The ASA go to war with Jefferson and his family. Jefferson makes peace with himself.

This first season of Black Lightning has been ridiculously strong from the get go. This last episode is no exception aside from one, very odd, point that we’ll get to.

First off though, the good stuff. This is a vastly satisfying hour of TV which does the exact things you want it to. Jennifer gets more comfortable with her powers, Anissa and Jefferson get to kick ass, Lynn and Gambi are now firmly members of the crime-fighting family and the ASA plot is wound up in a way that’s both final and sets up season 2.

Best of all in all this is the fight at Gambi’s cabin. It’s scrappy and desperate and feels genuinely dangerous for Lynn and Gambi in particular. Plus the win they get is hard fought, earned and far from complete. It’s nicely untidy in a way the entire show has been, at the same time as giving the newly extended cast a surprising amount to do.

The one issue with all this is Procter. Played by genre stalwart Gregg Henry, he’s been a threatening force for the entire season. Here, he’s a cartoon. There’s a scene where he does nothing but spit macho buzzwords. He says ‘Make America Great Again.’ Twice. it’s cack handed, obvious writing in a show that’s never been either. It’s hitting an easy target in a show that’s never stooped to that until now. And yes it’s making a point and yes it’s a valid one but the last 12 episodes made the same point just as effectively. And surely, for the love of all that’s holy, it’s time for scriptwriters to take ‘Make America Great Again’, ‘Fake news’ and that hand gesture that makes anyone with eyes nauseous, and consign them to the same bin of crappy clichés as magical autism geniuses and the slightly overweight funny sidekick who never makes it out of the pilot.

Besides, the real meat of the episode here is in Jefferson’s conversation with his dad and the flashbacks to his childhood. It’s subtle, underplayed and intensely emotional as adult Jefferson gets to say what he never could and hear what he never did. That his dad is proud of him. That he loves him. That the fight is larger than his family and his life. It’s profoundly moving and honestly something I both do and don’t hope the show returns to. There’s more to do there but finishing that conceit here makes the show feel like it’s at the end of phase 1 and ready to light up new pastures.

Verdict: All in all a great season finale. It’s let down by a pantomime villain but there’s still a lot to enjoy here. Fun, complete and setting up an even better year 2, this takes Black Lightning out the same way the show came in; on it’s feet, working hard and doing heroic work. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart