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What do people think about the premiere?
S3 E1 Book of Occupation Part One Birth of Blackbird
I have mixed feelings. I like the powerful black female superheroine characters of Thunder and Lightning who drive much of this series. They are gorgeous, they are complex, and they are dedicated to their family. Plus they take advice and tech from a kindly old Alfred type, so it's kind of like combining a black Fantastic Four with elements of Dark Knight.
Here's what I don't like:
None of the characters are in their superhero costumes at all in this episode. Black Lightning wears a prison uniform in a containment facility.
Thunder wears a drab black Arrowverse costume and calls herself "Blackbird". And China is not only not wearing her Lightning costume, but for half the episode she is holo-cloaked as an Asian girl, even in a solo training sequence in a warehouse where no one else is watching. I would think this is a big fail, because anyone jumping onto this series and expecting superheroes, will simply *not* see any actual well-designed superhero outfits.
The pervasive woke messaging is bit over the top: Islamophobia (a Somali meta makes a speech reminiscent of Ilhan Omar), refugees (several mentions of the phrase "kids in cages") and Antifa (Blackbird's black masked costume as she whomps fascist police etc.). Although we expect this content as part of the Akil-verse, the amount is a bit heavy-handed for a premiere.
"Show not tell" is broken. We hear a lot about the new Big Baddies, the Markovians, but we don't see them or any of their agents.
Here's what I think everyone will like: (someone please alert Batgirl1969)
Nafessa Williams' gorgeous body. There's a whole scene where Anissa arrives home to her yuppie Batcave apartment (lovingly teched-out by her Uncle Gambi), strips off her street clothes and admires her own amazing curves. We get to do it along with her. Not bad. Apparently gratuitous objectification is OK with the Akils as long as they can justify it in service to the plot.
And then a new journalist is introduced - Jamillah Olsen (get it??) the investigative reporter, who (according to the Current Year laws of Ya Boi Zack) has an over 50% chance of being a lesbian. So after the briefest courtship in a bar, Jamillah and Anissa get it on in a full lesbian lovemaking scene, and we even get to admire Nafessa's figure again in the afterglow.
Now if we could only see these wonderful ladies (Nafessa and China) in their actual superhero costumes, this Markovian arc could get humming.
Black Lightning Season Three
Episode 2 Maryam's Tasbih firmly establishes a lot of the threats.
It's very different than Season 1, where the main threat came from within Freeland (the brutal gang The 100, which was all black), or Season 2 where you had an individual supervillainess (Looker) controlling some angry white folks. Now the enemy is systemic and comes from the outside in several forms:
-the oppressiveness of the ASA (as represented by Odell, who has a direct connection to the President) who are keeping Jeff and Lynn on lab lockdown, Jen on surveillance, metahumans in cages, and Anissa on the run fighting the ASA Commandos)
- Commander Carson Williams who uses the military to enforce the curfew and to clamp down on Inspector Henderson's own police force
- the Markovian army whom we finally see amassed for battle, and their Colonel Yuri (they speak Russian)
It's going to be a lot to sort out. Not to mention all the subplots, including Anissa's appearances as Blackbird (where she is extremely forceful and domineering over the Perdi - her behavior is frankly kind of a turnoff), the re-emergence of Lala, whose significance I never really understood, and the return of Khalil/Painkiller as a true killing machine.
This will be an intense season, and I'm interested to follow along to see how all the convolutions progress. There was a lot of plot development in this episode, but unfortunately no real heroine appeal. The female characters in this episode don't act heroic, so much as tortured, worried and beleaguered. Most of all, the character of Maryam Luqman, who is supposed to be a Somali Muslim metahuman who was dosed with greenlight.
Her powers are to blend in the background like a chameleon, and she is original to the series.
I can understand the showrunner wanting to do a bit of virtue signaling by foreground a Muslim character with a hijab. But strangely enough, they don't do anything with the "Tasbih" title. Tasbih is the Islamic process of chanting the praised names of Allah while counting on prayer beads which are like the rosary. The prayer ideally consists of 99 or 100 repetitions - 3 names of Allah at 33 iterations each. And the process of Tasbih is also supposed to be calming or a kind of Islamic health therapy.
