feels SHE is the most dangerous.  

Jen's recklessness got her injured this week, but also, once again, shows that she's taking her powers for granted TOO much.  Anissa AND Lynn are concerned, and Lynn actually had to save her, but got hurt herself.  With Anissa AND Jen telling Lynn to stay OUT of the field, she feels like she's made to feel worthless.  Jeff, meanwhile, argues with Lynn about the girls, her continued addiction to the power drugs, and his hate for Tobias.  He feels Black Lightning is the reason for everything that went down, and refuses to suit up.  At one point, he just expunges his power outside his house, and passes out, only to have Lynn find him the next day.  He finds out that, because of the gang fight Lightning broke up the night before caused the death of a little boy, that the boy's father---a teacher at Jeff's school---can't stay in Freeland anymore, and quits.  He argues with Gambi, who's been on his OWN secret mission by invading Montevista International to get intel about the new NextGen guns that Chief Lopez had been seeking to help quell the metahuman "menace" in Freeland, and see if he can find a way to get around it, to track the man that killed the boy, only for Gambi to say 'no'.  Jeff has to go it alone, and finds the gangbanger, and uses his powers to beat him, and smash his leg, warning him that if he didn't turn himself in, he'd be back.  

Gambi's not the only one who's trying to get something on the NextGen guns....Lala wants to get some as well....for the sole purpose of killing Thunder and Lightning.  Anissa, meanwhile, had to try and save the boy that died, but couldn't.  Her and the new employee at Lynn's lab were hanging out, after Lynn saw that Grace had gone through another shape change...this time a tiger, and just couldn't deal...so her and this guy have a drink and chat...only to answer the call of gunshots.  They were too late on the scene when they tried to save the boy.  

But we also got one big scene this week, and it was the long-awaited face-to-face between Jefferson and Tobias.  Tobias has somehow been enhanced, as Jefferson tried to blast him, but his powers had no effect on Tobias.  This is going to be a problem for Jeff down the road when he finally gets his act together and suits up again.  Tobias is as powerful as ever, and he's managed to hack into Lynn's lab mainframe, having access to all her research.  

It seems that---through the first two episodes of this season---that guilt, remorse, fear, and anger are the main themes.  Jefferson is experiencing ALL of them....and right now---it make me NOT like him.  He's so self-absorbed in his OWN misery, and his inability to CONTROL everything, that it's made him a huge dick to be around, and it's no wonder WHY his relationship with Lynn is where it's at, and why the girls won't prop him up, either.  They are upset because THEY have to pick up the slack, while their own father wallows in his own self misery.  Lynn is STILL lying to the therapist about her addiction, and has done the 180 from where she was about a year or two ago---when she HATED all this metahuman stuff.  NOW she wants to help and be out in the field...despite her lacking in the skills needed to be a superhero.  The family is NOT fun to be around right now.  And even Gambi's got his own agenda right now, having to suck up to his old co-worker in order to gain access to her company...which is making the weapons to kill metas.  The team is fractured, and everyone is dealing with their own personal crap.  Meanwhile, the gangs are running roughshod over the town, and then there's Tobias....plotting from behind the scenes, while being a public face.  

I did enjoy the episode, and DO tend to trust the writers know what they're doing here...but I also fear that they'll drag Jefferson's depression on TOO long, and it'll drag down this final season.  This has been the MOST solid CW show for every season it's been on the air, and it would behoove the writers to ensure it STAYS that way, by allowing this show one LAST epic season, and go out on a high.  If Jefferson spends the entire first half of this season in the doldrums...I'm gonna be pissed.  At SOME point in the next episode or two, he'll snap out of it.  

What did YOU guys think of this week's installment?  Do you agree with my assessment?  Subscribe and leave a comment below.  

Until next time...the Power is OFF.

