Black Lightning season 3, episode 10 review: Blessings and Curses Reborn

Following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Black Lightning makes an incredible return.

Previously, on Black Lightning, we saw Black Lightning’s earth get destroyed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths event. As traumatic as that was, it wasn’t the best part of the episode. Jennifer got a chance to meet alternate versions of herself. One of the Earth’s showed what would happen if she went full-on renegade against the A.S.A. It ultimately ended with the A.S.A. coming to her house and killing her father (Black Lightning) in front of her. And in the second, she even joined the A.S.A., which ended with Jennifer killing her father herself. This may have helped Jennifer make the decision on how she’s going to deal with Agent Odell going forward.

And then there was the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover. Other than the heroes involved, no one knows what happened. How will this affect Jefferson going forward? Let’s get right into the next episode and find out.

The Black Lightning opening

They didn’t take long getting into the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths or what happened to Jennifer in the previous episode. Jefferson is flying back to Freeland and, on his way, he’s tries to contact Gambi. He explains how he helped saved multiple Earths and that he met more metahumans. He pauses when says that Superman is real, leading to a hilarious look on his face. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like the transmission has gone through. On the flip side, Jennifer is floating in an all white space. She realizes that Agent Odell was using her and wants to stop it.

Black Lightning continues to have these openings to get people pumped for the episode, and this was no different. Some people may not have watched Crisis on Infinite Earths and had no idea what happened. Getting right into what happened helped update the audience. Imagine not knowing what happened and then hearing that Black Lightning worked with Flash and Superman. That’s wild.

More importantly, Jennifer came to a decision about what to do about Agent Odell. She saw what happens on both ends of the spectrum. Now, she can find a healthy medium and be the hero she wants to be.

Jefferson and Lynn

Jefferson finally catches up with Lynn and finds out what’s going on with her, and it’s not a pretty sight. Lynn’s addiction to the Green Light she’s been taking has turned her into an addict. She even claimed Jefferson being Black Lightning is an addiction and slapped him. In the middle of the argument, Jefferson gets a call from Henderson. Black Lightning is needed to help the kids escape the A.S.A., but Lynn has run away. Jefferson is then faced with a decision: save his wife or a bunch of kids in need. In the end, Jefferson chose the needs of many.

A double life is never easy. There’s always a point where you have to decide between your personal life or the entire world. Jefferson has been concerned about Lynn for a while now and, just as he was seeing what was going on, he had to leave. It’s a decision he’ll probably regret forever, even if it helps saves dozens of lives.

Anissa’s growth

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

Anissa (as Blackbird) was with Henderson and the resistance, and seeing her formulate a plan to save the kids the A.S.A. was moving. As she’s talking, Black Lightning walks in. Henderson cuts Anissa off and asks Black Lightning for his opinion. A Black Lightning is giving his thoughts on the situation, Anissa is visibly annoyed (and with good reason). Before he could finish, Anissa pulls her father aside and gives him a piece of her mind.

It seems like these two have been butting heads forever, but this time Anissa stood taller than ever. She made a great point that while she’s made some mistakes, so has Jefferson. At some point, he has to trust that she’s going to learn from those errors and move on. This was her mission, and he needed to trust her.

This was a brief but big moment for Anissa. She’s slowly become a better character but hasn’t taken any big steps. This was a giant leap. She stood her ground, and Black Lightning couldn’t do anything but accept it.

High Voltage takes

This was a phenomenal episode. The first episode of a show’s midseason return is vital. It can keep people interested or turn them off from altogether. Black Lightning got right into Crisis, what happened with Jennifer and the other worlds, and everything going on with Blackbird and her Underground Railroad. All of their character arcs to evolve. Some of them are positive like Anissa becoming a leader of a revolution. Others are tragic. Lynn is going to get worse before she gets better.

After Crisis, some fans may get into Black Lightning. It was a perfect way to get new viewers into the show. It may be a good idea to go back and see what you missed, but you can definitely get a feel of the show if you start here. A genius way to get back into things.

Lightning Round:

• It was difficult seeing Lynn suffering from withdrawal symptoms. She’s slowly gotten worse since season two. However, this was something else.
• It was great seeing Anissa stand up for herself. She acknowledged her mistakes and was prepared to move on.
• T.C. and Gambi working together is going to be great. Stay tuned for how much he helps the team.
• The constant mix of old and new music continues to be great. This may seem subtle, but it adds to the feel of the show.
• Jefferson saw his Anissa in a new light. She wasn’t just his daughter, she was a leader, and a strong one at that. Watching him put his fist in the air for her was heartwarming.
• Jennifer’s powers continue to grow, and not even a dampener can stop her now.
• We find out who sent out the hit on Gambi, and no one could have seen it coming.