S01.E09: The Book of Little Black Lies

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

In the aftermath of the latest killing, Black Lightning works to clear his name while also hunting down the person responsible for his father’s death, and anyone else involved. Tensions remain high between Black Lightning and Gambi.

 

 

[UNOSEZ]

Good episode... Pretty realistic respins  from Jennifer.. She freaked out.. But cooled off.. And the sterility question was common sense 

[Primal Slayer]

They keep dropping these names! Imma need at least one of em to show up time! Now we have Vixen in the mix? Hell yeah bring her on!

I really need them to get rid of Anissa having to breathe in every time she uses her powers. I didn't mind it when she was figuring things out but it just sounds ridiculous everytime she does it.

They handled the drama with Jennifer dealing with powers/black lightning really well. Glad it wasnt something that they dwelled on that long.

They've done such a great job of developing this family, I just love them all. 

[wanderingstar]

I felt so bad for Jennifer when she was talking about wanting to be normal, go to prom, get married and have kids. I'm glad they showed that not everyone will embrace having superpowers.

I'm going to need a gif of Thunder and Black Lighting striding away from the Greenlight headquarters as it exploded.

Next week looks good!

[johntfs]

Black Lightning as Obama was awesome.  As was Gambi with everything.  Henderson asking Black Lightning to make sure people knew he wasn't dirty if he got murdered was cool but sad.

Edited March 21, 2018 by johntfs

[twoods]

I was worried Henderson would die after he told Black Lightning to tell his family if he died that he wasn’t dirty. I hope he’s makes it out of this season alive.

I was annoyed with emo Jennifer at first, but when she broke down how she wanted to have a normal life I felt for her. Her reaction was well done.

Gambi continues to kick ass. I missed him and Jefferson interacting and hope that they can make up soon.

I did not miss Tobias these past few episodes, or weird possessed LaLa. I can only handle them in small doses.

[HunterHunted]

3 hours ago, Primal Slayer said:

They keep dropping these names! Imma need at least one of em to show up time! Now we have Vixen in the mix? Hell yeah bring her on!

We know Black Lighting doesn't take place in the main Arrowverse universe because there is no Supergirl there. And when Barry crossed over to Supergirl's universe, he checked for his friends and Oliver, but not if Mari was in Detroit. In addition, we know there are like 50 other Earths that this show could be set on. However, it's doubtful we'll get a Vixen appearance because they can't even get her on Legends of Tomorrow. Although, I wouldn't mind a  cameo of Kuasa as Vixen.

[johntfs]

38 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

We know Black Lighting doesn't take place in the main Arrowverse universe because there is no Supergirl there.

We know Supergirl exists as a comic book in the BL-verse, but that could have been inspired by the couple of times she showed up in the main Arrowverse.  We know Vixen exists on the main Arrowverse world as a real person and she also seems to exist on this Earth as a real person too.

[AnimeMania]

Anissa is lucky all the men are talking about her "Thunder" Ass and not her "Thunder" Thighs.

[thuganomics85]

Anytime Black Lightning and Thunder are on screen together, I imagine that during post-production, some CW executive keeps trying to get them to use the chorus from "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons in the soundtrack, and TPTB have to keep being like "No, we're not going to do that."

Who doesn't love a little superhero action mixed in with their compelling family drama?!  In all seriousness, I continue to be impressed over how this show is handling the Pierce family, their interactions, and making me not just enjoy watching them, but finding them to be relatable and fully-layered characters.  As much as I yearn for the "crime-fighting family", I find it totally realistic that Jennifer isn't too keen about having powers, because she has been someone who seems to yearn for a more normal life, and wasn't the gung-ho activist that Anissa is.  And there isn't anything wrong with it.  Now, do I think Jennifer will end up having a normal life?  Doubtful, but I can see why she fears for her future.  Glad that she did have talks with both Lynn and Jefferson, and is more understanding about why they kept this from her.  Hopefully they'll move forward and become stronger for it.

