The characters of Black Lightning will be taken to new heights in Season 2, but it sounds like that could come with some interesting baggage.
Videos by ComicBook.com
During an interview with TVLine, Black Lightning star China Anne McClain spoke about where things will go next for her character, Jennifer Pierce/Lightning, in Season 2. As she explained, Jennifer will still have some more bumps in the road, especially with regards to her relationship with Khalil (Jordan Calloway, who was recently promoted to series regular).
“I feel like Jennifer acts like she doesn’t have time for him and she’s over him, but deep in her heart she’s not. But there’s a lot of complicated stuff going on.” McClain revealed. “Like he killed her father, basically, but he doesn’t know Black Lightning is her father, and he doesn’t [know] she has super powers. So it’s complicated.”
As fans will remember, Season 1 saw Jennifer and Khalil experiencing usual relationship troubles, before their various run-ins with Freeland’s vigilante world took things into a new direction. After Khalil was severely injured, he was transformed into Painkiller by Tobias Whale (Marvin “Krondon” Jones III) and embarked with a vendetta against Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning (Cress Williams). Meanwhile, Jennifer learned that she has her own set of superpowers towards the end of the season, which she still isn’t entirely on board with.
“I love that they’re tackling it from that perspective of getting her a therapist because as you can see in Season One, Jennifer had so many psychological issues with getting these powers,” McClain told reporters during last month’s San Diego Comic-Con. “She did not want them. She already felt like an outsider being a part of this amazing family, and living on the house on top of the hill, and so adding super powers on top of it just made things worse for her. So bringing the therapist in really is gonna help her control her powers. Because she’s so powerful — her cells create pure energy — so if she gets really pissed off, that’s not gonna be a good situation.”
Jennifer’s apprehension about her superpowers will also carry through into her other relationships as well, particularly with her older sister, Anissa Pierce/Thunder (Nafessa Williams).
“It’s going to bring them together in certain ways and then push them apart in others,” McClain admitted. “Anissa has always been like a mentor for Jennifer, so through the powers — especially since they both have them, thank God — she’s going to help her out a lot when it comes to that. Also, Anissa is annoyed by Jennifer sometimes because she’s like, ‘This is a gift. Why are you acting like it’s a curse? Just accept it already. Put a suit on.’ Jennifer is like, ‘I don’t want this. No, I’m not gonna be like you.’ So, that part drives them apart sometimes. You’re going to see a lot of different ups and downs in their relationship this season.”
Are you excited to see what’s in store for Jennifer in Black Lightning Season 2? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
The second season of Black Lightning will debut on Tuesday, October 9th, at 9/8c on The CW.
