Black Lightning: Grading all four seasons of the powerful CW show
By Mark Lynch
Black Lightning season 1
Grade: B
The beginning of Black Lightning was incredible. The first episode showed us all that we were going to witness something completely new from a DC Comics TV program; we were going to see the world through the eyes of Black family man in the modern world.
There were moments throughout the first season where things got uncomfortable. However, it was the truth of the world and Black Lightning wasn’t afraid to tackle it. The best part of all this was how Jefferson Pierce never lost his temper no matter what he was forced to endure. He remained cool and level-headed, even when he knew what he was capable of.
The first season had to showcase the origin of the central characters and it was done right. Tobias slowly grew into the chillingly villainous architect that he inevitably became and it was great watching him adapt and evolve on his way to that role. The same can be said for Jefferson; he was relearning how to be Black Lightning after a long time out of the game. Thankfully, he had Gambi to help him along the way.
This also could have been a one-and-done tale as season 1 essentially told a complete story, wrapping up with a finale that could been a series finale. Everything seemed so happy and final, like Jefferson’s huge smile as he jogged with his daughters Anissa and Jennifer after the battle they just went through, and it all just gave you a finale feeling; something for the viewers to smile about in case this was the end of the show. However, it wasn’t.