I understand The Flash as the lead in, but the Tuesday/9 p.m. slot still places it as a direct competitor with This Is Us, which--in consideration of the ratings--can have an impact on BL as the season moves forward. I'd rather see it on a weaker night (for the competition) and find its own legs, than to always be running behind.
It seems to me CW has a very relaxed stance when it comes to ratings. For its position as "the 5th network", they're surprisingly forward thinking when compared to other, bigger networks, they're treating TV as a global market, most their shows "air" internationally on Netflix within days. The simple fact is Nielsen Ratings stopped being the only relevant yardstick for show's popularity a long time ago, and the thing they influence, advertising sales, isn't the only, and for most CW shows not even the primary source of income. That being said, Black Lightning started very strongly in the ratings, with great reviews and viewer response, so I don't think we'll have to wait long till they announce the second season pickup.
Is there really even that much crossover between the audiences for This is Us, and Black Lightning? They are very different types of shows.
I would think there's some, as each not only targets the overall 18-49 demo, but both shows use themes and/or characters that would be appealing to a diverse, more "city-wise" (so to speak) viewer base with or without the fantasy element, which is one of the reasons I'm watching both shows.
I enjoyed the pilot. My only gripe was that the daughters came off as a bit too obnoxious at times. I had the same issue with Reign's kid on Supergirl.
Black Lightning Episode two: "Lawanda: The Book of Hope" Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning: The series is using--through Jefferson--a running reference to the idea of the split (decades old) between those who were inspired by MLK, and others who always believe a more "militant" approach is necessary (e.g., factions pitting King philosophy against that of early, Nation of Islam-era Malcom X). He's caught in the middle, always trying to handle things in the rational, peaceful way, but we could see the tease of Jefferson having a breaking point coming a mile away. The build up to that breaking point is jus handled better than most superhero series. Interesting that both he--and Lynn consider his superpowers a blessing/gift from God. So often--particularly in comics--characters rarely consider the bigger meaning of such a gift beyond being the result of an accident (of birth or experiment), or some thin excuse to be in a costume (the problem with immature comic writers not thinking beyond the "its cool" or at best, gluing a thin version of the Peter Parker realization to characters) Jennifer Pierce & Anissa Pierce: Anissa developing powers--but being a bit too satisfied with it just screams disaster. Jennifer drinking problems away seems like it will be a part of that disaster. Lynn Pierce & Peter Gambi: I expected the two "poles" of Jefferson's mind to butt heads, and as a result, Lynn's resistance might lead Jefferson to seek romantic comfort in a co-worker... Tobias Whale: Tobias making a distinction between "certain" kinds of black people is not uncommon in this community as some have gone as far to refer to those who are a detriment to the community down / reinforce stereotypes as the N-word, or other racial slurs. Of course, Tobias being lighter in skin tone is a pointed suggestion that he is (probably) dealing with self-hate issues, and a as a result tries to separate himself from other black people with his "slave" accusations. I take it the season arc will be Black Lightning being caught off guard about Whale's metahuman status. Inspector Henderson: Once again another relevant point about how prostitutes often run back to their pimps, no matter the abuse. Lawanda: Her fate was far too telegraphed. The second she was speaking up meant she was not long for the episode, and would be killed. It was as predictable as what happens to just about every character talking about hope on The Walking Dead. Lala (Latavius): No one was shocked by his increasingly murderous way bringing death down on his head. NOTES: Nice FX work during Jefferson's health issue. Simple, but effective. It was clear that Jefferson being unwilling to attack Lala would send his daughters into action. The series is using a running reference to the idea of the split (decadeds old) between those who were inspired by MLK, and others who always believe a more "militant" approach is necessary (e.g., factions pitting King philosophy against that of Malcom X) Anissa being a lesbian is from the comics, but it remains to be seen if this series (considering the production company behind it) will attempt to make certain arguments as seen in Supergirl's current season. GRADE: B
It's always interesting to me when a second episode filmed months after the pilot feels like the second half of the pilot. Last week showed Jefferson coming out of retirement to save his daughters, but this was the episode that showed him truly becoming Black Lightning again, embracing the calling. I'm glad for that. Too many screen superhero stories try to fit superheroes into stock cinematic action tropes like revenge or protecting one's own family or fixing one's own mistakes. But superheroes are supposed to be protectors of the community or world that they inhabit, putting themselves on the line for everyone rather than just their own interests. And this episode did a great job establishing that community and showing it, in a way, actively urging Jefferson to step up and help them. Which is more interesting than the more generic "helping people" we tend to get on the other shows, where the people being helped are usually random extras. The sense of BL as a local hero with close ties to the community reminds me of one of my favorite comics, Ms. Marvel. It gives it an interesting texture, a real sense of connection with what's being protected. The "Batgirl of Burnside" comics of recent years have had a similar flavor as well, though without as strong an ethnic component. I also love superhero stories that show civilians appreciating the heroes and being willing to step up and help them in return for all the help they've given their communities. Usually that's in extreme situations where the hero is in danger, like in Superman 2 where the Metropolitans try to rise up against the Phantom Zone villains after they think Superman's been killed, or in the marvelous subway sequence in Spider-Man 2. The familiarity and helpfulness that the doorman and elevator operator extended to BL here was on a smaller scale, but it gave me the same heartwarming feeling, that sense of the hero inspiring others to want to make a difference too. I wonder when we'll see our first supervillain show up here. It's been made pretty clear that a fair number of people in this show's world are superhuman -- the pilot had a talking head on TV reference superheroes in other cities, and clearly Anissa has her own superpowers. So there must be some superpowered bad guys too. I don't think I want this show to use the same "supervillain of the week" formula that other shows use, not if it gets in the way of the more intimate, community-driven narrative, but it could get boring if all of BL's adversaries were just guys with guns, not offering him any real challenge.