 

BATWOMAN 2.4

 

 RECAP - BATWOMAN 2.4:  "Fair Skin, Blue Eyes"  

We're definitely getting into some juicy stuff here on Batwoman.  While we're still trying to figure out just who Safiyah is, how long is her reach, and the way she's interwoven into Julia, Kate, and Alice's lives....we're not sure of her endgame, or what she's really up to, other than sending Alice on a mission that requires her to be free, much to Sophie's dismay, because she'd rather put Alice down for good.  However, without Alice, it seems that they won't get Kate back.  Meanwhile, we learned a few more dark secrets about Ryan Wilder's life growing up, including a criminal from her past that makes a return.  Jacob is now having to deal with the False Face Society and their plan to flood the streets of Gotham with this new deadly addictive drug called Snakebite.  We get the gory details on THIS drug courtesy of our disembodied voice, Vesper Fairchild.  

Ryan is having issues this episode, as she is still fighting the poisonous effects of the the Kryptonite that she was wounded with at the beginning of the season, and it nearly causes her to crash the Batmobile (which, I gotta say, I really dig).  The wound is getting worse, and she's hiding it from both Luke and Mary (and you'd think that she'd trust Mary, what with Mary being a doctor and all, but the LAST thing Ryan wants is to be taken OUT of the field with this injury).  She catches a member of the False Face Society, and sends him packing with a message to his bosses.  She then meets up with a little boy who his looking for his older brother, who has gone missing.  This eventually prompts Mary and Ryan digging through info about the boy once Luke takes off after another disagreement with Mary about Kate (more on that later).  This case then begins to spark Ryan's memories of when she was in foster care.  She met her girlfriend there, and they developed a mutual love of comic books.  Ryan was out looking for comics when she was approached by a middle aged woman, who lured her into her van with comics, sprayed her in the face with some sort of chemical, and then kidnapped her off the street.

We see throughout the episode Ryan's desperate attempt to find the boy, who apparently had been kidnapped by this "Candylady", who used jellybeans to count the days she had the kids locked away, telling them that no one would look for them.  She gave the kids 60 days to have someone come look for them, as she took one jellybean out of the jar.  Ryan recalls her own captivity, and how, at one point, people from her foster home had come looking for a girl, but she had brown hair, and blue eyes, light skin.  She also had a necklace with a red stone in it.  Mary and Ryan figure out that the girl THEY were looking for was Beth/Alice.  Ryan then remembered that her girlfriend ended up coming to her rescue, and she got away from the Candylady.  As her and Mary passed the comic book stand, Ryan remembered what happened to her, and put the pieces together.  She went to confront the Candywoman, but got captured once again.

As it turns out, the Candylady was using the kids as recruits for the False Face Society, and this boy Kevin that she's been looking for has been brainwashed as a new recruit.  She eventually breaks free, and takes down the Candylady, putting an end to her kidnapping spree....but not before she iformed Ryan about Kevin's whereabouts.

Which leads us to Jacob, because while he's still on the hunt for Kate...by having his team look into the location of the Jack Napier painting that was on Kate's phone, he's also dealing with this Snakebite drug.  He had a stoolie who fed him info on the next shipment, only to be stabbed in the back by this guy, and zapped by Kevin.  This guy then told Kevin his initiation into the False Face Society was to kill Jacob Kane.  Batwoman arrived in time to save him, and stop Kevin from making a mistake.  This was the true first meeting between Ryan and Jacob, and he didn't go off on her.  I think Jacob's coming around.  

Alice showed up at Sophie's, and she needed Sophie's help into trying to find a man simply known as Ocean.  Alice proposed an alliance of sorts, and Sophie wasn't sure about the whole idea.  On top of that, Luke decided that he'd work with Sophie on tracking Kate, since he and Mary were still at odds as to whether or not Kate was still alive.  When he arrived, he saw Alice, and then tried to help Sophie from her place as to locate Kate, but no luck.  Luke would then head back to the Batcave to try from his end since they had better equipment.  Sophie took off to go back to Crows HQ and work from there, while Alice hung out at her pad.  It was here that Alice had a memory of when she actually met Ocean, which will now set HER upon the search for this man.  One other thing that came out of this is the fact that Alice confessed as to WHY she wants Kate back to Sophie...to kill her.  This also allows Sophie to confess to Jacob that she met up with Alice, and that they need to find Kate before she does.  

