The fallout from Lady Eve’s assassination and Black Lightning being framed for the crime continued, with Jefferson and Anissa teaming up to find the real culprit. But the true story of the week came in the titular revelations, or rather clarification, of who Peter Gambi really is, and Jennifer discovering her powers.
1. Father-daughter time
Let’s turn our attention back to Jefferson and Anissa though. Black Lightning can be a heavy show to watch, not least because of all the social commentary, so it was fun to hear Carl Douglas’s camp classic “Kung Fu Fighting” play as the two trained while listening to news reports of the community turning on Black Lightning. If Black Lightning has to become a fugitive, at least he’s going to have fun with his daughter while exonerating himself.
Not all the jokes landed, particularly as Cress Williams still plays some moments with that overly stern schoolmaster demeanor, and because I keep wondering if Anissa’s gonna take another overblown deep breath during their next scene. But it is great to see the two’s relationship finally cool off, and their exchanges in the forest about horror films and cellphones were particularly fun. As a result, I didn’t mind how weird their smiling was when they lost the evidence for Black Lightning’s innocence.
2. “Heightened emotional stress.”
Jennifer’s suspicions about her father and sister also brings some levity, just like it did last week (you reckon she’ll be a better investigator than Anissa some day). You had to wonder how much longer she would be put on the sidelines, but then her lightning powers finally manifested when witnessing a potential accident at school. I couldn’t help but think of Jean Grey’s line from X-Men, “These mutations manifest at puberty, and are often triggered by periods of heightened emotional stress.” I loved that with all her troubles lately, that Anissa’s first thought when her sister asked for help was to ask if she was pregnant.
3. Lala and LaWanda
So Lala is back from the dead, haunted by a ghostly LaWanda who has branded herself on his chest. It led to a lot of bizarre and off-kilter scenes of him trying to figure out what happened, and trying to regain his confidence, all while speaking to a dead woman, a woman still bearing the fatal wounds he gave her. Is she real? Is she just a manifestation of his guilt or psychosis? Is there Stockholm syndrome going on between these two? I can’t wait to find out.
We didn’t see Tobias at all this week, he’s likely off mourning Tori, which would’ve been nice to see depicted, but we’ll probably see him soon, especially when Lala remembers who killed him…
4. The confession
I sussed Gambi last week as someone who was undercover in the mob and just went in too deep. This week revealed Gambi, real name Peter Esposito, is an ASA (American Security Agency) agent who was sent to investigate the metahumans they had accidentally created with the vaccines tested in Freeland. Gambi leaked that the vaccines were killing children to Jefferson’s father Alvin, and while we still haven’t seen why Alvin’s exposé led Tobias to kill him, it’s possible the vaccine was the forerunner of Green Light, and that the ASA may still be using it to find a way to keep Freeland fearful and docile.
Gambi’s boss, Martin Proctor (played by Gregg Henry, aka Star-Lord’s grandpa) is a really nasty racist piece of work by the way. I hope he gets what’s coming to him; preferrably while being served fried food.
5. Vaccines and the black community
I should note I’m not entirely sure about the show using vaccination as a boogeyman haunting a black community like Freeland, given how in real life, anti-vaccine propaganda preying on historical black distrust of doctors has led to outbreaks of disease in states like Minnesota. I’m British, there is no debate over vaccines here, that’s why Andrew Wakefield had to go to the States to spread his fearmongering about autism. Still, the vaccine on this show gives people superpowers, so maybe the depiction isn’t all that problematic?
Bonus thoughts:
– How many named DC metahumans do you think have been dissected on this Earth?
– RIP hapless police minion.
