We’re all just playing at being superheroes.

As Aretha Franklin’s “Mary, Don’t You Weep” plays in the background, Black Lightning opens with LaWanda’s death still looming over the city of Freeland. Under the leadership of Reverend Jeremiah Holt (Clifton Powell), the church organized to have 100 “God-fearing” people march through the streets as a message to the Hundred gang that they’re taking back the community. Jefferson (Cress Williams), Lynn (Christine Adams), and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) all sit in the congregation – while Jennifer is eager to follow behind the reverend, Jeff and Lynn sit with completely different expressions on their faces. After the service Jefferson, Inspector Henderson, and the reverend talk about the efforts to stop the Hundred – Reverend Holt thinks they need to put their faith in Black Lightning and God rather than depend on the “corrupt” police. They have an argument that has the two making some interesting points.

Related | Black Lightning Roundtable 1×02 “LaWanda: The Book of Hope”

Lady Eve (Jill Scott) makes her debut as we see her having a meeting with Tobias Whale (Marvin ‘Krondon’ Jones III). He’s bringing her money to make up for what LaLa cost her. She wants more though. She wants Reverend Holt gone because he thinks that he can march through the streets and lead everybody to The Promised Land. She’s okay with people believing in God but they’re not allowed to “believe that they can take back these streets.” After getting some new gear for his suit, Jefferson devises a plan to stop Tobias’ shooter from murdering the group of protesters. He’s successful in taking them out but Tobias is in the background and orders Syonide (Charlbi Dean Kriek) to take Black Lightning out – only she doesn’t shoot Black Lightning but instead hits Reverend Holt and Khalil (Jordan Calloway) with the same bullet.

During the church service, Anissa (Nafessa Williams) has decided to skip out on the festivities and take a trip to the junkyard where she decides to test out how exactly she can use so much strength. She finds out that it’s her breathing that plays a role in gathering her strength. While researching genetic mutations in the library, Anissa meets Grace (Chantal Thuy) who invites her out for the night. Anissa goes, but her miscommunication with her girlfriend leads to their breakup. Everybody has been noticing her absence around the family, so when her mom mentions it at the hospital, Anissa tries to cover it up by saying the breakup has been the issue. However, her mom is not fooled and lets her know that when she’s ready to talk, she’s there for her. “LaWanda: The Book of Burial” provided many different perspectives on pressing issues that are so well-written into the story but also reflecting real-life. Let’s get into some of the highlights this episode!

Here to electrify your minds with their well-thought answers is our Black Lightning roundtable:

Caitlin (@wlwcaitlin) – Writer and fictional lady enthusiast

Malasha (@MalashaMonique) – Iris West-Allen and Olivia Pope enthusiast, bread lover, and TVAD contributor

Laya (@QueerAnissa) – singer, activist, lover of all things gay

Raych (@candicespattons) – lover of iris west and black female characters. tv enthusiast

Nicollz (@mspurple360) – Candice & Zendaya Stan and Westallen Enthusiast

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1. The beginning argument between Henderson and Reverend Holt brought up some common points people make about both police and pastors. What did you think about the comments each person made? Do you agree with either?

Caitlin (@wlwcaitlin): I can sympathize with the community not trusting the police and looking for other methods to try and stop The 100. The only way they’re going to help is to weed out the corruption in their department.

Malasha (@MalashaMonique): I wouldn’t say that I agree with them but I do see both sides. I have heard and also been skeptical of pastors who are constantly asking for money from the church but have the biggest houses and the nicest clothes. It’s an interesting thing to show on here and something I think isn’t really discussed a lot on television. But the Reverend also made a good point. Henderson and the police are moving slow and don’t seem to be taking matters as seriously as they should, from the outside eye. However, with some crooked cops and some not, it’s hard to get the kind of work done that is needed – which is unfortunate.

Laya (@QueerAnissa): They both have these points but it’s a tricky subject. I’m not sure if I agree with either.

Raych (@candicespattons): Honestly, I think they both had great points and I don’t know if I necessarily agree with them, but I can relate to people seeing pastors and the police that way.

Nicollz (@mspurple360): The comments are realistic. I’ve heard the same criticisms in real life. Reverend Holt made a good point as far as the cops not doing all they can to help put an end to the 100 gang and crooked cops are a big problem within police forces. So it’s hard to trust them and rely on them. Henderson also made a good point it goes without saying that some pastors don’t practice what they preach so it’s important that both make sure their own house is clean before throwing stones.