Another bit of info we got this week, was during Luke and Sophie's search for Ocean, Sophie ran into a burglar, and she fought her a bit, but the burglar bailed.  Turns out, that burglar was Ryan's ex-girlfriend, with whom she'd tried to reconnect with, but apparently there's some issues there.  We also now established that Mary left her penthouse for the apartment above Kate's bar, and that she offered Ryan the other room, especially since Ryan works at the bar now.  It also allowed for some bonding between the two, which is helping to establish Ryan more in Mary's eyes...but Luke is the harder sell.  

I really enjoyed this episode, because we're slowly peeling back the layers of Ryan's life, and finding MORE interesting things about her, which is giving her a more well rounded character with depth, and helps establish HER motivation for donning the cowl at night.  The fact that she was abducted by this middle aged woman helped set up the story for this week, and gave her ways on how to defeat the Candylady, who---it turns out---is working with the False Face Society.  Interesting connection there, as we hear more about the gang, but haven't seen Black Mask...as yet.  Ocean is this new character that Safiyah apparently wants Alice to not only find....but kill.  Not sure WHY...but it may have a connection with the Desert Rose, it may not.  But this is the one job that Alice needs to complete to get Kate back.  And with Alice revealing her motivations to Sophie, it's now a race against time for Sophie and Jacob to find Kate before Alice does.  So we have a few plates spinning in the air, and it's making for some interesting television.

I can see Mary really attaching herself to Ryan, not just because Ryan has potential as Batwoman, but because she's looking to fill that void where Kate left.  She wants to have a sister, and Ryan seems to be the stand in.  Not sure if this idea will come to light in a "true confessions" moment between the two, but safe to say, the bond between them will grow.  Also helps that Mary is giving Ryan a chance to get back her life.  Luke is still iffy on Ryan, because he's the more cautious one.  He's also seeing Ryan as nothing more than a stand-in until Kate is found.  So, Ryan has to work overtime to impress him.  Julia was absent from this episode, and not sure how many she will be in, since her and Sophie are done.  

One of the other elements I've noticed is just how interwoven that Alice and Ryan seem to be---mostly by pure happenstance.  It was Alice's Wonderland Gang of thugs that killed Ryan's foster mother, but it was also during one of Ryan's memories of her captivity by the Candylady that the foster kids were looking for a light skinned, blue eyed girl with a red necklace....Beth.  So I'm very curious as to why the writers have given Alice and Ryan so much commonality.  I wonder if this will make THEIR final confrontation have some higher stakes.  And what of Ryan's ex?  Where does SHE fit into everything?  

We got more questions, but I'm liking the journey so far this season.  Interested in seeing where it goes.  What did YOU guys think?  Subscribe and leave a comment below.  Would LOVE to hear from you!

Until next time....The Signal is OFF!

BLACK LIGHTNING 4.1

 

RECAP - BLACK LIGHTNING 4.1:  "The Book of Reconstruction - Chapter One:  Collateral Damage"

Oooooh, it is good to be BACK in Freeland!  It is often said that art imitates life, and with the Season 4 premiere of Black Lightning, we got a good heavy dose of that, as this story picks up a year AFTER the events of the battle with Markovia, the ASA Invasion, AND Crisis on Infinite Earths.  It's a time of healing in the beleaguered town, but tensions are still high, it still mourns the loss of Chief William Henderson, and there's still the threat of gang violence.  Plus...Gravedigger is STILL out there, somewhere...always posing a threat.  Plus...we'll get to Tobias Whale in a minute.  But safe to say...things have been calmer...but not by much.  And the Pierce Family...hit hard with the fallout.