But nowhere in the episode does it explain what Tasbih is. She does not use the prayer beads. She does not pray. She does not actually even say a single word in Arabic, and her hijab is even removed for a few seconds during a harried portion of her experiment. The whole thing seems like the Akils flicked an Arabic word in the viewer's face and then did absolutely nothing with it, and it's even more inexplicable given the speech about Islamophobia that Maryam made in the previous episode. If you're going to talk about countering Islamophobia, why not show some actual Islam? The complete lack of that seems like some empty posturing to me.
Looks like in Episode 3 Anissa and Grace meet up again, so I'm looking forward to that - hopefully there'll be some heat there, and maybe Jen will get some kind of tender moment with Khalil since she's still pining for him so hard. But really I just want to see these two ladies back in their gorgeous costumes!
It's very different than Season 1, where the main threat came from within Freeland (the brutal gang The 100, which was all black), or Season 2 where you had an individual supervillainess (Looker) controlling some angry white folks. Now the enemy is systemic and comes from the outside in several forms:
-the oppressiveness of the ASA (as represented by Odell, who has a direct connection to the President) who are keeping Jeff and Lynn on lab lockdown, Jen on surveillance, metahumans in cages, and Anissa on the run fighting the ASA Commandos)
- Commander Carson Williams who uses the military to enforce the curfew and to clamp down on Inspector Henderson's own police force
- the Markovian army whom we finally see amassed for battle, and their Colonel Yuri (they speak Russian)
It's going to be a lot to sort out. Not to mention all the subplots, including Anissa's appearances as Blackbird (where she is extremely forceful and domineering over the Perdi - her behavior is frankly kind of a turnoff), the re-emergence of Lala, whose significance I never really understood, and the return of Khalil/Painkiller as a true killing machine.
This will be an intense season, and I'm interested to follow along to see how all the convolutions progress. There was a lot of plot development in this episode, but unfortunately no real heroine appeal. The female characters in this episode don't act heroic, so much as tortured, worried and beleaguered. Most of all, the character of Maryam Luqman, who is supposed to be a Somali Muslim metahuman who was dosed with greenlight.
Her powers are to blend in the background like a chameleon, and she is original to the series.
I can understand the showrunner wanting to do a bit of virtue signaling by foreground a Muslim character with a hijab. But strangely enough, they don't do anything with the "Tasbih" title. Tasbih is the Islamic process of chanting the praised names of Allah while counting on prayer beads which are like the rosary. The prayer ideally consists of 99 or 100 repetitions - 3 names of Allah at 33 iterations each. And the process of Tasbih is also supposed to be calming or a kind of Islamic health therapy.
But nowhere in the episode does it explain what Tasbih is. She does not use the prayer beads. She does not pray. She does not actually even say a single word in Arabic, and her hijab is even removed for a few seconds during a harried portion of her experiment. The whole thing seems like the Akils flicked an Arabic word in the viewer's face and then did absolutely nothing with it, and it's even more inexplicable given the speech about Islamophobia that Maryam made in the previous episode. If you're going to talk about countering Islamophobia, why not show some actual Islam? The complete lack of that seems like some empty posturing to me.
Looks like in Episode 3 Anissa and Grace meet up again, so I'm looking forward to that - hopefully there'll be some heat there, and maybe Jen will get some kind of tender moment with Khalil since she's still pining for him so hard. But really I just want to see these two ladies back in their gorgeous costumes!
In Episode 3, the viewership gets constant reminders that this show is political.
There's a sequence at the beginning of the episode where Painkiller demonstrates his mastery of every martial art form, presumably programmed through the chip that Odell put in him. He goes through the progression of every Asian style the writer can think of (accompanied by the frankly amazing musical selection of Bad Brains' "Re-Ignition") and then throws in what he calls 'Western boxing' (although muay thai is never called 'Eastern boxing'). Only one prominent martial art form that has been mentioned regularly in TV shows is omitted. Give you one guess as to what it is, and another guess as to why? That's a pretty minor thing, though, and many would call it 'nitpicking.' Fair enough.
----------------
In the middle of a scene in Garfield High School, Jen comments on a new student's "thousand dollar shoes", saying that it isn't 'black' to wear them. (Never mind that right down the street in my hipster neighborhood, there's a black-owned 'sneaker culture' boutique which sells limited edition kicks for upwards of $500 easily, and those are low-rent Pittsburgh prices.) Then she launches into this mini polemic:
"Race influences everything in America. If you say it doesn't, then you're either lying, or you're too naive to be alive."
