This week on Black Lightning, everyone was confused and baffled by Jennifer’s new appearance, with Jefferson responding particularly poorly. Meanwhile, Whale announced he was running for mayor, and Lala encountered Destiny’s new assassin, Ishmael (Rico Ball).
1. Marvel Shout Out
For the record, the full titles of Black Lightning‘s episodes are only revealed during broadcast, so it’s likely “Theseus’s Ship” was chosen after WandaVision‘s finale popularized the philosophical quandary, especially since it’s never mentioned in the dialogue. It’s still a good question regarding Jennifer though: is she still the same Jennifer? It’s made clear that although her matter reconstituted itself differently, she’s still very much the same Jennifer, albeit taller, and darker-skinned (or “chocolate,” as she puts it).
2. Jefferson, Ugh
Jefferson is the only one unable to process and accept what’s happened to Jennifer, and it’s pretty terrible, although he probably didn’t realize it, being so fearful of what might’ve really happened to his little girl. I imagine it makes viewers who felt angry about the recasting wonder if they overreacted, and therefore more accepting of Laura Kariuki, but the superdickery doesn’t stop there, as Jeff later encourages Lynn to use a metabooster to aid in her efforts spying on Whale, when she’s trying to sober up: I spent so much of this episode shaking my head at how emotionally constipated our title hero has become.
3. Red
Speaking of spying on Whale, Gambi discovers someone assassinated Mayor Black from an above trajectory, meaning Lala’s men on the ground couldn’t have killed him. He and Jefferson suspect a sniper, although the nearest tall building would’ve been too far to make the shot. Clearly, Whale’s new, literally magnetic sidekick Red made the shot with his abilities, thereby allowing his boss to launch his mayoral campaign: it’s rather strange, knowing what’s going on before our heroes do, so far in advance.
4. Call Me Ishmael
Ishmael’s a pretty recent addition to the DCU, having been created for Bryan Edward Hill and Dexter Soy’s “Batman and the Outsiders” run in 2019, but it’s unsurprising given how few Black Lightning comics there are. His costume is a little odd (it’s a ninja suit that seems to have been made from a military uniform), but he’s a pretty intimidating foe with a stylish fighting technique, and the way he defeated Lala by burying him in concrete was pretty funny. (Lala must love being the new Han Solo by the way.) I’m curious how effective his swords will be at blocking the Pierce family’s lightning though.
5. For Breonna
Black Lightning’s war with the police got fully underway after interrupting a raid on a young couple’s home: uniquely, we got to see what would’ve happened had he not intervened first, with footage of protests from last year being repurposed to emphasize the parallels between this police shooting, and the killing of Breonna Taylor. I would’ve loved to have seen this situation being explored in a whole episode, rather than as the catalyst for Jefferson and Jennifer to reconcile at the end, but with only six episodes (and the Painkiller backdoor pilot) left, it’s understandable.
Bonus Thoughts:
– Lynn saying “J.J.” was her niece was the most awkward attempt at a cover story I’ve ever seen.
– The temporary outfit Gambi gave Jennifer looked a lot like Sister Night’s costume from Watchmen.
Well folks, the show is going on hiatus until April 12, so until then, stay safe, and enjoy everything else DC has on offer for the next month — lightning out.