Gambi certainly spared no expense on Anissa's costume!  Looked badass and great in it, even if that means she's probably going to have to deal with more guys on Youtube talking about her ass (talk about realism.  That would so happen in real life.)  And she's even got a fan page!  That is more popular than her fathers!  Hee!

Glad to see Henderson get more to do.  I hope he isn't being set-up to be a victim and remains as a Gordon-type character.  But his request to Black Lightning over if he ends up getting killed was kind of haunting.

I know it was just a way to lighten things up, but Jefferson talking about Jennifer making him sick makes me wonder if anything does go crazy with their powers if one is under the weather.  Like if Jefferson sneezes, does he suddenly blow out all the lights?  So many questions!  

[UNOSEZ]

And now with a bunch of kidnapped enhanced ppl.. We could have future allies and foes if we get future seasons... I love how I can watch this show and be super engaged then look up and see 50 mins have gone by... There  hasn't even been a fight and I don't care... And I know  there has been no talk of crossing over.. But I so want some of the main arrowverse folks to see freeland... I want Joe and Jefferson to have a talk abt having your kids constantly in danger... I want iris to talk to another blk person.. Caitlin and Lynn to discuss new medical yadda yadda... Gambi and Wynn and Cisco makingnew suits for everybody Jonn Jonz talking about being a blk dude in the past... Sara and that creepy chic who's always around Tobias to fight... Curtis and Anissa talking about being both lgbtq and black in the superhero world... Diggle and Jimmy suiting up and taking out bangers... Amaya inspiring well damn near everyone with her life... Nate and Ray have been shown to be down with the swirl... Constantine explaining to everyone what the hell is going on with LaLa.... I could go on for days I think but to end it.. After whatever threat is handled and all are about to leave... Lynn's brother shows up to all who don't know.. Lynn was Lynn Stewart... Jon Stewart' sister... Jon the Green lantern  

[Locutus]

I originally took Vixen and Supergirl's mention to mean that they are comic book characters on this earth, but now, not sure.

[AnimeMania]

The only way for Jennifer to have a "normal" life is to figure out what triggers her "superpowers" and try to gain some control over it.

[mxc90]

Early in the episode, Black Lightning was giving Henderson grief for the crooked cop destroying evidence (the lightning gun) to clear him for Lady Eve's murder but at the end of the episode he and Annisa blow up the building with all the Green light evidence for the police.

Now the bad guys have special guns to kill BL. Will he swallow his pride and ask Gambi to reinforce his suit?

[tennisgurl]

So, Supergirl and Vixen exist in this shows world? I suspected that this took place in the Arrowverse multiverse (that multiverse sure is helpful and yet confusing!) but that pretty much confirmed it, right?

I am really enjoying the way the Gambi stuff is going, he had a great episode. He did very sketchy things (although to be fair, he tried to help when he realized how bad the people he was with were) but he really seems to be trying to help. Annisas new outfit was awesome! And the scene between him and Annisa was great. 

So, all the secrets are out! Amazing! I thought that Jennifers reaction to having powers was very realistic. Not everyone who gets powers wants to be a superhero, and she seems mostly scared of being a "freak." Oh Jennifer, there are lots of people out there who would be fine with dating a girl with powers! On Earth 1, theres probably a dating App for it! But, if she really doesn't want to use her powers, if she can control them, she could probably still lead a pretty normal life. I mean, that wont happen, but it could. 

Still loving the super funky soundtrack, and Jefferson and Annisa are a fun team. I love how when BL does his thing, he just strolls around. No running or climbing, he just power walks like a badass while bad guys either pointlessly shoot at him or run like hell. 

[johntfs]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

So, Supergirl and Vixen exist in this shows world?

Supergirl exists in a comic book, though we don't know about RL yet.  Vixen apparently exists for real because Jennifer actually bought into the idea of her mom being Vixen for a second.

