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Jan 30, 2018 · LaWanda: The Book of Burial: Directed by Mark Tonderai. With Cress Williams, China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams. Anissa starts to come into her own while Jefferson tries to decide if the community can survive without Black Lightning.
- (1.2K)
- Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
- Mark Tonderai
- 2018-01-30
- Everyday heroes.
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- Verdict
By David Griffin
Updated: Mar 29, 2018 2:28 am
Posted: Jan 31, 2018 3:00 am
Full SPOILERS follow for Black Lightning: “LaWanda: The Book of Burial.”
Black Lightning is not functioning like a normal CW superhero show. Instead of placing the majority of the attention on characters with the fancy suits and impressive abilities, the writers have made a conscious effort to spotlight the everyday citizens of Freeland, like LaWanda and Reverend Jeremiah Holt.
Black Lightning might even consider changing its name to “The Heroes of Freeland” -- it’s not as catchy from a marketing standpoint, but it’s an accurate assessment of the series. The central theme of this episode (and the season so far) is what do you do in the face of adversity when your heroes have gone? It’s a compelling narrative due to the way the writers have developed their secondary characters.
These are authentic people living in a fully realized place as opposed to Central City, which feels more like a colorful backdrop for The Flash to play in. If a few people get hurt when Barry and King Shark fight on some random city street, who really cares? In comparison, when Reverend Holt was shot, the scene was more impactful because we’ve seen his attempts to change the community in a non-violent way. All he wanted to do was follow in LaWanda’s footsteps and take a stand against The One Hundred, and it cost him dearly.
Black Lightning also continues to impress in the way it handles the Pierce family. It’s fun watching them work together as a collective unit. The “sex talk” scene with Jennifer was appropriately awkward and showcased the chemistry between the cast. Those may be sets the actors are working on, but the strong performances from Cress Williams and Christine Adams sold it.
The story thread about what it means to be a hero also weaved its way into Anissa’s arc. From Batman to Spider-Man, comic book character training montages are usually entertaining and Anissa’s was no different: Watching her gleefully smash appliances in contrast to her father’s brooding shows that being a superhero can be fun. When Jefferson eventually finds out about Anissa’s abilities, sparks will fly.
If Anissa and her dad don’t end up seeing eye-to-eye, there’s always Grace Choi (Chantal Thuy) -- the newest member of the show who had a less than stellar introduction. She actually had a copy of Outsiders in her back pocket? You can’t get more on the nose than that. If you look closely you’ll see that it’s issue #16, which features Lady Eve and Syonide -- both iconic villains from the comic book.
Sure, it’s exciting that even though Black Lightning isn’t connected to the Arrowverse, we’re still going to have a team-up of some kind -- but don’t make it so obvious. Also, everything escalated so quickly after Chenoa caught Anissa in that compromising situation with Grace. We barely had time to get to know her girlfriend before Grace came along, so why did they introduce her in the first place?
Nitpicks aside, Black Lightning is still headed in the right direction by making every single character and story vital. Well, except for Tobias Whale -- the dude looks great walking in slow-motion with his lovely sidekick in tow, but in terms of being a dynamic character -- so far he’s all bark and no bite. Perhaps when we learn more about Tobias and Jefferson’s storied past, he’ll be worth paying attention to? For now, bring on more Thunder and Lightning.
Black Lightning keeps filling its world with fascinating new characters. Exploring what it means to be a hero in a place with real-world consequences is a fresh and much-needed take on The CW superhero landscape. The writers are taking risks, and the show is better for it.
Jan 23, 2018 · Black Lightning 1x03 "Lawanda: The Book of Burial" Season 1 Episode 3 Promo - HOLDING OUT HOPE — As Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) tries to determine if the community can...
- 22 sec
- 56K
- TV Promos
Jan 24, 2018 · The trailer and synopsis for next week's Black Lightning episode 'The Book of Burial', tease the evolution of Jefferson Pierce's daughters into superheroes. Black Lightning has proven that The CW still has the magic touch when it comes to superhero TV.
Jan 31, 2018 · “Book of Burial” begins during Lawanda’s funeral, as Reverend Holt delivers a sermon about his inability to sit back any longer and let The 100 rule Freeland’s streets, killing without...
"Black Lightning" LaWanda: The Book of Burial (TV Episode 2018) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
Jan 16, 2018 · Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) had retired from his secret identity of Black Lightning many years ago, but when danger threatens his twenty-something daughter, Jennifer (Nafessa Williams), and a student at her school is being lured by a gang, he returns to the fight.
