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.

Black Lightning Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 6 - The Book of Ruin: Chapter Two: Theseus’s Ship

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

Plot

Jennifer's life has been saved, but her appearance is completely different after her body solidifies! As Jefferson struggles to cope with another change he blames himself for and Tobias Whale's announcement that he's running for mayor, the rest of the family rally to support Jen as she copes with her own identity crisis. Meanwhile, a new assassin is in town and Lala is in his crosshairs.


Influences

The 1942 film Cat People (Jennifer and Anissa watch it), Big,13 Going on 30, Freaky Friday, Being John Malkovich,  Face/Off (all movies involving being in a strange body), Star Wars (Ishmael is essentially Boba Fett even before we see the "frozen" Lala) and the March 13, 2020 shooting of Breonna Taylor.


Goofs

While the title-card for the episode gives its name as Theseus's Ship, it would be more grammatically correct  for it to be Theseus' Ship, without the extra s.

Why does Gambi tell Jennifer not to tell her parents who made her temporary costume for them when she's specifically going to save Jefferson, who is smart enough to figure it out when his daughter suddenly has a new costume.


Performances

Laura Kariuki has a fantastic first turn as the new Jennifer, getting a scene with each character to show that she's the same Jen but in a new body. It's frightening how well she's replicated some of China McClaine's mannerisms.


Artistry

The Breona Taylor flashforward scene is a powerful moment.


Trivia

The episode title comes from a classic thought problem from Ancient Greece, regarding the ship of the hero Theseus and the nature of identity. The idea behind the riddle of Theseus' ship is whether a thing is defined by physicality or thought. If you replace all the rotten wood in the ship of Theseus, is it still the ship of Theseus once all the wood has been replaced? If you take that rotten wood and could somehow cure it and used it to build another ship identical to the first, would that also be the Ship of Theseus? 

Coincidentally, a few weeks before this episode of Black Lightning aired, the question of Theseus' Ship achieved prominence on-line due to it figuring into the season finale of Wandavision, when two versions of the robotic hero Vision contemplated which of them was the true Vision - a copy born of the memories of the original Vision or the one born of his body, which had no memories belonging to the original?

This episode contained the first Post-Crisis reference to the League of Assassins on Earth-Prime. It was suggested, in the final episodes of Arrow, that Thea Queen and Talia Al Ghul were reforming what remained of the League into a heroic organization. It's possible the League of Assassins group Ishmael mentions is a new group evoking the name of the original League.

Ishmael is a relatively new introduction to the DC Comics Universe, who first appeared in Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 3 #1, in July 2019. Ishmael was a member of the League of Assassins who gained metahuman powers and immortality as a result of experiments Ra's Al Ghul conducted with the waters of the Lazarus Pits. In addition to being immortal and having a heightened healing factor, Ishmael had the power to neutralize the powers of any metahumans he came in contact with. He also had superhuman strength and durability and could amplify the powers of other metahumans. This made him an ideal assassin for superhero targets.

The Arrowverse version of Ishmael does not seem to be a metahuman, but is incredibly skilled in combat. He is currently auditioning for the League of Assassins and must kill 100 metahumans to earn a place among them.


Technobabble

Something in the transmutation process caused the genes responsible for determining Jennifer's appearance to express themselves in a new way. Gambi explains that Jennifer's new looks obey the same logic as identical twins; she has the same genes, but the genes are presenting themselves in a new sequence.

Before looking at the ballistic reports for Mayor Black's death, Gambi determines that he was shot from an elevated position, given that he grabbed the top of his head when he was shot. The problem is that the only building tall enough to match the angle of the shot was 4 miles away - nearly twice the distance of the longest sniper shot ever recorded. 

Lauren still cannot get her energy field emitter to cover an area larger than 500 feet.

Gambi theorizes the problem with the energy emitter is that they are using the wrong power source, which would explain the problems with the voltage regulator. He suggests Promethium might be able to solve the problem, but they'd need a lot more than is known to exist.

The pieces inside the Go board that Gambi gives Lauren conceal a retina scanner, which lets him get the pattern of her eyes.

Lynn modified the meta-booster formula so it will only work on ordinary humans, so as to prevent another super-meta like Gravediggger.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Grace finds Jennifer in the corner of the Sanctum, looking at her costume mannequin.) 
Grace: It's strange, isn't it? I remember the first time I shifted. It's not easy changing faces.
Jennifer: Perenna warned me this might happen. She said if I wasn't careful, I'd explode. Grace, what am I gonna do? What about my friends? What about school?
Grace: Hey, don't worry about that right now. We'll figure it out.
Jennifer: Yeah, well, you're lucky. You can change back whenever you want.
Grace: Okay, sure. I mean, now. But there's been plenty of times when I couldn't.
Jennifer: So what did you do? How did you get through it?
Grace: I focused on what was important. Not this. (gesturing at Jen's reflection in the glass case) This. (poking her arm) It's not who you are on the outside that matters. It's who you are inside. And deep down, you are still the same strong Jen we know and love. Nothing's gonna change that.
Jennifer: I certainly don't feel like it.
Grace: You will, trust me. Now, come on, your family's waiting.

