Black Lightning – The Book Of Consequences: Chapter Two: Black Jesus Blues

By starrymag | October 22, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

As they play chess, Tobias Whale (Marvin ‘Krondon’ Jones III) asks Khalil Payne (Jordan Calloway) where he’s been. Tobias is surprised that Khalil can play as Khalil takes his knight. Slapping Khalil across the face, Tobias warns him that actions have consequences and Khalil lets him win. Tobias comments that Khalil let him take his queen like he let Fowdy kill Syonide before hitting him again.

 

At the lab, Kam Yuen (Matt Mercurio) activates a pod containing a boy. The boy wakes up and blasts Kam across the room with his powers. Wendy Hernandez (Madison Bailey) wakes up in a nearby pod, and watches as the boy dies. She climbs out of her pod and is terrified by her distorted view of the scene. Wendy hides as Lynn Pierce (Christine Adams) discovers the scene.

 

Lynn notices Wendy and attempts to assure her that she won’t hurt her as she approaches. Other lab techs surround Wendy as she attempts to escape, and she breaks a hole in the wall and jumps out of the building. Lynn calls and reports the incident to Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), who asks if she’s alright. She presents her theory that the Wendy is having a psychotic break and hallucinating. Peter Gambi (James Remar) identifies Wendy and explains that she has the ability to control wind.

 

Agent Percy Odell (Bill Duke) takes Lynn to see Issa Williams (Myles Truitt), who has a bag over his head, and reports that his girlfriend reported him to the ASA. Lynn questions why they’re treating him like a terrorist, and Odell tells her they need to know what they’re dealing with. She protests being put in charge of him, but Odell reminds her that his family is terrified of him and that she wanted to help.

 

Anissa Pierce (Nafessa Williams) asks Jennifer Pierce (China Anne McClain) if she wants to go for a run, but Jennifer questions why she needs to run with her superpowers. Anissa replies that being in shape helps her abilities, and Jennifer accuses her of always working. After declaring that she loves what she does, Anissa tells Jennifer that their abilities are a blessing.

 

Jennifer questions her ability to have children, but Anissa points out that Jefferson had them. Anissa and Jennifer speculate if Jefferson and Lynn have rekindled their relationship, and Anissa tells her that relationships are complicated. Jennifer reminds her that she isn’t in one and advises her to get back out there.

 

Lynn brings in Issa’s sister, Tiffany Williams (Zsane Jhe), to see him. Tiffany asks how he’s doing, and Lynn tells him she’s thanking god for Lynn helping him. Issa’s powers flash through his face, causing Tiffany to tell him that he terrifies her, and she doesn’t want to see him again before running out of the room.

 

Zoe B. (Andy Allo) performs for a crowd, locking eyes with Anissa. As she finishes performing, Anissa approaches her and suggests they get to know each other before ending up in bed at the end of the night. Zoe comments on her confidence, before they leave the place together.

 

Anissa flirts with Zoe as gets out of a pool. She tells her that last night was great, but she has to go to class. Zoe suggests she get her pilot to fly them to New York for dim sum, but Anissa turns down the tempting offer. Zoe asks her to come to a party tomorrow night, and Anissa says maybe.

 

Dr. Napier Frank (Robert Townsend) informs Jefferson that the board found his replacement and that they want to reopen the school next week. Jefferson suggests there’s more to it than that, and Frank tells him that the board needs to have him fully on board with his replacement. Jefferson questions what the issue is and realizes that his replacement is a white man.

 

Jefferson realizes that the board is expecting a backlash for bringing a white principal into a predominantly black neighborhood, and questions why they couldn’t find another black person who could truly understand the situations of the students. Frank tells him that he needs to save his reputation and advises him to get out of this situation alive.

 

Gambi shows Jefferson and Anissa that he’s installed cameras around the locations most significant to Wendy. Jefferson and Anissa decided to head to the streets to look for her and suit up for the search. Khalil knocks on Jennifer’s window, and she tells him to go away. He refuses to leave until she talks to him, and she joins him on the roof before shoving him off.

 

Khalil jumps back onto the roof and asks why she shoved him. She tells him it was for killing Black Lightning, and he questions why she cares so much about him. Khalil insists that he had no choice but to attack the school, as he has to do whatever Tobias asks him too. He tells her that he’s unable to forget about her and tries to get her to admit that she still has feelings for him too. Jennifer fights the manifestation of her powers, threatening to call the police on him. She tells him to leave, and he finally complies.