The person who took the BIGGEST hit during this fallout was Jefferson himself.  This episode sees a man at the end of his rope, taking his old friend's death the hardest, and ends up having an imaginary conversation with his late father about handling loss...and the fact that the city STILL needs Black Lightning.  But all Jefferson can think about the entire episode is how his alter ego has been nothing more than a curse and a burden on the town, and that if Black Lightning had NEVER returned, Henderson would still be alive.  He's also NOT thrilled that both Anissa AND Jennifer are still out suiting up at night, and hitting the bad guys.  Lynn has even done a 180 degree turn on defending Freeland by helping out the girls, much to Jefferson's dismay.  On top of that, we still also see the marital discord between the two very much alive, as they STILL cannot get on the same page.

Jefferson's journey through this episode is sad...as he handles EVERYTHING poorly.  First of all--and his BIGGEST mistake of the entire episode--is something that's ripped right out of the actual headlines of the last year.  With Freeland having to deal with what happened during the ASA/Markovian invasion, metahumans are seen as something of a menace in the town, and the new Chief of Police, Chief Lopez, is intent on tagging all metas in town, and monitoring them.  This coming on the heels of Jefferson's speech in honor of Henderson.  Jeff is driving home when he spots two white police officers going after a black kid walking.  He seems innocent, and Jefferson feels the oppression within him, and seeing it happen to this kid.  So, he goes to confront the cops, who tell him to back off, but he ends up zapping them, telling the kid to take off.  He then zaps their minds so that they'd forget the incident.  

Now...in later talking to Gambi, who's been concerned about Jefferson, tells him that security cameras caught him in the act, and that while he took care of it, it's possible they got a partial match on his license plate.  This later comes back upon Jefferson as he is interviewed by Chief Lopez and her new member of her team.  A man who's name we apparently do not get, but he's got connections to Henderson, and actually called out Black Lightning about his commitment to Freeland.  And informed him about the gangs till taking up residence in Freeland.  Either way, Jefferson played dumb as much as possible, but they know he's lying.  I have a feeling things are going to get WORSE for Jefferson before it gets better.

Speaking of Gambi real quick...he's approached by a former colleague who offers him a job doing high tech security for her, but he politely declines...but she gives him her card in case he changes his mind.  There also seems to be SOME kind of personal connection to them as well, so I'm curious to see as to what happens between THESE two down the road.

The drama of the Pierce Family is at an all time high....though it seems as though Lynn has the girls' ear now, and not Jefferson.  While Jefferson is wallowing...and blaming Lynn for their disconnect, and she doing the same to him, Lynn is still lying about her Green Light addiction, and still using to help the girls fight crime by adapting Gravedigger's powers.  She ends up halting a potential kidnapping of a girl for a child slavering ring, but she feels she can get the effects to last even longer, though she admits this is hard, and really needs Jeff back out in the field.  Thunder & Lightning have been tag-teaming to ensure the criminal element is held at bay in town, as they continue to battle The 100 and Lala's men, as they bust up his weapons shipment.  But in their later battle, Lightning is hurt, and ends up getting laid up.  Anissa has taken charge, and she knows that they need their dad out there, but he refuses.  

On top of this, Anissa is still dealing with Grace's condition.  In the year since the Markovian battle, she's still been comatose, and hasn't come out of it.  Jen suggests she give up on her, but Anissa is insulted by that.  Lynn, however, offers SOME hope with a new serum she HOPES will adapt to Grace's shape-changing abilities, and possibly bring her out.  We know Painkiller is out there on his own, Brandon is MIA, as well as the other members of the Outsiders, who have been silent since the fight.  Jennifer is out flying around testing her powers, but she seems to be having trouble at the end of the episode as her powers begin to peter out, and she falls.  

Jefferson's OTHER issue is that of Tobias, who seems to have reinvented himself as a legit businessman.  He's using his funds to help "rebuild" Freeland, and come off as a philanthropist.  This upsets him, and it also unnerves the rest of the family.  Lynn and Anissa are in agreement that Tobias must die...but Jefferson is NOT okay with them taking that line of thinking.  They've already taken a life...but that still doesn't sit right with Jefferson knowing they're willing to take that route again.  And he all but forbids them from going after Tobias---that's his white whale and his white whale alone.  Tobias further makes his presence known by donating his money to Lynn's research facility...pouring salt into the wound, and putting his long term plan into motion to get back at the Pierce family.  

