I just understood that as informing the media, because it cut to the news montage after she said that.
Spoilers Black Lightning - Season 1
- Thread starter dahj
- Start date
I just understood that as informing the media, because it cut to the news montage after she said that.
I don't think that was intended to be cause and effect, just a change of scenes. And they're clearly leaving a number of threads unresolved for season 2. Tobias is now in full control, Fowdy is still in place, etc. So it stands to reason that they'd carry forward the thread of the Green Light kids. After all, modern shows do tend to add new characters each season, and the Green Light experiments are a pretty obvious way to generate new superheroes/villains.
I guess, the whole ending felt super rushed.
It would make more sense if she knew some doctor people who could help, but wouldn't she be the biggest expert on Green Light herself?
Not the show's finest hour, I fear. The revelation that Proctor was running a rogue operation felt hastily rushed in from left field to give the season some closure and leave Jefferson and family in a somewhat secure place. Seemed to me to squander much of the complex cloak-and-dagger worldbuilding they've spent most of the season building up in exchange for an all too neat and convenient resolution.
If Lala is dead (again), that's also wasted potential.
Not that there wasn't good stuff, too. Jefferson's near-death encounter with his father was very nicely done, and it's good to have Jennifer on her way to joining the family business.
Speaking of, I did bust out laughing when Jefferson rebuked Jennifer for putting the energy smackdown on Proctor, and she responded with the most perfect sorry-not-sorry teenage eye-roll and face-shrug.
It only cost a million for life-changing technology? What a bargain...but as others said..no body, no proof of death. WHat was the bomb exactly? Could it have been extracted and THEN blow up?
For me..i wasn't quite feeling Lala post-resurrection...but i think we will see more of him later.... They might be analyzing reactions over the season and might be deciding how to use him next season, if at all.
I don't know.. i think the romance just seemed extraneous, and we didn't need that with all of the other action going on (and that includes Lynn & Jefferson getting back together).
Yeah, i was thinking the same thing as dodge... Christopher might be right....we'll see in the fall.
Yeah, Lynn IS the biggest expert...but she would have to explain WHY she investigated it, and that might be a bit tricky.
The season had a lot going on, and i don't think they knew if they would even have a 2nd season...but i think it still works for me... in a future post, i might detail some of my "problems" with Black Lightning... i absolutely love the series...but as a Trek fan, you know we HAVE to nitpick!
---
I am surprised no one has mentioned the very last scene, with Jefferson and the girls jogging on the way home to Lynn... a scene that has been on the overall promos this season...but we finally see it, and its beautiful.
With that scene... was that filmed earlier in the season, or was the whole season filmed before they even knew
Last edited:
Lynn is a neuroscientist. It sounds like what they need is a geneticist, someone who can use Jeff's DNA to develop a gene therapy to stabilize the kids.
I could swear they were also running together in one of the earlier episodes, but now that you mention it I'm not sure if I'm thinking of the promos...
The original jogging scene was in the first episode. This was a parallel scene meant to remind us of the original, to bring things full circle. The first jogging scene was a moment of family unity and happiness before the girls were abducted and Black Lightning made his return and all the season's problems started to develop. So putting another family jog at the end was a nice way to show that the family was back on an even keel again, even though they've all changed in the interim.
In the first scene he was jogging alone and they surprised him, initially overtaking him then being left behind when he sprinted home, the suggestion there being to my mind he may appear outdated and past his prime, but he could give the lie to that perception given the right motivation.
Yeah, that was my impression of it.
But then Anissa's soundbite from the dinner with the Hendersons was in the intro prior of it happening on the show, so they've confused me about this sort of thing before.
But then Anissa's soundbite from the dinner with the Hendersons was in the intro prior of it happening on the show, so they've confused me about this sort of thing before.
That intro was first seen in episode 2, and the jogging scene was in episode 1. And all the material from the intro was from the first 3-4 episodes (plus a couple of flashback scenes from the original demo film that didn't make the cut of the final pilot, I think).
For that matter, I think a version of the pilot's jogging scene was in that original demo film, which was made months before the season as a whole.
I believe he's going to play a significant role in season two.
The season had a lot going on, and i don't think they knew if they would even have a 2nd season...but i think it still works for me... in a future post, i might detail some of my "problems" with Black Lightning... i absolutely love the series...but as a Trek fan, you know we HAVE to nitpick!
That should be interesting.
Ah, the "Family Affair" scene. Sweet.
