Black Lightning – The Book of Secrets: Chapter Three: Pillar of Fire

By starrymag | February 17, 2019

By: Jessica Wolff

 

Peter Gambi (James Remar) and Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) have Jennifer Pierce (China Anne McClain) test the limits of her abilities in an orb. Jennifer’s power causes the power in the lab to temporarily go out, and Jennifer asks if she can come out of the box. Gambi remarks that the lab is supposed to be able to withstand a nuclear explosion, determining that Jennifer is more powerful than a nuclear bomb. Jefferson comments that he doesn’t think Jennifer is stable enough to control her abilities, and Jennifer angrily tells him that Anissa taught her to read lips and sarcastically thanks him for the vote of confidence.

 

Agent Percy Odell (Bill Duke) approaches Lynn Pierce (Christine Adams) in the lab, offering her a grant to help transport the pods. Lynn tells him she’s not for sale, ordering him to tell her the truth. Odell tells her that somethings are better left unknown, but Lynn wishes him luck on the transport. He explains that Markovia has been running an unsanctioned metahuman program, and that they attempted to kidnap her for her metahuman expertise in order to develop their army. Odell warns her that every metahuman is in danger, and Lynn agrees to help transport the pods on the condition that he keeps Dr. Helga Jace (Jennifer Riker) away from her.

 

Anissa Pierce (Nafessa Williams) searches Grace’s apartment, looking for clues to her whereabouts. She finds a family photo in a drawer and a pill lying on the floor. Bill Henderson (Damon Gupton) shows Gambi the scene where four pods were seemingly kept. Gambi uses his watch to scan the purple residue on the ground and determines that it’s slightly radioactive but admits it raises more questions than answers.

 

Giselle Cutter (Kearran Giovanni) shows Tobias Whale (Marvin ‘Krondon’ Jones III) the serum and watches used to wake up and control the super metahumans. Tobias picks a metahuman to wake up first, Marcus Bishop (Hosea Chanchez), who has the ability to control vibrations. Cutter wakes him up with the serum and he immediately attacks her. Marcus stops her knife from reaching him with his powers and turns the knife to her. Tobias knocks him out with the watch, declaring things just got a lot more interesting.

 

Gambi finds Anissa using his computer, and she explains that she’s looking into what happened to Grace, hoping that she can track down the people in the family photo to find her. Anissa explains that her gut is telling her that Grace is in trouble, and Gambi remarks that her feelings seem deeper that just dating. She asks him to analyze the pill, and Gambi is hopeful that Grace will turn up soon.

 

At the end of class, Tavon (Jasun Jabbar Wardlaw Jr.) stays behind to tell Jefferson that he should be the principal rather than Principal Mike Lowry (PJ Byrne). Jefferson tells him that he wasn’t there for Garfield when they needed him, but Tavon argues he deserves a second chance. Dr. Napier Frank (Robert Townsend) visits, and Jefferson asks what bad news he has for him now. Frank shows him that the video of Jennifer confronting Lowry went viral and that the board is receiving criticism for their decision to hire Lowry, telling Jefferson that he might be able to get his old job back.

 

Odell tells Lynn that they’re moving the pods tomorrow, but Lynn tells him that she might have found a way to stabilize the pod kids permanently. He tells her they don’t have time, as the Markovians know where they are. Tobias talks to his painting of his sister and tells Cutter that they’re talking about how far they’ve come. He tells her that he thinks Tori is happy she’s back in his life, and she asks why he called her for this job. Tobias tells her she’s the best as what she does, and he trusts her. He asks why she took the job, and she tells him that she was tired of being a solitary hunter before they kiss.

 

Tobias gets notification that the pods have been disconnected and that they need to stop the transport to keep the briefcase’s access. Lynn and Jefferson discuss the threat of the Markovians, and Jefferson reminds her that they’ve survived worse things. She tells him about her theory on how to stabilize the pod kids, but admits she’s still working on it. He tells her about Frank’s suggestion that he can get him his job back, and she tells him he deserves it as no one cares about the kids like he does.

 

After tying Marcus up, Tobias wakes him up and introduces himself. Tobias welcomes him to the twenty-first century, explaining that he’s been frozen for twenty-five years. Marcus breaks free of his restraints, and Tobias threatens to knock him out again permanently. Tobias orders him to sit down and Marcus asks if he’s ASA. Tobias tells him he’s a businessman, promising there will be pain if he doesn’t do what’s asked of him. Cutter shows Marcus a briefcase of money, and Tobias promises he’ll be rewarded for his help, telling him he wants a partner.

 

Jace talks to Odell about moving the pods, and Odell tells her that Lynn has requested that she not be allowed near the pod kids. Jace is upset, calling Lynn ungrateful after she suggested using her for the transport. Odell tells her that she’ll remain in custody for her protection and that he’ll keep her close by in case the Markovians kill or abduct Lynn.