So, either you'll die of sheer weakness for having a different political opinion than she does, or you'll be intentionally killed for having that opinion?
That sounds positively Pol Pot if you ask me, especially because.... Painkiller just happens to quote Pol Pot in the episode, and seems quite pleased with stating the fact that Pol Pot killed 25% of his country's population (then he kills a dozen Markovians).
What redeems this exchange is that the new student (who is mentioned as moving from a more bourgeois area of Freeland called 'Springbrook') is at least given the chance for a rebuttal: "Things have gotten better."
Jen has no political comeback for that statement because, in fact, it is essentially true. So she calls him a name, and then tells him he shouldn't voice his opinion because 'we do things differently at Garfield'. She 'wins' the argument only through an ad hominem and an intimation of censorship.
Essentially, this scene is an admonishment of the black middle class for its comfort, optimism, and materialism in the era of 'resistance'.
--------------------
There's no sign yet of Anissa becoming Thunder again. Instead, we get a sequence where Blackbird, in her bland Arrowverse black-leather costume (see Watchmen) is running from the police to the tune of Santigold's "Banshee". If you're looking for displays of strength from superwomen, though, you're in luck, because she grabs a truck and throws it straight into the air, with the implication that she has downed a helicopter that was tracking her (although the crash is not shown).
Admirers of the male form can check out Painkiller displaying his glistening muscular body during an exercise routine and exchange with Odell (where we also learn what "commotio cordis" is - never say that the CW can't be educational) to the tune of Rainer Maria (possibly the first white musical act to be on this show's soundtrack in 3 years? not sure why they got the exception but they're generally a good band).
We even see the back where his spine was ripped out. If you thought Stephen Amell's shirtless scenes were gratuitous, this takes things to a whole new level.
Not to be outdone, we also get some really nice shots of Nafessa Williams' gorgeous figure. Right after she convinces Grace to get back together with her (which is rather sudden), Anissa goes out to the club to tell Jamilah that they'll just have to be friends from now on. Jamilah accepts this fairly easily, but Nafessa is wearing this stunning low-cut dress which is very distracting. In the absence of wearing the Thunder costume, that's all the hotness we'll get for now. Screen shots appreciated because this woman is 'fire', as the kids say.
----------------------
The barrage of politics continues, and no one is spared. In a scene involving Chief Henderson and an old church lady who slaps him hard in the face, there's a strong criticism of black politicians and police captains who take over cities promising to do better for their community and then just wind up making things worse for whatever reason. Of course, Henderson can't help that his city is overrun by metahumans who are targets for an Eastern European mercenary army. But the point is definitely made by the showrunners about delivering a "you have failed" message to cities like Baltimore and New Orleans. I wonder if the showrunners realize the irony of exposing the limitations of the very identity politics they have been practicing.
---------------------
Tobias gets put through the wringer by Odell. In the absence of finding another convincing Big Bad to fill the role (adversaries like ASA and Markovians are just too abstract), it looks like Tobias will be back to reclaim his throne. Since he is essentially the best actor in this series, this is a welcome development. I just question how he's going to be very formidable unless he gets back on his anti-aging serum because right now he looks decrepit.
Grace Choi could also become quite an interesting character. Chantal Thuy is quite beautiful, and she has completely different powers in this series than she does in the comics, where she simply has super strength and regeneration. Here, she is a shapeshifter, which creates so many possibilities, especially if she uses her powers regularly on behalf of one of the factions in the Freeland conflict. I'd love to see her fight on the side of the Pierces, but we'll see what happens.
Looking forward to seeing more of Tobias and Grace Choi in the next episodes.
There's a sequence at the beginning of the episode where Painkiller demonstrates his mastery of every martial art form, presumably programmed through the chip that Odell put in him. He goes through the progression of every Asian style the writer can think of (accompanied by the frankly amazing musical selection of Bad Brains' "Re-Ignition") and then throws in what he calls 'Western boxing' (although muay thai is never called 'Eastern boxing'). Only one prominent martial art form that has been mentioned regularly in TV shows is omitted. Give you one guess as to what it is, and another guess as to why? That's a pretty minor thing, though, and many would call it 'nitpicking.' Fair enough.
