The Flash Episode Guide: Season 8, Episode 3 - Armageddon, Part 3

 For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

As Barry and Jefferson Pierce meet to discuss Barry's problems and the possibility of removing Barry's powers, Iris begins to investigate her father's death and the possibility that maybe he didn't really die.

Influences

Armageddon 2001, The Flash comics of Geoff Johns and The Flash comics of John Broome.


Goofs

Jefferson Pierce makes reference to living in Atlanta. In the Black Lightning series, Jefferson lived in Freeland - a fictional city based on Atlanta. (It's possible Freeland was a specific suburb in Atlanta. Or Jefferson may just be making reference to the largest major city, like how Dallas is often used to describe all the cities surrounding it, not trusting Barry to know where Freeland is.)

The character motivations are all over the place in this episode. Iris jumps between thinking Barry is right to thinking Joe is dead from scene to scene. Despero decides to wait for the heroes to lead him to The Flash only to suddenly boot up the STAR Labs particle accelerator to boost his own powers so he can do it himself.

It also beggars belief that neither Despero nor Cecile/Top would require a nation-wide telepathic scan when Barry was in Central City at the Hall of Justice the whole time. 

Also, wouldn't Team Flash be aware of the Injustice protocols, in case one of them needed to call in the other heroes if Barry were too far gone to request it himself? 


Performances

Cress Williams give a great performance as Jefferson Pierce that will leave you wishing for a fifth season of Black Lightning.


Artistry

The special effects are of cinematic quality, particularly during the Black Lightning vs. Flash fight.


Flash Facts

Barry says that the Injustice Protocols were created by all of the major heroes working together after a battle with a villain named Faust. This seems to be a reference to Felix Faust - an evil magician and classic Justice League villain in the comics, who had the ability to trade souls between bodies. Faust appeared in C110 where he was killed by Chas Chandler, but since this occurred before Crisis on Infinite Earths, it's possible Faust was one of the villains resurrected on Earth-Prime. It's also possible that Faust found a way to escape from Hell, which he also did in the comics.

The Injustice Protocols, which are used to take out a superhero who has gone rogue, seem to have been named after the Injustice games and comics, where Superman went rogue and took over the world.

The basic idea of the Injustice Protocols is similar to the plans created by Batman in the JLA: Tower of Babel storyline, which allowed him to neutralize any member of the Justice League. Batman devised the plans after a group of villains (including Felix Faust) swapped bodies with their enemies in the Justice League.

Chester makes reference to Cerebro - the psychic-power boosting computer used by Professor X from the X-Men - in describing a device that could boost Cecile's empathy powers to counter Despero. This is one of many occasions where the Arrowverse reference Marvel Comics characters as being fictional creations in their reality. 

When Despero attacks the government agents at STAR Labs, he is briefly seen toying with a chess set. The shot where this occurs is a mock up of the cover of Justice League of America #1 (November 1960) where Despero first appeared.

The scene in which Barry and Jefferson discuss soul music is based on an idea proposed by Black Lightning showrunner Salim Akil. In an interview with EW.com, Akil discussed his idea for a Barry Allen and Iris West-Allen appearance in Black Lightning, where Barry would discuss having been raised in a Black family and how Joe West had shared his love of soul music with Barry. While the cameo never happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was intentionally referenced here.

The idea of the Negative Still Force is unique to the Arrowverse. Presumably it acts in a similar manner to the Negative Speed Force, mimicking the regular Still Force but being more destructive in nature. So far the only difference between them is that the Negative Still Force seems to allow the wielder to alter the timeline without creating paradoxes.

In the comics, in the New 52 era, the Reverse-Flash originally had the ability to alter the flow of time rather than being super-fast. His newfound command of the Negative Still Force seems to convey the same ability.

The ending, in which Eobard Thawne marries Iris West, is a nod to The Flash Vol. 1 #165 (November 1966) in which the Reverse-Flash took Barry Allen's place at his own wedding.

The name Robern's, the restaurant where Iris and Thawne's wedding reception is held, is a nod to Eobard Thawne's younger brother in the comics, who was a police officer who tried to thwart his brother's crimes before he traveled back in time. Eobard Thawne altered the timeline so that his parents never had any children after him, according to The Flash Vol. 3 #8 (February 2011).


Technobabble

The Injustice Protocols were designed to neutralize the most powerful heroes on Earth-Prime in case they should go rogue. Each member of the team was assigned a teammate to be the one to step in for one another. In The Flash's case, the designated teammate is Black Lightning.

Kalanorians have four hemispheres in their brain, as opposed to humans, who only have two hemispheres. This makes Despero effectively twice as powerful as any human telepath by sheer virtue of having double the processing power.

The security officer at the Scott Railway depot confirms the missing frames on the footage from when Joe died, but explains that is because of the CCT system being on the same power grid as Sharks Stadium and their upload always being interrupted on game days.

Barry alters the conduits in Jefferson Pierce's costume to enable him to generate enough voltage to disrupt Barry's connection to the Speed Force.

Chester's Neural Conjoiner allows telepaths and empaths to pool their powers and amplify them. This allows Cecile and The Top to search for The Flash across a continent, allowing Chester to triangulate his location using the visual data they pick up. Part of the device is a pair of television rabbit-ear antennas. 

Unlike Still Force isotopes, the Negative Still Force isotopes don't decay; they linger.


Dialogue Triumphs

Black Lightning: My father had a saying, one that I even teach my students today. "Where's the future? Right here. "Whose life is this? Mine. "What are you gonna do with it? Live it by any means necessary." So don't worry. I will honor my promise. I will do whatever is necessary to keep folks alive. But remember... when we take away your powers, they are gone permanently. 

(Jefferson refuses to help Barry lose any more of his power.)
Barry: Fine, you want to ignore the protocols? Now imagine millions dead all because of me!
(Barry throws a lightning bolt at Jefferson. He side-steps the bolt, grabs it and spins, throwing the energy back at Barry and knocking him down.)
Black Lightning: It's your lightning. You keep it. 

(Barry ran Jefferson around the room in a rage and accidentally destroys the case holding Green Arrow's costume. Barry sees the broken case and is stunned.)
Black Lightning: You think this is what he would have wanted? You told me that before Crisis, Oliver went to the Monitor to trade his life for yours. Now, I never met the man, so you tell me: why'd he do that? 'Cause he was afraid? Nah. A man like him lays down his life for a man like you for one reason: because you are the best of us. Now, Oliver Queen wasn't a quitter. He'd never quit on you. So don't you dare quit on yourself. 

Barry: Jefferson, I'm so sorry.
Black Lighting: It's okay.  Just tell me this. Where's the future? 

Barry: It's right here. 

Black Lighting: Whose life is this? 

Barry: Mine. 

Black Lighting: So what are you gonna do with it? 

Barry: Live it... by any means necessary. 

Continuity

Barry called Jefferson Pierce to the Hall of Justice to enact something called the Injustice Protocol.

Jefferson is hesitant, saying that the Injustice Protocols are a one-way trip and meant to be used as a last resort.

Barry tells Jefferson about the events of 802 and how he is apparently losing his mind and attacking his friends and city.

Jefferson suggests they call in Kara, J'onn and Sara to discuss this, referring to Supergirl, Martian Manhunter and White Canary.

Jefferson finally agrees to go forward with Barry's request after he says that he forgot about Joe dying six months earlier.

Despero is shown to be psychically scanning Central City looking for Barry.

Cecile makes reference to the mental health crisis she had in the past, revealed in 713.

Cecile can sense Despero's presence and his watching Team Flash.

Joe West reportedly died after falling onto the tracks at Scott Railway after tripping.

Iris started looking at the evidence connected to Joe West's death and discovered a glitch in the video. Joe seemed to disappear before the train hit him. This leads Iris to theorize that something might have happened, like he was taken by a metahuman or swapped with a mirror clone.

Allegra makes reference to the fight with Bloodwork in 708 and how Iris trusting in Barry paid off before.

Cecile loses it and tells off Iris for even daring to think Joe might be alive.

Iris goes off to research her father's death on her own. Allegra goes after her.

Cecile, Caitlin and Chester go to work on trying to find Barry.

Chester says he can build a device to boost Cecile's powers.

Cecile says she can get someone to help further boost her abilities.

Iris is revealed to sometimes see things because of her time sickness. In this case, she sees some kind of green pixelated energy, similar to the Still Force, around the spot where Joe died.

Iris has an appointment with Deon Ownes to stabilize her that night.

On the day that Joe died, the Red Line train arrived 15 minutes early.

Iris suddenly changes her mind when the security officer at the depot offers to let her see the backed-up local files of the security footage of Joe's death.

Cecile recruits The Top, last seen in 701, to help her search for The Flash.

The Top has been reduced to hustling pool at O'Shaughnessy's in Keystone City.

The Top has recently been released from Iron Heights and tells Cecile that cheers broke out at the prison when they heard about Joe West's death.

The Top agrees to help in exchange for Cecile working to get her parole restrictions lifted.

Barry plays "Blue Monk" by Thelonious Monk while working on fixing Black Lightning's costume.

Barry loves soul music, which Joe West introduced him to when he was a kid.

Barry says Joe's favorites were Miles Davis, Johnny Hartman and Ella Fitzgerald but Thelonious Monk was his very favorite.

Jefferson tells Barry about the death of Bill Henderson in B316 and how he was a cop, like Joe, who Jefferson saw as a brother.

Jefferson makes reference to Peter Gambi, his foster father, who created his costume.

Jefferson says he's sure Joe is proud of Barry.

Allegra does some investigating on her own and determines that the Red Line never runs early. In fact, it almost always runs late. More, she determines that the train that hit Joe passed a routine inspection two days earlier, yet somehow had the hydraulics fail. Additionally, dozens of other little things went wrong that could have prevented the disaster, even ignoring Joe's tripping for no apparent reason.