I just rewatched the finale, and I realized that Tobias is sort of the evil Cisco Ramon, in that he likes to give superpowered people nicknames. His assassin is Syonide, Khalil is Painkiller, and Lala got to be Tattooed Man for all of a scene and a half. Painkiller is a minor Black Lightning villain from a 3-issue run in 1995, created by Tony Isabella and Eddy Newell. He had long dreads, so that explains Khalil's new look. He had no civilian name given, so I guess the show's writers back-constructed "Khalil Payne" as a pun -- which means they always intended for this to happen.
Tattooed Man, at least the one most similar to Lala, is a villain-turned-hero who has living tattoos that "were formed from the sins of people he had killed," and that he can peel off his body and control through an effort of will. He's based on a couple of earlier characters of the same nickname but different given names, none of which was Latavius Johnson. Hmm, I wonder if that means Lala will come back next season and maybe have a redemption arc.
I feel even more now that they went a bit overboard with ladling on exposition in the first part of the episode. When Gambi was explaining Tobias, Syonide, and Painkiller to Jennifer, saying all this about how Khalil had a liquid metal implant and the ability to generate a paralytic liquid, I had to wonder, how the hell does he know any of that? All he knows is what he saw on the video feed from the suit cams and what the girls told him they'd seen Khalil do. That's quite a lot to extrapolate from so little.
And in the flashbacks, why the heck was there a high-voltage electrified fence at the end of an empty alley? That seems really dangerous, and rather pointless.
Tattooed Man, at least the one most similar to Lala, is a villain-turned-hero who has living tattoos that "were formed from the sins of people he had killed," and that he can peel off his body and control through an effort of will. He's based on a couple of earlier characters of the same nickname but different given names, none of which was Latavius Johnson. Hmm, I wonder if that means Lala will come back next season and maybe have a redemption arc.
I feel even more now that they went a bit overboard with ladling on exposition in the first part of the episode. When Gambi was explaining Tobias, Syonide, and Painkiller to Jennifer, saying all this about how Khalil had a liquid metal implant and the ability to generate a paralytic liquid, I had to wonder, how the hell does he know any of that? All he knows is what he saw on the video feed from the suit cams and what the girls told him they'd seen Khalil do. That's quite a lot to extrapolate from so little.
And in the flashbacks, why the heck was there a high-voltage electrified fence at the end of an empty alley? That seems really dangerous, and rather pointless.
I think I would've left Lala's resurrection as being part of the mysterious experiments of Lady Eve. That way they could preserve some mystery with the character and have an element that isn't in complete thrall to Whale's machinations. Not to mention it would allow Lady Eve's legacy to have some lingering impact on the story instead of just being a rung in Tobias' ascension.
I just finished binging the 9 episodes of the season that I had missed out on seeing, and have to say that the show is now the second-best current superhero series out there right now (behind Supergirl).
The way the season unfolded with the entire Pierce family coming together - and into their own - was superbly handled, and I have to say that I would not want to mess with any of them... or Gambi, who is one serious BAMF (and played by the amazing James Remar, who was a literal Thunder God at one point in his career).
I also have to shout out the Trinity of Evil that is Tobias Whale, Syonide, and Painkiller, and am all kinds of intrigued by Tobias getting his hands on that briefcase, because whatever was inside it cannot be good news for Freeland "Team Black Lightning".
I hope we get an idea of how long we have to wait before Season 2 airs sooner rather than later, because the wait might straight-up kill me.
The way the season unfolded with the entire Pierce family coming together - and into their own - was superbly handled, and I have to say that I would not want to mess with any of them... or Gambi, who is one serious BAMF (and played by the amazing James Remar, who was a literal Thunder God at one point in his career).
I also have to shout out the Trinity of Evil that is Tobias Whale, Syonide, and Painkiller, and am all kinds of intrigued by Tobias getting his hands on that briefcase, because whatever was inside it cannot be good news for Freeland "Team Black Lightning".
I hope we get an idea of how long we have to wait before Season 2 airs sooner rather than later, because the wait might straight-up kill me.
i promised this a while back, and try to be a man of my word...
Back Lightning's flaws... i type it because i am a Trek fan, and we like to nitpick.
BL's flaws are far outweighed by the greatness of the series...so if we "need" those flaws to keep up the quality, i can live with it.
My big one is the time aspect -- in that things seem to happen super quickly, or there's no "smooth" transition between events.
The biggest one is Thunder -- when did the public recognize her as that name? Was it her self-made (or rather store made) costume, or with Gambi's outfit? That just seems like a big thing... even if they "created" a 30 second clip on the "previously on Black Lightning" segment, it would have helped.