 

Jennifer thanks Anissa for letting her stay there, and Anissa asks how she’s holding up. Jennifer declares it’s unfair that Tobias is alive while Khalil isn’t. Anissa agrees that Tobias needs to go, but they need a plan to take him down. She tells Jennifer that she’s not going to do it alone, but that they need to lay low for now. Jennifer thanks her and asks about Grace. Anissa admits she hasn’t found her and that she’s worried about her. Jennifer suggests that Grace isn’t in any danger and that she left because she didn’t want to be with her. Anissa leaves for the sanctum after getting a notification from Gambi and asks Jennifer stay there.

 

Lynn asks an ASA Technician (Michele Jang) to prep to move Wendy Hernandez (Madison Bailey) to the isolation wing, but the technician refuses to do it without Odell’s approval. Lynn tells her that she has complete autonomy of the pod kids and orders her to do it. Clad in a hoodie and bandanna, Jennifer uses her abilities to attack members of the one-hundred gang, demanding to know where Tobias is. One member admits he doesn’t know as Jennifer wraps him up in lightning, but that Khalil’s replacement might. Jennifer’s power increases as she demands a name.

 

Lowry tells Jefferson that he’s about to get his job back but is confident he’ll lose it again due to negligence. He tells him he isn’t the right man for the job, and that he coddles the students. Jefferson questions whether he cares about the students after they’ve crossed his lines, telling him that Garfield is supposed to help disadvantaged students. Lowry argues that the students need consistency and to know that someone is always there for them.

 

Gambi tells Anissa that Grace doesn’t technically exist, explaining that it’s a false identity. He tells her Grace’s real name is Shayley Wilde and that she spent her childhood in foster homes. Gambi tells her the foster parents in the photo are long dead, and that Shayley was abducted and sold into a prostitution ring at sixteen. He tells her Shayley vanished when the ring was broken up and resurfaced as Grace Choi. Gambi asks Anissa if she still wants to find her, and Anissa tells him she does, reminding him that she kept a lot of secrets from Grace as well.

 

The school board tells Jefferson that they’re questioning if Lowry is right for Garfield and ask what he thinks. Jefferson pauses as he thinks about everything that’s been going on and tells the board that Lowry should remain the principal. Frank questions if he wants his school back, and Jefferson tells them that the students need the stability that Lowry provides. Jennifer goes to the motel in her hoodie and bandana and visits Khalil’s replacement. He tells her he heard she would come, and she is surrounded by gang members.

 

Gambi tells Anissa that the pill she found in Grace’s apartment contains a compound used to treat schizophrenia, and they get a notification of an incident at the motel. Anissa questions what Jennifer is doing as she suits up, and Jennifer fights off the gang members with her powers. She grabs Khalil’s replacement with her lightning and demands to know where Tobias is. He refuses to tell her, declaring he won’t die like Khalil. Jennifer’s anger causes her body to envelop in power and she passes out. Thunder stops Khalil’s replacement from shooting Jennifer and rushes to her.

 

Cutter and Marcus enter the ASA facility in masks and kill everyone who gets in their way. They stop the transfer and Jace puts the facility on lockdown upon seeing them on the security footage, locking Lynn inside as she tests her theory on Wendy. Lynn calls Jefferson to tell him the facility is under attack, but the call drops. Cutter asks Jace how she knew they were coming, and Jace tells her it was simple deductive reasoning. Marcus is furious upon seeing Jace, yelling at her for being responsible for what happened to him. Cutter stops Marcus from charging at Jace and removes Jace’s ankle monitor.

 

Frank yells at Jefferson for wasting his opportunity to get his job back, but Jefferson tells him that there’s a lot going on in his life and the students deserve more than he can give them. Frank tells him not to expect any more favors and Jefferson gets Lynn’s message. Jennifer wakes up on the sanctum and asks what happened. Anissa tells her she found her passed out, and Jennifer apologizes for sneaking out. Anissa tells her that she’s happy she’s okay, and Jennifer begs her not to tell Jefferson when he calls. After taking Jefferson’s call, Anissa promises to bring his suit and informs Jennifer and Gambi that Lynn is in trouble.

 

Lynn wakes Wendy and helps her stand up, promising to explain everything once she gets them out of the facility. Wendy uses her abilities to blow the door away, and Black Lightning catches it with his lightning. He and Thunder check on Lynn, informing her that they weren’t able to stop the pods from being stolen. Later, Anissa asks Gambi where Jennifer is, and he tells her Perenna (Erika Alexander) took her home to rest. In Jennifer’s mind, Perenna tells her that she has a lot of rage that could cause her to explode if it goes unchecked.

 

Gambi tells Jefferson that the security camera around the warehouse went out, and Lynn assumes the Markovians are behind it. Gambi shows them what he’s found out about Marcus, or Shakedown, and the ASA program known as the Masters of Disaster. Tobias has the pods installed in his loft, and Jace tells him that he should be able to stabilize them soon. Tobias tells her he plans to sell the metahumans off to the highest bidder, telling her that the more pod kids that will survive will be merrier for his bank account.  Tobias finds Cutter drinking at his desk, and she tells him she’s earned it. She tells him that they don’t need Todd anymore with Jace’s presence and tells him she gave him a new car. Todd drives down the street, but the car explodes at an intersection.