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2. Lady Eve was introduced to us this week! Apparently, she’s the real boss of the streets. Why do you think she wants to have such a tight hold over Freeland?

Caitlin: I always love a female villain! It seems she just wants things to remain as they are, with the people oppressed. I’m sure more of her motivations will become clear as the season goes on.

Malasha: I’m not sure what her intentions are yet. I think there is a lot more to what she is planning, but keeping Freeland under her thumb is what she needs to ensure her plans follow through. She had to keep the control in order for her to stay in rule.

Laya: Honestly. I knew that somewhere behind the scenes was a woman! Frankly, it’s simple why she wants such a tight hold –fear brings power.

Raych: Honestly, I think she just wants power and controlling Freeland is how she thinks she’ll get there.

Nicollz: Lady Eve wants to ensure that things stay how they are so the 100 can take over, that way she stays in business.

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3. Anissa made a new friend tonight! Is Grace a welcome addition so far?

Caitlin: I love, love, love Grace. Like I said the other week, her and Anissa’s relationship is my favorite in the comics, and I can already tell she’ll be really good for her on the show too.

Malasha: I really like Grace so far. She’s been a long-awaited addition to the show and now that she’s arrived, I can’t wait to see what more is to come with her and Anissa.

Laya: Yes! Grace is so beautiful and extremely supportive. I love her already.

Raych: I’ve been so excited to see Grace and her introduction and she’s amazing. I can’t wait to see how their relationship develops.

Nicollz: Grace is a welcome addition to the cast. She is cool and sassy! I’m also loving the budding relationship between her and Anissa, interested to see where it goes.

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4. Jennifer and Khalil decided to take another step in their relationship. Instead of sneaking around, she decided to let her parents know about it. What do you think of Jennifer’s choice to tell her parents about her plans to have sex?

Caitlin: It was definitely refreshing, and amusing. It seems they’ve created a healthy family environment where she feels comfortable talking about it, which you don’t see very often.

Malasha: The dinner table scene was definitely comical and unexpected. However, it was refreshing to see her parents not immediately shut the idea down and scold her. It’s good to see that Jennifer has that comfortable relationship with them that she feels she can be that open. Also, you don’t see it happen that way often, especially with black families.

Laya: I mean I think it’s great to have that much of a connection with your parents that you can tell them anything, no matter the situation! Definitely, I want to see more of that in family settings.

Raych: I’m happy that she has such a healthy relationship with her parents and that she felt comfortable enough to open up to them.

Nicollz: It was a bold move on Jennifer’s part. In most families, kids aren’t comfortable enough to go to their parents about issues like that, so I commend Jennifer as well as her parents. They have open communication, they show you can be strict but know how to listen at the same time without judgment, and that’s so important. If more families took this approach, it would be beneficial not only to their children but for the parents as well.

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5. Everybody is noticing Anissa’s absence. Who in the family do you think will find out about her powers first and why?

Caitlin: I would love it if it was Jennifer, just because they’re so close. However, it seems that Lynn isn’t resting until she figures it out either.

Malasha: I think the mom will be the first to find out and when she does, I cannot wait to see her reaction. Lynn seems to know each member of her family well, so I think she’ll sniff a clue out eventually. But, if her dad is the one to find out, it’ll be because he accidentally sees her using her powers.

Laya: Honestly, I’m thinking it’s gonna be her mom. The ending scene with the two was just too strong. Anissa trying to play it off with an “I broke up with my girlfriend” and her mom just pushing that off and telling her that when she’s ready to talk about what’s really going on come talk to her. It’s got to be Momma Pierce!

Raych: I definitely think it will be Jennifer because they seem to have the closest relationship and I think once Jennifer gets her powers she’ll open up to Anissa.

Nicollz: I think it may be Jennifer to finds out first– given how close-knit of a relationship they have.They seem to share everything with each other and are the most comfortable.

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6. Lynn brought up wanting Jennifer to move in with her now that Jefferson is going back to being Black Lightning. Since Lynn is so adamant about the girls not seeing their father hurt, how do you think they came to the conclusion in the first place that the girls not move out with Lynn?

