Black Lightning – The Book of Secrets: Chapter Four: Original Sin

By starrymag | March 10, 2019

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Lala (William Catlett) walks through Garfield with a gun, looking for Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams). Jefferson is surprised to see him, commenting that he thought he was dead. Lala tells him he died twice, and questions why Jefferson is grading papers instead of being the principal. Jefferson looks at the camera in the classroom, and Lala tells him nobody will be checking it.

 

Jefferson asks why he’s there, and Lala tells him that people who don’t know their past are condemned to repeat it. They discuss the history of the quote, and Lala shoots Jefferson. Lala tells him that he’s having a hard time remembering his past and that he had a voice tell him he has unfinished business as Jefferson stops himself from shooting lightning at him.

 

Lala explains that the voice told him his unfinished business involves him and Earl and Jefferson remembers finding Earl’s body in a basketball hoop as Lala explains that Earl was like a brother to him. Lala assumes that Jefferson killed Earl and demands that Jefferson tell him why.

 

Jennifer Pierce (China Anne McClain) discusses the design of her suit with Peter Gambi (James Remar), and Gambi tells her that she’s not supposed to look like a pop star in it. He tells her the suit’s supposed to protect her, and Lynn Pierce (Christine Adams) and Anissa Pierce (Nafessa Williams) agree with him. Jennifer argues that she shouldn’t have to sacrifice style for practicality.

 

Gambi assures them he’s a lot better at designing suits than he used to be, showing them Jefferson’s original suit. Lynn, Anissa and Jennifer laugh at the suit and make fun of it. Gambi explains that Jefferson stopped using the suit when they found out it was hurting him internally, and Lynn emphasizes that Jennifer should be prioritizing her safety over style.

 

Jefferson questions why Lala thinks he killed Earl and Lala talks about his friendship with Earl to Will (Dabier Snell) and Lawanda White (Tracey Bonner). Lawanda questions whether committing another murder is a good idea, and Will supports killing Jefferson. Lawanda and Will fight about it and Jefferson asks Lala who he’s talking to.

 

Lala believes Jefferson thinks he’s crazy, and Jefferson argues that he’s suffering because he’s done terrible things. Lawanda and Will keep fighting and Lala orders them to shut up. Jefferson offers to help him, but Lala tells him he doesn’t need help. Will yells at Lala to kill Jefferson, but Lala throws a desk at him before threatening to kill Jefferson if he doesn’t tell him what he wants to know.

 

Jennifer finds Anissa looking at the picture of Grace Choi (Chantal Thuy) with her foster family and tells her to find her. She tells Anissa she’s lucky, as she has a chance to be with Grace. Jennifer explains that her own hope died with Khalil and urges Anissa to find her.

 

Lynn leaves a message for Jefferson, urging him to call her back. Lynn runs tests on Wendy (Madison Bailey), encouraging her throughout. Agent Percy Odell (Bill Duke) asks to speak to Lynn and tells her not to coddle Wendy. Lynn counters that she’s treating Wendy like a human being.

 

Odell tells Lynn that people treat dogs like family, when they’re really only relevant based on their usefulness. Odell tells Lynn that Wendy has the potential to be useful to the government, and that she’s solely there to realize her full potential. Lynn tells Odell that Wendy is her patient, and that she won’t check her humanity at the door.

 

Bill Henderson (Damon Gupton) reports to Gambi that he hasn’t heard back from Jefferson and identifies Tobias’ accomplice as Todd from Gambi’s list of suspects. Jefferson discreetly removes the bullet and cauterizes the wound with his powers as Lala is distracted. Jefferson tells Lala that Earl was a great student and that he thinks about him a lot.

 

Jefferson tells Lala that he thought that he and Earl would be successful, and Lala accuses him of stalling. Will and Lawanda argue about Jefferson’s sincerity, and Lala demands to know how Earl died. Jefferson tells him that all he knows is how he found him, and that the police labelled it a gang-related killing. He admits that Earl was in trouble with the one hundred gang and that he advised him to go to the police. Lala yells at him for it, and Jefferson admits he thought Black Lightning would change things.

 

Lala accuses Jefferson of getting Earl killed, and Jefferson admits he’s probably right. Jefferson wrestles the gun from Lala after he points it at him, and Will and Lawanda punch each other in Lala’s mind. Lala orders them to stop and kicks Will. Jefferson asks if they can both get out of the classroom alive, and Lala accuses him of trying to save himself.

