Black Lightning season 4, episode 4 review: A Light in the Darkness

Jefferson may becoming Black Lightning again, but he has a lot of family conflict to deal with first and Tobias Whale continues to prove his superiority in the latest episode of Black Lightning season 4.

Previously, on Black Lighting season 4, Jefferson Pierce finally helped someone without being Black Lightning. He stepped in and won an underground cage fight and gave his colleague his winnings. It may not have been the safest way to help, but it worked because after the fight, Jefferson set him up in his parent’s house.

Jefferson was riding high and on his way to meet his ex-wife Lynn for a romantic dinner and everything seemed like it was finally starting to work out for him. That is, until he walked in and saw Lynn and his mortal enemy Tobias having the romantic dinner he assumed he was going to have.

Jefferson can’t seem to catch a break and things aren’t getting any better in this episode of the long-running Arrowverse show.

Black Lightning’s dream and reality

Just like the previous episode, Black Lightning starts with Tobias being at the center of Jefferson’s dream and tormenting him. The worst part is it begins with Lynn injecting herself in front of him. He’s dealing with Tobias and Lynn in his dreams on top of his reality. Things for Jefferson may not have been bad if she told him after it happened. Instead, she kept it a secret for days. Of course, Jefferson goes to Tobias to tell him to stay away from his family. And, as predicted Tobias told him to kick rocks.

Seriously, they waited until the last season to make Jefferson’s life Hell. Tobias’ hubris is astonishing. He’s in control and knows it. Tobias is making a lucrative deal with Jefferson’s ex-wife and has the ability to tell everyone his secret identity as well. There seems to be no way for Jefferson to get ahead at this. Tobias is holding all the cards.

Jennifer’s addiction in Black Lightning season 4

TC has been warning Jennifer about going into the ionosphere because he has noticed how it’s affecting her body and mood. However, Jennifer doesn’t care because she enjoys the feeling. It seems like the only time she’s happy is when she’s Lighting. It’s become her addiction – something that apparently runs in the family.

Having the addiction demon in your family is a real thing. We’ve seen Jefferson go overboard with his drinking while Lynn’s addiction to the Green Light pills (and now powers) is well documented. Jennifer could be going down this dark path as well.

This is the hard-hitting kind of material that Black Lightning really thrives on. It hits on real-life topics and doesn’t hold its punches.

Lala keeps getting smarter

Lala hasn’t been one of the smarter people in Black Lightning. He’s been more of a goon than anything. Because of that, he thought like one too. This season, however, he’s proven this writer wrong. Not only has he found a way to make money without being on the streets, but he has a deputy chief in his pocket.

He owes Lala a debt and Lala will get what he owes. He now knows when the shipment of meta-killing guns are being shipped and how he can get his hands on them. This is a major step up from everything he was in the previous seasons. And that seems fitting considering that Black Lightning season 4 is the final season.

Black Lightning’s fight club

TC and Jennifer find out that Jefferson is in an underground fight club. Obviously, they weren’t happy with what they saw. As a result, Jefferson is later confronted about it by Lynn – which, of course, doesn’t go well. The pair argue about keeping secrets – to which Jefferson threw the Tobias thing in her face. In the end, Jefferson leaves after telling Lynn that he can’t trust her because she’s an addict.

Lynn and Jefferson have fought before, but they have never confronted each other quite like this. This was Malcolm and Marie level toxic. Again, things with them are going to get worse before they get better.

Grade: A

After three episodes of things looking grim, Black Lightning season 4 finally gave fans something to be optimistic about. Jefferson may be coming around to the idea becoming Black Lightning again. At the very least, he’s getting off his butt and fighting back.

However, while that was good, Tobias had a plan going in. He knew Lala would go after the guns and used that as an opportunity to kill the mayor. Lightning, Blackbird, and Grace are being blamed for his death as well. So, for the villain, it worked out better than he could have planned. Tobias continues to be one of the great comic book TV villains.

Lightning Round

• Jefferson went from alcohol to underground cage fighting to relieve his aggression. What happens when that’s not enough?
• Detective Hassan Shakur spoke about Black Lightning being a real hero while at a bar. Thankfully, Jefferson heard it too. This could be the moment that starts to turn things around
• Anissa and Grace’s relationship taking another step in the right direction was the only truly positive thing that happened in this episode. Without it, this episode may have been too depressing.
• The Mayor’s head hair is ridiculous. That is all.
• Jefferson finally talking to Lynn about his emotions over Henderson’s death was a big step. It was great seeing the two of them speaking again.
• Jefferson talking to Jennifer through her door may be the most emotional moment on the show – a statement this writer says a lot, but they really do keep upping the ante.
• The episode concluding with Jennifer becoming pure energy and dissipating into the ionosphere was bound to happen. But who thought it would happen so early in the season!

What did you think of Black Lightning season 4, episode 4? Are you looking forward to the next episode? Let us know in the comments below!