Caitlin: Probably, because it would seem suspicious. It’s not like he was an abusive father, so I think the girls would wonder why they were being taken away from him. Also, he quit after Lynn left, so it wasn’t really necessary.

Malasha: They have a good relationship whether married or not, so they probably came to the compromise that it was easier, especially with him being the principal at the school. I have so many questions about their backstory and how all the Black Lightning stuff worked to begin with. I hope that they do a flashback episode eventually.

Laya: Honestly, it would cause too much chaos in my opinion. They are safe where they are and I think they both realized that.

Raych: I guess they probably thought the divorce would be hard enough for the girls already so moving them out of the house they grew up in probably wouldn’t be a good idea. The less change the better.

Nicollz: I think it was just more comfortable to have them live with Jefferson. Since Lynn always came over I guess they didn’t deem it necessary to fix something that wasn’t broken.

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7. Gambi deleted video footage of Tobias at the protest while saying “I’m sorry Jefferson.” as he did it. What do you think his reasoning behind it is?

Caitlin: Gambi does seem a little suspicious. There’s no way his character is as straightforward as we think. He could be close to Tobias in a way we don’t understand yet.

Malasha: I’m not really sure. I knew he wasn’t as innocent as he looked. My initial theory is that he was doing it because of a conversation he may have had with Jefferson’s father at one point about making sure he never gave up his abilities. Now I’m thinking, it could be that he wants Jefferson to be the one to kill Tobias because the police aren’t privy to his position in the Hundred.

Laya: I don’t think he has a reasoning. At this point, he is just really suspicious. I mean should he even be helping Black Lightning? And what are his true intentions?

Raych: I feel…well more like hope he’s somehow doing it to protect Jefferson because I really do want to trust him and Jefferson does need a friend.

Nicollz: That’s a suspect move coming from Gambi so he should definitely have an eye kept on him. It seems someone may have gotten in his pocket or have something over him if he’s willing to remove evidence.

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Black Lightning has definitely given us hope and with writing like this, we’re anticipating what’s to come.

Jan Nash and the Black Lightning writers did an outstanding job with “LaWanda: The Book of Burial”. The use of God and his word was interestingly interpreted. While Lady Eve used it as a way of control, the community used it to uplift and encourage them so that they could gather strength to fight against the Hundred. It’s been mentioned before that the people of Freeland look to Jefferson Pierce as “Black Jesus”. Now that Black Lightning has shown himself again, he is now seen as a hero in two ways once again, that has Jefferson grappling with how he can be both. The church is a place where the community comes to not only receive a church service but to also organize and congregate for outside purposes. The church and God is a huge part of this show and it was beautifully written into the scripts this week. Organized religion is not something that is normally used so abundantly on superhero shows; it’s nice to see this different aspect used on a weekly basis in multiple ways.

With Jennifer deciding to have sex with Khalil, it was a bit of a shocker that she just told her parents what they had planned. We loved the approach that was taken because a lot of people view it as being too liberal and too comfortable with their child. It’s important to break that wall of discussing sex openly in the black community so that more of these conversations can be had. The line “I mean, my father would say this is some white folks mess” however, was golden! Shout out again to the writers on that open – it was definitely relatable to some. The comedic timing between Cress Williams and Christine Adams was perfectly acted and in those scenes is when we see how well these two work together on screen. Lynn and Jefferson’s efforts at making this family dynamic work helps to understand how they have kept it together these last nine years.

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We finally got a scene with dialogue between Lynn and one of her daughters, Anissa. Just as suspected, the family chemistry spans throughout the cast. Lynn axed Anissa’s cover-up of breaking up with her girlfriend quickly and it was great to hear about just how well she knows her daughter. The conversation was great and gave us a small tidbit on how Jefferson and Lynn reacted to Anissa’s coming out as gay. All of these moments continue to showcase how this is an ensemble show and each individual family member’s story matters.

Black Lightning continues to get better and dig deeper into its characters every week. The progression is moving at a normal pace and even has us wanting more by the time the episode comes to an end. The writers continue to provide us with convincing storylines that make us connect to this family and the community of Freeland.

Next week, Anissa is going to start doing some investigating of her own, Black Lightning will be recruited to fight, and some familiar faces are popping back up. It’s been a pleasant ride so far with this show, so we can’t wait to see how they top it next week!

Black Lightning returns next Tuesday, February 6th at 9/8c on The CW.