In Review: Black Lightning: The Book of War: Chapter One: Homecoming

Synopsis: As the battle continues, old alliances are revisited and new alliances forged.

Review: Things begin to get real as we learn Gravedigger’s backstory.

The Story

Having successfully extracted Lynn from the Markovians. The Peirce family debrief with Odell and let him know that they are no longer working with him, but will do all they can to protect Freeland. After this, the family enjoys a meal together in order to both reconnect and give themselves a fresh start. The sentimentality doesn’t last for long though as a number of issues arise. First The A.S.A. launch an attack on the Purdi, which means that Black Lightning, Thunder, and Grace have to go in and help get as many Purdi to safety as possible.

Back in Freeland. Khalil is still struggling with the ticking time bomb that is Painkiller, which is locked behind a firewall in his head. For a while, he seems to be getting a handle on it, but then Painkiller breaks loose and damn near kills Jennifer. Thankfully, Khalil musters enough inner strength to defeat Painkiller and shut him back behind the Firewall, but how long will this last?

Elsewhere, Lady Eve performs a power play, which puts LaLa back under her control and allows her to obtain the Brief Case, which holds the Gnome and tons of information about every single meta-human to be born and made. This includes all the information there is on Gravedigger who is revealed to be the first-ever Meta-human to be made by the US Government. Eve hands this briefcase over to Gambi as a peace offering to demonstrate that she no longer has an issue with him.

The Acting

Jill Scott is a welcome return as Lady Eve. Her scene with LaLa when she uses a few keywords in order to incapacitate him was fantastic viewing and was delivered with great intensity. I also enjoyed her scene toward the end of the episode where she pretty much makes peace with Gambi.

Overall

A solid episode, which looks like it could well be setting things up for season 4 while simultaneously tying up loose ends with regards to the A.S.A. and Markovian storyline. I really enjoyed the side story with Lady Eve, which might well be set up for season 4. I also enjoyed the development of Grace and Thunder’s relationship.

Overall. A good episode, which offers up some fantastic mythology behind the character of Gravedigger who looks like he is going to be a force to be reckoned with.