Contain Spoilers!
In this week’s episode of Black Lightning , the struggle for Freeland’s community deepens as the people march against the One Hundred following Lawanda’s funeral, their hope sparked by the return of Black Lightning. Meanwhile Annisa continues to have fun exploring her new powers, Jennifer decides she’s ready to loose her virginity and Tobias Whale prepares to send a message to those who march against the One Hundred.
‘Lawanda: The Book of the Burial’ kicks off with Lawanda’s funeral at the local community church. Reverend Holt encourages the community to march against the One Hundred and take back their city, as the return of Black Lightning gave Lawanda and himself hope against the gang. Inspector Henderson and Jeff try to dissuade Holt against the protest as they know it’ll spark violence from the gang, but Holt says what other choice do they have? He’s got a real point here, as Freeland’s police department is very much corrupt and in Tobias Whale’s pocket. Black Lightning does a great job of fleshing out this city and it’s community, unlike Arrow or Flash, showing real World consequences.
Meanwhile Anissa has real fun exploring her new powers, beating up washing machines at a junkyard – you’ve got to love a young superhero training montage! I really can’t wait to see how Lynn and Jeff are going to react when she finally tells them about her abilities. Cut to Jennifer and Khalil and they’ve both decided that they’re ready to loose their virginity. In a hilariously awkward scene Jennifer tells Jeff and Lynn her plans over the dinner table, which leads Jeff to confront Khalil about his cleaning routine, “are you gonna give my daughter athlete’s foot in places where athletes’ feet should not be?” This gives the episode some much needed humour!
Back to the action and we learn that Tobias Whale isn’t the only big bad in Freeland as he reports to the mysterious Lady Eve, played brilliantly by Jill Scott, to hatch a plan of attack on the community’s march. Lady Eve instructs Tobias to send the people a message to keep them in check, “I don’t mind people believing in God, they just can’t believe they can take back these streets.” His plan is to instill fear in the crowd, so he sends a young man to open fire on the community.
The final act is both emotional and shocking; the Freeland police department only send one squad to cover the march, leaving the people completely vulnerable to the violence of the gang, showing just how corrupt they really are. Black Lightning tries to shield the crowd against two attacks with a pretty amazing lightning shield, but lets face it, he could never protect them all. He does however inspire hope in the community, and in truly moving scene they come together to sing Amazing Grace.
All in all ‘Lawanda: The Book of the Burial’ is another very strong episode from the CW’s latest superhero show, once again highlighting the struggles between the Freeland community, the corrupt police department and the One Hundred who are using fear to rule the city. There’s some pretty interesting developments in this episode, what with the introduction of Lady Eve and Tobias Whale coming face to face with the hero he thought he killed. I really help they delve into the history of Black Lightning and Tobias Whale soon, as I’d love to know what happened between them, especially since Gambi deletes the footage of Tobias at the shooting to protect Jeff…