All in all, a solid episode to open up the final season...even if it WAS kind of a bummer.  But we now have a tone set for the show, and we know that Tobias will be the main villain of this season.  We know Lala and the 100 are a pre-eminent threat as well, and he'll have his say in regards to this war between Black Lightning and Tobias....he's got a mad-on for both of them.  I wonder about what will happen when Lynn hits rock bottom with her addiction....what will be---as the title of THIS story says--the collateral damage to the family?  Will Anissa have to shoulder the load of the family until her dad gets with it, and will she have her happy ending with Grace?  And what of Jennifer?  It seems as if HER powers are in a state of flux, or she's on the verge of a power outage.  I am at a loss as to what the problem is, but I have a feeling we'll find out in short order.  

The HUGE question will be this:  How long into this season will it be before Jefferson bottoms out?  OR gets arrested for what he did to those two cops?  I honestly don't want to see half a season go by, and Black Lightning is on the sidelines because he's bummed out.  It's totally uncharacteristic, and would totally be detrimental to the character.  THIS is why I would've LOVED to have seen some team-up between he and Barry.  Barry could provide just the right kind of pep talk to snap Jefferson out of his funk, and get him back into the hero game.  

What Episode 2 brings, we shall see next week.  Until then, let me know what YOU thought of this episode by subscribing and leaving a comment below.  

Until next time...the Power is OFF.

BATWOMAN 2.3

 

RECAP - BATWOMAN 2.3:  "Bat Girl Magic!"

I can honestly say that THIS season of Batwoman has given us some serious intrigue.  Now, we all know that trying to figure out HOW to write Kate Kane off the show (and thus, not have to use Ruby Rose, because they were NOT going to get her back), was going to be a task....but they did it in the only logical way possible.  And I have to admit...they had wrapped a decent mystery around it...for about two episodes.  But even THEN...with the mysterious Safiyah now making her appearance on the show this week, we got more answers....and yet, more questions.  Meanwhile, Ryan is now trying to adjust to the role as the new Batwoman, while also still having to report to her Parole Officer (which I DO like logic like that being written into the show), and needing Mary's help to get a job.  And on top of ALL of this....we got an old Bats villain running around Gotham killing people:  Victor Zsasz.  

We're introduced pretty quickly to Zsasz, as he is right in the middle of a job:  killing a rich man and his mistress in their hotel room for his vengeful wife.  Once he lays them out on the bed, holding hands, he proceeds to undress...and carve into his skin with a knife.  You see....Vic here keeps track of EVERYONE he has killed by cutting into his skin, and leaving a mark...and his body is FULL of them.  He then gets a call for another job.  It's here that he then slaughters scientists at Hamilton Dynamics for some reason, and it's up to Team Batwoman to find out what it is.  That's where Mary comes in, as she goes to ask around to find out what it was he was after. Turns out, HE was hired to find out who got ahold of the Desert Rose - the rare plant that Alice used for the antidote to Mary's poison...of which there was STILL traces of it in the blood that Alice gave Mary to save the people of Gotham from the poisoned bats SHE herself unleashed.  Mary's blood was used as a vaccine, and that exposure was what drew the assassin to Mary's doorstep.  Which, in turn, drew Batwoman to him.  Ryan had met him as Batwoman before, and he commented that she didn't feel comfortable in the suit, as she is still trying to adjust being a superhero.  

The next time they meet, the team tries a different approach, as Ryan meets him as herself, and he recognizes her.  She tries to offer him a job, but he turns it down.  But we soon find out that the money had a device to copy his phone, and Luke discovers WHO his mysterious benefactor is:  Safiyah.  

