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TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Black Lightning Season 01 Episode 09: The Book Of Little Black Lives

March 21st, 2018 by Todd Black Comments

Man, just when you thought that Black Lightning couldn’t get any better, it gets even better. I’m happy to say that “Little Book of Black Lies” is getting a perfect score, and it deserves it from top to bottom.

First off, I love how they basically picked up from last weeks cliffhanger about Jennifer finding out about her powers and telling Anissa about it. Which led to Anissa trying to be helping (and failing) by revealing she has powers and that their father was Black Lightning. I really loved the freakout reaction she had. You might think it was over the top, but it honestly wasn’t. After all, of her and Anissa, she’s honestly the more emotional character, so why wouldn’t she freak out like she did?

What’s more, the differences in how Anissa and Jennifer reacted to their predicaments really showcased that just because a person gets superpowers…doesn’t mean they want them. It’s something that the X-Men showed us, and now, we’re getting a little more personal take on it. Hearing Jennifer break down because of the fact that her father being Black Lightning led to their divorce, and not being sure if her powers will make her unable to have children was genuinely heartbreaking. Yes, we know that she’ll become Lightning eventually, but unlike Anissa, it may not happen as quickly.

As for Anissa, she had another great episode herself. I loved her standing up to her parents when they asked her to stay behind, citing that she would just sneak out of the house to help. And then…finally…Gambi gave her the Thunder costume (which she’s now officially calling herself). Personally, I love the costume. It’s practical (which makes sense as Gambi designed it), looks stylish, and absolutely doesn’t play to any stereotypes in regards to female superhero garb. The song that played as she “suited up” and then emerged before her father was epic, and you can tell that the song choice was deliberate.

A surprise for this episode was Gambi. After being very solemn and downright mopey at times last episode, he went very proactive, and helped get information that Jefferson and Anissa used to strike against the ASA. Yeah, he made a mistake, but he’s honestly trying to make up for it, and he is sad for what his actions caused. He’ll be playing a part in the future episodes of the season no doubt.

What’s that? What about Black Lightning himself? Oh, he had some great moments to. From trying to console Jennifer (that last scene was great), to getting Henderson on his side (who eventually saved his life), and then calling the head ASA guys bluff about killing the scientist, it was great stuff. Their fights against the guards was great. And that slow-motion shot to end the scene? Classic.

So, what comes now? Well, the ASA knows Black Lightning is on to them. So they’ll either try and take him and Thunder out, or make another play. And don’t forget, Tobias is still out there. Things continue to get interesting in Black Lightning, and I love it so.

5 out of 5 Nerds

Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!