Black Lightning “Black Jesus Blues” Review

Season 2 Episode 2 “Jefferson must break the news to his students and faculty that he is stepping down; struggling with his new life as Painkiller, Kahlil pays a visit to Jennifer in hopes of mending things; Tobias continues to enact his plan.”

The Good & The Bad

The Good

1. The show kicks off from the previous episode in regards to the Green Light kids in the pods. My first Good of the episode comes when Jennifer and Anissa are having a conversation. I put this down because I love the chemistry between the two. They talk about real life issues, more so in cramps but I enjoyed the conversation. It felt like a normal sibling conversation with the inclusion of their powers. A small Good, but we start things off on a positive one.

2. One of the things I always kind of knew deep down was Khalil never wanted to do the things he did, more so attacking the school. I also always knew he is only doing what Tobias says because Tobias healed him. This was a touching and emotional part when Khalil goes to Jennifer, and watching genuinely how much he’s hurting. Jennifer’s powers come to fruition sooner than expected, and this results in her telling him to leave. You can tell from a mile away the feelings are there for both of them. To be honest, I would love to see Khalil fully turn good, and go against Tobias.

3. Issa’s story was very interesting from last episode. It’s had me thinking, “what the hell are his powers?” We finally get this when Lynn takes him home to the Pierce family, and they all start telling the truth to one another. That’s his power. When he makes eye contact, they speak the truth. After this scene, we see him back at the lab with Lynn, when she tells him it’s either go in the pod or risk dying without a timeframe. He chooses against the pod, but she said it’s down to the meta gene. Now, we all know who could help with a cure, right?! We do don’t we?! Travel to a different earth, and I’m sure Cisco and Caitlin could help.

At the end we see him go back with Tiffany, who I assume is his sister. It was a nice touch, however I don’t think we’ve seen the end of Issa.

4. Jefferson resigns are principal. Now, I was questioning myself if this deserved a Good but I will explain my reasons. The board are right to ensure he steps down because they don’t know he’s Black Lightning, and more importantly he wasn’t there in the aftermath of the school attack. I did not like the fact a racial card came into play with a white principal even though I know what the show is about. The way he steps down is a nice touch to end it. However in my previous review I wanted more Black Lightning and less Principal Pierce. At the end of the episode he steps down in front of the students, this was a good, and nice way to end his principal duties at the school. He’s now stepping down into a teacher role. The more I think of it I don’t mind the school life with the story, I just want more Black Lightning.

The Bad

1. Tobias is a fantastic villain but damn, he annoys me. He legit just killed his former right hand man, and a police who’s working with him. Both dialogues from the ones that died felt like they really supported Tobias, and he just kills them. I love to be a bit sympathetic with a villain but I struggle with Tobias. He’s badass, and I enjoy him on screen but I feel like he’s just a typical villain. At least Kingpin from Daredevil, you actually felt for him. With Tobias there’s just nothing. The death of his sister was barely mentioned. He was even slapping Khalil about during a game of chess at the beginning of the episode.

2. Near the beginning we see a guy break out of the pod and die almost immediately after killing one of Lynn’s scientists. A girl breaks out and manages to escape. This goes on a bad because there was actually nothing to it. The entire episode felt like sub-plots without a main. Jeff and Thunder go looking for her, and we see Thunder move a few cars and take in the applause. Next time Black Lightning blasts her and that’s it. It’s over. She’s back in the pod. No direction, and it felt like it could’ve been a lot more in-depth than it initially was.

Holy Shit Moment

Watching Black Lightning and Thunder go to suit up. Need I say more? This scene was immense.

Verdict

A bang average episode that felt like it was driven by too many sub-plots and no real direction on the actual story. Tobias is becoming more forgettable and predictable. The pods also seem like they’re just there now. I feel like the episode could’ve delved into the life of Wendy a bit more, and maybe Issa but it failed to deliver.

Rating: 6/10

Written by Daniel Lewandowski