Black Lightning: Jennifer and Anissa’s stories will keep the show fresh
By Mark Lynch
Black Lightning seems to be focusing more on Jennifer and Anissa than Jefferson, but is this a good thing?
This current season of Black Lightning has been phenomenal and continues to get better as the show progresses. The stories have kept the audience enthralled, and each character has had moments to shine. There have been two heroes in particular that have been standouts: Anissa and Jennifer Pierce. This season hasn’t had a major storyline for Black Lightning. As much as I love Jefferson Pierce’s character, Jennifer and Anissa have been strong enough to carry the show on their own. The series may be called Black Lightning, but the two sisters have been the focal point this season.
Jennifer has been absolutely stellar from start to finish. She’s gone from a whiny teenager to someone who’s had to buckle down and make decisions that could have cost her and her boyfriend their lives. She may be the best part of the show.
Anissa has had to learn things the hard way. It’s easy to forget that she’s only had her powers for a relatively short time. Recently, she’s wanted to do more than just save people with her father. And she did a lot of good while going out solo. She got money to people in need (including some cash for Khalil’s funeral) and put a hurt on The 100. Unfortunately, she gotten emotional and reckless. This recklessness even led to her go after criminals, badly injuring herself in the process. Thankfully, she learned this lesson before she was killed. These storylines were more than enough to carry this season along.
Black Lightning — “The Book Of Consequences: Chapter Four: Translucent Freak” — Image BLK204a_0325b2.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Nafessa Williams as Anissa and China Anne McClain as Jennifer — Photo: Bob Mahoney/The CW — © 2018 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved
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Comic book shows have to find a balance between drama, comedy, and action in order to survive. Jennifer and Anissa’s stories have done this. Jennifer running away with Khalil was a big chunk of this season and will remain a memorable period in the show. She fought, loved, and unfortunately, lost someone in the process. Anissa running around as Black Bird (that’s what they called her in the streets) had an element of Robin Hood that made her story intriguing. Each story had a good amount of action and levity to keep their plots interesting. Even though Black Lightning got involved in the war between the Perdi and the Sange, it was Anissa’s story that got him into it to begin with. The big question is whether or not this is a good thing, and the answer is an emphatic yes.
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Jefferson Pierce is a great character, but he can’t do it on his own. Other characters have to be interesting, or the project will get stale. Jennifer and Anissa have proven they can carry their own story arcs. This makes the show well balanced when all of the heroes have something viewers care about. Also, having more characters that are well written could mean a spin-off once it’s time to move on from the current star, and fans of the show would be more than happy to see a Thunder and Lightning spin-off in the future.