'Black Lightning' Recap - 'Equinox: The Book of Fate'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK... 

One of the many reasons that the CW’s newest superhero offering, Black Lightning, continues to be such a unique television show, is the sheer fact that it doesn’t matter what path this show takes storytelling wise, it’s always going to find a way to surprise us and deliver something unique and refreshing when it comes to the superhero genre and I make mention of that, because in the past few weeks this show has featured a return to far more traditional fare, making it seem as though this saga’s deconstruction of said genre was coming to a close, but thankfully last night’s episode proved otherwise.
 
Because ‘Equinox: The Book of Fate’ once again took the tropes and clichés that we have come to expect from superhero stories and turned them upside down, and this time it accomplished that by way of Anissa and her journey in this tale. Because normally on a show such as this, when someone is discovered to have powers, they are immediately drafted into the cause in question and trained how to use their powers and how to be the model hero and well, that simply didn’t happen right away in this particular tale. Instead of embracing their daughter’s potential, Jefferson and Lynn saw her newfound gifts as a solid reason to steer her clear from a life of fighting crime.
 
Lynn was hoping for her daughter to avoid the superhero lifestyle so that she wouldn’t rob herself of a normal life and Jefferson, well his reasoning for keeping Anissa out of the fold was far more fascinating. Because in a roundabout manner, Jefferson more or less admitted to his daughter late in the episode that he seemed to view himself as a bit of a failure when it comes to being a hero since he’s seen people die on his watch and because he has yet to bring down his nemesis and well, that was just surprising to see through and through since we rarely see a superhero reflect upon their wins and losses, and I love that the series took the time to show us Jefferson’s struggle with the darker side to heroism and that he expects his daughter to be better than him because in the end, he did agree to train her.
 
However, sandwiched in between that wonderful little twist, there were still plenty of other goodies to be found. Like the fact that Gambi continues to play both sides to keep the peace since he took out Joey Toledo in this tale, and this episode also featured some serious escalation on Tobias’ part since he finally decided it was high time to take control of the crime syndicate in Freeland, and thanks to a little inspiration from his sister, they were able to finally put Lady Eve down in brutal fashion…and make it look like Black Lightning was the man responsible for her murder, and that will likely complicate matters for our conflicted hero in the days to come…
 
When all is said and done however, I really loved this episode. It was just refreshing to see a superhero caution another one of their own about the life they are about to choose, and that serves as a fine reminder that being a hero isn’t all fun and games, it’s a decision that can come with some heavy consequences since not everyone sees things your way and I also love the fact that Tobias is becoming more lethal in every single episode and with his sister gone now, and his enemy perfectly framed, I get the funny feeling the remainder of season one of this magnificent show is going to blow us away with some powerful storytelling. Until next time.  

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