(Black Lightning emerges from the shadows out behind the FPD building. He regards Detective Hasan cautiously.)
Detective Hasan: Black Lightning.
Black Lightning: Detective. Or should I say... Head of the New Meta Task Force? I don't know what side you're on, man. 
Detective Hasan: (chuckles) Don't get your drawers in a bunch. It wasn't my decision.
Black Lightning: Oh? Sounds like something a traitor would say.
Detective Hasan: Oh, yeah? Would a traitor get you the ballistics from the mayor's killing, like you asked?
(Detective Hasan passes Black Lightning a plastic evidence bag containing an unspent bullet.)
Detective Hasan: Notice anything unusual?
Black Lightning: Yeah, it's still in the casing.
Detective Hasan: That's right. It was never fired.
Black Lightning: If it was never fired, then how...
Detective Hasan: Let go.
Black Lightning: What?
Detective Hasan: Trust me. Just let go.
(Black Lightning does so. The bag suddenly goes flying and sticks to a nearby metal container.)
Black Lightning: What the hell?! It's been magnetized.
Detective Hasan: How do you fire a bullet without a gun? Magnetic powers.
Black Lightning: (nodding as the pieces click together) So a meta did it? Yeah, that would explain the distance of the shot... (shaking his head) You need to know, Lightning had nothing to do with this. And she's not to blame for Lydell Jackson either.
Detective Hasan: I know. Not that it's going to matter much. The chief is on a warpath. After what happened with Lala gettin' away, she's planning raids on half the damn Eastside. She's already approved a dozen affidavits for no-knock warrants.
Black Lightning: No-knock warrants? She lost her damn mind? Most people in this city are packing.
Detective Hasan: That's right. Which is why I'm telling you... Freeland needs Black Lightning. Or are you gonna disappear on us again?
Black Lightning: No, I'm back... for good this time.

(Anissa and Jennifer are watching an old movie together. It's the 1942 version of Cat People.)
Actor Tom Conway: Women, who, in jealousy or anger, or out of their own corrupt passions, can change into great cats, like panthers!
Jennifer: Really, Anissa?
Anissa: Wait, what?
Jennifer: All the movies you could've picked, and you just had to choose one that reminds me of being trapped in this body?
Anissa: You right, my bad. What would you like to watch instead? (laughing a bit as Jennifer starts to laugh too) Let's see, we got 13 Going on 30. Big. Let's see, Being John Malkovich. Ooh... Freaky Friday.
Jennifer: Oh, my God, Freaky Friday? Can you imagine?
Anissa: No.
Jennifer: What if I switched places with Mom? I'd be all like (impersonating Lynn) "Go get our baby."
Anissa: (laughing) Ooh, that was good. That's good, but it could be worse. You could be Nicolas Cage in Face/Off.
Both: (in unison, mimicking Nicholas Cage) "I'd like to take his face... off."
Anissa: Oh, man. It's really not all that bad, though. I promise. Now, I wasn't gonna say anything, but, girl, your skin... Jen, your skin, it looks amazing now.
Jennifer: Really?
Anissa: Yeah.
Jennifer: You think so? I do kinda like the dark chocolate look.
Anissa: I ain't worried about you. You be fine. You just gotta... just make sure you look at all the positives. Okay? (pauses) Like the fact that you could be playin' in the WNBA.
Jennifer: Shut up.
Anissa: Okay, I'm just sayin'! I'm sayin'

(TC and Jennifer hear on the coms that Black Lightning is going to stop the police's random raids.)
TC: You should go. He may need backup.
Jennifer: No, I shouldn't. My mom told me not use my powers.
(TC stares at Jennifer in disbelief.)
TC: Don't get mad when I say this, but, uh... who the hell are you?!

(Jennifer enters the Sanctum and approaches the case with her costume. Gambi comes from around the corner.)
Gambi: You're late.
Jennifer: Uncle Gambi, you scared me!
Gambi: (calmly) That suit's not gonna fit you anymore. You're a lot taller now. I am working on a new nanotech model for you. But in the meantime... I've got something that should do the trick. Just don't tell your parents.
Jennifer: I won't. Thank you.
Gambi: I'll go grab it for you.
Jennifer: Wait, Uncle Gambi? How did you know I'd be here?
Gambi: (smiling softly) Because that's what Jen would do.


Continuity

The new Jennifer has the same DNA as she did before, despite her changed appearance. 

According to Grace, Jen smells exactly the same as she did before, despite her changed appearance.

Grace claims that it took her time to master her shape-shifting powers and that she eventually learned control by focusing on her inner self.

Jefferson leaves the Sanctum before he can talk to Jennifer.

Jennifer claims to feel fine, but is told not to use her powers.