The files on Joe's accident Allegra assembled show the same particles Iris saw at the site of Joe's death.

Top advises Cecile to close herself off from her emotions and her sadness over Joe's death to focus her powers more effectively. 

Top and Cecile overload the Mark I. version of Chester's neural conjoiner.

Despero senses what Cecile and Top did and decides to let them lead him to The Flash.

Deon Owens, the Still Force avatar, finds Iris at the site of Joe's death and is surprised because they usually meet at the STAR Labs Speed Lab. 

Deon says that nobody has been screwing with the timeline, because he would sense it if they were.

Iris asks Deon to undo all her treatments, thinking that her time sickness is tied to whatever is altering reality and leaving these particles behind.  

Deon says the particle Iris is seeing are temporal isotopes, but instead of decaying they are growing. He says the reason he couldn't sense them until Iris pointed them out was because someone was using the Negative Still Force to rewrite the timeline. He confirms that Joe West wasn't meant to die six months earlier, but someone changed the past so that he did.

Caitlin tells Cecile she thinks Top is wrong about closing herself off, saying that didn't help her when Ronnie Raymond died and that Cecile's strength comes from her connections to those she loves.

Chester's phone alerts him that someone turned on the particle accelerator at STAR Labs.

Despero is revealed to have done this, so he could use its power to boost is own psychic abilities.

The second time Cecile and Top use the neural conjoiner, Chester is able to get a picture of Barry with Black Lightning, but doesn't know where they are.

Chester recognizes Jefferson Pierce and knows he is Black Lightning.

Despero shows up at Chester's garage and demands to know where The Flash is.

The Top betrays the heroes and tries to bargain with Despero, trading the information for a chance to help him kill The Flash. Despero denies her and attacks her psychically. She is left alive, but comatose.

Cecile is able to drive Despero away by thinking about Joe.

Barry tells Jefferson that Despero is from the future and offered convincing evidence that Barry will destroy the world ten years from now.  Jefferson does not believe it.

Barry accidentally destroys the case holding Green Arrow's costume and bow as he and Jefferson fight.

Despero finds Barry at the same time that Deon and Iris show up.

Barry no longer has the power to travel in time.

Deon sends Barry forward in time to find out who really caused the end of the world in 2031, as Black Lightning holds off Despero.

Barry arrives in 2031 outside a restaurant called Robern's, which is hosting a "West Party." This turns out to be a wedding reception for Iris and Eobard Thawne.

The West Party includes Cecile, Allegra, Chester (who now has dreadlocks), Alex Danvers (Sentinel), Ryan Wilder (Batwoman) and Dr. Ryan Choi. At the time of this episode, it had never been indicated that Ryan knew Barry Allen or any of the Central City or National City heroes.

Ryan Choi last appeared in L501.


Location

O'Shaughnessy's - Keystone City - 2021.
Central City - 2031


Untelevised Adventures

Barry makes reference to a battle between multiple heroes with Faust, which led to the creation of the Injustice Protocols.


The Bottom Line

An odd episode that seems to be running in place and padding out the crossover. The scenes of Grant Gustin and Cress Williams interacting as The Flash and Black Lightning are magical and will leave you wanting to learn more about their off-camera adventures together. Unfortunately, most of the episode is centered around Cecile and Iris arguing and more of the Force God nonsense from Season 7 nobody wanted to see return. It is worth it, however, for the final two minutes and the reveal that everybody saw coming but still hits like a brick wall.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 8, Episode 2 - Armageddon, Part 2

 For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Barry is given seven days to prove that he will not become the villain who threatens the Earth of 2031, but first he must survive the worst day of his life without going mad.

Influences

The Armageddon 2001 storyline and Injustice.


Goofs

Why hasn't the Public Safety Act been evoked anytime in the last four years when weird things were happening at STAR Labs? Or any other lab in Central City? (Presumably Joe West and Cisco Ramon were able to use their positions with the police to steer away inquiries?)

Alex tells Iris, Chester, Allegra and Caitlin that they are the first to discover a Kalanorian. However, a Kalanorian was said to have started a fight in Al's Dive Bar due to the psychic effect of Myr'nn J'onzz's Ta'ar Ka'riq in S315. (It's possible this was changed by Crisis.)


Performances

Grant Gustin is the MVP this time around, doing an amazing job of selling Barry's horror at the possibility he might be going mad and making it seem plausible he might be, given everything in his life going bad.


Artistry

Again, the special effects are some of the best in the show's history.

Flash Facts

The idea of a hero becoming a villain after one bad day lay at the heart of the Injustice reality. However, in that reality (set in a series of video games, with comic tie-ins and one animated movie adaptation) the hero who snapped was Superman, rather than The Flash.

The name of Xotar has been used by two previous DC Comics villains. The first was a mad scientist, also known as The Weapons Master, who a super genius scientist from the future who fought the Justice League of America. The second was a New God of Apokolips and loyal servant of Darkseid.

The Arrowverse Xotar is a metahuman telepath/telekinetic and a woman, who bares no resemblance to either of the Xotars from the comics.

This episode reveals that the Arrowverse version of Despero is empowered by the Flame of Py'tar. A remnant of the nuclear energy that created his home planet, the Flame of Py'tar is a mystic power source which made the already formidable Despero even more powerful than he was as a telepath with the strength and durability of a Kryptonian. In the comics, the Flame of Py'tar increased Despero's strength, speed, durability, reflexes and gave him the ability to alter his biomass, shrinking to human-aize or growing even larger. He could also alter reality to a degree, creating physically real monsters rather than illusions.

It is unclear to what degree the Arrowverse Despero's powers come directly from the Flame of Py'tar as he only uses it in the episode to try and kill Barry Allen. It's possible that his shapeshifting from human-form to his true-form is an application of the Flame of Py'tar rather than the shape-shifting technology used by other aliens on Earth (like Brainiac-5) to blend in.


Technobabble

Chester says the radiation scanners in STAR Labs have not been updated in a week.

Chester determines that part of the early detection array that monitors radiation levels inside STAR Labs has become corroded.

The radiation level  inside STAR Labs' power core reads over 1000 rads.

Caitlin scans Barry's biometrics after he's possessed by Xotar and determines his amygdala activity and cortisol levels are elevated, yet within normal parameters. 


Dialogue Triumphs

(Despero attacks Barry.)
Barry: I thought we had a truce.
Despero: I thought as much. Your bravery is strengthened by the reassurance you gain from enhanced healing.
Barry: It doesn't mean it hurts any less.
Despero: Pain is the debt we pay for change, and I'm here to change the future. Thanks to this experiment, I now know the force required to kill you when the time comes.
(Barry looks a bit annoyed by this.)
Despero: Oh. I've seen your destiny, Flash. I've watched you use your power to destroy everything and everyone.
Barry: You still haven't told me why I would do this. Huh? What would cause me to turn my back on everything I've sworn to protect?
Despero: Madness. Many times in the past, the pain you've suffered nearly crushed you. But soon, a new despair will befall you. And it will create an unbroken chain of sorrow so great... your mind will crack. And with it, the world ends. You see... your power has recently accelerated. But so too has your ability to descend into madness. Tragedy is coming for you, Flash. What remains to be seen isn't whether or not you'll break. It's when.
Barry: I have seven days.
Despero: I'd worry more about tomorrow if I were you. I don't know the details of what will happen. But I know tomorrow is the beginning of the end. Your end. I've granted you a chance to defy destiny. But I'll be staying close by. As soon as I sense your mind turning mad, I'll find you. Good luck fighting fate, Flash.

Barry: Protecting this city is still our top priority.
Frost: Even from you? 

Despero: Crisis and tragedy are like fires, Flash. Some are strong enough to endure them. But others are destined to be consumed by them. Soon we'll find out who you are.

Black Lightning: You look like death warmed over.
The Flash: I need your help.
Black Lightning: Barry, what the hell is going on?
The Flash: Injustice. 

Continuity

The episode continues immediately from the end of 801.

Despero attacks The Flash to determine if he has enhanced healing powers, so that he will know how much strength is required to deal a death blow to him.

Despero explains that The Flash went insane because of some great sorrow that broke his mind. He also says that tomorrow is the day everything changed. 

Despero says he will give Barry a chance to prove himself innocent, but he intends to watch him and kill him the moment he senses the madness within him.

Alex Danvers gives STAR Labs access to the alien database once used by the DEO after setting up a link to the mainframe in the Super Friend's Tower in National City. This suggests that this episode takes place before the DEO was reestablished in the finale of Supergirl (S620)

Alex mentions a computer programmer named Marcus, whom she introduced to Caitlin. He wrote a searching algorithm that runs at light speed.

Alex says she can't find any information on Despero, suggesting he's a big threat if he's stayed off the DEO's grid.

Frost has returned from her vacation.

Reference is made to Barry going crazy while connected to the artificial speed force in 702 that enhanced his cognitive abilities but repressed his emotions.

Caitlin says she ran a bio-scan on Despero while he was in STAR Labs and confirmed that, in addition to his telepathic powers, he has strength and durability on par with a Kryptonian on Earth.

Chester wants to find some way to contain Despero or neutralize his powers. He makes reference to the unit used to contain Bloodwork.

Frost wants to build some kind of weapon to stop Despero.

Iris tells Barry that she's going to stop by Cecile's to help her with Jenna, since Cecile is working on a big case.

Barry is called to the scene of a bank robbery where the security guard had to be hospitalized after having some sort of breakdown. The vault was mysteriously empty.

Barry is confronted by Captain Kramer, who says he needs to hand over his badge.

Barry is informed that he has been suspended pending investigation into federal crimes. Kramer informs him that the DA's office believes Joseph Carver had another mole in the CCPD besides Sunshine and the evidence points to Barry being that mole.

