Welcome back, Freeland lovers! And welcome to another electrifying wrap-up of Black Lightning! This week’s episode didn’t go quite the way you may have thought it would, ESPECIALLY after we watched Black Lightning beat the BRAKES OFF OF (they who shall not be named this early in the review) in last week’s epic finale! But I digress (for now). This is a Black Lightning review, so I should probably start talking about the latest in Freeland, right? As usual, I’ll try my best not to spill everything, but beware…there are spoilers ahead.

So, What Happened?

Our last episode ended with both Lynn and Jefferson learning that their daughter Anissa has special abilities, just like her father. And just like her father, she recovers from the epic beatdown she just took (at the hands of Black Lightning) in no time. Unfortunately, the good news that Anissa will be okay wasn’t enough to prevent her from getting into an argument with her mom about using her powers. As Lynn tells Anissa, “when you do what your father does, everyone gets a happy ending but you.” Ouch.

Speaking of confrontations, now that Black Lightning has confirmed Tobias’ return to Freeland, it seems that the crime-fighting relationship Jefferson and Tobias cultivated (in what I assume to be over a decade of action) is on really shaky ground. Now that the secrets he’s been keeping are finally exposed, Jefferson doesn’t trust Gambi, as Jefferson realizes Gambi’s been hiding Tobias from him this entire time.

Later, Gambi meets up with Lady Eve to discuss silencing their mutual problem: Tobias Whale. Their plan is to threaten Tobias by giving Lady Eve’s “regards” to Joey Toledo. Lady Eve’s regards are murder, she’s putting a hit on Joey Toledo, and Gambi is the one that shows up to do the deed! After killing Joey Toledo, Gambi leaves “albino” dust on the corpse as a cryptic death note to Tobias to stay in line.

Tobias takes the message from Lady Eve as a kind of “now or never” motivator, and decides to make a move on Lady Eve and her team of criminal goons. What he doesn’t know is that Black Lightning (armed with a hot tip from Inspector Henderson) is on his way to confront Tobias at the very same time.  Two massive gunfights break out, making it A: nigh-impossible for Black Lightning to capture Tobias and B: incredibly dangerous for anyone in the vicinity of either of them! What’s even worse, Tobias’ goons are all armed with rifles that fire electricity! The gunfights go on for what seems like forever, and eventually, both Lady Eve and Tobias’ sister, Tori, end up getting killed, while Tobias and Black Lightning escape.

Later, when Inspector Henderson shows up at Lady Eve’s mortuary with the police, they see that all the corpses have been electrocuted to death…and they’re ready to blame those deaths on Black Lightning. And as if that’s not bad enough for Jefferson, just before the episode goes off, we flash back to the Seahorse Motel to see what somehow appears to be...

…a living, breathing, Latavius “Lala” Murray! And is that Lawanda too?!?

The Highs

Gambi killed Joey Toledo! Whoa! I did not see that coming! At all! They’ve been pulling the veil away from Gambi for a few episodes now, but I didn’t expect this is what would be revealed. So, he’s been working with Lady Eve this whole time? Does that mean he knows about the Shadow Board Commission that Tobias was talking about (the organization that made him second guess trying to kill Lady Eve)? And that’s not all. Now that Lady Eve is dead, does that mean that Gambi works directly with Tobias now? What’s really going on? I have so many questions!

We got a flashback to the days when Jefferson’s father was killed by Tobias. He literally made him eat his words. But the craziest part about that was seeing how Tobias is practically the same age as he was in Jefferson’s flashback, something that looked to have happened 20-30 years prior. So, all that time has passed and Tobias is still going round and round with the Pierce family? I was floored.

And finally, can we talk about the return of Lala?!!! BRUH!!!

I am so hyped that Lala’s back! He was my favorite character on the show, and I was DEVASTATED when he met that untimely death at the hands of Tobias Whale while in prison. He was so compelling! And his chemistry with Jefferson Pierce (and Black Lightning) was unmatched! I really can’t say enough about how glad I am he’s returning to the show.

The Lows

I’m not sure if I’d call this a low or not…but watching Tobias “spar” with that fighter on Green Light was hilarious. I’m not sure who came up with the idea that Tobias should be wearing a karate gi, but thank you for that comedy! Tobias definitely gave that guy the business, but he looked so funny shuffling around in that karate suit that I could not stop laughing during the scene.

And sadly…I think Lady Eve may…be dead. Alas, and R.I.P. to my favorite character! I’m going to miss watching you make Tobias Whale’s butt get tight with just a simple line of questioning. You really put the fear of God into your underlings…and for that, you will always be remembered fondly. Farewell, Lady Eve! We hardly knew you!

Honorable Mentions

  • Jefferson’s reading A Brief History of Seven Killings when Anissa announces Poe’s death
  • Lady Eve calls Tobias Whale a “habitual line-stepper” (a nice Chappelle’s Show reference)
  • Daddy/daughter moment between Anissa and Jefferson about being a hero
  • Having a henchman pop out of a casket to take out the town undertaker, Lady Eve!

Signing Off

That’s it for this week’s episode of Black Lightning! Like always, I encourage you to let me know what you thought about tonight’s episode in the comments below. And, remember, for more from me on all things Black Lightning, just follow me on Twitter at @RegularEtCetera. Peace!


Regular Et Cetera covers Black Lightning as a part of the #DCTV Couch Club. Look for him on Twitter at @RegularEtCetera. Black Lightning airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. (8 p.m. CST) on The CW.