'Black Lightning' Recap - 'Shadow of Death: The Book of War'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​I’ve used the word ‘unconventional’ when it comes to Black Lightning over and over again when it comes to describing this show, simply because, it’s the only appropriate word to apply to this unique and magnificent series. It truly is unlike anything else out there superhero wise and as I settled in to watch the season one finale of this show, ‘Shadow of Death: The Book of War’, I couldn’t help but sit back and wonder what surprises storytelling wise were awaiting me in this one, and wouldn’t you know it? The season ended, as it started, by turning the superhero genre upside down once again.
 
Because season finales on superhero shows often times mean one thing, an action packed, rip roaring final hour of the year, wherein our hero and his arch nemesis face off in epic fashion before the hero emerges victorious and we move on a to a new plot and new villain in the season to follow. And while we did get plenty of action in this one, much of the norm was nowhere to be found here, take for example the fact that the first leg of the journey in this one, was a somber and reflective affair where Jefferson was still fighting for his life from the toxin that Khalil injected him with, to the point where he more or less made peace with his past for the time being before returning to the land of the living. 
 
Yet even then, the action was further delayed while Proctor and Tobias quietly planned out their own respective end games, giving the story time to flesh out the fact that Mister Whale brought Lala back from the dead for his own machinations, specifically to use him as a weapon against the ASA, and we also learned during this sequence of events that Proctor’s plan is to build an army of Meta Humans for who knows what, making him quite frankly, the bigger threat in this tale and thankfully, that threat was dealt with. Because when Proctor finally made his move on Gambi’s ranch, the action and adventure we crave came to light, but…the show still had a few more unconventional surprises up its sleeve.
 
Because for a brief moment, it seemed as though Tobias and his buddies were headed to the ranch as well, meaning that all important showdown was about to go down. But instead, such a thing never quite came to pass. Instead, Jefferson and the family defeated the ASA forces that tried to bring them in, and Tobias…well he did a solid for a change, by attacking the ASA’s black site facility, taking out all of Proctor’s men and putting the boss man on the run, allowing for Jefferson and his family, including Gambi, to deal with the man where it was revealed that Proctor’s push for a Meta Human army is a rogue operation, and despite his best efforts to make a deal, Martin Proctor’s pleas fell upon deaf ears and in shocking fashion, Peter is the one who ended this nightmare, by putting a pair of bullets into his former employer’s chest.
 
While that kind of resolution sounds pretty by the numbers at first, one must bear in mind that all the death of Proctor does, is resolve the ASA plot line. Because Tobias Whale is still out there, and in full possession of whatever Meta Human intel that Proctor had at his fingertips and that’s what I loved about this episode, the fact that Jefferson’s true nemesis is still waiting in the wings and come next year, there will be no distractions getting in the way. It will likely be Black Lightning going up against the man who killed his father and I’m certain the stories that come out of that, will be as unique and as powerful as this season’s turned out to be, and I’ll be there front and center to watch the second season of what is hands down, the finest superhero show on television right now. Until next year.      

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