Barry talks with Cecile, who starts planning a wrongful termination suit against the city on Barry's behalf.

Cecile going to sue.

Cecile feels another presence in the room with them.

Barry sees Despero but he denies being the presence and says he's only appearing through a psychic manifestation of his consciousness.

Cecile does not see the illusion of Despero.

Despero says Barry's mind has not broken yet.

Cecile sense Despero's energy when he allows himself to be noticed and says it filled the room.

Barry sneaks into the hospital to talk to the guard from the bank robbery. He keeps repeating one word over and over... Xotar.

Caitlin calls Barry and tells him to get to STAR Labs right away because the city is threatening to shut them down over a radiation leak.

The Public Safety Act was passed four years ago after "meta fallout" nearly took out the city. This may be a reference to the new wave of metahumans and meta-tech created by The Thinker's schemes in Season 4.

The CCDBS is the organization taking apart STAR Labs.

The CCDBS orders STAR Labs to be sealed in concrete, demolished and the rubble sent to a nuclear waste site.

Barry gets Gideon to project holograms to block off the areas of STAR Labs used by Team Flash.

Barry erases all the servers in the building, including the one hosting Gideon.

Iris puts her people to work on investigating Xotar. Taylor quickly determines that she's a psychic metahuman from National City whose trademark trick is driving people crazy.

The Flash confronts Xotar at the Central City Diamond Exchange.

Barry wakes up in his apartment, where he is informed he tried to attack Chuck, Caitlin and Allegra.

Caitlin scans Barry and determines that he's basically normal.

Frost sets up a med lab at her and Caitlin's apartment.

Chester says he and Allegra can set up a comms/Cortex replacement in his garage.

Despero tells Barry that he is from the planet Kalanor.

Despero claims that he led a band of rebels against an evil despot who took over his world. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but his side won. He elected to spare the despot, who rose again 1000 times worse than before. He spared Despero and exiled him from Kalanor, knowing nothing would hurt him more than losing his home.

Despero came to Earth and adopted it as his new homeworld before Flash destroyed it.

Allegra and Chester are still playing Dungeons and Dragons on the weekend, after Allegra agreed to play one game in 714.

Allegra knows when Chester is bluffing.

Chester is a pacifist and has been ever since his effort to build a replica of Marvin the Martian's ray gun as a kid burned down a friend's house.

Chester rigs up a temporary comms system using old cel phones.

Xotar robs a Central City Museum van transporting priceless artwork.

Flash evacuates all the people on the scene before trying to confront Xotar again.

Xotar reveals herself to be telekinetic and holds The Flash off the ground.

Barry vibrates his cells fast enough to generate a lightning shock that takes out Xotar.

After sharing the news of Xotar's defeat, Barry says they can see about talking Joe into making a pot of his famous jambalaya. Everyone else thinks he is making a sick joke.

Barry goes to Joe and Cicile's house looking for Joe.

Iris and Cecile tell Barry that Joe died six months earlier and that Barry gave the eulogy at his funeral.

A memorial plaque gives Joe's day of death as May 23, 2021. (This was six months to the day of this episode airing.)

A news report claims that Flash attacked the city after Xotar's arrest. There were no deaths, but many were injured and the damages were estimated to be worth millions of dollars.

Despero summons the Flame of Py'tar, the undying fire of his home world, to destroy Barry.

Despero uses his powers to put Cecile to sleep when she tries to defend Barry.

Allegra teleports into the house with Chester, who uses a device to repel Despero's attack.

According to Alex Danvers, the Flame of Py'tar was an energy source that was supposedly the sentient heart of the planet Kalanor, but that nobody had encountered an actual Kalanorian until Team Flash met Despero.

Chester says that he can track down Barry, even without STAR Labs' satellites. 

Barry is revealed to be hiding at the old STAR Labs hangar where he set up a round table in L501.

Jefferson Pierce, clad in his Black Lightning costume, meets Barry at the STAR Labs hangar.

Untelevised Adventures

Frost ice-bridges a lot of material out of STAR Labs off-camera and sets up a basic medical lab in Caitlin's apartment. 

Joe West is implied to have died in the line of duty.

Alex says that Supergirl and Martian Manhunter are off-world investigating Despero.

The Bottom Line

Surprisingly sedate given everything that happens in it, but not bad by any means. 

Black Lightning Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 13 - The Book of Resurrection: Chapter Two: Closure

: For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

With Jefferson Pierce apparently dead, his family make one last strike against Tobias Whale, as Freeland's Chief of Police goes mad with power... literally. There's also an unexpected enemy within, but before the night is done Black Lightning will strike one last time.

Influences

Daredevil: Born Again (hero returns after almost being killed and having his life ruined by his crime boss archenemy) and Batman and The Outsiders (The new Jennifer's background is somewhat reminiscent of the origin of Halo.)


Goofs

There's no resolution regarding Gambi's romance with Lauren.


Performances

Marvin "Krondon" Jones III absolutely slays during his death scene.


Artistry

Even by the standards of this show, this episode has some fantastic music and it is well used throughout the episode.

The switching between young and current Jefferson as he speaks to his father is a nice touch.

The scene of Jefferson emerging from his grave is pure comic book magic made real.


Trivia

On the day this episode was originally aired, The CW formally announced that it was not picking up the Painkiller spin-off.

As he dies, Tobias quotes Moby Dick and Ahab's last words- "To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

Also on the same day this episode originally aired, Cress Williams revealed that he was in talks with the showrunners on The Flash to appear as Jefferson Pierce in a few episodes of The Flash Season 8.

Will Catlett improvised the final line of the episode and the series, with the approval of director Salim Akil.

The new Jennifer is revealed to be an energy being who replicated Jennifer's body and replaced her. This seems remarkably similar to the background of Halo, a member of the Outsides in the comics, who was revealed to be an energy being that took over the body of a young woman named Violet Harper. The key difference is that Violet Harper was not a good person and Halo's spirit was good, whereas here we have a malevolent spirit taking over Jennifer Pierce's life.


Technobabble

With the Promethium energy, Jefferson's electrical blasts can overcome Tobias' grounding, at least enough to throw him around though he doesn't seem to suffer any heat damage from the electricity.


Dialogue Triumphs

Gambi: You don't worry about this. Forget it ever happened.
Young Jefferson: I'm as bad as Tobias.
Gambi: Don't say that. Don't even think it. Put it out of your mind.
Young Jefferson: I still see his face when he died. I'm a monster.
Gambi: Stop. That guy was a known killer, and a One Hundred gang member. He pulled a gun on you, and he was gonna kill you in cold blood. You reacted instinctively, Jeff. It was self-defense. Nothing more.
Young Jefferson: Never again. I don't want these powers.
Gambi: I'll teach you. You'll learn how to use them, how to control them for good.
Young Jefferson: No.
Gambi: You're hurting right now, son. But don't give up. Learn from this. Your powers properly used can give hope. Hope to your city and its people. All you need is a code, Jeff. Together, we'll find you one. 

(Alvin Pierce and Jefferson Pierce sit on the steps of Jefferson's boyhood home. As they talk, Jefferson shifts between his adult self and his tween self.)
Jefferson: Even with powers, I suffered the same fate.
Alvin: No, you've made your fate, son. Starting with a code to keep you from losing your way and becoming like him.
Jefferson: You know?
Alvin: About the One Hundred boy you killed?
(Jefferson makes a face remembering it.)
Alvin: See, that there, what you're feeling? That's shame. Tobias doesn't feel shame. And that's why you'll never be like him, and why you're the one to stop him.
Jefferson: I tried, Pop. I tried for years. He won. He killed me. I don't have what it takes to stop him.
Alvin: No, you have everything you need. No more hiding under the bed, son. In order to accomplish what you've never done, you have to use what you never have. So go get it, and get it done. 

(Tobias and Black Lightning are fighting, but neither is doing much damage. Finally, Tobias is able to knock Jefferson Pierce down.)
Tobias: You need somethin' that hurts your nappy-headed neon ass. Let me introduce you to my favorite word.
(Tobias picks Black Lightning up and lifts him over his head, carrying him towards the window.)
Tobias: It's called "defenestration".
(Black Lightning shocks Tobias, forcing him to drop him. He then focuses a blast and sends Tobias flying out the window as he is moving in on the fallen Black Lightning. Once he's standing he moves to the window, only to find Tobias, impaled on a decorative spike, and slowly sliding down it as it comes through his chest.)
Black Lightning: Tobias, hold on!
(Choking on blood, Tobias struggles but the spike is too far down for him to grab it for leverage. His struggling is only accelerating how quickly his own weight is pulling him down the spike.)
Tobias: "To the end, I grapple with thee. From the bottom of hell's heart, I stab at thee". 
Black Lightning: Tobias, don't.

(Tobias reaches for both his guns and draws them.)
Black Lightning: Stop! We don't have to do this! There's another way!

Tobias: (breathing heavily) "For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee".
(Tobias begins firing wildly at Black Lightning, but Jefferson easily puts up a shield to block the bullets. He then aims the electrical wave at Tobias, but there is no anger or malice in it. It is mercy, as the lighting quickly kills Tobias and ends his suffering in this world. Jefferson looks at Tobias corps in disgust, as it begins to rapidly age to his true age.)

