'Black Lightning' Recap - 'Black Jesus: The Book of Crucifixion'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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When it comes to superhero stories, in print or on television, taking down a superhero often involves a pretty standard plan. You merely need someone nefarious to figure out their weakness or their secret identity and exploit that to the fullest and when that happens in the story, we are often treated to a heartbreaking affair where we watch the hero’s world collapse around them because at long last, the bad guys can claim victory. Unless of course the story in question is Black Lightning, since this particular saga, has no qualms about telling a superhero tale that is outside the norm.
 
Take for example, last night’s episode, ‘Black Jesus: The Book of Crucifixion’, which at first glance appeared to be a by the numbers episode for taking down a superhero. Because it was in this tale, that the ASA finally made their move on Jefferson Pierce, utilizing the dirty cops in the Freeland Police Department and a B.S. search warrant to plant evidence in Jefferson’s desk and car so they could haul him in for questioning and I have to admit, this was a tough part of the show to watch. In part because it was infuriating to watch Jefferson go through such indignity, but also because, this just seemed like it was an easy way out for the series.
 
Because we have come to expect the unexpected with this series, so to see a formulaic plan to bring down Jefferson start to play out was quite disappointing at first, until the show did what it does best and changed things up, and there were actually some incredible positives to come out of this harrowing moment, since no one was letting Jefferson or Black Lightning go out in easy fashion. Gambi for example, found a way to confuse the ASA and make them doubt that they had Black Lightning in custody, by creating a hologram that placed him in a public place, so that the news cameras could see visual evidence that Freeland’s hero was still doing his thing around the city, and while that was awesome and inventive, what mattered more in this episode, is that a new hero finally stepped into the light.
 
After all, for some time now we’ve been wondering when exactly Inspector Henderson will step up and do something about the corruption that runs rampant in his department and well, it turns out that last night was his time to shine. Because seeing Jefferson be taken down on stupid charges was more than he could bear and he finally pulled the trigger on dealing with the dirty cops that helped bring Jefferson in and his efforts paid off in spades, since he was able to get both of them off of the force and for his efforts, Henderson received a promotion to Deputy Chief, giving him a solid opportunity to do some good in both the community and within the police force, and most important of all, he helped set Jefferson free.
 
You really can’t ask for a happier ending than that when all is said and done, and it was only further enhanced by the fact that Jefferson and Gambi have made peace for the time being and while it was nice to bask in a little joy after such a dark beginning to this tale, I think we all know that the good times simply won’t last. The ASA is still out there, Miss Fowdy is still a traitor and of course, Lala and Tobias are still waiting in the wings. Either way, this was just another great episode, and I love the fact that our ‘takedown’ moment was true to the spirit of the series and that they got it out of the way now, since I’m fairly certain some big-time showdowns await us since there are only two episodes left in the first season of this magnificent show. Until next time.  

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