The latest episode opens with Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning (Cress Williams) seemingly recording a video diary. In reality, despite first impressions, Jefferson is actually conversing with Peter Gambi (James Remar) via a FaceTime-like chat application. He reminisces over the origins of his superhero name, his life with Lynn, their fights, the divorce, and getting back together.

The scene transitions to the ASA black site everyone knows as The Pit. Team Black Lightning is there and is preparing to head to Markovia. The objective is to rescue Lynn. Whilst Jefferson isn’t 100 per cent on board with rescuing Tobias Whale (Marvin ‘Krondon’ Jones III), considering his significance to saving the pod-kids, he has little choice but to bring him back to Freeland.

Grey tries to push Jefferson into using her people in extracting Lynn from Markovia. He refuses to comply with her request. Whilst she’s not happy with how Jefferson wants to handle the operation, Grey seemingly goes along with what he wants. Grey provides Jefferson with all the information the ASA has on Khalil Payne / Painkiller (Jordan Calloway).

Meanwhile, in Markovia, Gravedigger (Wayne Brady) has taken over from Colonel Yuri Mosin (Thomas K. Belgrey). Gravedigger, with mental manipulation, has the ability to push people to do exactly what he wants. The Markovian president evidently feels Gravedigger will accomplish what he needs.

Gravedigger uses his powers on Lynn to get her to recreate the metahuman stabilisation cure. Lynn, with help from Dr Helga Jace (Jennifer Riker), uses Green Light pills to counteract Gravedigger’s control of her mind.

Lynn gets Gravedigger to give her a vial of blood so that she can run tests on it. She tells him it will help her with the cure. Whilst his powers seem to work on Lynn, it’s evident she has taken Green Light. She tells him what he needs to hear. Consequently, because he has no reason to distrust what she’s saying, he complies with the request.

There are fleeting moments where Jace seems completely different. It’s like the Jace we know isn’t the real Jace. Something could have been controlling her mind.

Image Credit: IMDb.com

Jennifer “Jen” Pierce / Lightning (China Anne McClain) remains angry at her sister, Anissa Pierce / Thunder (Nafessa Williams), because she didn’t say anything about Khalil still being alive. Anissa insists she was only trying to protect Jen. We frequently hear the same thing from both Jefferson and Lynn. Jen has grown tired of the “we were only trying to protect you” line.

Jen doesn’t like people making decisions for her. Even though she accuses her sister of being just like their father, Jen is equally as much like Jefferson. Every member of the Pierce family seems to have a “my way or the highway” attitude.

If Thunder goes after Khalil, giving the mood Lightning has been in the past few episodes, it’s not likely she will support her sister. There is a good chance the sisters would go head-to-head in a battle royale.

TC / Baron (Christopher Ammanuel) takes a moment to give Moran a pair of boots. Whilst his behaviour seems a tad creepy, later in the episode, it is explained. On route to Markovia, when Sergeant Gardner Grayle (Boone Platt) tells Jefferson that Grey had programmed Moran to kill Lynn, TC informs the ASA sergeant that he had deactivated her chip. Even though Grayle asks TC how he managed to deactivate the chip, the teenager doesn’t address the question. The sergeant doesn’t push the issue.

Even though the episode features scenes worthy of a crossover team-up event, none of the heroes from the other Arrowverse productions appearance in this Black Lightning instalment. Whilst the series has enough metahuman power to get the job done, given how Kara Danvers / Supergirl (Melissa Benoist), and Clark Kent / Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) could fly to Markovia without the use of an ASA transport aircraft, not calling in the Kryptonians seems a tad silly. With most of the Arrowverse productions being filmed in Toronto, getting crossovers with Black Lightning might be a tad tricky because it’s shot in Atlanta.

With Gambi and TC running comms, we see Black Lightning, Thunder, Lightning, Grace Choi (Chantal Thuy), Khalil, Brandon/Geo (Jahking Guillory), Moran, and Gardner infiltrate the Markovian base. Choi’s ability to shapeshift, with her taking Mosin’s form to get into the security officer, came in handy. It took significant effort by Black Lightning, Moran, and Thunder to get through a seemingly impenetrable door. Lightning was free to zap the Markovian goons as they approached her.

Brandon, if it wasn’t for Gardner knocking him out, would have collapsed the entire building on top of everyone. The reason Brandon went on the mission had more to do with finding Jace than it did rescuing Lynn. Then there was Khalil. Khalil brought his ‘A’ game to the fight with Gravedigger.

The episode closes with Lynn having been rescued from Markovia. Team Black Lightning heads back to Freeland. Unfortunately, not that this will come as a huge surprise, The Book of War: Chapter One: Homecoming doesn’t hit television screens until Monday, 24 February 2020.

Next Time …