'Black Lightning" EP Teases What to Expect in Season 2

Black Lightning's first season finale airs on Tuesday night, and with the DC Comics-inspired show guaranteed a second season, co-executive producer Mara Brock Akil already has some thoughts about where the show will go next.

Speaking at Deadline's The Contenders Emmys event, Akil said that Black Lightning would be looking to explore the further development of the titular hero's daughters, Jennifer (China Anne McClain) and Anissa (Nafessa Pierce) next season.

"Going into the second season, what I want to explore is the idea that you have these children and now you realize they have these powers," Akil said. "You have one daughter who loves the idea of having powers and you have another daughter who despises the idea of having powers, but she still has them. How does that affect your children? How do you deal with?"

The Pierce daughters developing their powers has been a key part of the series' first season with the first hints that Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning (Cress Williams) wasn't the lone metahuman in his family. However, the girls had dramatically different responses to their abilities. Anissa embraced her powers, even going so far as to go out and put together a super suit and fight crime and injustice alone until her path crossed with Black Lightning. That revealed her powers to her father and his to her, but it also led to Anissa getting a proper costume and a proper role as the hero Thunder.

Jennifer, on the other hand, has been shown to dislike having powers and would prefer to get rid of them. However, last week when her sister and father were both in danger audiences saw Jennifer rise to the occasion. She was able to use her powers to jump start her father's heart, saving his life after a brutal attack by Tobias Whale (Marvin "Krondon" Jones III) and the newly recruited Khalil Payne/Painkiller (Jordan Calloway). It looked like Jennifer might be ready to embrace her powers and become the hero the comic book version of Jennifer Pierce turns into -- Lightning --but Akil's comment hints that it will be more complicated than that. It's a sentiment that Christine Adams, who plays Lynn Pierce on the show, told ComicBook.com previously would be "an ongoing struggle".

"It's going to be an ongoing struggle," Adams said. "I think what's interesting about [Lightning] is that she's reluctant. It's not something that she necessarily wants to do. She wants to be like a normal teen, like we all did when we were teenagers. You don't want to stand out. So, I think it's great that we're coming at it form that angle. I think that assumption is that if you have superpowers, it's so great and you want that --but what if it's not?"

Black Lightning airs at 9/8c on The CW. The season finale airs April 17.