Hard to believe, but thanks to the pandemic, it’s been almost a year since season 3 of Black Lightning ended. The show has now returned for its fourth and final run, which picks up with Jefferson and his family in similarly real time: let’s dive straight in.
1. One Year Later
There’s no signs of COVID-19 in Freeland, but Jefferson’s still the lowest we’ve ever seen him: his failure to prevent Henderson’s death has led him to give up being Black Lightning, and he’s ashamed that his wife and daughters took lives during the Markovian War. Grace’s been in a coma since Gravedigger took control of her and Anissa was forced to knock her out, because her shapeshifting DNA means the drugs don’t work. Lynn’s been preoccupied in the lab, trying to find a way to revive her, which only reinforced the emotional gulf between her and Jefferson. I won’t lie: it’s depressing.
2. Shadow of George Floyd’s Murder
It was always going to be interesting to see how Black Lightning responded to the renewed wave of Black Lives Matter protests after George Floyd’s murder last summer, and it gets it out of the way almost immediately, when Jefferson sees two cops harassing a young man, who assumed his violin is a drug stash. Jefferson understandably zaps them, and then erases their memories of what he looks like without his mask.
It gradually segues into what will presumably be one of the main conflicts this season: with Henderson gone, and the hunt on for the cops’ attacker, the show’s creators must’ve felt finally free to make the police a major antagonist. We get a taste of the new danger when Henderson’s successor, Ana Lopez (Melissa De Sousa), and his vengeful protege, Hassan Shakur (Wallace Smith), question Jefferson about his partially identified license plate: what’s strange is, didn’t Gambi say he had covered Jefferson’s tracks in this instance? They don’t even discuss it afterwards.
3. Jefferson’s Hypocrisy
Tobias Whale reveals he’s still alive on TV, when he announces he’s investing in the city’s rebuilding, which infuriates the whole family. However, Jefferson refuses to listen to Lynn and their girls after they say they want to kill Tobias, even though he’s aware of their secret identities. However, when one of Lala’s men gets the jump on Jennifer, Jefferson is so infuriated that he tracks him down, and beats him within an inch of his life (again, without covering up his identity.) Yes, there’s a difference between that calculated brutality and taking a life, but it’s the same one “bad cops” believe in — it’s no wonder Anissa and Jennifer don’t care for his advice.
4. Dynamic Duo
It was great seeing Thunder and Lightning working together as a crimefighting duo, and the decision to have them drive around in a black SUV was a perfect symbol of how formidable they are, as well as a fun answer to Batman’s signature car. It’s was also really interesting that Jennifer is no longer wearing her weave, which sold the passing of time, but also implied she’s become confident enough now that she feels she no longer needs it.
So, why are we getting a Painkiller spin-off instead of one focusing on these two?
5. Other Sparks
Black Lightning‘s glacial pacing has always means there’s a lot set up before any pay offs: here in this season opener, we hear the 100 Gang are now at war with the Kobra Cartel, which has been a long time coming given Lady Eve’s ties to the group in the comics; we meet Lauren (Elena Varela), an old flame of Gambi; Whale joins the board of directors at Lynn’s workplace; and last but not least, Lynn’s using Gravedigger’s DNA to emulate his powers of persuasion, which she used to stop a pair of human traffickers. I can’t say much about these two, except: interesting.
We’ll be back next week, and as always, be sure to let us know what you thought of Black Lightning‘s final season premiere in the comments.