 

Jefferson argues he’s trying to save both of them, but Lala tells him he can’t die. Lala puts the gun in Jefferson’s hand to his head, but Jefferson pulls it away and pulls out the bullets. Jefferson suggests history is what’s troubling him and pulls up Earl’s yearbook photo to show him. Henderson tells a detective (Crystal Lee Brown) that he plans to bring Todd in due to his connection to Tobias, but she tells him that Todd was the identified body in a car bombing.

 

Lynn finds her access to the lab denied, and asks Rodney (Justin Randell Brooke) to let her in. He tells her that he’s not allowed to let her in and sees that Odell is pushing Wendy to her limits in the lab. Odell ignores Lynn’s demands to stop and Lynn is escorted away by security.

 

Gambi gives Anissa the address of Grace’s foster brother, and Anissa visits the apartment. She hears growling inside and calls out that she just wants to make sure Grace is okay. An old man (Joseph Steven Yang) answers the door and warns her that trouble will find her if she doesn’t leave. Anissa questions if everything is alright in the apartment, but the man tells her to leave and shuts the door. Anissa knocks on the door and calls out for Grace as the man shapeshifts into Grace.

 

Lala breaks down at Earl’s picture, and Jefferson asks him what he remembers about Earl. Lala tells him that Earl sold drugs for the one hundred but wasn’t built for the lifestyle. He explains Earl wanted out of the gang, and that he tried to help him. Jefferson realizes that he got Earl in trouble by telling him to report the gang’s activities to the police.

 

Lala tells him Tobias found out and ordered Earl to be killed. He regains his memories, realizing that he was the one who killed Earl. Lala explains that he didn’t want to be poor and wanted to prove his loyalty to Tobias. Jefferson urges Lala to turn himself in, but Lala declares he’s going to make Tobias pay and thanks Jefferson for everything. In the hallway, Earl runs at Lala and his face becomes a tattoo on his body.

 

Henderson calls Gambi and reports Todd’s death, and Gambi tells him he might be able to identify the radioactive material stolen from the clinic. Jennifer runs in and Gambi shows her the prototype of her suit. She loves it and embraces him. Gambi stops her from taking a selfie with it, and Jennifer asks to try it on. They test it in the lab and Jennifer dances in the orb. It catches on fire and Jennifer panics. Gambi gets her out and apologizes. Jennifer admits it’s her fault as she pushed to test it before it was done.

 

Anissa returns to the apartment in her Thunder suit and knocks on the door, calling out for Grace. She knocks down the door and finds a deer carcass inside the apartment. The man’s voice urges her to leave before it’s too late. Anissa finds Grace in the form of the man in the kitchen and they fight each other. She demands to know where Grace is, but Grace keeps fighting her. Grace throws Anissa across the room and she uses her powers to toss the couch back at her. Anissa pulls the couch off, and Grace, transformed into a creature, jumps out of the window.

 

Lynn complains about Odell to Jennifer, but realizes the conversation is one-sided. She asks Jennifer how her day was, and Jennifer lies that the suit was good but admits she’s realized safety is more important than style. Jefferson comes home, and Lynn reminds him he’s supposed to stay in touch. He apologizes, admitting he’s had a day but not elaborating further.

 

Anissa tells them she had a day as well, telling them she found something other than Grace and questioning how to know if someone is more trouble than they’re worth. Jennifer tells her Lynn knows better than any of them, pointing out the rest of them aren’t normal. She tells him that she loved Khalil because he loved all of her weirdness and all. She argues that they all deserve love like that, and Anissa agrees before hugging her.

 

Lynn asks Jefferson about his day, and he tells her a former student visited him but doesn’t elaborate. He declares it doesn’t matter as he’s with the people he loves as the conversation is being watched on surveillance footage. As Lala drives, he remembers his gruesome resurrection two months earlier by a mysterious man (Michael Wright).

 

Lala questions why the man won’t let him die, and the man tells him he still has work to do. He tells Lala that his pain is tied to Jefferson, and Lala tells him he doesn’t remember Earl’s death. The man tells him he needs to untie the knot of his pain, and that redemption and peace will come afterwards. Lala asks how he’ll get redemption, and the man urges him to untie the knot.

 

In the present. Lala tells Lawanda and Will that he was a good student before he met Tobias and that his entire life could have been different. They tell him that he won’t be able to kill Tobias, as he’s already failed twice. Lawanda tells him he needs to be smart about it if he attempts to do it again, and Will questions how this time will be any different. Lala tells him he understands now what Tobias took from him and that he’s doing it to save Freeland.

 

As they watch the surveillance footage of the Pierces, Odell asks if anyone outside the room knows the truth about the Pierces. An ASA Technician (Michele Jang) assures him that nobody does, and Odell declares they’ll keep it that way before killing everyone in the room.