Black Lightning season 4, episode 13 review: Closure

The Black Lightning series finale reveals the fate of Tobias Whale, the Pierce family’s destiny, and a character we all love makes their return.

Previously on Black Lightning, well, a lot happened. Chief Ana Lopez was caught being biased against meta-humans, Khalil killed Ishmael and got Looker to the police, and Tobias became the head of the Shadow Boards. As important as all of this was, nothing was more crucial than the last five minutes – in which Tobias Whale killed Jefferson Pierce.

Jefferson’s plan was to erase Tobias’ memory so that the villain would forget that he was Black Lightning. It didn’t work. Try as he might, Jefferson couldn’t beat Tobias because, without his powers, he didn’t stand a chance. After it was all over, Tobias called Jennifer to let her know that her father was dead. He even sent a picture to her phone to confirm it.

After four seasons, this is the series finale of Black Lightning. Let’s see how it all ends.

The final Black Lightning intro

The series finale, “The Book of Resurrection: Chapter Two: Closure”, starts with the Pierce family distraught over what happened to Jefferson as Gambi confirms that the body was his. Everyone’s emotions ranged from sadness to rage. Thankfully, Lynn and Gambi were there to make sure that they had a plan first. Gambi finds out where the emitter is. Problem is, it’s being protected by a force they won’t survive without their powers. Even with them, it would be a difficult task.

Lightning goes to the ionosphere and continues to leave part of her energy up there. When we get another look at the ionosphere, we see a face in the energy. A face that looks just like China Anne McClain’s Jennifer Pierce.

We also discover that Jefferson isn’t actually dead. Tobias buried him alive – a fate that no one should have to endure. And it looks like he’s running out of air as well. But, if you’ve seen the trailer for the Black Lightning finale, you knew that Jefferson would be back soon.

It’s unfortunate that this season is shorter than the previous two seasons because, like parts of season 4, the intro seemed a little rushed. The good news is that we were given everything we needed to know about the remainder of the episode: Jefferson is alive, the team is on their way to avenge his apparent death, the original Jennifer may be coming back, and Chief Lopez is on the move. A perfect way to set the stage before the final curtain.

Welcome back, Jennifer

It looks like the image we saw in the ionosphere was the real Jennifer Pierce – who immediately goes after J.J. J.J. claims that she “killed” Jennifer – a statement that must have shocked everyone watching. But Jennifer reveals that she was in her head the entire time. But now… she’s back!

Well, that was surprising. Not that China Anne McClain returned – she was the best part of the show for a lot of the series so it was unlikely that she wouldn’t be involved in the finale. The outrageous part is the reason she was gone and who replaced her. Apparently J.J. is something that we don’t have a word for. She’s just an entity taking up space in Jennifer’s body and she claims that she was jealous of what people had and was waiting to inhabit that body. We knew something was up, but not this. And, if we’re being honest, it was bad.

If there was more time to explore this further, it could have been great. Maybe this is something that could have been covered in that planned Painkiller Arrowverse spin-off. Unfortunately, it’s not something that’s not going to happen.

Black Lightning’s back

As Jefferson is breathing what looks like is his last breaths, he has a moment with his father Alvin Pierce. This was a conversation that he needed to have because he was ready to give up until his father reminded him that he’s the only one that can beat Tobias. But Jefferson still has doubts. That when his father tells him that he has everything he needs inside of him. With that, Jefferson wakes up and pulls in the power from within and sets himself free from his coffin.

One of the things Black Lightning always did flawlessly was its powerful moments. Jefferson’s talk with his dad added an extra layer of emotion to his return. If he had escaped his fate without viewers actually seeing how he built up the courage and power to overcome it, it simply wouldn’t have been enough. He needed an emotional scene to make this truly memorable and the Black Lightning creative team succeeded in doing this in a way that made this writer happy.

Black Lightning finale review

This was a really good episode of Black Lightning. Possibly even the best of the series. The problem is that series finales aren’t supposed to be just good. They’re supposed to be groundbreaking and unforgettable. There are certainly factors that go into this not living up to this writer’s expectations. The pandemic, the relatively sudden news that season 4 would be its last, and who knows what else attributed to this.

There were parts that felt like they should have been better. For example, Tobias’ end. It was very anticlimactic. He was the best thing Black Lightning had going for it because he was a really well-crafted villain and he just, well, died. That said, him dying alone is what he deserved.

There was also the wedding. It would have been nice to actually see Grace and Anissa tie the knot. And then, maybe the worst of all was the fact that we didn’t actually witness Jefferson proposing to Lynn. All of these problems and more could have been solved with an extended final season.

Black Lightning Round

• China Anne McClain’s comeback was everything that we wanted – all the way down to Jennifer defeating Chief Lopez with ease.
• The look on Tobias Whale’s face when Black Lightning showed up was great. This why villains should always make sure the hero is dead.
• Black Lightning versus Tobias was more than just a fight. It was the culmination of everything Tobias has done to the Pierce family.
• Khalil giving up his memory of the Pierce family to protect them was deep, especially how he said, “He knew he’d have to give up his life for her.”
• Seeing La La at the end was funny. You know he’s beyond mad. But, it looks like he’ll be staying in Tobias’ place. That’s one heck of an upgrade.

What did you think of the series finale of Black Lightning? Was it everything you wanted? Would you have wanted more from them? Let us know in the comments below.