Tobias Whale and Khalil returned with a vengeance this week, hatching a scheme with the ASA to capture Black Lightning. Let’s get to it:
1. Closing the mystery box
Proctor lays out exactly what happened with the vaccine the ASA used in Freeland during the ’80s, clarifying the kids it was killing and those metahuman children it created were one and the same. So the one kid – Jefferson – who didn’t become ill as a result of their metahuman abilities happened to be the offspring of the journalist Gambi went to disclose the experiment to. Huh. Secondly, is this meant to absolve Gambi of his guilt? Does that imply the ASA have been doing the right thing keeping all these kids on ice? I’m not sure about this, to say the least.
2. Look how swole you’ve become
Not only can he walk again, Khalil just looks much bigger when he first enters the frame in this episode, and his hair of course, has become much longer. Anyway, Khalil’s conversation with Jefferson was fascinating, as it convincingly demonstrated how much he’s brainwashed. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the idea that evil cannot comprehend good (Warning: TV Tropes may cause you to waste your afternoon), and Khalil’s claim that Jefferson is only interesting in helping him as it makes him and his school look good is a profoundly cynical idea that’s sadly regularly spouted by some of society’s worst these days.
3. Erasure
Am I disappointed Khalil broke bad? Yes and no, there aren’t many disabled people of color on TV, but there’s definitely more to his story, and you could also argue his storyline still reflects the refusal of young men in today’s society who lash out, instead of finding self-acceptance with who they are. On the flipside of course, you have Jefferson getting angry at Lynn for exploring the possibility of suppressing Jennifer’s powers, and thematically it all ties together with the theme of how it’s wrong to try to change who you are. You can’t cure autism, just as the world can’t stop perceiving you as a POC, and pretending otherwise will just lead to ruin.
4. Impulsiveness
Speaking of Jefferson having a go at Lynn, that scene was really shocking, given how the cordial the two are (and were this close to getting back together). I wonder if the direction may have gone overboard here, and that Cress Williams should’ve been told to play it as “not angry, just disappointed.” Still, Jefferson has been going through a stressful time, which may also explain why he chooses to engage Tobias in hand-to-hand combat at the end of the episode, despite being warned by Gambi not to.
Impulsiveness does seem to run in the family, as Jennifer also ignores her father’s warning to not see Khalil. (You can’t have expected her to learn her boyfriend can walk again, and not go off to see it with her own eyes.) Fortunately that manages to save the day as her refusal to flee Garfield High means she’s there to resuscitate her dad before he was rendered more than clinically dead. It’ll also give her the impetus she needs to realize these powers are a blessing, not a curse.
5. Schemes
Lala is a wreck, and William Catlett did a great job of selling it in his two brief scenes this episode. So, how does Whale plan to use him? Does he actually know about his powers? It’s not like anyone can see the spirits of those he’s killed, so what use would having him kill Proctor serve? Well, there’s only one more episode left of this season so we’ll have to wait and see…
Bonus thoughts:
– We see green fabric in Syonide’s injured arm, indicating she’s been physically enhanced.
– Can they not afford to break Black Lightning’s chest piece? The climactic blow would’ve looked more convincing if they had punctured it.
– So does Black Lightning’s “foglight” obscuring his face still generate when he’s unconscious?
Next week: it’s the season finale folks.
