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Black Lightning 1.11 Review – ‘Black Jesus: The Book of Crucifixion’
Loading...While I was on vacation, we learned that (gasp!) Miss Fowdy is evil. Thanks to Jeremy for the awesome review! She’s not just sort of helping the bad guys. She didn’t make a small mistake that accidentally enabled criminals. Fowdy was actively seeking students who gained powers from the street drug Greenlight. Once discovered, she conspired to have these kids kidnapped and stored by nefarious people for horrible reasons…all while presenting herself as the next best thing to Principal Pierce. It’s a shame that such a strong woman—one who would otherwise be a role model—has stooped so low. One might be tempted to say that Miss Fowdy knows Jeff’s secret. But even though she was told directly, she doesn’t believe it. Funny, since Jefferson doesn’t even wear glasses. LOL
This week, the ASA pursues their theory that Jefferson Pierce is Black Lightning. We see dirty cops doing dirty cop things, while Henderson pretends he’s an ace Inspector. Jennifer and Anissa learn increased control of their powers, and Gambi pulls new tricks out of his hat. Spoilers follow for “Black Jesus: The Book of Crucifixion.” After last week’s beat down, Gambi isn’t looking so good. Plus Jeff is still not speaking to him even though it’s clear where Gambi’s true loyalty is. One thing though. If someone asks why you look beat to hell and you say “Ask [name].” That’s usually indicative of [name] being the person who threw the beating. So it’s a little weird that Gambi phrased it that way. But that’s less important than the bodies being held in that crazy facility—bodies which Miss Fowdy just supervised moving across town.
We already knew that Deputy Chief Cayman was dirty, as is his partner. They appear to think nothing of setting up a prominent person for arrest and disgrace. Cayman is played by Anthony Reynolds, who has played a cop in literally dozens of movies and TV shows. He’s definitely the ‘type’ who looks like a dirty cop. Brushy mustache, mean look in his eye, saying messed up stuff like, “It’d be a shame if [threat] happened, wouldn’t it?” Cayman is so awful this week that we begin to wonder if this will be when he’s finally taken down.
Seeing Jefferson arrested in front of faculty and staff, and while his own daughters are watching was awful. Cops drew down on an unarmed man in the middle of a school. What in the hell?!? The ease with which the cops conspired to frame him was infuriating. But the sequence of Jeff being insulted, humiliated, brutalized, while tame compared to cases we’ve all seen or heard about, is difficult to watch. The refrain going through my head was a loop of “What the hell? There was no reason to do that!” Jennifer’s ability to remain calm was impressive. Somehow, Jenn’s purposeful inhale almost made me cheer. But we know what would happen if she did anything to defend her father. For better or worse, Black Lightning reminds us that there are cops who think nothing of brutality, of gross unprofessionalism, and of taking out their own childish biases on the civilians who pay their salaries. And then…there are guys like Henderson.
We like Henderson. But c’mon. He doesn’t seem to know that his own daughter is a fan of drinking, smoking, and general rule breaking. It’s not exactly surprising that he’s just now getting evidence against Cayman and his partner. I had to laugh when Lynn (why the hell was she treated so rudely?) gave a calm “No” in response to Henderson asking if she trusted him. I’m sure she trusted that he meant well—but not that he could fix the situation. Henderson, for all his good qualities, just seems ineffectual. Maybe because of his respect for the rules? Jeff’s interactions with Lala are suspicious, but certainly not suspicious enough to justify a search warrant. Before Henderson can get to the bottom of anything, a transfer is ordered “above their paygrade.” Translation—Fowdy is screwing Jefferson over even worse. We do notice that Fowdy’s research and maybe even her encrypted conversations are being recorded and stored. Watch for the boxing expression, “You gotta bring ass to get ass.” Essentially, you can’t smack anyone down unless you’re within smacking distance.
The news coverage of Jefferson’s arrest was telling. Nobody who knew the principal believed he was guilty. But the people basing their opinions on rumors and heresy are sure he’s guilty. The idea that Jeff would “make” his children call him “black Jesus” would be hilarious if it wasn’t so hurtful and damaging. Anyway, the issue at hand is that the ASA needs to believe that Jeff is NOT Black Lightning. Does that mean Gambi is gonna put on the suit? Nope. His plan is even better. Hologram Black Lightning worked swimmingly, even though one car probably got a little dinged up. Probably the most heartbreaking part is when Jennifer realized how many people in their community were picked up by the cops and then never came home. When you read about the prison industrial complex, for-profit prison profiteering, how public defenders don’t even get 10 minutes with each client, the idea of a loved one being mistaken for a criminal is terrifying.
Despite the success of Gambi’s plan, the ASA doesn’t give Miss Fowdy permission to release Jefferson. This comes down to Henderson, who was easily able to flip Cayman’s partner. It was satisfying, if not very realistic, to see Cayman immediately given a taste of the treatment dished out to Jeff. His cry of “You don’t know how this town works,” made us fear that Henderson would be gunned down immediately. Henderson’s satisfied grin followed by a press conference made me sure he was about to die. But no—apparently it is possible to be morally upright and alive in Freeland. Who knew? I still fear for his safety, because he kept dying on shows I like. For now though, he’s been promoted to Deputy Chief Inspector. I don’t know exactly how those rankings work, but it sounds like a wee step up.
Gambi and Jefferson have declared a cautious truce. It’s obvious that the men respect and need each other. But Jeff is reasonable when he says he can’t forgive Gambi, and maybe he never will. Gambi is right not to expect forgiveness, but that doesn’t mean they can’t move forward. It seems that they will. Meanwhile, Anissa continues to be reactive and blustery. She also seriously needs to start doing yoga on the regular. I’ve seen little to show that she understands how precarious her powers are, how easy it could be for someone to catch her by surprise. It’s imperative that she learn to control her breathing as second nature. I’m surprised Gambi hasn’t insisted on it.
So what’s the good news? Black Lightning has been renewed for a second season. We’re still not expecting any Arrowverse crossover action, which is fine by me. I don’t know how Iris, Vixen, or Felicity Smoak-Queen (she’s hyphenating, right?) would react to the assertiveness of the women of Freeland. With two episodes remaining, it’s hard to say what we’ll see. Will the ASA be taken down? Will the children be released or anyone consequenced? We haven’t seen Khalil in a while…how’s his friendship with Tobias getting on? What do you want to see before the end of the season?
See you’s next week!