(TC sits down at his computer and activates his power. He's suddenly in the psychic headspace dojo that Khalil and Painkiller share.)
Painkiller: Oh, you must be crazy bringin' your ass here.
Khalil: I invited him.
Painkiller: (To Khalil) Don't think I won't kick your ass, too.
TC: What if I come with good and great news?
Painkiller: Speak.
TC: Tobias Whale is dead.
Painkiller: Damn. I wanted to kill him. (To TC) That's not good news. (To Khalil) Let me kick his ass just a little.
Khalil: TC, what is your other news?
TC: I've isolated the system code for the kill order. I can free you.
Painkiller: Good. Let's do it.
TC: Well, there's a catch. It's linked to everything you know and love about the whole Pierce family. If you break the kill order, you won't remember the Pierces at all.
Painkiller: So what? Pains in the ass anyway.
Khalil: (To Painkiller) Shut up, and sit your Black ass down.
(Khalil pauses and looks back to TC.)
Khalil:  TC, there's gotta be another way around.
TC: Well, there's not. I've checked and I've double-checked.
Khalil: Damn. (To Painkiller) You won't stop, will you? Sooner or later, you're going to kill Jen and all of the Pierces.
Painkiller: Best believe. But I'm not nobody's puppet. Cut the damn cord.
(Khalil gets up and turns away from them both, looking troubled.)
TC: If you need more time, I can...
(Khalil raises his hand, cutting him off.)
Khalil: Always known I'd give my life for that girl. Never thought I'd have to forget her. Do it. 

(Lala sees Tobias' corpse, still impaled on the spike. He laughs.)
Lala: Somebody finally stuck it to your ass.


Continuity

Jennifer shows everyone the photo of Jefferson that Tobias sent her. Gambi determines it is not a fake.

Gambi is unable to trace Jefferson's phone.

Gambi is still working on locating the energy emitter, but thinks he should have it traced soon.

Gambi apparently spoke with Detective Shakur and he's getting the Meta Task Force to stand down on pursuing Blackbird, Thunder and Grace, so they should be able to move on Tobias without police interference.

Gambi also confirmed that Looker is in the process of clearing Jefferson and Lynn's names.

Detective Shakur goes into Chief Lopez's office and finds the used meta booster. He also determines that the power she gave herself was energy absorption.

Detective Shakur tries to call Jefferson to warn him and leaves a message on his voice mail.

It is revealed that Jefferson has been buried alive somewhere in the woods outside Freeland.

Gambi finds the emitter in an industrial park in West Freeland, which holds Tori Whale's tomb and the headquarters of Drakestone Security - a Blackwater-style firm that Tobias owns, only they use more high-tech weapons, like the new brand of DEG.

Jennifer goes back into the ionosphere to absorb more power. As she's there, something in the mass of particles tries to grab at her. She just barely gets away from it. A face also forms with the energy, along with hands.

Lynn insists on running some tests on Jennifer since she's a little dizzy after her trip.

A flashback to 30 years in the past shows Gambi and Jefferson burying a dead gang member in the woods - one whom Jefferson accidentally killed with his powers in self-defense. This leads Jefferson to make his vow against killing.

The particles in the ionosphere form into a second Jennifer - the original Jennifer.

Grace, Anissa and Gambi raid Tori Whale's tomb.

Gambi disables the emitter, restoring Grace and Anissa's powers just in time for them to save him from the Drakestone soldiers.

Jennifer confronts the new Jennifer, who reveals herself to be an energy being who lives in the ionosphere.

The fake Jennifer refers to the Ionosphere as The Glaze and says there are many intangible beings there who long to have physical forms.

Jennifer absorbs the fake Jennifer as they fight.

Jefferson seems to have a vision of his father as he is on the verge of death, praying to God that his family will be protected and that he will be allowed to go to Heaven.

Alvin Pierce apologizes to Jefferson for not being there to raise him, but tells him he can still beat Tobias by using what he never has before.

Detective Shakur gets a call about Chief Lopez drawing power out of an alley behind the power plant, which is starting to effect the city grid. He gathers every cop he can from the station and takes them to confront her.

Jefferson feels the energy from all of the newly-created Promethium under Freeland and uses it to recharge, emerging from his grave in costume.

Anissa was hit by several DEG blasts and requires medical attention after the fight at Tori Whale's tomb but is still conscious when Jefferson calls in.

Tobias' office is located in Tori Towers.

Lightning helps the police to bring down Chief Lopez.

Jefferson accidentally kills Tobias after reflexively shocking him and knocking him out a window, causing Tobias to be impaled on a decorative spike outside his office. He does try to save Tobias, but, defiant to the end, Tobias tries to shoot Black Lightning to keep him from saving him.

When Tobias dies, his corpse ages in an instant, his de-aging serum apparently wearing off.

TC tells Khalil and Painkiller about Tobias' death. Painkiller isn't happy, as he wanted to be the one to kill Tobias.

TC also tells Khalil and Painkiller that he found way to turn off Painkiller's kill order, but it will require him to erase all of Khalil's memories of the Pierce family, as the order is too firmly embedded in those memories to remove by itself.

Khalil and Painkiller both agree to this and TC removes all their memories of the Pierce family.

Sometime later, the family organizes an official wedding ceremony for Grace and Anissa.

Grace officially adopts Wylde as her superhero name.

Lynn apologizes to Gambi for blaming him for Jefferson being a superhero.

Neither TC or Jennifer drink any of the champagne at the party.

TC decides to wait on telling Jennifer about Khalil.

Jennifer says she's disturbed that nobody but her father seemed to have any idea she'd been repalaced by the fake Jennifer.

Jefferson and Lynn announce that they are getting remarried.

Jefferson announces that he is retiring from being a superhero and will leave protecting the city to Jennifer, Grace and Anissa.

Gambi announces that he is retiring too and that TC will be taking over his role on the team.

In Tobias' office, Lala, last seen in 406, finally frees himself from the concrete Ishmael trapped him in. 


Location

Akashic Valley


The Bottom Line

A largely satisfying conclusion that resolves most of the storylines of the season, though the return of Jennifer comes out of nowhere and the Painkiller resolution is bittersweet in the wake of the revelation that - baring his jumping to another series or some other network picking up the show - this is it for Khalil. Still, it could have been far worse, and at least Lala got the literal last laugh.

Black Lightning Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 12 - The Book of Resurrection: Chapter One: Crossroads

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Jefferson tries to turn an admission of weakness into a show of strength, as Tobias prepares for his final confrontation with Black Lightning and his family.

Influences

Daredevil: Born Again (a crime boss villain masquerading as a legitimate businessman destroys the life of a superhero)


Goofs

The trailers for the finale (which first premiered right after this episode aired) kill any sense of suspense regarding the ending of this episode whether or not Jefferson really is dead.


Performances

Jordan Calloway continues to impress as both Khalil and Painkiller. It will be a real shame if his spin-off isn't picked up, given the quality of his performances since the backdoor pilot episode.


Artistry

The visuals of the scene where Painkiller and Khalil are talking to one another while sitting in the front seats of the van while transporting Looker is quite effective.

The Painkiller vs. Ishmael fight is another high mark for the show.


Technobabble

Gambi has a personal Pandora's Box of computer viruses dating back to the 1980s.

Gambi is able to duplicate the signal of Lynn's ankle monitor and place it on a feedback loop showing that she's at home, allowing her to roam freely.

Gambi theorizes that the bedrock of Freeland was infused with Promethium in the past year, as a result of the power surge released by Lightning taking down the ASA's energy shield in 315. The minerals were transmuted into Promethium by the radiation released.

Gambi set up a program to track Red's movement based on his unique magnetic signature whenever he used his powers. TC is able to use this to help Jennifer track him down and set up a confrontation.

Lauren thinks Lynn's idea to track the emitter based on  Val Seong's DNA has merit, but it will require a new algorithm. Lynn says she thinks they can modify the original algorithm since Promethium acts as a carrier.

The memory-erasing device Gambi builds targets the lateral parietal cortex, allowing electricity to penetrate the hippocampus, disrupting the brain's ability to access long-term memories. Unfortunately, it's only good for one shot.

Anissa says the process which removed the metagenes from the young mothers Monovista experimented on is irreversible.

A half a milliliter dose of Painkiller's non-lethal venom every 12 hours can temporarily negate a metahuman's powers.

Dialogue Triumphs

Shadow Board Leader: The Shadow Board does not tolerate failure. Your seat has been rescinded. Effective immediately.
(Tobias chuckles and hmmms. He then raises his right hand over his head and snaps his fingers three times.)
Shadow Board Leader: (scoffing) Am I supposed to be impressed?
Tobias: No. But they sure are about to be. 
(Suddenly, a semi-transparent figure fades into view behind the Shadow Board chair and begins strangling him. His image cuts out a moment later as the rest of the Shadow Board look on, stunned.)
Tobias: My assassin was rendered invisible through a meta-power - chromatophores. A power I granted, and much like the good Lord, a power I can also take away. That's right. I now control who has meta powers and who doesn't. Freeland is just the beginning. Star City, Metropolis, anywhere a meta-freak dares to stand in my way will meet the same fate as this pixelated piss-ant. Now, it's past time you all bow down and pledge your loyalty to me. Or...
(Tobias raises his right hand and snaps his fingers again. All the Shadow Board members fall to their knees.)
Tobias: All hail the king.
(Tobias laughs wickedly as he cuts the connection to the Shadow Board. Red smirks as he regards him.)
Red: What's next, Your Majesty?
Tobias: Red, don't get cute. The endgame's upon us. And while I admit to no uncertain joy toying with my prey, the time has come to finally rid the world of Jefferson Pierce.

Jefferson: I think I found a solution to our problems.
Lynn: I'm listening, and which ones? 

(Khalil is driving a van. Looker is in the seat behind him in handcuffs. Rap music is playing on the stereo.)
Looker: Can we listen to something other than this jungle jam? I prefer a little bit more treble to bass, if you know what I mean.
(Khalil sighs and turns off the stereo. Suddenly Painkiller is sitting in the passenger side front seat next to Khalil.)
Painkiller: Do you wanna tell Miss Daisy what I prefer to do to her, Khalil?
Looker: You do know that I work for Tobias Whale, right? And when he finds out what you've done with his most prized possession, he will rip your spine out and kill you.
Khalil: Hmm. Been there, done that.
Painkiller: Why can't we kill her?
Khalil: Look, we're takin' her back to Freeland to testify. Clear Mr. Pierce's name.
(Khalil is speaking to Painkiller. To Looker, however, it looks like he's talking to nobody.)
Looker: Third person much? What is that, Ebonics?
Painkiller: (scoffs) Okay. This chick keeps writing checks with her mouth that she can't cash. Now, we gon' find out if she's a beggar or a screamer, huh?
Khalil: Looker? You don't need the use of your arms, legs, or even your pretty eyes to testify. Am I understood?
(Looker pouts but shuts up. Painkiller leans back in the chair, apparently satisfied.)
Painkiller: Turn my joint back on. 
(Khalil turns the music back on and keeps driving.)

