"The Book of Occupation: Chapter Four: Lynn's Ouroboros" – Black Lightning S03E04 Review

And now for something completely different.

Okay, Black Lightning isn't that different. "The Book of Occupation: Chapter Four: Lynn's Ouroboros" still has Freeland under siege by the ASA. Anissa is still running around being Blackbird. The deterioration of Lynn and Jeff's marriage continues. Grace is still mooning around Anissa. Bill gets undermined left, right, and center as the ASA take over his streets, his station, and his office. Odell is still a dick.

But getting Jeff out of his white jammies and ASA custody, and back in Freeland proper, does help the show. Locking Cress Williams up in a cell is a waste of his action skills and acting talents. Hopefully, someone on the creative team realized having Jeff railing against Odell, and Odell figuratively and sometimes literally turning his back on him for contempt didn't help build up Jeff Pierce as a strong protagonist.

We also see Jeff back at Garfield. Principal Lowry (P.J. Byrne) is his usual charming self, telling Jeff he's been let go as a teacher, and then telling him he's been laterally-transferred to "guidance counselor" with a cushy office and salary boost. All thanks to Odell.

Another change is Jennifer is slowly coming around on the ASA occupation of Freeland. Mostly because of a video Odell gave her. Not that he didn't possibly put Markovia in the worst possible light because <sarcasm on> Odell is such a fine, honest, and upstanding government agent <sarcasm off>.

We also find out Lynn is taking Green Light with the psychoactive qualities extracted. This augments her brain, and apparently gives her superhuman healing powers as we see later when she heals a dying meta with a touch. Presumably cures all of the other metas as well, as she tells Odell. Odell then ruins the moment by telling his new aide-de-camp, Major Grey (Katy O'Brian) he's been drugging Lynn's food and feeding her subliminal messages to get her hooked on Green Light.

What else happened this week? Khalil is out hunting down 100 gang members that are stealing ASA trucks and selling the goods on the black market. I do like Jordan Calloway in his new martial arts buttkicker and poison-touch meta. Khalil is more interesting as an ice-cold killer than a lovestruck teenage hanging out with Jennifer.

Anissa has Grace (Chantal Thuy) at her home, and I'm still not sure what Grace can do. She's apparently a shapeshifter, so she can shapeshift into a leopard, an old man, and a teenage version of herself. That seems like a very limited base of forms for a shapeshifter to take. Jeff also pays Anissa a visit, and she reads him the riot act about being a lousy father and crappy superhero. Which is what I've been saying almost all along: keeping Jeff locked up so he doesn't get to do any Black Lightning-ing seems like a waste of the show's protagonist and the concept. Even with Jeff out and covertly freeing a captured Garfield student, Odell isn't fooled and warns Jeff a couple of different times if he steps out of line, Jennifer and Anissa will go to the Pit.

I mentioned it last week, but it still bothers me how Odell is so on top of things. He's got Lynn hooked, Jeff brought to heel by threatening his daughters, Khalil firmly on his side, and Jennifer slowly coming around to Odell's point of view. Everything is coming up Odell for Odell. Hopefully when his comeuppance eventually comes up, it will be epic in comeupping Odell.

The Markovians are mentioned occasionally, but never seen. It makes you wonder what they're doing. Is invading American soil and sitting around for long periods doing nothing in enemy territory an effective strategy?

Anissa-as-Blackbird runs around hitting people. She takes on some 100 gangers, she yells at the insurgency for buying stuff from the 100, and she does all the heavy-lifting rescuing the aforementioned high school student while Black Lightning scans walls and shorts out lights.

I do like Damon Gupton as Inspector Bill. He gets to do outrage as the ASA take over his station and Major Gray kicks him out of his own office. Later, Inspector Bill sits down to play some cards after secretly letting Black Lightning and Blackbird into his station. The part doesn't give him much to do, but Gupton does it well.

That's it for this episode. There were lots of little bits that were amusing. And seeing Jeff get out and about was good. But I'm tired of the "Book of Occupation" chapter of Season 3. Season 2 had the right idea: keeps the Books relatively short and move from storyline to storyline. Black Lightning is like a shark: it should keep moving forward rather than staying in one place. Or on one storyline, as it were.

The creative team also insists on separating the Pierces, when the family element of the show is one of its strongest points. Jeff and Lynn barely talk to each other. Jeff and Anissa argue a lot. Anissa and Jennifer don't share a scene together.

I just wish the creative team would wrap things up. But I suppose at this point they'll hold off on ending "Occupation" until at least Crisis occurs and the Black Lightning Earth gets pulled in with all of the other CWverse shows. By the time they get the Black Lightning heroes together with Flash, and Arrow, and Supergirl, the heroes will mostly be Anissa and Jennifer.

But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?