TV Review: Black Lightning Season 3 Episode 16

Black Lightning Season 3 Episode 16 “The Book of War: Chapter Three: Liberation”

Director: Salim Akil

Starring: Cress Williams, China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams, Marvin Jones III, Damon Gupton, Jordan Calloway

Rating: TV-14

Runtime: 42 minutes

I wrote in my review of Black Lightning‘s third season premiere that I was concerned that launching into the dystopian occupation of Freeland/Markovian invasion storyline right after a messy second season may make the show’s story convoluted.  Fortunately, I was proven wrong throughout the third season as the politically resonant story brought a sense of focus and purpose back to the show and gave meaningful parts to nearly everyone in the ever-expanding cast.  And the season finale closes out the Markovia and occupation stories in strong fashion as Jefferson, his fellow heroes, and their allies fight to defend Freeland from the forces of Markovian leader and super-metahuman Gravedigger (Wayne Brady) while the ASA tries to clear out of the city and erase evidence of the crimes against humanity it’s committed there.  “The Book of War: Chapter Three: Liberation” is an action-packed episode that serves as a satisfying conclusion to the first three years of the show’s run that also leaves plenty of story threads open for the future.

“Liberation” picks up seconds after the penultimate episode ended, with Jennifer badly injured on the ground as her enraged father battles with Gravedigger.  Gravedigger deduces from Jefferson’s intense protection of Jennifer that he is her father and Jeff replies by telling him of the family relationship between the two of them.  The “Gravedigger is Jeff’s great-uncle” twist hasn’t been as impactful as the writers seem to think it would be and that doesn’t change here.  It works best as an answer to the long-running question of why Jeff, Anissa, and Jen are stable metas but the connection doesn’t really add anything to the conflict between Jeff and Gravedigger.  Most people aren’t especially close with such distant relatives and Jeff never knew Gravedigger back when he was Tyson Sykes so there’s not much of an element of tragedy in seeing the two of them fight.  Regarding the fight itself, Jeff does an impressive job of holding his own against the extra-powerful Gravedigger but the latter’s plethora of abilities eventually begin to overwhelm him.  As the two fight, a Markovian squadron arrives and kidnaps Jen, after which Jeff is able to earn a reprieve by zapping Gravedigger into a powerline before flying off to save his daughter.

Things are equally dire for everyone else in Freeland.  Gunfights between the Markovians and police and resistance forces led by Bill Henderson (Damon Gupton) openly rage in the streets and despite Freeland’s forces receiving reinforcements from Lala’s (William Catlett) somewhat benevolent gang, citizens are mowed down left and right, including Jamillah Olsen (Adetinpo Thomas), who dies while broadcasting the calamity.  Elsewhere, Odell orders ASA Major Grey (Katy O’Brian) and Commander Williams (Christopher B. Duncan) to eliminate all evidence of the organization’s presence in the city.  And Khalil (Jordan Calloway), now fully under the control of the Painkiller operating system, prepares to carry out his final programmed mission to kill the Pierce family.

But the heroes of Freeland are ready to fight back.  Jeff leads his team back into battle to rescue Jen and stop Gravedigger and the Markovians from abducting or harming their meta targets and expel them from the city once and for all.  This season has continued to expand the show’s cast of heroic characters to the point where they essentially make up an unofficial version of the Outsiders team Black Lightning has often been a part of in the comics and while I am still concerned that the ensemble storytelling approach will start to take away from the core stories of Jeff and his family in the future I was impressed with how well this episode managed to give pretty much everyone, even minor characters like Sergeant Grayle (Boone Platt) and Erica (Gabriella Garcia), at least a brief moment to shine.

Before she’s rescued by her father and Brandon (Jahking Guillory) Jen shares a tense confrontation with Gravedigger in which the contrast between their ideologies is highlighted.  The writers and Wayne Brady have done impressive work in making Gravedigger a formidable and compelling villain despite being introduced late in the game and this scene underlines why he’s a perfect antagonist for the show and this season in particular.  Gravedigger has worked out a deal with the Markovian government in which he’ll be allowed to create a sanctuary state for metas within their borders so long as he delivers Freeland’s metas to them.  This motive is admirable but the violent methods he uses to achieve them and the fact that he’s also seeking to strike a blow against the U.S. out of revenge for how he was treated by the government make him a threat (his dismissal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Obama’s contributions also ensures that he’s sufficiently detestable despite his noble qualities).  There was a risk that making the end of the season focus on a foreign invasion would distract from the racial politics that are at the show’s core but Gravedigger’s role as the face of the Markovian forces mitigates this concern by bringing the storyline back to themes that are central to the series as whole.  All the most significant storylines on Black Lightning are the results of the long-term impacts of the U.S. government’s experimentation on black bodies and Gravedigger’s presence foregrounds this idea which has the benefit of making this finale feel like a culmination not just of the stories the show has been telling over the course of this season but of its entire run so far.

