Black Lightning S02 EP01 Season Premier Review
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To start off, it looks like the beginning of each episode will have a fancy title card sequence that adds a lot of flare to the show, especially since the episodes always have really elongated and elaborate titles that obviously have work put into them. It's a nice touch to set it apart from other shows on the CW.
Boy, what a start. A lot of stuff went down and I'm not sure where to start, I guess with the negatives because it can only get better from there! My only real complaint deals with the fight scene between Cynanide and the vice principle which was awesome, a great choreography; however, the fact that they killed off Cyanide so early in the season doesn't sit well with me just like Joey Toledo's early death last season. Just kinda seems like a waste of the character. The context of the scene was also a bit confusing as we were left being shown that Tobias Whale was in possession of the briefcase, but Cyanide was questioning the vice principle about where it was, but then the vice principle goes to steal it from Tobias Whale at the end of the episode...so...did Cyanide forget that Tobias had it?
Aside from that odd step, the rest of the episode I found very enjoyable. Jefferson gave up his job in order to keep the school from being shut down, a moment that I know weighed very heavily on the character since the school was his passion. Then things got even more twisted up for him when Henderson deduced his secret identity and put a spiteful grudge between them, as all CW secret identity's seem to do. Both of these plots didn't get much screen time after their respective scenes, but they're things that will no doubt be hit upon in further episodes.
Jennifer and Anissa both got things to do for each of their characters. Anissa wanted to raise money so the people of Freedland could sue the government over custody of their family members who remain in the pods from season 1, and to raise the money she raided the building of some drug peddlers, stole their money, and wrecked their operations. I only heard her gasp throughout the whole sequence, which if you have read my previous reviews you know I was happy about; I can't stand the constant gasping whenever she uses her powers. We all know how this plot will go though, it gonna backfire real bad. Jennifer's story revolved around her powers growing and evolving to the point that she floats in her sleep and radiates an orb of yellow energy not unlike her appearance in the comics. It ended with a touching moment in which Jefferson absorbed her excess energy to bring her back down, but who knows what her powers will result in next.
Lynn and Gambi were the smaller of the side stories of the episode, with Gambi simply somehow getting Lynn in with ASA researching and also letting Jefferson know about the vice principle's previous workings with the ASA rogue operation. Lynn's part mostly centered on her trying to work on the pod people the government had taken custody of, with many of her scenes shared by an interviewer who gave a very charismatic and unique performance that separated him from all the other background characters; I can only assume he'll be recurring in the show.
One other small point in the episode was that of the "green light baby" who was shown to be killed by police early in the episode as an example of police brutality in Freedland, who later in the episode somehow returned to life and went on the run after being rejected by his mother. The episode's ending montage made a point to show us him once again, now hiding out in an abandoned part of town, so it is safe to say that whoever this boy is he'll be at least some part of the season (possibly even Static Shock?? One can hope)
Tobias Whale himself only appeared for one scene in the episode in the end when the vice principle infiltrated his office in an attempt to steal the briefcase, instead getting harpooned in the stomach for killing Cyanide earlier in the episode. I literally screamed when he fired the harpoon, I thought it was very campy and cartoonish when he did it in the first episode of the first season and I had been eager to see him use it again just for the sheer comical nature of it...but jeez...the vice principle's torturous screams of pain and spasmatic movements kinda horrified me and getting harpooned certainly seems much less campy than it did before. I wonder if this will be a thing from now on though; the first episode of every season Tobias Whale harpoons someone?
Overall, I thought it was a strong start to the second season and I'm interested in seeing where the show goes from here. The mystery of what is in the briefcase is one I'm kind of hoping doesn't actually get revealed and they keep it a secret, similar to the briefcase from "Pulp Fiction", but by season's end it will almost certainly be revealed.
RIP Cyanide, just like Joey Toledo you are gone too soon.
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