Jennifer starts using JJ as an alias and claims to be Lynn's niece.

The full name of Tobias Whale's lawyer Val is Val Seong. She is also revealed to be the ALS patient he wanted Lynn to help. 

Val notices how strange Lynn and JJ act around her, having not thought of a cover story before then.

The police are publicly blaming Lala and The 100 for Mayor Black's death.

Lala is still on the run following the events of 405.

Jeff says he's uncomfortable with Jennifer's new appearance because her energy feels different. Gambi insists that it's impossible for her to be an alternate dimension doppelganger when Jefferson points out he's traveled to other dimensions and fought with Superman, in reference to the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Gambi is unable to hack the Freeland PD computers to get the ballistic reports regarding Mayor Black's death. He is able to figure out that Lala wasn't involved, as he and his men were on the ground and whoever shot Mayor Black did some from an elevated position, four miles away from the scene of the crime.

Gambi is able to get a shot of a hooded man from a security camera placing him on the roof at that moment. 

Tobias personally purchases a next-gen DEG for every cop in Freeland and announces that he is running for mayor in the new election to replace Mayor Black.

Detective Hasan is able to give Black Lightning the ballistic tests report on Mayor Black's death, as well as the bullet. Jefferson notices the bullet is still in the case and hadn't been fired. Detective Hasan points out another oddity: the bullets appear to be magnetically charged, suggesting the bullets were thrown by a metahuman with magnetic powers.

Black Lightning tells Detevtive Hasan that Lightning had nothing to do with Mayor Black's death or the death of Lydell Jackson. Detective Hasan says he knows, but it doesn't matter because the chief is on the warpath. 

Detective Hasan warns Black Lighting that Chief Lopez is planning a series of no-knock raids across the East Side of Freeland in an effort to smoke out Lala.

Lauren reveals that Promethium the rare metal that is the power source of the DEGs and that Monovista International has a sizeable stockpile of it.

Anissa and Jennifer watch the movie Cat People together.

Anissa tells Jennifer about her and Grace's secret wedding.

Jennifer tells Anissa to take Grace on a honeymoon ASAP.

Lala tries to attack Destiny as she's picking up protection money, but she's protected by a masked man wielding two swords who calls himself Ishmael. 

Ishmael kills Lala and then drops him in a freshly poured bed of concrete before pouring more wet cement over him.

Gambi gives Lauren a gift: the Go board that she beat him with, with the pieces glued in her winning configuration. He can still recall it from memory. 

Lauren was the only non-Japanese player who could beat Gambi at Go. 

Lauren offers to thank Gambi privately in the secret room of their lab when they're meant to be working.

Gambi does seem to feel guilty about this, given he was trying to steal Lauren's eye-pattern.

Lynn confirms that Val has ALS and also has the metagene, but she has no idea what her power is.

Jefferson asks Lynn to make a meta-booster serum of Val's DNA so they can determine her power and see if she is Tobias' magnetic assassin. Lynn refuses. 

Val tells Tobias about JJ and how strange she and Lynn were acting. She reveals that she took a picture of JJ on her phone.

Tobias asks his AI to scan for pictures of JJ. It does not find any.

TC offers to use his powers to set Jennifer up with a new identity, complete with DL and passport.

TC was a fan of the show Good Times and says Jennifer's alias reminds him of the character of JJ Evans.

Jefferson goes to stop a no-knock warrant for Apartment 4 at 717 Garner Drive.

TC shows Jennifer several videos of people on Lightning's social media thanking her for saving them, to inspire her to go help her father.

One fan on TikTok made a Lightning Dance, which she does with her friends.

Gambi hasn't had time to build a new costume for Jennifer, but he did put together something like the Blackbird costume that should work for a night.

The police attack the wrong apartment. As predicted, the man inside the raided apartment draws his gun and tries to defend himself, thinking he's been robbed and not thinking about the police. A flash-forward shows his girlfriend dying in the crossfire, her funeral, and a string of fights breaking out across Freeland as the police and protesters clash. This then rewinds back to before the police can fire a shot as Black Lightning shows in to protect the people and knocks out the cops.

Lightning saves Black Lighting from being overpowered by police armed with the new DEGs. 

Jefferson apologies to Jennifer for being so weirded out by her new appearance and thanks her for coming to help him. She, in turn, thanks him for saving her life.

Anissa models several outfits for Grace, asking if she'd rather travel to Vail for a ski trip, New Orleans during Mardi Gras or the Akashic Valley.

Ishmael presents Destiny with a concrete-encased Lala and declares that he is his 94th Metahuman kill. He must kill 100 metahumans to earn a place in the League of Assassins.

Destiny hires Ishmael to stay in Freeland a while and kill the rest of the city's metahuman vigilantes. She gives him photos of Black Lightning, Grace (in her masked costume) Blackbird and Lynn (with her mask)


The Bottom Line

A fantastic episode that manages the near impossible trick of referencing current events and effectively introducing a new character without becoming hokey or forced.