Jennifer: Uriah deserves justice. Don't you think?
TC: Justice or revenge?
Jennifer: Does it matter?
TC: Yes. 

(Jefferson gives Lynn a revised copy of his will.)
Lynn: Well, this is a little melodramatic. Even for you, Jeff.
Jefferson: Yeah, I mean, with everything that's been goin' on, it's got me thinkin', you know, about us and... our family...
Lynn: What is it, Jeff?
Jefferson: I'm sorry, Lynn. Yeah, I'm... so sorry about all the crazy things our family's been through. I never wanted this for us. Before I go see Tobias, I just wanted to make sure you heard that.
Lynn: I'm sorry, too. I've put you through a lot as well. But now we have three gifted daughters. We saved the world several times, and the multiverse, apparently. And even though it's been difficult, we're still standing. No one really gets the fairy tale they imagined, but I really love the one that I made with you.
Jefferson: I love you, Lynn.
Lynn: I love you, too. Now go do what you do best. 

(Jefferson enters his father's house. Tobias is in the kitchen, waiting.)
Tobias: Where are the rest of your lackeys? Forgive me. I mean your family.
Jefferson: It's just me. Let's get this over with. Everything is here. Just sign the deed. House is yours.
Tobias: Is that it? I was expecting some grandiose last stand. All I see is a toothless dog waiting to be put down.
Jefferson: You took everything! My family, my reputation, my powers. Even Freeland. Just sign the damn deed!
Tobias: You know, I've been waiting a decade to hear you cry like that. It was well worth the wait.
(Tobias looks over the deed as Jefferson readies the memory eraser. He strikes, but Tobias counters the attack and catches Jefferson's wrist, squeezing it.)
Tobias: What do you got there? Huh? 
(Tobias forces Jefferson to drop the device and steps on it, crushing it.)
Tobias: Not so toothless after all, eh? But I never thought you actually had the stones to kill me.
Jefferson: That was to wipe your memory. I'm not a monster like you.
Tobias: If you were the better man, you'd do what's actually necessary. Not this Tinker Tailor Soldier...
(Tobias throws Jefferson into the next room. Jefferson gets up and takes a swing at him, but Tobias dodges and counter-punches easily. He looks at Jefferson as he groans.)
Tobias: You know, I would've never admitted this. But seein' as that you're gonna die tonight, I might as well tell you, I killed your daddy... right over there!
(Tobias kicks Jefferson against one of the support beams. Jefferson continues to groan.)
Tobias: Get up.
Jefferson: (struggling to stand) I was there. I saw what you did from under the bed. And I dedicated my life... to bringing you to justice.
Tobias: You were there? You mean to tell me you've been trying your whole life to crawl out from under that bed and avenge your dead daddy? Damn!
(Tobias regards Jefferson and nods.)
Tobias: You know what? Take your best shot.
(Jefferson does. Tobias doesn't flinch but takes the punch. It splits his lip and draws blood. He side-steps the follow-up punch easily and walks past Jefferson who goes off-balance and is breathing heavily. Tobias smacks his lips, tasting the blood as he turns around to face Jefferson and starts punching him again.)
Tobias: I made you, Jefferson Pierce. Forged you in pain and anger, and look what you do with my gift!
(Jefferson groans on the ground as Tobias picks up the deed.) 
Tobias: Oh, Jeff. You really are your father's son. And you're gonna die like him, too. 
(Tobias begins strangling Jefferson while force-feeding him the deed pages.)

(Jennifer is fixing herself something to eat when her phone rings. She sees it is her father. She answers the phone.)
Jennifer: Hey, Dad, you are gonna be proud of what I did tonight.
Tobias: (on phone) Oh, for what? Turning Red in to Chief Lopez? I'm sure your daddy isn't too proud now.
Jennifer: Tobias?
Tobias: Mr. Whale to you. Didn't Jefferson teach you better manners? Lethal Lightning?
Jennifer: What do you want?  I'm not playing games. 
Tobias: Oh, no game, sweetheart. My city, my rules. I warned you. You made me do it.
Jennifer: What did you do? And why do you have Dad's phone?
Tobias: See for yourself. Jefferson Pierce is dead. 
(Jennifer receives a photo. She sees her father' bruised and beaten. She screams and drops the bowl, which falls toward the camera as we fade to black.)


Continuity

Jennifer is watching the same video of Uriah over and over in her room.

Jennifer tells Jefferson she is not going to school. Jefferson lets it slide.

Jefferson never told Anissa or Jennifer about how their grandfather died.

Jefferson tells Jennifer about how he saw Tobias Whale kill his father as a boy.

Jennifer says she wants to quit being Lightning, but Jefferson gives her back her costume, pointing out that she's the only hero left in Freeland right now.

Lauren helps Gambi hack into Monovista's servers.

Lauren once again asks Gambi how her emitter ties into promethium and the stolen metagenes. Gambi says he trusts her, but it isn't his secret to reveal.

Lauren determines that the Monovista servers were cleaned, but she's able to hack the CEO's personal files.

Monovista's secret metagene harvesting project was called Event Horizons.

Only one gene harvesting device was manufactured by Monovista. It, the schematics, and all of the harvested metagenes have been relocated into one building.

Gambi determines that the one building containing the stolen metagenes is owned by a shell corporation with ties to Tobias Whale.

Grace and Anissa plan to blow up the building.

Gambi offers Anissa the use of his Pandora's Box - a collection of viruses - to completely brick Monovista's computers so they'll be useless, even if they survive the explosion.

Red informs Tobias that Alvin Pierce's home will be his as soon as Jefferson Pierce signs the deed over to him.

The Shadow Board contact Tobias and are confirmed to be The Shadow Board.

Tobias is informed that since he failed to bring Lightning under control, his position on the Shadow Board has been rescinded.

Tobias reveals that he has the power to give metahuman abilities to whoever he wants, by having an assassin with chameleon powers kill one of the other Shadow Board members.  After that, the rest of the Shadow Board literally take a knee to him.

Tobias says the time has come to finally put an end to Black Lightning.

Lynn theorizes they can track the energy emitter by searching for Val Seong's DNA signature rather than the energy signature of Promethium. 

Gambi decides to introduce Lauren and Lynn so they can work together.

Jefferson comes up with the idea of erasing Tobias' memory of his and his family's secret identities, like he did with the cops who tried to arrest him in 401.

Gambi says he may be able to rig up a hand-held device that can replicate Jefferson's powers in the same way, but he's not sure how he could power it.

Lynn suggests Gambi could use his stolen Promethium to do it.

Chief Lopez tells Detective Shakur about the meta-boosters and bracelets she was given by Tobias in 411. She tells him to start distributing them among his task force and get them ready to go after Lightning once they are comfortable with the powers they get.

Detective Shakur refuses, saying that giving powers to police officers would just throw gasoline on the fire.

Chief Lopez says her job will be on the line if she can't bring in Lightning.

Detective Shakur, after asking permission to speak freely, discusses how Chief Lopez's husband developed metahuman powers, went crazy and killed her brothers. Given that, he asks if she's really sure she wants to risk poisoning good cops under her command.

Chief Lopez relents and agreed to give Detective Shakur until the end of the month to catch Lightning with traditional methods.

Khalil is in the middle of transporting Looker back to Freeland to testify against Tobias.

Jefferson calls Tobias and says he is ready to sell his father's house to him. Tobias asks to meet with him in one hour at Alvin Pierce's home.

Jennifer asks TC for his help in tracking down Red so they can get justice for Uriah. 

Jennifer says she can fight Red if she charges up in the ionosphere first, even though the emitter is making it weird for her to use her powers.

Lauren knows of Lynn by reputation.

Lauren asks Lynn what Gambi has her working on and how he said that it wasn't his secret to tell.

Lynn tells Lauren that her family are all metahumans and they need to shut down the emitter so that they can save the city from Tobias Whale, who is secretly a criminal mastermind.

Lauren said she had guessed most of this, but she could keep a secret too until Lynn decided to tell her more.

Ishmael ambushes Khalil's van on the road, saying he had orders from Tobias to kill both him and Looker.

Looker, unbeknownst to her, has a subdermal tracker implanted in her body.

Painkiller cheats in the fight with Ishmael, poisoning the hilt of the sword he took from Ishmael during the fight, so that Ishmael doomed himself when he grabbed his weapon to finish the job.

Jefferson insists on facing Tobias alone, despite Gambi offering to go with him.

Anissa and Grace debate whether or not they should tell all the mothers experimented on by Monovista about what was done to them. Anissa finally agrees that no good can come of traumatizing these women.

Jefferson gives Lynn an updated copy of his will.

Anissa and Grace blow up the Monovista building with the metagenes.

Detective Shakur and Special Agent Kevin Mason meet with Khalil to take Looker into custody outside the Freeland city limits.

Khalil gives Detective Shakur a vial containing the non-lethal version of his venom to keep Looker under control.

Painkiller suggests going to Freeland but Khalil says Jennifer is better off without him in her life.

Jennifer attacks Red as he's in the middle of calling Tobias to let him know a perimeter has been secured.

Red's bracelet is broken after Jennifer throws him to the ground with her powers. He begs for mercy.

