Welcome back, Black Lightning fans! I must admit, I’m really starting to love these little talks we have. I can’t believe it’s been three whole weeks already! Oh, what’s that? You’re not really here for the small talk, at all? And you only showed up to hear more about how electrifying Black Lightning was this week? Well… uhhh...I guess we’ll get right to the good stuff, then! Starting with...

The Story

Episode 3 opens with Freeland’s most prolific minister leading Lawanda’s funeral service. (He’s a pastor who I’m just going to call “Pastor Pinky” because I can’t stop looking at him and thinking he’s about to tell Craig to “SHUT UP!!!”) He asks the congregation for a new 100—100 God-fearing people from the community to march against the 100 gang. A Freedom March to liberate the people of Freeland. In a surprising change of heart, Jennifer feels inspired to attend the march, while Anissa feels differently. Suddenly saying that maybe marching isn’t as impactful as she once thought, Anissa decides she’s just going to sit this one out. We find out why pretty shortly after, as we learn that Anissa has been stepping out on traditional family time to (awesomely) work on figuring out her new super powers. Which, much like her appearances in comics, seem to give her super strength and the ability to make herself super dense with impenetrable skin. (Sidenote: BRUH! It was so dope when that washing machine fell over, but instead of crushing her, bounced right off of her back.)

While the Pierces are busy dealing with missed family dinners and metahuman powers, word gets back to Tobias Whale about the pastor’s planned march, forcing him to go explain the situation to his employer/financier. This gives us our first look at Freeland’s infamous undertaker, and apparent crime boss, Lady Eve. She tells him in no uncertain terms that he needs to shut this march down, and quickly sends him off to do the dirty work of transforming her ominous words into a terrifying reality for Freeland.

On the other side of the town, Anissa accepts a pretty random costume party invite after making a new friend, but rather than showing up and having a good time, she finds herself instead fighting with her girlfriend, Chenoa, for flirting with another woman at the party. Shortly afterward, Anissa ends up in a pretty intense scuffle outside the bar protecting her new friend (and possible love interest), Grace, from a couple of drunk bar bros. The night did not end well at all for those guys.

Meanwhile, the Freedom March begins, and thanks to a little old school detective-style legwork, Black Lightning shows up just in time to save the marchers from shooters with a crazy impressive display of electromagnetic power. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. As the pastor and Khalil still end up getting shot in the crossfire.

Talk about killer cliffhangers.

The Glory

So, can we talk about how the biggest lede of the show was buried when, back in the series premiere, Jefferson Pierce decides to mack on his ex instead of talking to the town mortician? I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy that scene (because I did, immensely), but now that I know it means we didn’t get to meet Lady Eve in episode 1, disappointment abounds! After all, Lady Eve, the undertaker with the “deep pockets” that Jefferson and Ms. Fowdy whispered about at the fundraiser, is played by none other than Jill Scott! That’s right, Jill Scott. J - I - L - L - S - C - O… T-TeeeeEEEeeEEEeeeEEEeee (representing North Philly, y’all) is Lady Eve. And I am now starting to feel like this show is sneaking into my apartment at night and stealing my dreams for inspiration.

The Gory

Anissa’s relationship with Chenoa is dead already? Wow. They were just “hey guh”-ing each other all lovey-dovey only two episodes ago. That kidnapping must have really turned Anissa’s life upside down. When she showed up at the costume party I thought it was going to be the beginning of some kind of love triangle, but nope! Looks like #OldBae is canceled and Anissa’s on to new spices. Which is fine by me, especially since I’m pretty sure Grace is the Amazon Grace Choi of OUTSIDERS comic book fame (above), wherein she’s also Anissa’s AKA Thunder’s love interest. I’m all about launching the #GrAnissa (or is it #AnAce) ship.

And speaking of unexpected tragedies, I can’t believe they shot my guy, Khalil! Wow! That really hit me in the feels, especially after Black Lightning showed up in the nick of time to save the other freedom marchers from getting shot. It was like, just when you thought there was going to be a happy ending, a multitude of tragic endings were given out instead. What a sad outcome to what seemingly started off as a happy-go-lucky take on high school romance between Jennifer and Khalil. I can’t front, I’m really interested in seeing where these relationships and characters go from here.

Fun Honorable Mentions

• Inspector Henderson asking the pastor what kinds of shoes he wears
• “She persisted” showing up in the pastor’s conversation with Jefferson about Lawanda
• Gambi’s sweet Minority Report/Power Glove gloves
• An Outsiders comic book being part of Grace’s first appearance on the show
• Jefferson giving Khalil a 2018 version of “the talk” about having sex with his daughter
• Black Lightning shows off TWO epic new superpower moves in this episode
• “Everybody wanna go to heaven, but don’t nobody wanna die” - Tobias Whale

One Last Thing

There was a moment between Jennifer and Khalil where they were talking about possibly having sex. In it, Khalil reveals that he lied about his level of sexual experience and that he is actually a virgin. This I loved! Watching Jennifer (and her friends) do the same kind of “I’m all grown up (but not quite)” dance that so many teenagers do while stumbling into adulthood has continued to be one of my favorite parts of the show.

Signing Off

That’s it, you guys. Episode 3 of Black Lightning is now officially in the books. Are you liking it? Loving it? Is the show all that you thought it would be? Should I add a rating system to my reviews? Hit the comments section to let me know how you feel, and we can talk about it. And, don’t forget, for more from me on all things Black Lightning, join 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.