 

Tobias visits Marsellus (Ralph Wilcox), who is glad to see him. Marsellus comments that he gets good care at the facility thanks to him, and Tobias tells him it’s the least he can do. They catch up, and Tobias tells him of his intention to become a dealer of metahumans. Marsellus tells him that he’s proud of him, and Tobias asks if he remembers their murder of Alvin Pierce. He replies that he does, and Tobias kills him.

 

After Wendy leaves destruction in her wake as she walks down a street, Black Lightning restores power to the grid while Thunder lifts a telephone pole off a car and frees an officer trapped in their car. The assembled crowd claps for them and Thunder takes a bow from the top of a car. Black Lightning tells her they don’t do this for the applause, but Anissa tells him that there’s no problem with acknowledging the people. She tells him to chill out and high fives a couple of people as she walks away.

 

Lynn brings Issa home for dinner and introduces him to the family. Issa is excited to meet Jefferson, and thanks him for having him. Lynn tells Jefferson that she couldn’t leave him at the ASA. Family dinner goes well until Jennifer suddenly calls Issa ‘body bag boy.’ Jennifer admits that she didn’t mean to say it out loud, and Issa says that it’s okay and that he misses having a family that said crazy things.

 

Anissa blurts out that he could have a father that tries to control her, while Jefferson criticizes her for going off the deep end. Anissa questions what’s happening, and Jennifer blurts out that she feels trapped like a monster. Lynn calls Jennifer a little girl, and Jefferson notices that Issa’s powers are sparking. He admits that his powers have made people tell the truth since he’s come back to life, and everyone else abandons the table.

 

Jennifer gestures at Issa to follow her and brings him out to the roof. She smokes weed, telling him that this is her form of therapy. Issa admits that he doesn’t know how to control his ability, and his ability gets her to admit that she doesn’t know either. Jennifer has him ask her questions, and she is glad that she still has the ability to lie when she doesn’t answer truthfully. He admits that the truth isn’t always a good thing, as he can cause a lot of damage walking down the street. Lynn calls for Issa, and Jennifer tells him not to tell Lynn she’s out there.

 

Grace Choi (Chantal Thuy) sees Anissa and Zoe kissing at a party, and Anissa is surprised to see her. Anissa finds Grace outside and asks how she’s been. She apologizes for not contacting her, but Grace is upset and walks away. Tobias pulls up to a car and Det. Summers (Mark Rowe) thanks him for letting him stay in one of his homes. Summers gives him a police package, and Tobias shoots him before driving away.

 

Jefferson announces to his staff that he’s stepping down, and the news is met with anger. He apologizes to them but expresses his confidence that this is the right decision for the school. Lynn tells Issa that he has the metahuman gene, but the cells will eventually deteriorate because his gene wasn’t produced naturally. She confirms he will die without a cure but promises that she’s working on finding one. Lynn tells him she doesn’t know exactly how long he has but offers him a pod to stabilize him.

 

Gambi sees Wendy on one of his security cameras and reports the sighting to Jefferson. Wendy blows an approaching police car out of the way, but Black Lightning jumps in front of her to stop her from hurting the officer further. She blows him away, and Jefferson tells her he doesn’t want to hurt her as she blows him away again. Black Lightning shoots a blast of lightning at Wendy, knocking her back. Her vision stabilizes, and she asks Black Lightning who he is. He promises he’s a friend, and he tells her he knows someone who can help her.

 

Lynn sends Issa home with Tiffany and Earnest Williams (John M. Johnson), warning him not to miss any appointments. Issa thanks her and hugs her before leaving. Odell questions Lynn’s decision not to place Issa in a pod, and Lynn argues that this will help them test Issa in a natural environment. However, Odell suggests Issa’s abilities could be useful to the ASA.

 

Anissa is upset that Jefferson went on a mission without her, and he insists that she wasn’t around. She asks why he didn’t call, and he warns her to change her tone. Anissa asks what happened, and Jefferson explains that his lightning snapped Wendy out of her psychotic state and she elected to go back into the pod. Jefferson warns Anissa that she’ll end up in a casket if she doesn’t tighten up her act, and Anissa tells him to get a new song.

 

Wendy tells Lynn that she’s scared, but Lynn assures her she’ll be okay. Lynn seals the pod and Wendy is frozen. At the high school assembly, Jefferson declares his love of the school before telling his students that he’s stepping down as principal. The students question the news, and Jefferson tells him that he wanted to be the one who told them because of his love for them. He admits that he messed up when the school was attacked and takes responsibility for the consequences of his actions. Jefferson promises that he’s staying as a teacher, and thanks them for always teaching him. A student leads the crowd in Jefferson’s famous mantra, and the crowd applauds Jefferson.