The Arrowverse is back this week with the heroes experiencing the new reality that faces them following the Multiverse-altering events of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”. For Black Lightning, that means a literal whole new world. Black Lightning‘s world was brought into the Arrowverse with the creation of the new Earth-Prime along with Supergirl’s reality at the end of “Crisis”. Of course, a new world doesn’t erase the old problems and as the hero returns to Freeland, he returns to some of the same threats as before, namely the ASA and the looming Markovian threat. Keep reading for our recap of “The Book of Markovia Chapter One: Blessings and Curses Reborn.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
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The episode opens with Black Lightning flying back to Freeland and trying to reach Gambi on comms, explaining that he’d gone to another dimension and fanboy-ing that Superman is actually real. Gambi doesn’t respond. We then catch up with Jennifer who is trapped in her safe space or some white space. She swears that if she can make it back, she will stop Odell and not become the evil version of herself. She then makes it back to reality around the same time as her father does and they go looking for the rest of the family.
They go find Gambi and Jefferson fills him in, albeit briefly, about the Crisis. They both also have Anti-Matter particles, confirming their stories. Jen really wants to just kill Agent Odell. Anissa, as Blackbird, is about to be ambushed in the tunnels by the ASA. Jen goes to find Lynn. At the ASA, Odell is briefed and they have some major hurdle. At the college’s lab, Jennifer finds her mother in withdrawal and discovers her addiction.
In the tunnels, Blackbird faces off with ASA forces. She fights and generally makes quick work of most of them with Black Lightning arriving at just the right time. Back at the ASA, they continue to struggle with stabilizing the pod kids and the ASA is willing to let 20 percent of them die. TC has left his radio station and lets himself into Gambi’s shop and interfaces with the technology in the shop to let himself into the secret Black Lightning lair. Gambi busts him after finding out that he’s a “dead” man.
While Lynn tries to talk her way out of things with Jennifer, they start to experience an impossible earthquake. Brandon needs the cure, but Lynn stays behind rather than go with Jen to give it to him. She’s focused on her drugs.
In the tunnel, Black Lightning and Blackbird also experience the earthquake and Blackbird suspects the ASA is taking the kids to the Pit. Black Lightning checks in with Jen. She says she’s going to stop the earthquakes and tells Black Lightning he needs to check on her mom. Jen finds Brandon and administers the cure, stopping the earthquakes. Black Lightning does go looking for Lynn, but she’s not in her lab. He sees the mess on the floor, though and realizes what it is.
Gambi and TC talk with TC worried that the ASA will find him and put him bac in a pod. He has an anxiety attack and Gambi talks him through it. Gambi also lets TC stay in the apartment above the shop. At the Pierce home, Lynn is ransacking things looking for a dose of her Green Light when Jefferson finds her and confronts her after she locks herself in the bathroom. In the altercation, Lynn strikes Jefferson. Henderson calls then. Black Lightning is needed.
The ASA then orders that someone bring in Jennifer, though the person who is supposed to help bring him in is surprisingly fully recovered from a surgery. He has a control chip and now the ASA wants to get one into Jennifer, too. The resistance makes their plan with Blackbird wanting to talk to Black Lightning privately first, upset that he’s trying to run things. Blackbird wants to be in charge and just wants his support. At Gambi’s, TC finds an arsenal as well as the older Black Lightning and Thunder suits. TC also reveals that he can find out who “killed” Gambi.
Odell keeps calling Jennifer. She and Brandon chat when they are both tranquilized. Blackbird takes control of the Resistance mission while Brandon and Jen are both driven away by the ASA. They wake up and have inhibitor collars on. The driver, though, recognizes that something is wrong with the soldier with him. Jen focuses her energy and is able to get herself and Brandon out of their collars just as the driver discovers the chip. Jen and Brandon attack some ASA agents and the one with the chip moves to kill Jen, but since she’s pure energy he gets nowhere. The superior office attacks him while Jennifer and Brandon flee.
The Resistance mission begins. There’s a firefight between the ASA and the police, Black Lightning helps deal with that while Blackbird deals with the ASA inside and rescues the kids. The kids saved from the ASA, Blackbird and Black Lightning chat a bit, with Jefferson expressing pride. At Gambi’s, TC pushes himself to the limits to find out who was trying to kill Gambi and he does: Lady Eve, though he collapses as he’s unstable. Gambi says he can get him help.
Jennifer confronts Odell, but it turns out to be a hologram, with the hologram Odell telling her it’s not over.
Black Lightning airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW.