Also, on the long term time line... trying to get a handle on Tobias Whale from going to murdering Jefferson's dad to battling Black Lightning (and in a "final battle" 9 years ago?).. where in that time was he an alderman? It just seems pretty vague to me. Maybe others can reiterate your own experiences in the timey-wimey category?
My other issue is with Lala. The first is his name...now it might just be me, but it sounds silly. Like, if Lala were to take over Freeland (or at least its gangs) , would people start calling it La-la-land? (Though that might be a great excuse to have Flash & Supergirl do a crossover musical again )
Also, i am not quite getting into his new personality. Pre-death he was a gang leader who interetsingly took some of what he learned form Jefferson Pierce but twisted it. THAT for me made him interesting. Right now, his zombie like mode and talking to dead people like a crazy person doesn't do it for me.
Hopefully they can add depth next season.
The last thing for me would be that i hope next season they can add layers of racism, instead of making it so "black and white", where the racists are on the KKK level, and show some more subtle/"uninentional" racism. i think it works for a first season, but we should get more complicated as it gets renewed again.
Umm...that's about all i can think of... how about you guys?
Back Lightning's flaws... i type it because i am a Trek fan, and we like to nitpick.
BL's flaws are far outweighed by the greatness of the series...so if we "need" those flaws to keep up the quality, i can live with it.
My big one is the time aspect -- in that things seem to happen super quickly, or there's no "smooth" transition between events.
The biggest one is Thunder -- when did the public recognize her as that name? Was it her self-made (or rather store made) costume, or with Gambi's outfit? That just seems like a big thing... even if they "created" a 30 second clip on the "previously on Black Lightning" segment, it would have helped.
Also, on the long term time line... trying to get a handle on Tobias Whale from going to murdering Jefferson's dad to battling Black Lightning (and in a "final battle" 9 years ago?).. where in that time was he an alderman? It just seems pretty vague to me. Maybe others can reiterate your own experiences in the timey-wimey category?
My other issue is with Lala. The first is his name...now it might just be me, but it sounds silly. Like, if Lala were to take over Freeland (or at least its gangs) , would people start calling it La-la-land? (Though that might be a great excuse to have Flash & Supergirl do a crossover musical again
)Also, i am not quite getting into his new personality. Pre-death he was a gang leader who interetsingly took some of what he learned form Jefferson Pierce but twisted it. THAT for me made him interesting. Right now, his zombie like mode and talking to dead people like a crazy person doesn't do it for me.
Hopefully they can add depth next season.
The last thing for me would be that i hope next season they can add layers of racism, instead of making it so "black and white", where the racists are on the KKK level, and show some more subtle/"uninentional" racism. i think it works for a first season, but we should get more complicated as it gets renewed again.
Umm...that's about all i can think of... how about you guys?
We're in the social media age,
Some-one probably posted a video on facebook that went viral and she got the name thunder cos was with what else goes with Lightning
With so many shows that don't seem to know what to do to fill their runtimes I think Black Lightning is one of the few where more episodes would have allowed the show to "breathe" more. It did seem to suffer some from trying to compress so much story into its episode and trying to wrap up its storylines instead of setting them up to be continued in the future.
I was tend to agree... But I think their focus was making sure this would make a good enough impression to go the long haul.
And I think when they made the season they had no idea if they would make it to a 2nd.
So the pilot itself was packed heavy...and this season, if they had to, could have wrapped the series with some tweaks. But I think they know they have another long term show on their hands.
Season 2 premieres this fall, same time slot.
http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/cw-2018-fall-schedule-charmed-supergirl-1202813507/
http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/cw-2018-fall-schedule-charmed-supergirl-1202813507/
I finally got a chance to see Black Lightning. I'm not overly familiar with the character, just familiar enough to know the immediate family dynamic and Tobias Whale. Everything else I did some wiki reads on.
The season as a whole I give a B/B+
Having Jefferson in the role of "Dark Knight Returns" worked on a few fronts that benefited the narrative and family dynamic. However, it also took me awhile to buy him in the suit and action sequences. The suit looks as much like a 'pro Cosplayer' as any of the TV suits on the CW. The gimmick where it lights up is very much a disadvantage(or should be) at times. Him on rooftops and out in the woods all lit up should in theory not be smart. His position would be given away. I know, I know, suspension of disbelief for shows like this. Well, yeah, until something so logical says...turn the suits lights off man is happening.