The battle to save Freeland is multi-faceted and there’s a lot going on as various characters pursue different objectives.  But the episode’s intense atmosphere and quick pacing, and Charles D. Holland’s script, keep everything moving smoothly.  Lynn works at the Pit to create an anti-booster serum to remove Gravedigger’s extra abilities but is confronted by self-hating meta Commander Williams, who has been ordered to clear the facility of ASA information and eliminate Lynn.  Fortunately, Lynn still has the temporary powers she gave herself and dispatches him, apparently killing him.  After being rescued, Jen teams with Brandon in an attempt to take on Gravedigger but despite the formidability of their combined powers, they’re still dispatched rather easily.  Elsewhere, Major Grey brokers a deal with Lady Eve (Jill Scott) for the briefcase of metadata before a gunfight between their respective soldiers breaks out when both women realize they’re being double-crossed (Eve discovers the government plans to nuke Freeland should the Markovians gain too much of an advantage while Grey learns that Gambi’s actually the one that has the briefcase). Both are injured but escape with their lives.  Grey has another bad idea and invades Gambi’s tailor shop, hoping to take out the ex-ASA agent for good.  Because he’s Gambi he politely thanks her for bringing him the last ASA agents who know who the Pierce’s are before promptly killing them all with the aid of TC (Christopher A’mannuel).  Upon arriving at the Pit, Black Lightning is about to be ambushed by Markovian soldiers before Henderson takes them out.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t avoid being shot himself and dies a hero.  It’s been pretty obvious the character’s fate was sealed since it was announced that Damon Gupton would not be featured in a main role in the fourth season.  Still, Gupton and Cress Williams render Henderson’s death decently emotional but it’s probably the sloppiest thing about the finale.  The character was a highlight of the pre-Crisis portion of the season but ever since the show returned from winter break it’s been becoming more and more focused on the metahuman cast, and Henderson’s been appearing less and less frequently, to the point of being absent from several episodes entirely and these recent absences dampen the impact of his sacrifice.  Still, Henderson was a likable character and Gupton a reliable performer and both will be missed.

Since Arrow ended it’s been interesting to see how the different aspects of its reputation have spread among its sibling series.  The Flash is probably going to be seen as the franchise’s new flagship going forward, for better or worse, and Batwoman has declared in no uncertain terms that it’s the darkest.  But the clear successor to Arrow in terms of delivering stunning superhero action week after week is Black Lightning.  The action sequences on this show have been impressive since day one but the stunt and visual effects departments have really stepped up this year, in particular, to deliver the epic action that the large-scale occupation and invasion storylines, and the increasing number of superpowered characters on the show, demand, and “Liberation” contains some of their finest work yet.  Both of Jeff’s duels with Gravedigger are visually vibrant, making creative uses of both men’s wide array of abilities, that are depicted with impressive CGI and other effects, while also highlighting their cunning as warriors.  But as impressive as these flashy scenes are the battles between characters with more discreet, physical powers and skills are even more so, such as when Gravedigger uses his mind control ability to set Grace (Chantal Thuy) against Anissa, whose attempts to defend herself are hampered by her reluctance to harm her fiancé and when Khalil wages a mental battle against the Painkiller personality.  The choreography of both of these scenes is exquisite but it’s how it is tailored to match the sequences’ different tones that is truly impressive.  The battle between the two sides of Khalil is a showcase of elaborate martial arts, rendered all the more impressive by the fact that Jordan Calloway is playing both characters, always a technical challenge, with Khalil and Painkiller both taking advantage of the mental space to use a variety of techniques and weapons.  The Grace and Anissa fight is purposely messier and less aesthetically pleasing, highlighting how disturbing it is to see the lovers hurting each other.

The battles are hard (especially for Anissa, who has to bludgeon Grace into unconsciousness) but eventually, the heroes start to get the upper hand.  After Lynn manages to inject Gravedigger with her anti-boost serum, reducing him back to only having his own meta-abilities, Jeff is able to take him down, and it’s here that the classic superhero “to kill or not to kill” debate raises its ugly head.  Lynn encourages Jeff to execute Gravedigger so that he can’t pose a threat again in the future but Jeff is reluctant to do so.  It’s fitting that this recurring genre question is brought up in such a politically and ideologically-charged season but neither side of the argument is presented from an angle different to how they have been in dozens of similar films and series.  The episode also excuses itself from actually having Jeff make a decision one way or the other.  Odell had set the Pit to self-destruct and before he can decide whether to directly kill Gravedigger Jeff flies himself and Lynn out of the facility just as it goes up in flames.

