Things have been going from bad to worse for the Pierce family and all of Freeland on Black Lightning. The season premiere saw Jennifer and Lynn separated from their daughters, locked down in A.S.A. facility with Agent Odell who isn’t exacly being honest about, well, anything. Last week, fans discovered that the Markovian threat is, in fact, real but perhaps worse than that, Odell has had some success with his plans for Freeland’s metahumans, re-engineering Khalil into Painkiller and sending him out on a test: to kill his mother. Now, tensions are higher than ever for everyone involved and in tonight’s “The Book of Occupation: Chapter Three: Agent Odell’s Pipe-Dream” we get to find out when or if things are going to break.
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We open with a training montage of Painkiller showing off his martial arts skills. He also has enhanced knowledge in other areas as well. Khalil is definitely gone. Anissa returns to her apartment and finds Jennifer on her couch. Jennifer is upset her sister was out all night with no contact. At the meta camp there’s a quarantine in effect. Henderson talks to his officer who reveals that there is a virus going around. She’s not handling things well and she’s sick and there’s no clue as to what’s wrong with her or the others. She asks Henderson to take some stolen money she’s hidden to her family before she collapses.
At the A.S.A. facility, Odell visits Lynn and Jefferson in their niche. Odell wants their help with the virus outbreak, revealing that the virus only impacts metas and is fatal. It should be priority, Odell says. To leverage them, he explains that it could even kill their daughters. In Freeland, the A.S.A. pursues Blackbird. She’s pretty pinned down, but texts Jen she’ll be out late.
At school, a new guy shows up looking for Jennifer. She’s supposed to give him a tour. Back with the A.S.A. Odell pays Jefferson a visit and claims Dr. Jace is right outside the Freeland perimeter. He gives Jefferson a watch that is full of tech that only he can use. It turns out that it contains a fancy new Black Lightning suit. If Jefferson helps Odell, he gets to go home. At the camp, even public servants and the police are being registered and tested to see if they are metahumans. Elsewhere, Odell pays Tobias a visit. To get Tobias to comply, Odell tortures him by turning on a concentrated UV light to burn his skin.
Jennifer gives the new kid the most bleak school tour evil while elsewhere, Odell, tells Painkiller to suit up. Outside in Freeland, Henderson’s wife pays him a visit and a citizen asks Henderson when all the madness is going to stop. She also slaps him. Later, Odell comes back and apologizes to Tobias. He needs his help, but Tobias has demands. Lynn discovers that the virus is manmade and that it likely came from Cyclotronic — sent by Jace. Hendrson takes the money to the officer’s family as he said. At the Pierce house, Odell is waiting for Jennifer and lies to her about the Markovians killing Khalil’s mother. He also recruits Jennifer to help with the Markovian threat.
Elsewhere, the Markovians spot a “shooting star” in the sky, but it’s actually Black Lightning. The person he rescues decides that their mission is now to take out Dr. Jace. Black Lightning then puts the beat down on some Markovians while the A.S.A. agent gets Jace’s location. Elsewhere, Anissa and Grace reconnect. Anissa tells Grace she loves her no matter what her shape. Grace shifts to an old man and says she doesn’t even know who she is herself. Then Anissa goes to the bar and ends things with Jamila, who is cool with it all.
Jennifer — as Lightning — attacks a data farm for Odell who then sends Painkiller to kill people an address he gives him. Back at the A.S.A., Odell release Jefferson and Lynn though they don’t really trust it. They do return home, though, to both of their daughters on the couch waiting for them. Back at the A.S.A., Tobias sees Black Lightning in what appears to be a hallucination of sorts, but Tobias declares he will kill Black Lightning.
Black Lightning airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