----------------
In the middle of a scene in Garfield High School, Jen comments on a new student's "thousand dollar shoes", saying that it isn't 'black' to wear them. (Never mind that right down the street in my hipster neighborhood, there's a black-owned 'sneaker culture' boutique which sells limited edition kicks for upwards of $500 easily, and those are low-rent Pittsburgh prices.) Then she launches into this mini polemic:
"Race influences everything in America. If you say it doesn't, then you're either lying, or you're too naive to be alive."
So, either you'll die of sheer weakness for having a different political opinion than she does, or you'll be intentionally killed for having that opinion?
That sounds positively Pol Pot if you ask me, especially because.... Painkiller just happens to quote Pol Pot in the episode, and seems quite pleased with stating the fact that Pol Pot killed 25% of his country's population (then he kills a dozen Markovians).
What redeems this exchange is that the new student (who is mentioned as moving from a more bourgeois area of Freeland called 'Springbrook') is at least given the chance for a rebuttal: "Things have gotten better."
Jen has no political comeback for that statement because, in fact, it is essentially true. So she calls him a name, and then tells him he shouldn't voice his opinion because 'we do things differently at Garfield'. She 'wins' the argument only through an ad hominem and an intimation of censorship.
Essentially, this scene is an admonishment of the black middle class for its comfort, optimism, and materialism in the era of 'resistance'.
--------------------
There's no sign yet of Anissa becoming Thunder again. Instead, we get a sequence where Blackbird, in her bland Arrowverse black-leather costume (see Watchmen) is running from the police to the tune of Santigold's "Banshee". If you're looking for displays of strength from superwomen, though, you're in luck, because she grabs a truck and throws it straight into the air, with the implication that she has downed a helicopter that was tracking her (although the crash is not shown).
Admirers of the male form can check out Painkiller displaying his glistening muscular body during an exercise routine and exchange with Odell (where we also learn what "commotio cordis" is - never say that the CW can't be educational) to the tune of Rainer Maria (possibly the first white musical act to be on this show's soundtrack in 3 years? not sure why they got the exception but they're generally a good band).
We even see the back where his spine was ripped out. If you thought Stephen Amell's shirtless scenes were gratuitous, this takes things to a whole new level.
Not to be outdone, we also get some really nice shots of Nafessa Williams' gorgeous figure. Right after she convinces Grace to get back together with her (which is rather sudden), Anissa goes out to the club to tell Jamilah that they'll just have to be friends from now on. Jamilah accepts this fairly easily, but Nafessa is wearing this stunning low-cut dress which is very distracting. In the absence of wearing the Thunder costume, that's all the hotness we'll get for now. Screen shots appreciated because this woman is 'fire', as the kids say.
----------------------
The barrage of politics continues, and no one is spared. In a scene involving Chief Henderson and an old church lady who slaps him hard in the face, there's a strong criticism of black politicians and police captains who take over cities promising to do better for their community and then just wind up making things worse for whatever reason. Of course, Henderson can't help that his city is overrun by metahumans who are targets for an Eastern European mercenary army. But the point is definitely made by the showrunners about delivering a "you have failed" message to cities like Baltimore and New Orleans. I wonder if the showrunners realize the irony of exposing the limitations of the very identity politics they have been practicing.
---------------------
Tobias gets put through the wringer by Odell. In the absence of finding another convincing Big Bad to fill the role (adversaries like ASA and Markovians are just too abstract), it looks like Tobias will be back to reclaim his throne. Since he is essentially the best actor in this series, this is a welcome development. I just question how he's going to be very formidable unless he gets back on his anti-aging serum because right now he looks decrepit.
Grace Choi could also become quite an interesting character. Chantal Thuy is quite beautiful, and she has completely different powers in this series than she does in the comics, where she simply has super strength and regeneration. Here, she is a shapeshifter, which creates so many possibilities, especially if she uses her powers regularly on behalf of one of the factions in the Freeland conflict. I'd love to see her fight on the side of the Pierces, but we'll see what happens.
Looking forward to seeing more of Tobias and Grace Choi in the next episodes.
-
Maskripper
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Thanks for the long reviews shevek!
Well, I do like the show: storylines and action are good and of course I do like the ass-kicking daughters of BL.
Especially after FINALLY someone decided to wear a mask/hood combo that actually hides the identity pretty good ;-)
(no fan of these eye masks they usually use)
I do hope to see much more of Blackbird!
.
And I don't mind that the show is getting political. Especially in these times...it is mostly a good thing as these shows don't have a radical agenda.
