'Black Lightning': Jefferson, Anissa and Jen make a wonderful family but don't trust each other as teammates
Spoiler alert for 'The Book of War: Chapter Two' - Episode 15 of Season 3 of 'Black Lightning'
In the last episode, we saw the 'Pierces' sit down for a wonderful family dinner, where they finally reveal their secrets, the problems that had been bothering them, and the pride of their accomplishments. They were seen bonding as a family, grew closer together, and it seemed like they would be all the stronger for it.
As soon as the costumes were back on, however, it turns out that this was not the case. Anissa (Nafeesa Williams) nearly disrupts negotiations with La La (Will Catlett) when her pride, and aggression gets in the way. Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) refuses to trust his daughter Jen (China Ann McClain) enough to put the most powerful superhero he has available on the front lines. Jen rushes in, without telling anyone, and without a plan to fight a dangerous, powers-stealing supervillain.
It's been three seasons, and Black Lightning, Thunder, and Lightning have just not learned to trust each other, not even in the face of nuclear annihilation. Between the many sub-plots that make the events of 'Black Lightning' so layered, the heroes that ought to be front and center need to learn to work together. It's natural for daughters to not listen to their parents, especially ones as headstrong as Anissa and Jen, but the stakes are about as high as they can get, and the Pierces are letting their family dysfunction get in the way of superhero effectiveness.
It is an interesting dynamic, one that's fairly unexplored territory. There is a lot of focus among superhero teams on the acquired family over biological ones, and the former tends to end up a lot more closely knit. A lot of Anissa and Jen's arcs have been in them trying, in their own ways, to assert their own independence, but the focus on that growth has taken a backseat to the larger events of the show.
'Black Lightning' was billed as a show about family, and still has the potential to be the show's strongest asset. It's well past time that the Thunder and Lightning learn to benefit from their father's years of experience as a superhero - and for Jefferson to learn that the best thing he can do to keep his daughters safe is to show them how to protect themselves.
There's a lot of love between the Pierces, but not nearly enough respect.
The next episode of 'Black Lightning' airs on March 9, on the CW.