Black Lightning season 3, episode 5 review: Requiem for Tavon

Jefferson stands up, a new meta human, and Lynn gets a new helper in the most emotional episode of the season.

Previously on Black Lightning, we have seen how far Agent Odell is willing to go.

Since Lynn has been in captivity, he’s been using subliminal messages and unknowingly drugging her into using the Green Light Drug. She started using it in small doses to experiment on himself. It made her smarter, but it’s now starting to take a toll on her, as it seems like she’s not able to keep a clear head for too long.

On a good note, Black Lighting and Black Bird teamed up to help some people imprisoned by the A.S.A. Odell knew it was Black Lightning and told him if he does it again that he’ll lock his family up. But what’s next? Let’s find out.

The Black Lightning opening

You gotta love that every episode of Black Lightning starts with an intense scene. First, Agent Odell is looking over footage of Black Bird and looking over possible matches – a match for Anissa Pierce came in. Later, we see Painkiller getting ready to spar with a couple of A.S.A. agents. They try to get the jump on him and they end up regretting it as Painkiller makes short work of them. He would have killed one of them if Odell didn’t order Painkiller to stop. Odell walks in and tells Painkiller that Black Bird has become a target that needs his personal attention.

There’s a reason he’s not being called Khalil. For the time being, Khalil is dead. Painkiller is the dominant personality now. Him going after Black Bird will be intense. Black Bird is tough, skilled, and not to be messed with – but she’s not on the level of Painkiller. It’ll be interesting to see how this fight turns out. It has the potential to be the best fight we seen in Black Lightning so far.

Patient 49

When Lynn told Odell that she needed a specific meta for her experiment – the only one to survive the serum, Patient 49 – Odell smiled: That’s never a good sign. Later, he returns with Patient 49 and it’s, of course, Tobias Whale.

As soon Tobias starts talking, he starts digging. He brings up the pod kids who died in her care and how he “admired” her work. She denied it, and then gave him the serum that made him strong and kept him young. Tobias just laughs as the serum does its job.

More from Arrowverse

• The 9 best (and 8 worst) Arrowverse characters
• 27 best fighters in the Arrowverse, ranked
• All 8 Black Canary actresses ranked from worst to best
• 11 things nobody wants to admit about the Arrowverse
• The 7 best (and 6 worst) Arrowverse villains

Lynn continues to do things completely out of her character. She tells Tobias that he works for her now, but we know the truth: She’s become an A.S.A. employee and she doesn’t even know it. Tobias is always great. Even here in small doses. He has the ability to get under your skin with just a few well-placed and intelligent phrases. The “relationship” between them will become something to pay attention to.

Black Bird vs Painkiller

The fight we had been waiting for is over before it even started. Try as she might, Black Bird just doesn’t have what it takes to beat Painkiller – there may not be anyone that can defeat him in a fight up-close and personal.

While the fight was good, that wasn’t the takeaway. Black Bird was bringing Tavon back to his parents. While trying to help Black Bird fight, he was infected with Painkiller’s venom and eventually dies in Black Lighting’s arms.

Anissa told her father that this was a bad idea. Anissa took a beating and another kid was dead. This time, it was a falsely accused teenager. A good kid who just wanted to be. This could be the straw that broke Black Lightning. There has been too much death.

High Voltage takes

This was another intense and beautifully done episode. The title made it seem like the episode would be heavy and it was. Tavon became another innocent black kid killed. When his peers at the high school tried to peacefully protest at their school, one of them was brutally hit with the butt of a gun. A very familiar moment that happens in real life.

A personal favorite with this show is Jefferson – not Black Lightning, the man behind the mask. The hero who’s always stood up for his students, family, and Freeland, will to put his life on the line for what’s right. He did this again. He was willing to get shot by the A.S.A. if it meant protecting the kids. It was heartbreaking watching the students cry in terror as a man they respect was repeatedly beaten by the people who were supposed to be protecting them. And it’s moments like this that make the show different and better than most.

Lightning Round

• Henderson has come out of hiding and ready to start the revolution! What will his next move be?
• What will Lynn do net? She’d never work with Tobias in the past. Now she’s saving his life and forcing him to work with her.
• OH SNAP! Tobias is starting to get closer on discovering who Black Lightning is. What else will he put together?
• How will Jefferson respond to the beating he took? This could be the thing that makes Black Lightning go up against the A.S.A.

Black Lightning airs on The CW on Monday nights? What did you think of this episode? Let us know in the comments below.