I can live with that.
Well, I do like the show: storylines and action are good and of course I do like the ass-kicking daughters of BL.
Especially after FINALLY someone decided to wear a mask/hood combo that actually hides the identity pretty good ;-)
(no fan of these eye masks they usually use)
I do hope to see much more of Blackbird!
.
And I don't mind that the show is getting political. Especially in these times...it is mostly a good thing as these shows don't have a radical agenda.
I can live with that.
Vist my blog and its Youtube channel:
http://www.maskripper.org
https://www.youtube.com/c/MaskripperOrg
Masked women in action! Superheroines, burglars, villainesses are waiting for you...
http://www.maskripper.org
https://www.youtube.com/c/MaskripperOrg
Masked women in action! Superheroines, burglars, villainesses are waiting for you...
Episode 4 is categorically recommended.
The show continues to use all four Pierce family characters in meaningful ways as the situation worsens with the occupation of Freeland (definitely placed in Georgia - the Pierces' car has a Georgia license plate).
And the politics is surprisingly even-handed. I thought they would surely make references to Israel/Palestine but they've done none of that, so maybe the Krav Maga omission really was by accident. The political situation in Freeland is briefly compared to Nazi Germany, but then Lynn is encouraged to cure the metas of the virus that's killing them, so it's much an emergency hospital as any kind of concentration camp, lending some nuance to what might otherwise be a heavy-handed allegory. And Jen's new bougie classmate brings up references to the failed U.N. peacekeeping in Rwanda, the Russian occupation of Ukraine, and the Turkish invasion of Syria (the one that happened last year, not the latest one with the Kurds). The Markovians are shown as committing atrocities in Sudan. So although they don't mention China, in general there's somewhat of an even-handedness to the criticism of brutal authoritarianism. All of these occurrences make me wonder - sure, the A.S.A. is in Freeland, but where are the general Armed Forces of the U.S. government itself and why aren't they repelling the Markovian invaders?
Plus if you're looking for some action, Jefferson and Anissa (still as the Antifa-esque Blackbird) provide an extended combat scene when they storm the police station to rescue one of Jen's friends accused of being a meta. There are some tender moments between Anissa and Grace (part of which involves Grace shapeshifting again), and Anissa doesn't hesitate to complement Grace's "fine ass body." And near the end we get to see a really beautiful scene of Jen coming into her own by rocketing up into the atmosphere and surrounding herself with an aura of power. China McClain really looks resplendent in that Lightning costume, and it also looks like she's having fun playing the part, even as we have a blast watching her.
Hope to see Lightning do a lot more in that costume in the next episode.
The show continues to use all four Pierce family characters in meaningful ways as the situation worsens with the occupation of Freeland (definitely placed in Georgia - the Pierces' car has a Georgia license plate).
And the politics is surprisingly even-handed. I thought they would surely make references to Israel/Palestine but they've done none of that, so maybe the Krav Maga omission really was by accident. The political situation in Freeland is briefly compared to Nazi Germany, but then Lynn is encouraged to cure the metas of the virus that's killing them, so it's much an emergency hospital as any kind of concentration camp, lending some nuance to what might otherwise be a heavy-handed allegory. And Jen's new bougie classmate brings up references to the failed U.N. peacekeeping in Rwanda, the Russian occupation of Ukraine, and the Turkish invasion of Syria (the one that happened last year, not the latest one with the Kurds). The Markovians are shown as committing atrocities in Sudan. So although they don't mention China, in general there's somewhat of an even-handedness to the criticism of brutal authoritarianism. All of these occurrences make me wonder - sure, the A.S.A. is in Freeland, but where are the general Armed Forces of the U.S. government itself and why aren't they repelling the Markovian invaders?
Plus if you're looking for some action, Jefferson and Anissa (still as the Antifa-esque Blackbird) provide an extended combat scene when they storm the police station to rescue one of Jen's friends accused of being a meta. There are some tender moments between Anissa and Grace (part of which involves Grace shapeshifting again), and Anissa doesn't hesitate to complement Grace's "fine ass body." And near the end we get to see a really beautiful scene of Jen coming into her own by rocketing up into the atmosphere and surrounding herself with an aura of power. China McClain really looks resplendent in that Lightning costume, and it also looks like she's having fun playing the part, even as we have a blast watching her.