^ I think Tobias Whale fits the definition of "superpowered bad guy" since he seemed to just drain Lala's life away as if he were siphoning it, but we'll see.
^ TREK_GOD_1 also alluded to Whale's "metahuman status." I don't know if he was referring to the same scene, but I just rewatched it, and my first impression is unchanged: that Whale simply choked Lala to death the old-fashioned way. I wonder if we're not so used to wall-to-wall metas on these shows that we're seeing "powers" where they aren't intended.
I watch both shows, so I think there could be. I think This Is Us is one of the best shows on TV, and honestly, it doesn't matter to me which one I watch live because I DVR them, so the one I don't watch live I would watch early the next morning before work. As for this week's episode, I hope we see more actual Black Lightning scenes since without that, it's an ordinary show. The show has been ok so far, but I don't find it must see TV. It kind of reminds me of a Marvel show on Netflix. After watching those shows, I finally decided they were too slow and boring to watch and gave up with Punisher. Plus the heroes on those shows aren't really that likeable. But I don't feel that way about Jefferson so far. I just feel that he hasn't embraced the hero side of him enough yet though I plan on giving the show a real chance. It's just been a little too dark so far.
Whaaaa? It was a straight-up strangulation, as The Realist says. In the comics, Tobias Whale is not superpowered. He's basically the DC equivalent of the Kingpin -- a bald crime boss who's built like a sumo wrestler, appearing obese but with much of his bulk being muscle. His only unusual genetic attribute is albinism.
That's just because it's commercial TV and has to tone down the brutality of a murder scene like that. I've seen strangulation scenes on TV done that way countless times before, and I'm certain you have too.
I liked how both Black Lightning and Tobias Whale got doors opened for them in this episode, BL in the hotel by the people, and TW at the police station by the corrupt establishment. 'Twas a nice parallel that illustrated what kind of hero and villain they are. I didn't read anything supernatural into it either. He probably wasn't struggling because he realized he was dead the minute he got arrested. By the way, the bit about Black Lightning's TARDIS-style perception filter face, is that a thing from the comics? That's as good of an explanation as any as to why everybody doesn't figure out that Black Jesus and Black Lightning are the same person.
Oh, good catch. I noticed a similar parallel last week, when Anissa disciplined Jennifer by taking her phone and then Lala disciplined the young boy by taking his phone. It's interesting to note that most of the people working for Tobias seem to be white. I guess that reflects his own odd sort of racism that we learned about here -- he's an albinistic African-American who apparently doesn't like black people. Now, that's a pretty messed-up psyche. I don't know -- it's pretty weird. If that's true about people being unable to make out his face, why does he need the visor that goes opaque? There was something similar in John Byrne's The Man of Steel Superman reboot in 1986 -- it posited that Superman subtly vibrated at superspeed to keep cameras from getting in-focus images of his face (the same sort of thing TV's Flash does when he encounters people who know Barry Allen). There was also an odd '70s story that claimed kind of the opposite -- that for years, Superman had been unknowingly, unconsciously projecting a super-hypnotism effect, enhanced by the Kryptonian material that his glasses were made from (or something like that), and making the people around him see Clark Kent as older, plainer, and feebler than he really was.