'Black Lightning' Recap - 'The Resurrection and the Light: The Book of Pain'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​If there is one superhero trope that no story from that particular genre can escape, it’s the hero’s darkest hour. You know what I’m talking about, that ugly moment where evil forces surround them, and everything seemingly begins to fall apart and honestly, it’s a trope that I’m glad sticks around. Because this is when we discover just what our hero is made of and thankfully, this is a traditional concept that Black Lightning completely and utterly embraced in last night’s episode; ‘The Resurrection and the Light: The Book of Pain’.
 
Because this particular tale just so happened to be a tense and enthralling affair, where we did indeed see evil do its best to close in on Black Lighting in incredible fashion since we learned in this tale, that Tobias Whale is associated with the ASA, and he’s been getting quality health care from them during all this time and the price he has to pay for his accelerated healing is to bring Jefferson to Martin Proctor alive so that they can study him to allow for more meta humans to exist so the ASA can use them as they see fit, and Proctor being the ‘fine gentleman’ that he is, offered Tobias a little help by way of a transformed Khalil. 
 
In fact, the ASA gave Khalil the use of his legs back with some revolutionary technology and it didn’t take long for the young man to make waves in Freeland, taunting Jefferson when the two crossed paths on the street and Khalil even went so far as to contact Jennifer and send anger her way as well once she started asking questions about his recovery and in all honestly, this segment of the story was downright fascinating since it demonstrated just how much Khalil has embraced the darkness that Tobias encouraged in him and also because, this is the first time we’ve seen Jefferson truly rattled by external forces because he did not have a clue how to process this young man’s fall from grace.
 
But, the centerpiece of the night was when Jefferson’s world came crumbling down. Because all the posturing from Khalil was merely a harbinger of things to come and in order to capture Black Lightning per their orders, Tobias and Khalil went after one of the things that Jefferson holds most dear…Garfield High, and in a stunning sequence of events, Khalil attacked the school and its students, trashing the place and luring Jefferson into action where he and Tobias and Khalil enjoyed a little hand to hand combat wherein for a brief moment…our hero died. But thanks to Jennifer’s incredible powers she was able to resuscitate her father, so that he can fight another day…
 
However, despite the relief of knowing that Jefferson is okay, the damage in this episode is done. Garfield High is no longer a safe place, our hero is hurt, and evil forces are still waiting in the wings to capture him and a day after this episode, I’m still working to catch my breath over how intense this tale turned out to be. It was simply breathtaking, and it works thanks to the quality performances on display and it served as a wonderful setup for the season one finale, because the only way Jefferson and his family can enjoy peace and safety is if the ASA and Tobias Whale are defeated and there’s no doubt in my mind that a final showdown is what awaits us during the finale. Until next time. 

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