Hope to see Lightning do a lot more in that costume in the next episode.
Unfortunately we do not see Lightning in the costume hardly at all in Episode 5 (except for a flashback to Episode 4).
But there is a lot going on in Episode 5, as the sides start to lineup a bit more and the lines are drawn a bit clearer:
the resistance in Freeland (different factions) begin to coalesce in direct opposition to Agent Odell and the ASA (including Painkiller).
Since Tobias is the overarching Big Bad of the whole concept, they are bringing him back, too, so we'll see how he fits in.
It's interesting that the Pierces and others now think that the "Markovians" are just some kind of fake excuse for the ASA to turn Freeland
into a military zone to clamp down on the Metas...even though we, as the viewers, have clearly seen that the Markovian mercenaries actually do exist.
I wonder how the Markovians will be involved in this conflict because we have barely seen them for a while.
My favorite scene in this episode was when Both Chantal and Nafessa continue to look gorgeous and they are a pleasure to watch, especially when they kiss. But there is also a very annoying scene in this episode which takes wokeness to the highest level yet when . Talking about beating viewers over the head with the message - they do it quite literally here (in a vicarious sense).
Nonetheless, Black Lightning continues to be the most interesting and non-formulaic show on the CW, yet it's so ignored that it's often not even mentioned when pop-culture sites talk about the CW - they only mention the four shows. But clearly it will be part of the crossover coming up soon.
But there is a lot going on in Episode 5, as the sides start to lineup a bit more and the lines are drawn a bit clearer:
the resistance in Freeland (different factions) begin to coalesce in direct opposition to Agent Odell and the ASA (including Painkiller).
Since Tobias is the overarching Big Bad of the whole concept, they are bringing him back, too, so we'll see how he fits in.
It's interesting that the Pierces and others now think that the "Markovians" are just some kind of fake excuse for the ASA to turn Freeland
into a military zone to clamp down on the Metas...even though we, as the viewers, have clearly seen that the Markovian mercenaries actually do exist.
I wonder how the Markovians will be involved in this conflict because we have barely seen them for a while.
My favorite scene in this episode was when
Spoiler
Odell comes to Anissa's apartment to try to determine if she is Blackbird, but Grace is there to impersonate Anissa to throw him off the scent.
Spoiler
a group of ASA cops (all white, of course) maliciously beat the hell out of Jefferson to teach the school kids a lesson
Nonetheless, Black Lightning continues to be the most interesting and non-formulaic show on the CW, yet it's so ignored that it's often not even mentioned when pop-culture sites talk about the CW - they only mention the four shows. But clearly it will be part of the crossover coming up soon.
Episode 6 and 7 continue to be worth your time.
There's nobody really in costume except for Black Lightning. But we do get to see quite a bit of the striking Anissa (Nafessa Williams) as she works through the poisoning she received from Painkiller. You might say that for a good part of Episode 6 she's in "peril". She really has a beautiful body, and the spandex exercise outfit shows it off. The ladies can also get a couple good long looks at Khalil's ripped form as well.
And overall over these two episodes we see a deepening of the relationship between Anissa and Grace (Chantal Thuy) which has some tragic implications. I like their romantic interaction, but the only thing that bothers me is how helpless Grace acts and looks. In the comics, Grace Choi is a super-strong, tattoo-covered, sexy and muscular Chinese badass, but here, she just has shapeshifting powers that make her skittish and unsure of herself, sometimes even downright regressive into childlike behavior, or turning into a damn leopard. But anyone who hasn't read the comics isn't going to know that - they'll just see her as the submissive Asian girl, which is kind of an unfortunate stereotype....ah well.
Black Lightning presents an ongoing interesting story without resorting to woke agenda statements all the time. Sure, the context is a metaphor for slavery and/or the black experience in America, but other than an occasional reference to Martin Luther King and referencing the Underground Railroad (the path that the meta kids take to escape the ASA) all we get in these two episodes are action scenes ( a whole lot of Black Lightning shocking enemies and shielding kids from bullets, etc), lots of scientific/technological intrigue, and relationship stuff - you know, the core CW-type fare - rather than being beaten over the head with constant social-justice 'trauma points' like Damon Lindelof seems to be doing in Watchmen.
