It’s hard to believe that Black Lightning Season 3 is almost over, but as one of the CW/DC shows that only lasts 16 episodes, its time has come. But with “Freedom Ain’t Free”, they do a good job of building up the finale with Gravedigger, even if it comes at a cost with lesser storylines.
As revealed last episode, Gravedigger is over 100 years old and is the first meta. In a fun twist though, the beginning of this episode tied into the reveals of the last by recounting in Gravediggers’ own words what happened to him even when he got his powers. The explanation as to why he’s called Gravedigger was very cool, and it lent a lot of weight to his character. As Gambi would note later on in the episode, the things that Gravedigger was saying isn’t wrong. The government, the ASA, they did wrong by metas, and Gravedigger wants to free them as a result, this easily makes him the most relatable of all the villains we’ve seen Black Lightning face. He’s not doing what he’s doing for power, it’s for justice, albeit his version of it.
With the team knowing the end of the war is coming, it felt poetic (and cheesy at points) for them to try and find solace in the little things. Seeing Anissa and Grace take the next step in their relationship was fun, and the “family dinner” was a nice touch too.
Lady Eve trying to get back into the ASA was a nice work too, and that shows her play with Gambi was more than just a surrender, it was a long-game, and it confirmed just how far Odell’s reach was. And finding out that the Pierce’s and Gravedigger were related in an extended family way was a nice touch to things.
However, many of the other storylines didn’t work out. Kalil’s mind split has really played itself out, and it’s really boring now. Brendan kidnapping Jace (somehow without anyone noticing) was kind of lame, and his walkout on the team was painful to watch in the bad way. Jennifer going after Gravedigger was dumb on all levels (he took out Kalil, and withstood her dad’s powers, and she could beat him because…?). And the continued thing with Lala is just confusing.
But, the good did outweigh the bad, and for that, we should be grateful.
Todd Black
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!
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