Fortunately, Odell’s own comeuppance is handled in a much more satisfying way.  As he gets in his car to flee the city he’s terrorized the slimy agent is greeted by Khalil, whose two personalities have seemingly merged into one, more ruthless than the regular Khalil but without Painkiller’s loyalty to the ASA.  Jeff shows up and tries to talk his former student out of another kill but Khalil shoots Odell in the spleen, leaving it possible that medical attention could possibly save him but ensuring him a great deal of pain.  I was concerned that the focus on Gravedigger and the invasion would take attention away from Odell’s crimes, which are more numerous and arguably worse so I was glad this conclusion received the attention it deserved given that the ASA occupation has been the core issue of the season.  I also liked this scene for the glimpse of the new Khalil it gave.  Jordan Calloway has done a great job of differentiating between the regular Khalil and Painkiller this season and his performance here indicates that he’ll also be able to make the latest incarnation of Khalil unique.  That said, this episode also felt like it could serve as an effective ending for Khalil, even though I’m sure he’ll be in the next season for at least some time.  But really, the combination of him reclaiming his agency while not being able to completely abolish the darker side of himself that’s grown over the years could be an appropriately bittersweet conclusion for the character.

That feeling applies to a lot of the finale and this season as a whole.  It feels like the end of an era for Black Lightning, as many of the main story threads introduced as far back as the pilot have been tied up either here or in the last few episodes.  Jefferson and Lynn have finally come to more of an understanding about the former’s need to serve as Black Lightning and the good he does by doing so, which should improve their relationship going forward.  Jennifer is more comfortable with her powers and has developed her own code of ethics, enabling her to continue to operate as Lightning more whole-heartedly.  Gambi was instrumental in freeing Freeland from the ASA, absolving him of his involvement with the group (even if he might not really see it that way.)  And most crucially, in the episode’s closing moments the ASA itself is disbanded and its crimes against the people of Freeland exposed after Black Lightning, Thunder, Lightning, and Lynn testify before a senate committee (in Gotham City!) about what has been going on and present the evidence in the briefcase.  As I mentioned earlier the after-effects of the ASA’s experiments in Freeland are the basis for the entire show and will never stop influencing its events but this felt like the right time to remove the organization as a present-day, active entity.  If Odell and company stuck around to menace Freeland for another season they probably would have worn out their welcome.  The disbanding also gives this emotionally draining season a nice note of hard-won optimism to end on.

Not that the future will likely be easy for the Pierces and company, of course.  As conclusive as it is “Liberation” also includes plenty of teases for the future.  The most daunting of these is a collection of brief scenes featuring Tobias Whale back in Markovia, which ends with him seeing the news about the end of the occupation and declaring that it’s time for him to head home to Freeland.  Also troubling is the reveal that a conspicuous white old man who observed the hearing is actually Gravedigger, employing some of the face-changing tech Gambi sometimes uses.  This could be a fitting end for the character, as he at least seemed somewhat satisfied with the condemnation of the ASA and the reparation efforts being enacted, but I also wouldn’t be suprised if the character returns to cause problems again at some point given the enthusiastic response to Brady’s portrayal.  The Pierces also have plenty of issues to deal with closer to home, with Lynn not totally recovered from her addiction (she covertly pops a green light pill before testifying) and Grace in a coma.  The reconstruction of Freeland will also surely pose challenges, especially with Lynn’s proposal to create a meta-human school being granted.  But the prospect of Black Lightning and company overseeing an X-Men-like facility is very intriguing, especially as it could potentially be an opportunity for appearances from other Arrowverse characters, provided real-life limitations on production allow for it.  I’m also curious about how the show’s allegorical storytelling about the treatment (or mistreatment) of metas will coexist with its depiction of real-life issues of racism in America.

Overall this was an excellent ending to a fantastic season that has brought the show back from its sophomore slump in flying colors and restored it to its rightful place near the top of the superhero TV heap.  Black Lightning is simply a confident, smart, immensely watchable show and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

Notes:

•  Setting the hearing in Gotham was a great way to acknowledge the show’s new place in a more tightly connected Arrowverse, even though the designs of the location didn’t visually match Batwoman‘s style.
• I’m glad they came to more of an understanding but I wasn’t crazy about how Lynn related her addiction to Jeff’s crime fighting in recent episodes.  The show’s used it before but the comparison never really feels earned because Jeff’s alter ego doesn’t cause nearly the same amount of damage to his life that an actual chemical dependance would.
•  Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden, the creators of Black Lightning in the comics, cameo as judges at the hearing.
•  I’m far from the first to point this out but Lynn testifying alongside Black Lightning, Thunder, and Lightning and power walking away with them defeats the purpose of Jeff and the girls’ secret identities.