Lightning takes Red directly to Chief Lopez along with evidence, on a flash drive around his neck, that he was responsible for killing Uriah.

Lightning records the conversation with Chief Lopez and livestreams it, catching Lopez admitting her anti-metahuman vendetta.

Chief Lopez goes into her office and shoots up one of the meta-boosters.

Jefferson tries to use the memory-eraser on Tobias, but he blocks the attack.

Tobias confesses to killing Alvin Pierce.

Jefferson tells him he already knew, as he was hiding in the house and watched Tobias kill his father.

Jennifer calls Jefferson to tell him about how she caught and turned in Red.  Tobias answers the phone and sends Jennifer a picture of Jefferson, apparently dead.


Location

Somewhere on the road between wherever Looker was living and Freeland.


The Winick Factor

Chief Lopez's reasons for hating metahumans are revealed far too late in the season for it to make her into an interesting, sympathetic or effective villain. Had it been established earlier that she lost her family because of her husband being a metahuman who lost control of his powers or went crazy, she might be sympathetic or believable. As it stands, the 11th hour introduction of this motivation makes her into, to borrow a line from Frost regarding a similar character on The Flash, "Cicada with a badge."


The Bottom Line

Largely satisfying, though the story is all over the place thanks to the need to give every character something to do and some of the stories are far more uneven than others. Jennifer and Jefferson's stories are the best, while Anissa and Grace might as well not be in the episode at all and everything Painkiller is doing, while interesting, is completely disconnected from the rest of the narrative. Still, it's worth it for the confrontation with Tobias and the final scene where it looks like the show might be ending with Jefferson's death.

Black Lightning Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 11 - The Book of Reunification: Chapter Two: Trial and Errors

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

With Tobias Whale having won the mayoral election by default and Lynn's lawyer suggesting a plea deal, Jefferson becomes more desperate than ever to find a way to take the fight to his archenemy. Luckily, Khalil has a lead on another old enemy who is on Tobias' payroll, but how far will Jefferson go to save the woman he loves from prison? Meanwhile, Tobias turns his attention to the new Lightning and the connection between Jennifer Pierce and JJ Stewart.

Influences

Daredevil: Born Again (supervillain devotes himself to destroying life of archenemy)


Artistry

The opening scene of Tobias playing Beethoven's 5th Symphony is great.

The use of colored light and the set design for the Painkiller/Looker fight is fantastic.


Technobabble

Lynn is able to develop a serum that can extract the silver element from anyone Looker controls.

A half-dose of Painkiller's venom can neutralize a metahuman's powers, leaving them alive but powerless.


Dialogue Triumphs

Detective Shakur: Why should I trust you, let alone help you?
Jefferson: Because now you know everything. All my cards are on the table. Look, Henderson said I could trust you. I'm trusting you with my life. Ball's in your court, man.


Continuity

Lightning attacks one of the courier shipments picking up the metagene samples from The Center for Gene Therapy and Genetic Research.

Lightning is caught on camera retrieving the gene samples.

Tobias orders a DNA scan to be run on the woman in the Lightning costume.

Jefferson and Gambi have a drink in public before Jefferson is due to meet with Lynn and her lawyer.

Keith Michaels says he thinks he can work out a reasonable plea deal that will see Lynn serving the bare minimum of jail time. Jefferson says that isn't acceptable, but Keith pointedly reminds him that he is Lynn's ex-husband, so he has no say. 

Lynn tells both of them to cool it and says she will decide whether or not to accept the plea deal on her own.

Tobias wins the mayoral election by default after his opponent, Councilman Holland, suddenly drops out of the race.

Chief Lopez meets with Tobias and asks for more next-generation DEGs. Instead, Tobias offers her meta-boosters and bracelets, telling her about his forcefield that depowers all the metahumans in Freeland except for the ones he has working for him.

Tobias gets the results of his DNA scan on the new Lightning and confirms that it matches Jennifer Pierce's DNA.

Anissa tells Lynn and Jefferson about her investigation into Tobias' metagene theft and gives them the frozen DNA sample container. 

TC tells Jefferson that he's been in contact with Khalil and that he has some information for him.

Khalil tells Jefferson about the secret ledger he retrieved in 410 and how Tobias has a lot of people on his payroll, including cops, lawyers, judges, public figures and barbers. He also mentions the mystery woman who was being paid 10 times more than anyone else, but who has no digital footprint. The only information he has on her is a codename: Looker.

Jefferson tells Khalil about Looker and how she apparently escaped ASA custody sometime during the Markovian War.

The payments to Looker began roughly three months earlier.

Khalil offers to go after Looker for Jefferson and bring her to justice, since there is an address for her in the secret ledger.

Khalil says he intends to come home to Freeland after he finally gets Painkiller's order to kill the Pierce family out of his head. He asks after Jennifer, but Jefferson and TC don't tell him about how her appearance has changed.

Jefferson tells Lynn what Khalil told him and how he thinks Looker was responsible for framing them both. He suspects one of the people being controlled ins Special Agent Kevin Mason, but he's going to need help to prove it.

Jefferson decides to approach Detective Shakur about his plan.

Something is still off with Jennifer's powers, which leaves her feeling like a drained battery.

TC was able to hack Uriah's social media account and determine that it was the police who set up the ambush for Lightning in 409.

TC also sets Uriah up with a date with JJ later that night.

Jefferson tells Detective Shakur about Looker and his belief that she is mind-controlling Special Agent Kevin Mason. Shakur is skeptical but says he will think about helping him, but he has another appointment that night.

Jefferson asks if the appointment is with Black Lightning. Shakur asks how he knew that and Jefferson reveals the burner phone he uses as Black Lightning.

Shakur is not happy about being manipulated but ultimately relents with Jefferson points out that he is trusting him with his secret identity and his life now.

JJ's date with Uriah goes well.

Detective Shakur sets up a meeting between himself, Jefferson and Special Agent Mason and arranges for three cups of coffee to be set aside for them. Jefferson slips the anti-Looker serum into Mason's cup.

Mason has an immediate reaction to the coffee and the silver element tries to escape after Looker speaks through him and he vomits up the element. Jefferson is able to catch it.

Mason confirms that he was being mind-controlled by Looker and says he is going to do what he can to help clear Jefferson and Lynn's names on his end.

Lauren meets with Gambi again. He once again apologizes, tells her about Tobias Whale being a crook and explains how he's been trying to work out a way to track down the energy emitter.

Anissa speaks with Lauren and while not revealing the whole truth of their work together or that she's a superhero, he shows Lauren her research that Monovista is stealing the metagenes out of young mothers.

Lauren agrees to help Gambi with finding the emitter, but not to help him - only to figure out who is stealing from her employee and got them involved in some shady business.

Red attacks JJ and Uriah and Uriah is shot in the crossfire. Red says that everyone she cares about will die if she doesn't quit being Lightning.

Uriah dies after telling JJ to keep fighting to make the world a better place.

Jennifer and TC mourn Uriah's death together.

Khalil confronts Looker in a mental battle, where he and Painkiller gang up on the psychic vampire.

Khalil doses Looker with a half-dose of his venom, telling her she won't get the rest of his antidote until she confesses to everything she did to help Tobias Whale frame the Pierces. 

Gambi and Lauren discover that there are veins of Promethium buried around the Freeland tunnels, making it all but impossible for them to find the emitter by tracking its energy signature.

Jefferson tells Lynn that Detective Hassan is en route to arrest Looker and Agent Mason is working with them.

Jefferson proposes to Lynn again but she wants to throw a proper wedding for Anissa and Grace before she thinks of remarrying herself. She does, however, agree to "celebrate" with Jefferson that night.

Tobias recognizes Khalil from the security footage of his attack on Jesse Gentilucci's office.

Tobias calls Ishmael and tells him that there are some loose ends that need tidying up.


Location

An unnamed location outside of Freeland, where Looker is hiding out.


Untelevised Adventures

Looker escaped from ASA custody sometime during the War with Markovia.


The Fridge Factor

Uriah is killed purely to give Jennifer more angst ad dies because of her waning powers.


The Bottom Line

An oddly flat episode, despite everything that takes place during it. Uriah's death is just gratuitous and the reiintroduction of Looker seems like a bit much, despite her fight with Khalil and Painkiller being the visual highpoint of the episode. Jefferson coming to an accord with Detective Shakur also feels like it should have come earlier in the season. All in all it isn't bad, but it does seem very thrown together and none of the dialogue really sings. 

Black Lightning Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 10 - The Book of Reunification: Chapter One: Revelations

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Lynn finds herself in serious legal trouble, as the rest of Freeland's heroes find themselves suddenly powerless. As Gambi struggles to figure out what is going on, Jennifer takes drastic action to kickstart her powers and a new barrier threatens Lynn and Jefferson's marriage.

Influences

Daredevil: Born Again (a crime boss villain tries to destroy the reputation of a superhero) and Predator (Jefferson's fight with Ishmael using his suit's stealth mode).


Performances

Cress Williams does a great job of conveying Jefferson's annoyance with every little thing in this episode without descending into outright anger, indicating how well he is maintaining his calm even as it is suggested he is on the edge of losing his cool.


Artistry

The fight between Black Lightning and Ishmael is one of the show's best, even ignoring the use of special effects to let Jefferson "stealth."


Trivia

Tobias quotes Francis Bacon - “If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.”


Technobabble

Jefferson's costume has a stealth mode which he triggers using his powers. Gambi also has the ability to activate the stealth mode remotely.

Jefferson and Jennifer activate their powers to materialize and dematerialize their suits. Gambi has a prototype of the module that allows them to do this, which allows him to trigger the effect remotely. This gets Jennifer and Jefferson out of their costumes now that they are powerless.

Gambi installed the forcefield which saved Jennifer from falling to death after Jefferson nearly died entering the ionosphere in 405. Presumably Jefferson's costume has the same failsafe.

