8 Questions Raised by the ‘Black Lightning’ Season 1 Finale

Black Lightning‘s first season came to a close tonight, but it’s never too early to speculate about what’s next.

Spoilers for tonight’s season finale of Black Lightning, “Shadow of Death: The Book of War”, below!

Tonight’s episode saw the Pierce family on the run, with Martin Proctor (Gregg Henry) and Tobias Whale (Marvin “Krondon” Jones III) both fighting to get to them first.

There was heartbreak, surprising deaths, and DC Comics Easter eggs — and a lot of new plot threads. So, with Black Lightning‘s second season on the horizon, here are some unanswered questions we still have.

What’s in the box?

OK, OK; let’s get all of those Seven jokes out of the way.

The final act of tonight’s finale saw Tobias Whale’s operation take an even more sinister turn, as Syonide brought him the severed thumbs of Martin Proctor. Tobias used the thumbs to open up a box, and whatever was inside made him very delighted.

So, what could it be? Could it be tied to the children in pods, or something else that could further Tobias’ grasp on Freeland?

When will Season Two pick up?

On that note — will there be a time jump between Season One and Season Two?

To an extent, there’s both an argument for and against it. The CW’s other DC Comics-related shows usually have some sort of jump from season to season, so the episodes take place around the time of year when they’re actually airing. But some of The CW’s other shows — namely Riverdale — have had a minutes-long time jumps from one season to another.

With how happy of a note Black Lightning left the Pierce family, it doesn’t feel impossible that things could jump a few months in the future. But at the same time, Tobias’ operation, or whatever other villains enter the fray, could warrant the show picking up sooner.

How did Tobias resurrect Lala?

Speaking of the villains, one revelation around Tobias and Lala leaves way more questions than it answers.

As the episode revealed, Tobias had paid for an expensive piece of technology to bring Lala back to life, but ended up giving him his “Tattoo Man” powers in the process. And even though Lala appeared to die in the finale, there’s still a lot for audiences to learn about how exactly Tobias resurrects people. Could the technology Tobias used have actually helped Lala survive? 

What’s next for Syonide?

On that note, the finale did provide some answers about Tobias’ right-hand woman, Syonide — and we want to know more.

As Gambi explained, Tobias rescued Syonide from an orphanage when she was a child, raising her and training her how to fight. At a certain point, he placed a sort of exosuit underneath Syonide’s skin, as was seen when she got injured in the previous episode.

While this backstory was kind of dark, it was also somewhat humanizing, and arguably makes Syonide a more compelling character to watch next season. Will her past make her stay loyal to Tobias? Or could she end up redeeming herself at a later point?

What happened to Fowdy?

While the finale answered more than enough questions, it left some threads dangling. Namely, what happened to Kara Fowdy?

The reveal that Garfield High’s vice principal was a secret ASA mole was one of the most shocking moments of Black Lightning‘s first season. But after last week’s altercation at the high school, it’s unclear exactly where Fowdy went next.

Does Fowdy still have allegiances to the ASA and their crusade? Or was her whole role in that operation sparked by something else altogether? And how could that impact her relationship with Jefferson in the sophomore season?

Have we seen the last of the ASA?

On that note: could the ASA have a longer presence on the show than we’ve believed?

As Gambi pointed out, there’s a very good chance that Proctor’s operation had gone rogue from the main government agency, squashing any fears that new government figures could be tracking down the superheroes of Freeland.

But could that actually not be the case? Could the ASA have a larger, albeit not as prominent, role in what’s going to happen next?

When will Jennifer suit up?

One of the many standout moments of tonight’s episode was seeing Jennifer Pierce fully get used to using her powers. While Jennifer had initially been hesitant about her abilities, she warmed up to them after realizing how they could help save Jefferson’s life, and even deployed them against bad guys in the main fight.

With that in mind, will we get to see Jennifer fully come into being a superhero in Season Two? Will that involve her officially suiting up alongside her father and sister in the process?

Could we see the Outsiders next season?

And finally, the circumstances surrounding this finale — and a lot of this season as a whole — have seemed to set up the official arrival of the Outsiders.

Both Anissa and Grace Choi have become bonafide fan-favorites over Black Lightning‘s first season, and fans have already begun to speculate about how their group of misfit superheroes could enter the television space.

Depending on the circumstances of next season, and what exactly is up with the kids in the pods, it’d be interesting to see the genesis of the official Outsiders at some point in the sophomore season. But what exactly could Black Lightning’s version of that look like? Would any of the kids in the pods become different DC superheroes? At this point, the sky’s the limit.

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Black Lightning has been renewed for a second season on The CW. ComicBook.com will provide more updates on the premiere as they come about.