[UNOSEZ]

52 minutes ago, johntfs said:

Supergirl exists in a comic book, though we don't know about RL yet.  Vixen apparently exists for real because Jennifer actually bought into the idea of her mom being Vixen for a second.

They must live on earth one or earth prime.. Cuz if vixen is realshe's from the same earth as Ollie and barry etc.. 

[Primal Slayer]

3 minutes ago, UNOSEZ said:

They must live on earth one or earth prime.. Cuz if vixen is realshe's from the same earth as Ollie and barry etc.. 

Not really. They all have doppelgangers out there.

[raven]

"Black Lightning and Thunder got into a fight" "Who won" "That's not important" Well obviously YOU didn't"  Ha! 

Love the family relationships - no one is really wrong, they just have their differing opinions on what to do.

I feel for Jennifer, who doesn't want powers and got them through no fault of her own.  The actress does have the eye roll down pat.  Jennifer hit it right on the nose that Jefferson being Black Lightning is why her parents broke up. 

20 hours ago, twoods said:

Gambi continues to kick ass. I missed him and Jefferson interacting and hope that they can make up soon.

I know - hope they hug it out soon. Pretty much everything about Gambi is a surprise to me. 

[ACW]

I feel like we're missing big chunks of Anissa's story.  Last episode, she apparently got her "Thunder" hero name off-camera; this one, we find out she's somehow been out publically super-heroing (as "Thunder") between episodes.  Did I miss an episode?

[Cthulhudrew]

I'd like Thunder's costume more if they'd get rid of the hip and shoulder pads and the high collar. It's just a bit too busy right now, and I prefer her original costume.

[Sakura12]

When did they confirm Supergirl was a comic? All I heard was Grace telling Anissa she can cosplay as Supergirl for the party, they never said if she was real or not. The only comic book I saw was the Outsiders comic. 

They can be on another Earth where Supergirl and Vixen exist together as real heroes. 

[nitrofishblue]

7 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

I'd like Thunder's costume more if they'd get rid of the hip and shoulder pads and the high collar. It's just a bit too busy right now, and I prefer her original costume.

When I first saw her outfit it looked like she had a nose and mouth on her middle.  Her breasts looked like eyes. I found all that rather distracting. Hope they modify that part of her costume real fast.

[possibilities]

Jefferson lived a normal life for a long time. It's a choice Jennifer can make, too. And her parents only broke up because he didn't want to do that, according to what we were told. No explanation for why they stayed apart after he quit, which annoys me.

I also don't understand why Jennifer thought Anissa's relationship broke up over superpowers. Did we see that and I just forgot? Anissa IS choosing to use her powers, anyway, so whatever happened wouldn't apply to Jennifer if she didn't go the same route.

I thought the actress did a good job with those scenes, but I don't think her worries make much sense.

[johntfs]

8 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I don't think her worries make much sense.

That's because you, like me, are a disinterested outsider.  We have the luxury of time and careful thought because we have no skin in this particular game.  Whether Jennifer's powers are controllable, render her unable to conceive children or cause her to explode into bloody gobs of electrified meat are irrelevant to us because Jennifer is a fictional character on a fictional show.  

From the perspective of Jennifer, her conclusions are understandable.  While perhaps not the entire story, Jefferson's powers and what he chose to with them were certainly strong contributing factors to his divorce.  Jennifer can't help but notice that Thunder appeared shortly after Anissa broke up with her girlfriend.  Finally Jennifer's powers are not yet understood by her and certainly not fully under her control.  The idea that she could hurt herself or others is quite understandable.  As is the idea that whatever physiological alterations she's undergone that let her have these powers might have negative consequences - such as infertility.  Jennifer has a lot of skin in this game and it scares the shit out of her, which is completely understandable to me.

[possibilities]

But why is she thinking she can't control her powers? Her father and her sister control theirs.