In Watchmen, all the black characters are essentially victims of the system. But this is not the case in Black Lightning - most of them have a lot of agency and distinctiveness. They are on various sides of the conflict, and often even those on the same side disagree, for example on resistance tactics. And the characters have nuance: in Episode 7, Anissa finally breaks down, admitting that she can't always be the self-reliant strong woman, and sometimes she just needs her daddy to help out. And he does, because above all, despite their disagreement, the Pierces are a loving family (we'll have to see how the spat between Jeff and Lynn works out).
I would recommend this show to anyone. It's the best superhero show on the CW, with The Flash coming in second. Not because of diversity. Just because it's consistently good.
There's nobody really in costume except for Black Lightning. But we do get to see quite a bit of the striking Anissa (Nafessa Williams) as she works through the poisoning she received from Painkiller. You might say that for a good part of Episode 6 she's in "peril". She really has a beautiful body, and the spandex exercise outfit shows it off. The ladies can also get a couple good long looks at Khalil's ripped form as well.
And overall over these two episodes we see a deepening of the relationship between Anissa and Grace (Chantal Thuy) which has some tragic implications. I like their romantic interaction, but the only thing that bothers me is how helpless Grace acts and looks. In the comics, Grace Choi is a super-strong, tattoo-covered, sexy and muscular Chinese badass, but here, she just has shapeshifting powers that make her skittish and unsure of herself, sometimes even downright regressive into childlike behavior, or turning into a damn leopard. But anyone who hasn't read the comics isn't going to know that - they'll just see her as the submissive Asian girl, which is kind of an unfortunate stereotype....ah well.
Black Lightning presents an ongoing interesting story without resorting to woke agenda statements all the time. Sure, the context is a metaphor for slavery and/or the black experience in America, but other than an occasional reference to Martin Luther King and referencing the Underground Railroad (the path that the meta kids take to escape the ASA) all we get in these two episodes are action scenes ( a whole lot of Black Lightning shocking enemies and shielding kids from bullets, etc), lots of scientific/technological intrigue, and relationship stuff - you know, the core CW-type fare - rather than being beaten over the head with constant social-justice 'trauma points' like Damon Lindelof seems to be doing in Watchmen.
In Watchmen, all the black characters are essentially victims of the system. But this is not the case in Black Lightning - most of them have a lot of agency and distinctiveness. They are on various sides of the conflict, and often even those on the same side disagree, for example on resistance tactics. And the characters have nuance: in Episode 7, Anissa finally breaks down, admitting that she can't always be the self-reliant strong woman, and sometimes she just needs her daddy to help out. And he does, because above all, despite their disagreement, the Pierces are a loving family (we'll have to see how the spat between Jeff and Lynn works out).
I would recommend this show to anyone. It's the best superhero show on the CW, with The Flash coming in second. Not because of diversity. Just because it's consistently good.
EP 308: Thunder is back! No more Tight-Denim-Bird. (Never liked that other costume).
The super-fine Nafessa Williams is in the blue-and-yellow suit, looking great from every angle.
Did I already say this is consistently the best superhero show on the CW?
Only thing weird is that there was no Crisis tie-in at the end of the episode like there was with the Batwoman and Supergirl shows.
Maybe that'll happen next week?
The super-fine Nafessa Williams is in the blue-and-yellow suit, looking great from every angle.
Spoiler
Watch her take down the ASA soliders; battle and defeat Painkiller, finally tossing him out a window after realizing she was fighting Khalil; then deliver footage to Gambi's impromptu pirate radio transmitter. All of that after recovering from systemic poisoning.
Oh, and Black Lightning scores a nice victory, too. Power to the people and whatnot.
Oh, and Black Lightning scores a nice victory, too. Power to the people and whatnot.
Only thing weird is that there was no Crisis tie-in at the end of the episode like there was with the Batwoman and Supergirl shows.
Maybe that'll happen next week?
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Maskripper
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Her other costume will remain in the show (judging from the trailer for next week).shevek wrote: ↑4 years agoEP 308: Thunder is back! No more Tight-Denim-Bird. (Never liked that other costume).
The super-fine Nafessa Williams is in the blue-and-yellow suit, looking great from every angle.
Only thing weird is that there was no Crisis tie-in at the end of the episode like there was with the Batwoman and Supergirl shows.
Maybe that'll happen next week?
I agree that her blue and yellow suit is really great.....BUT as you may guess already I really like the mask she is wearing when she is the resistance fighter (forgot her name for that role). Especially now since they even improved the mask. That is a real mask unlike these ....sunglasses......... that all the heroes are wearing her as masks.