We finally get to meet this mysterious crimelord Safiyah, as she had Alice and Sophie captured back in Gotham.  Tatiyana, her hired killer, keeps an eye on Sophie on the beach, while Alice and Safiyah have a chat.  Safiyah is the keeper of the Desert Rose, and did NOT want it exposed to the outside world.  She has kept it on the island for years, but Alice's little play in Gotham turned that around.  She is disappointed in Alice, as it turns out these two are familiar with each other.  When Alice finally got away from Mouse's dad, she ended up a stowaway on a boat, and was rescued by Safiyah.  Safiyah, in turn, then trained Alice on how to kill, but is sad to learn that all Alice did with her gifts, is turn them into revenge against her family.  Alice is ticked off that Safiyah had Kate killed, and Safiyah said she hasn't thought about Kate in years....until she showed up on Gotham as Batwoman.  Alice and Safiyah mix it up a little, with Safiyah getting the best of her...and then tells Alice that if she wanted Kate dead, she would've done it...but why would she have her necklace...which Alice recognizes.

While Sophie shows some grit and fight against Tatiyana, it turns out that there is more for Safiyah to plan.  She has Kate, and won't return her until Alice is off the island.  So, both women are drugged, and sent back to Gotham.  Sophie has every intention of arresting Alice, but Alice informs her that if she doesn't stay free...they'll never get Kate back.  Sophie is shocked Kate is alive.

Luke still shares that sentiment with Sophie, and won't give up on Kate's return.  However, he's also giving Ryan a hard time about her role, insisting that it's temporary.  Meanwhile, Mary has started to lose the faith in Kate being alive, and feels that she's dead.  Ryan does what she can to console her, and Ryan also takes over as a bartender at Kate's bar...as she needed a job to satisfy her PO, and kind of dragged Mary into the lie, but Mary's okay with it (and underpaying Ryan in the process).  Ryan ends up saving Mary from Victor Zsasz, as he found out it was HER blood that had the Desert Rose in it (and was tossed under the bus by Alice, of course).  However, Ryan made a few adjustments to the Batsuit, to make it more 'her'.  In the end, she beat Victor rather cheesily, but if was effective...and she didn't kill him.  They don't get much more out of him other than "Villain of the Week", but it gives Ryan her first victory against a bad guy as Batwoman.  Luke even gives props to Ryan, and makes new Batarangs for her...and she promises to work on her skills.  

One other side story that was not really mentioned again except at the beginning was the fact that the Crows know there's a new drug flowing into the streets of Gotham, and they discover that the Head of the False Face Society is Black Mask.  So, we got the OTHER new villain arriving in Gotham, looking to take it over.  Safe to say, Team Batwoman will have its hand's full this season.

I am liking what is happening so far, and VERY interested in seeing how they do Black Mask.  I just hope they find a way to PROPERLY balance this upcoming Gang War stuff between Alice, Black Mask, and whatever the hell Safiyah has planned.  They're doing a good job in helping build up Ryan, by having her struggle, as she becomes more comfortable in her role as Batwoman.  Mary and Luke backing her goes a long way in helping the team solidify.  Especially Mary and Luke, who were at odds this episode in regards to Kate's status as either dead or alive.  Alice, I feel, is now going to be tasked with handling Black Mask quite possibly if he steps on Safiyah's toes, all the while still remaining the proverbial wild card.  Sophie realizes that---like it or not---Alice HAS to be free in order to get Kate back, and that might come back to bite her in the ass later this season if Jacob finds out.  He's still essentially by the book.  And what of Julia?  Will she stick around?  And now that he's gotten into Kate's phone, how will Sophie's information that Kate is possibly alive play out as well as far as he goes.

By the way....niiiiiice little nod to the original Tim Burton Batman movie, with the Jack Napier name drop this week.  Oh...and Vesper Fairchild still at her gossip best.  The episodes are improving, and I'm on Ryan's journey....so, I'm willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt, and hope the writing holds up and is consistent. 

What did YOU guys think of this episode?  Subscribe and leave me a comment below!  

Until next time.....the Batsignal is OFF!