Tobias' followers have bracelets that render them immune to the effects of the energy emitter.

According to the data Dr. Darius Morgan recovered, none of the women Monovista was treating for cystic fibrosis actually had the condition. All of them did have the metagene and that this was harvesting them for some other purpose.


Dialogue Triumphs

Jennifer: We need to get our powers back. They were the only real tie I had left to my identity. If I can't be Lightning anymore, who am I?
Anissa: Look, whether you have your powers, or you look different or not, you are my sister. And that, I know in my soul. So just hold on to that, okay? Until Gambi can... figure out a way for this all to go back to normal.
Jennifer: You know damn well this family doesn't do "normal."
(Anissa laughs at that.)
Grace: She's not wrong about that.

Tobias: "If a man shall begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts. But if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties." I wanna see this thing in action. 
(Tobias draws a gun and fires at Red, who grins as he stops the bullet with his magnetic powers.)
Tobias: (chuckling) Cool. Now remove the bracelet. 
(Red does so but looks a bit nervous as Tobias aims at him and fires, breaking a vase just behind him.)

Tobias: (chuckling) I wasn't gonna actually shoot you, Red. Now that we have assurances that the emitter is working, time to initiate phase two of the plan. 

(Red still looks nervous as he wordlessly puts the bracelet back on as Tobias walks past him. Tobias is still laughing to himself. He then stops and turns his head back toward Red.)

Tobias: Oh, and... you owe me a vase. That was Lalique.

(Jennifer has just recovered from electrocuting herself to reactivate her powers.)
Anissa: Oh, my God. If you would have died, I would have killed you!
Jennifer: Classic Anissa logic.

Lynn: Can we talk about what's bothering you? Is it Keith? Um, I know this must be uncomfortable for you.
Jefferson: No. It's not.
Lynn: Then why are you acting like this?
Jefferson: Like what?
Lynn: Ungrateful.
Jefferson: (standoffish) What do I have to be grateful for, Lynn? That, uh... you have no faith in me? You didn't think I could fix this? That right now, I don't have the power to protect you?

Continuity

Lightning survives the fall when her powers fail thanks to a forcefield which stops her just before she hits the ground.

TC has to make contact with Lightning using one of Gambi's ear-pieces instead of his powers, like he usually does.

Jefferson gets Gambi to activate the stealth mode in his suit. This allows him to get the jump on Ishmael, but he still struggles to hold him down.

Detective Hassan Shakur arrives with a small team of police officers, but Jefferson tells them to run for it.

Jefferson ultimately flees the fight with Ishmael.

Anissa is saved from the car by Grace knocking her out of the car's path.

Anissa finds the flash drive Dr. Darius Morgan hid the stolen data on Monovista's cystic fibrosis cure in a hidden compartment underneath the stuffed and mounted body of his dog, Rusty, whom he mentioned in 402.

TC isn't a good enough hacker without his powers to decrypt the flash-drive Anissa found, but he says he knows someone who can help. This turns out to be Painkiller's ally Philky.

Detective Shakur calls Jefferson and informs him of Lynn's arrest.

Because of Jefferson's friendship with Bill Henderson, Detective Shakur is able to get him five minutes to talk to Lynn privately.

Lynn is being held on 14 charges of violation of civil rights and accusations that she experimented on children in a government black site. This could be a reference to her work with the Green Light babies held by the ASA in earlier seasons, which Tobias would be privy to.

Jefferson tells Lynn about how all the mtahumans in Freeland seem to have lost their powers

Tobias put out an official statement distancing himself from Lynn and her clinic.

Keith Michaels, an old college friend of Lynn's who became a lawyer, has agreed to represent her.

This is the first time Jefferson met Keith Michaels, though he knows of him.

When Jefferson asks about paying Keith, Lynn says it's already been take care of. This implies that Keith is a rather famous lawyer and very expensive.

Jennifer stays the night with Grace and Anissa. 

Jennifer is worried that she isn't really her anymore without her powers.

Tobias and Red test a bracelet that renders Red immune to the effects of the energy emitter.

Lynn's bail is posted at $3 million.

Jefferson discovers that Lynn used her one phone call to call Anissa and told her to contact Keith Michaels. 

Jefferson discovers that Anissa is Keith Michael's fees using the drug money she stole from the 100 as Blackbird.

Philky tells TC he has a real gift for hacking and coding even without his powers.

Khalil has claustrophobia and starts to hyperventilate crawling through ducts.

Khalil is able to recover a digital ledger belonging to Tobias.

Keith Michaels is able to get Lynn released without bail. It turns out the judge on her case was trying to get a kid into the same college Keith and Lynn went to and Keith was able to work a deal.

It is revealed that Keith Michaels was more than a friend - he is Lynn's old boyfriend.

Keith Michaels still seems to have feelings for Lynn and seems about to say something before Jefferson shows up.

Jefferson is curt but polite to Keith, who goes a little overboard in offering to do anything he can to help Lynn.

TC delivers Philky's findings to Anissa on the cystic fibrosis data.

Philky taught TC how to attach a tracer to an IP address.

TC tracks the files to The Center for Gene Therapy and Genetic Research. This implies that someone on the clinic, working for Tobias, was covering their tracks.

Tobias has a meeting with Destiny, where he threatens to turn her in to Chief Lopez if he isn't put in charge of the Kobra Cartel. He allows her to keep a 10% managers fee of her current earnings.

The Kobra Cartel is involved in money drops, illegal gambling and human trafficking.

Destiny tries to shoot Tobias, but Red stops the bullets.

Tobias reveals that he's also made Ishmael a better offer and brought him into his direct employ.

Lauren angrily returns the Go board that Gambi gave her in 406.

Lauren reveals that she knows Gambi stole Promethium from her lab and blames him for the energy emitter being stolen as well.

Gambi swears he is innocent of that theft and can explain why he had to steal Promethium.

The ledger Khalil stole contains payroll information of various people Tobias pays thousands of dollars to every month. He decides to investigate one particular woman, who gets $20,000 a month.

Jennifer tries to kickstart her powers by electrocuting herself. She knocks out the power in Anissa's apartment in the process, but it works.

With a spark of her power back, Jennifer decided to reenter the ionosphere to fully recharge.

Jefferson point-blank tells Lynn that she doesn't trust him to help her.

Gambi brings Jefferson and Lynn dinner and talks to them about how Tobias must be using Lynn's clinic to take away everyone's powers somehow.

Lynn realizes Tobias used her - that she wasn't testing Val to find a cure for ALS, but to find a way for Tobias to harness her nullifying powers.

Gambi realizes Tobias must have found a way to partner Lynn's research with the energy emitter he was working on to create a forcefield that could nullify superpowers. 

Tobias meets, through a hologramatic interface, with a group referred to only as The Board.  This seems to be The Shadow Board, whom Lady Eve answered to.

Tobias shows the Board video of him testing the emitter with Red, proving that only his chosen few metahumans have power in Freeland.

The Shadow Board promise Tobias a place among them once he becomes Mayor of Freeland.

Grace likes the idea of not having powers and not being a superhero anymore.  Anissa says she can't give it up and doesn't want to live a regular life.

Jennifer flies into the ionosphere and starts drawing in power.

TC stops her after she gains more than enough.

Jennifer starts to disintegrate again but recovers. The energy she left behind, however, remains in the ionosphere. 


The Winick Factor

Honestly, the "do we want to be superheroes or not?" conversation seems to be the sort of conversation Anissa and Grace should have had before getting married. Then again, the show has established that Anissa is sort of impulsive.


The Bottom Line

An oddly empty episode which doesn't accomplish much beyond giving Jefferson one more thing to angst over and one more reason to be annoyed with Lynn. It's also a little late to be giving Tobias a few more hats to wear in his efforts to take over Freeland at every level, but it's worth it to see more of Tobias being smarter than everyone else in the room.

Black Lightning Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 9 - The Book of Ruin: Chapter Four: Lyding

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

As Jefferson plans a confrontation with Ishmael, Tobias Whale takes the next step in striking out against every member of the Pierce family. Meanwhile, Jennifer tries to use her Lightning identity to save Garfield High's music program and impress her crush, even as Chief Lopez redoubles her efforts to capture the outspoken teen vigilante.

Influences

Daredevil: Born Again (Tobias' plot against the Pierces is reminiscent of the Kingpin's plot against Matt Murdock)


Goofs

In Lynn's dream, Jennifer makes reference to her mother finding a way to kill the metagene. Based on the previews for an upcoming episode of The Flash, set one year before this episode, this is already common knowledge and used in the legal system as a way to depower criminal metahumans. (It's possible the method used by the American legal system is temporary and what Lynn is proposing is scientifically different or is a permanent suppression like what Cisco Ramon made for himself.)


Performances

Christopher A'mmanuel gets some great comic beats here as TC, playing up his obvious (to everyone except Jen) crush on Jen even as he tries to reign in her excesses and be the friend she needs. He also plays well of Laura Kariuki.

Laura Kariuki, it should be mentioned, is better at playing a likeable brat than China Anne McClain was. At the very least, she's better at conveying Jennifer's bad decisions as being made by short-sighted confidence rather than the whims of the writers.


Artistry

Lynn's nightmare sequence is an effectively directed moment of horror, with some perfectly disturbing visuals.

The action sequence in which Painkiller goes after Jesse Gentilucci is fantastic, particularly the use of color in the background and lighting. 

The final scenes are possibly the best cliffhanger in the show's history.


Trivia

The title of the episode is an Afrikaans word meaning both "suffer" and "sustain."

Tobias quotes from Matthew 20:16: "The first shall be last and the last shall be first."


Technobabble

In Lynn's dream, she is said to have found a way to kill the metagene and increase a metahumans power.

While studying Lightning, Ishmael notes her speed, acceleration and energy levels.