It would be easy to test her fertility if she's worried about that, but her father is fertile, so that being her immediate concern struck me as bizarrely paranoid.

[johntfs]

On 3/23/2018 at 11:38 PM, possibilities said:

But why is she thinking she can't control her powers? Her father and her sister control theirs.

It would be easy to test her fertility if she's worried about that, but her father is fertile, so that being her immediate concern struck me as bizarrely paranoid.

Jennifer is thinking that she can't control her powers because right now she can't control her powers.  She doesn't really know how they activate, what they do (aside from fucking up her phone) what their limits are, etc..

The fear of the unknown (which her powers are) can easily lead to paranoia.  And is her father fertile?  He was earlier, but was that before or after he had powers?  Like Anissa, Jennifer has clearly thought about her future.  And to Jennifer the future is an accomplished but fairly normal life with college, a husband and children of her own.  It certainly wasn't becoming some metahuman super-type.  It's kind of a cool contrast with the sisters.  For Anissa, gaining powers completed her sense of self - making her the heroine she always wanted to be.  For Jennifer, they're damaging her sense of self by threatening to take away the life she'd envisioned for herself.

Edited March 27, 2018 by johntfs

[Swellcatt]

On 3/24/2018 at 3:45 AM, johntfs said:

Jennifer is thinking that she can't control her powers because right now she can't control her powers.  She doesn't really know how they activate, what they do (aside from fucking up her phone) what their limits are, etc..

The fear of the unknown (which her powers) are can easily lead to paranoia.  And is her father fertile?  He was earlier, but was that before or after he had powers?  Like Anissa, Jennifer has clearly thought about her future.  And to Jennifer the future is an accomplished but fairly normal life with college, a husband and children of her own.  It certainly wasn't becoming some metahuman super-type.  It's kind of a cool contrast with the sisters.  For Anissa, gaining powers completed her sense of self - making her the heroine she always wanted to be.  For Jennifer, they're damaging her sense of self by threatening to take away the life she'd envisioned for herself.

Good point about how the sisters reacted to their powers. I think a lot of Jennifer’s fear comes from her being a teenager. When you’re a teenager it’s all about fitting in and not standing out. That made a lot of sense to me. And it’s also funny because teenagers always act like they have all this  bravado but they’re still kids and they need to cuddle with their dad.  I can’t wait to see this play out. I loved this episode  And i love how well the characters are being brought out.  I really do hope the show crosses over. Even if it’s with one and not all. I’m sure it will,  and it’ll probably be with the flash because he seems to be the big crossover character with the new shows. 

[statslady]

On 3/21/2018 at 6:48 AM, UNOSEZ said:

And I know  there has been no talk of crossing over.. But I so want some of the main arrowverse folks to see freeland... I want Joe and Jefferson to have a talk abt having your kids constantly in danger... I want iris to talk to another blk person.. Caitlin and Lynn to discuss new medical yadda yadda... Gambi and Wynn and Cisco makingnew suits for everybody Jonn Jonz talking about being a blk dude in the past... Sara and that creepy chic who's always around Tobias to fight... Curtis and Anissa talking about being both lgbtq and black in the superhero world... Diggle and Jimmy suiting up and taking out bangers... Amaya inspiring well damn near everyone with her life... Nate and Ray have been shown to be down with the swirl... Constantine explaining to everyone what the hell is going on with LaLa....

Ha so many great ideas! I hope some of these come to pass!  

[Ottis]

Ok, now the show is starting a a slide toward CW-ness that I had hoped it would avoid. The Pierce family is ridiculously black and white about things. Whether it’s Jen mad because her parents didn’t tell her about BL, or BL mad because Gambi did something 30 years ago that he worked for decades to atone for, or Jen fretting about her powers (man, I hate the angst from people who find out they have powers), all the anger and refusing to talk to each other is becoming very annoying. 

I don’t understand why BL and L’s costumes are so... gaudy. 

Edited July 11, 2018 by Ottis