Even though I knew nothing of what Khalil's arc would be, it was laid out and not a surprise when he became 'Painkiller'. I wish Lady Eve had not been killed I found her interesting and could see more stories deriving from her. That voodoo angle alone could've been mined. LaLa 'Tattoo Man' proved an interesting arc. His resurrection story overtook Khalil's for awhile and my wife was tripping on him hard. I looked at Christopher's link above. Is this a new Tattoo Man? The only one I ever knew was the GL foe or are they just doing a Tattoo Man II. Same name but variation on the tattoo's and what they do. Syonide was just kind of there for 85% of the show. She only finally had consequential things to do in the last 3 episodes and given real dialogue. Otherwise for 10 episodes she stood around, looked moody and said 8 words. When Thunder cut her my wife and I had the same thought,"Is that reptile skin under there?". No, no it wasn't but my sic-fi roots was ready for that.
Peter Gambi had a really good arc of redemption via revelations. I enjoyed the flash back with Alvin Pierce in the last episode. Him as the 'Q' of the series was interesting. The ASA reveals and ties with Lady Eve and by extension Tobias were done well on screen. All actors each time sold those moments as tense and full of uncertainty. Agent Martin got the full brunt of the screenwriters political slants. The "colonial" white man trying to control the black men with experiments who wants to 'Make America Great Again'
. Really? Way to make the real villain a 2-D mustache twirling cliche.
I enjoyed the Pierce family and look forward to seeing where they go now. Anissa is the hot head. Jennifer is the resistant one. Lynn wants/wanted this life behind her/them. Jeff has a renewed sense of purpose. I thought the writers room did a good job of exploring the Police and the politics around the black community without being heavy handed. I was also impressed they briefly touched on inter-race issues when that one exchange happened about light/dark skin and knappy hair jokes hurting the community, not helping. Harriet Tubman and Uncle Tom references being given by the characters, especially the police chief(just blanked on his name).
Looking forward to S2.
Speaking of Season 2s, it's time to get to Luke Cage's.
The season as a whole I give a B/B+
Having Jefferson in the role of "Dark Knight Returns" worked on a few fronts that benefited the narrative and family dynamic. However, it also took me awhile to buy him in the suit and action sequences. The suit looks as much like a 'pro Cosplayer' as any of the TV suits on the CW. The gimmick where it lights up is very much a disadvantage(or should be) at times. Him on rooftops and out in the woods all lit up should in theory not be smart. His position would be given away. I know, I know, suspension of disbelief for shows like this. Well, yeah, until something so logical says...turn the suits lights off man is happening.
Even though I knew nothing of what Khalil's arc would be, it was laid out and not a surprise when he became 'Painkiller'. I wish Lady Eve had not been killed I found her interesting and could see more stories deriving from her. That voodoo angle alone could've been mined. LaLa 'Tattoo Man' proved an interesting arc. His resurrection story overtook Khalil's for awhile and my wife was tripping on him hard. I looked at Christopher's link above. Is this a new Tattoo Man? The only one I ever knew was the GL foe or are they just doing a Tattoo Man II. Same name but variation on the tattoo's and what they do. Syonide was just kind of there for 85% of the show. She only finally had consequential things to do in the last 3 episodes and given real dialogue. Otherwise for 10 episodes she stood around, looked moody and said 8 words. When Thunder cut her my wife and I had the same thought,"Is that reptile skin under there?". No, no it wasn't but my sic-fi roots was ready for that.
Peter Gambi had a really good arc of redemption via revelations. I enjoyed the flash back with Alvin Pierce in the last episode. Him as the 'Q' of the series was interesting. The ASA reveals and ties with Lady Eve and by extension Tobias were done well on screen. All actors each time sold those moments as tense and full of uncertainty. Agent Martin got the full brunt of the screenwriters political slants. The "colonial" white man trying to control the black men with experiments who wants to 'Make America Great Again'
. Really? Way to make the real villain a 2-D mustache twirling cliche.I enjoyed the Pierce family and look forward to seeing where they go now. Anissa is the hot head. Jennifer is the resistant one. Lynn wants/wanted this life behind her/them. Jeff has a renewed sense of purpose. I thought the writers room did a good job of exploring the Police and the politics around the black community without being heavy handed. I was also impressed they briefly touched on inter-race issues when that one exchange happened about light/dark skin and knappy hair jokes hurting the community, not helping. Harriet Tubman and Uncle Tom references being given
by the characters, especially the police chief(just blanked on his name).Looking forward to S2.
Speaking of Season 2s, it's time to get to Luke Cage's.
Similar threads
- Poll