The new Thunder costume has a sonic trigger that is activated by a finger-snap when Anissa is in her high-density mode. The suit also has a memory function that maintains its density once matching itself to Anissa's body. This will prevent her from being vulnerable the moment she stops holding her breath. It is also bulletproof to automatic gunfire at point-blank range.

Painkiller now has the ability to switch out his poison gland with an antidote one that neutralizes the poison his system creates. 

A full dose of Painkiller's poison can kill an adult male in four seconds.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Lightning has just filmed a social media video to promote Uriah's GoFundMe.)
Uriah: Yo, I... I don't know how to thank you enough. 

Lightning: It's no problem. We need more people like you. It takes a special person to do something when everyone else is just standing by. 

(Jennifer is laying the loving daughter act on thick while fixing Jefferson breakfast.)
Jefferson: Now, you know, just because you said you're sorry doesn't mean I'm going to forget that we need to discuss Lightning's IG page.
Jennifer: There's no such thing as grounding a social media page.
Jefferson: No, but you can delete it.
Jennifer: Delete it? Come on, Dad! Really?!
Jefferson: Yes, really
Jennifer: Ugh!
Jefferson: Look, we don't do what we do for attention or applause. And as Lightning, you need to remain focused and vigilant if you want to remain alive. So delete it.
Jennifer: Okay, I lied. How about I just... deactivate it for a while? That's like grounding it.
Jefferson: How about.. you delete it?
Jennifer: Okay. Before you put a period on it... My mistake. I won't go live ever again. But Lightning is a role model. The kids that look up to me need my voice. I get to inspire them without contact. Sounds pretty safe to me.
Jefferson: Okay. Deactivate it for now until further notice.
Jennifer: Did I tell you how sorry I am?
Jefferson: Young lady, don't press your luck. 

Khalil (To Painkiller, as he is torturing Jesse Gentilucci) PK? I can't get information out of a dead man.

(After Painkiller has killed Jesse Gentilucci)
Khalil: (sighing) Now, why would you do that?
Painkiller: What? Look, you were wrong. I was right. See? You CAN get information out of a dead man.

Jennifer: Hey, you made it possible.
Uriah: Not me. I'm not a hero like Lightning. It takes a special person to do something when everybody else is just standing by.

(Jennifer is smoking weed on the ledge outside her bedroom. TC is with her.)

Jennifer: Do you wanna smoke?
TC: Oh. Uh... I just say no.
Jennifer: Did you quote Nancy Reagan? 

TC: Of course. I grew up with her.
Jennifer: (laughing) How about you "just say no" to mass incarcerations? Isn't the 80' s anymore. A little weed is good for stress.
TC: Aren't you stressed, like, 90% of the time?
Jennifer: Yes, because my family rides me, like, 90% of the time.
(Jennifer's celphone chimes, indicating she just got a text messsage.)
TC: It's Uriah.
Jennifer: Are you monitoring my DMs, like, all the time?
TC: Of course. That's my job, remember?
Jennifer: Well, take a day off.
TC: Didn't you say that your dad said to deactivate that account?
Jennifer: He doesn't know how to use or check social media. Besides, I promised to never go live again, not deactivate it.
TC: Why do you need to be Lightning to be with a boy who already likes you?
Jennifer: You ask a lot of questions. Because it's fun. Ever heard of that? He wants to thank Lightning in person for helping him save Garfield's music program.
TC: Isn't Lightning grounded? Does that mean Lightning can't go out at all, or just stopping crime?
Jennifer: (thinks) Definitely stopping crime.
TC: Lightning shouldn't be friends with a boy that JJ likes.
Jennifer: So I won't post it on IG.
TC: Why can't you just be JJ?
Jennifer: You're a genius. I will go as JJ... and then change into the suit right before I see Uriah. If anybody asks you where I am, just say no.
TC: That is not what that meant!

Tobias Whale: My philosophy has always been, "Do what you love, and the money will follow." Run your mouth and death will follow quicker. 

Tobias Whale: (To his sister's tomb) It's time to show the Pierce family, when you go against God's plan, a great whale swallows away your powers. (breathes deeply) The last shall be first... and the first shall be last.


Continuity

Lynn tells her therapist about a dream she had where she gassed her family as a way to get rid of their superpowers, saying it was the only way for them to be a normal family.

The therapist suggests Lynn's dream is her subconscious telling her that her family doesn't need fixing.

Jenn approaches Uriah as Lightning and offers to help with promoting the GoFundMe that he started to finance Garfield High's music program. She says she saw a repost from some girl named JJ, referring to her new secret identity. 

Uriah works as a delivery boy for a restaurant.

Jenn records a video using Uriah's phone, logging into her Instagram account, telling people to donate to the GoFundMe.

A CCPD officer is revealed to be monitoring Lightning's social media and alerts Chief Lopez that she's transmitting a live video.

Detective Hassan Shakur texts Black Lightning to warn him about the Chief  coming for Lightning.

Uriah's IG account is All-Eyes-On_Uriah. 

Jennifer feels a sudden twinge of pain while talking to Uriah and flees.

Ishmael is revealed to have been watching Lightning and Uriah, studying her powers up-close.

Gambi makes a new Thunder costume for Anissa. She loves it so much she declares she may never go out as Blackbird again.

Jennifer is grounded, in her civilian life and as Lightning, when Jefferson learns about the video.

Gambi tells Jefferson, Anissa and Jennifer everything he and TC have learned about Ishmael, which isn't much. He has advanced hand-to-hand combat training and is a master swordsman who is good enough to have made a reputation for himself as a metahuman hunter. He's adept with technology, a master tactician and good enough to a digital footprint "as small as a fly's," in TC's words.

Gambi also tells them about how Ishmael is apparently being up for the League of Assassins.

Killing high profile targets is one way to get invited into the League of Assassins, apart from killing 100 Metahumans.

TC confirmed that Ishmael is currently being paid by the Kobra Cartel.

Jennifer cooks a big breakfast for Jefferson as an apology for getting upset about his grounding her.

Jefferson orders Jennifer to delete her social media accounts. He eventually relents and agrees to her not doing live broadcasts and deactivating them until she's no longer Public Enemy Number One in Freeland.

Lynn is locked out of her lab at work. The security guard informs her that all of her personal files have already been transferred offsite.

When Lynn reminds the security guard, Michael, that she fought to let him keep his job even though they had every right to fire him, he tells her that Special Agent Kevin Mason was responsible for coming into her lab and taking everything as evidence.

Lynn does some digging and angrily informs Jefferson that it looks as if his embezzlement funded the last 15 years of her research, all of which has been confiscated by the FBI.

Painkiller goes after Jesse Gentilucci.- the man who cut the checks for Tobias Whale back in his crime lord days.

Jesse Gentilucci. tells Painkiller about a secret ledger Tobias keeps and where it can be found.

Uriah is a piano player.

Uriah tells Jennifer that they got enough funding to pay for the music program in one day, thanks to Lightning's video.

Uriah quotes back the words she told him as Lightning when she says he's a hero.

Detective Shakur coaches an after-school basketball league for at-risk youths

Black Lighting thanks Detective Shakur for the warning about Chief Lopez monitoring Lightning's social media and asks him about Ishmael.

Detective Shakur has heard of Ishmael and agrees to give Black Lightning a 20 minute delay in police response, but says he'll have to clear out an area for a confrontation himself.

TC is straight and straight-edge. (i.e. he does not use drugs recreationally)

TC says he currently has a crush on a girl named Lisa.

Jennifer says that Jefferson is clueless when it comes to social media.

The Lightning Instagram account gets a message from Uriah, saying he wants to meet her in person to thank her for what she did to help the music program. It is revealed this message was sent by a GPD officer who hacked Uriah's account to set a trap for Lightning.

Chief Lopez leads the trap team herself, keeping Detective Shakur out of the loop.

Dr. Darius Morgan confides in Anissa that he began researching the fake cystic fibrosis treatment that Anissa began investigating in 408. He says he got locked out of the system so now they know he was trying to get into the files he wasn't suppose to look at. He asks to meet her at his place that night where he can give her while files he had before he flees town.

Anissa calls Grace and tells her that she'll see her at home later and will meet with Darius alone.

Gambi helps Jefferson to hack Ishmael's phone to send him a challenge.

Marshall Bates delivers the energy emitter prototype to Tobias Whale's home personally.

Val informs Tobias that Lynn made a meta-booster based on her DNA and it is viable. When Tobias gives the order to move against her, Val says it has already been done.

Tobias refers to his sister as the love of his life.

Kevin Mason shows up at the Pierce home and arrests Lynn for Violation of Civil Rights.

Chief Lopez notes that Lightning is now taller but is still convinced it is her, somehow.

Jennifer barely escapes the police ambush.

Lynn is forced to endure a full pat-down, strip search and cavity search after being arrested.

Tobias has the energy emitter moved to his sister's tomb and activates it. Somehow, the emitter has now been turned into a forcefield that prevents metahuman powers from being used within the range of its field.

Anissa discovers Dr. Darius Morgandead in his home and flees the scene. As she leaves, a vehicle speeds toward her as she's crossing the street. She attempts to do her Thunder Clap and it does not work.

Jefferson's powers suddenly stop working as he is fighting Ishmael.

TC is unable to use his powers to hack the computers and find Jefferson an escape route.

Jennifer's powers stop working as she's flying away from the police ambush.


Untelevised Adventures

Dr. Darius Morgan was apparently asked to research the fake cystic fibrosis treatment by Anissa off-camera.


The Winick Factor

Thunder's decision to try and clap a car out of the way rather than get out of the road is stupid and only occurs to set up a cliffhanger.


The Bottom Line

A great episode, in spite of a few rough edges. Easily the strongest episode of the season, thanks to some smart writing and all of the ensemble being given a chance to shine.