I would say there was no crisis tie in at the end because Black Lightning takes only part in the crossover, he doesn't have an "own" episode in it.
But if you check the trailer for the next episode....it seems that there is some crisis there as well.
And I agree that the show is really good, not my favorite in the Arrowverse (obviously), but I don't get why the viewer numbers are so low in comparison to the other shows.
It would be interesting how these numbers were if the show would be called "White Lightning" ....I somehow suspect they might be higher.
I actually do think that a certain amount of white folks have....no interest.....in watching a show with 80-90% black folks in it. These don't need to be racists....but I guess they are just not used to it and a little afraid.....
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Maskripper wrote: ↑4 years agoAnd I agree that the show is really good, not my favorite in the Arrowverse (obviously), but I don't get why the viewer numbers are so low in comparison to the other shows.
It would be interesting how these numbers were if the show would be called "White Lightning" ....I somehow suspect they might be higher.
I actually do think that a certain amount of white folks have....no interest.....in watching a show with 80-90% black folks in it. These don't need to be racists....but I guess they are just not used to it and a little afraid.....
Well, I think maybe naturally there might be a *slightly* higher percentage of blacks watching this show than other CW shows (as evidenced by Youtube trailer reactions), but I don't think that's by very much.
I think this show has a presence problem, where just a lot less people are watching it, regardless of race. And I think that might be because of an overall misperception from the public that this show is "not for them". Not just that it's a "blacks only" show, but that it's a very specific political show with a very specifically leaning political message which the vast majority of people (whether black or white, or others) don't adhere to.
Not that this show doesn't have a political message - it does - but the message is a lot more mixed and relatable, which belies the perception. Sure, there are "woke" elements to it, but the majority of the show is simply about black cultural self-reliance and Christianity and quotes from Martin Luther King, which has been a trait of these kinds of shows since the 70s. Simply put, if you watch The Jeffersons because you relate to them as a family, or if you watch Shaft or Cleopatra Jones because they are fabulous sexy action heroes, then you can watch Black Lightning for the same reasons, and you won't be indoctrinated into some kind of intersectional cult just by doing so.
I also think it was a mistake to make this show "separatist" to the extent that it exists in its own universe, because I think it gives the perception that
you're not missing anything in the Arrowverse by skipping it.
I think the first step in realizing the misperception is to watch the excellent trailer that the Akils put together at the beginning of this season.
When you grasp the emotional intensity with which the show's characters are being expressed (especially Tobias, who is possibly the most interesting villain on television), then you will at least better understand the attraction of the series as a superhero show. It's not too late to jump on board.
From the promos which call Crisis a "five-show" crossover, yet they don't show Black Lightning in any team shot (while Legends' Atom and White
Canary are in the team shots) it's hard to tell what the extent of Black Lightning's involvement in Crisis will actually be. I'm guess that the connecting threads might be minimal at best, and that's why there's no Mar Novu-related segment on the show. We'll see.
Maskripper wrote: ↑4 years agoAnd I agree that the show is really good, not my favorite in the Arrowverse (obviously), but I don't get why the viewer numbers are so low in comparison to the other shows.
It would be interesting how these numbers were if the show would be called "White Lightning" ....I somehow suspect they might be higher.
I actually do think that a certain amount of white folks have....no interest.....in watching a show with 80-90% black folks in it. These don't need to be racists....but I guess they are just not used to it and a little afraid.....
Well, I think maybe naturally there might be a *slightly* higher percentage of blacks watching this show than other CW shows (as evidenced by Youtube trailer reactions), but I don't think that's by very much.
I think this show has a presence problem, where just a lot less people are watching it, regardless of race. And I think that might be because of an overall misperception from the public that this show is "not for them". Not just that it's a "blacks only" show, but that it's a very specific political show with a very specifically leaning political message which the vast majority of people (whether black or white, or others) don't adhere to.
Not that this show doesn't have a political message - it does - but the message is a lot more mixed and relatable, which belies the perception. Sure, there are "woke" elements to it, but the majority of the show is simply about black cultural self-reliance and Christianity and quotes from Martin Luther King, which has been a trait of these kinds of shows since the 70s. Simply put, if you watch The Jeffersons because you relate to them as a family, or if you watch Shaft or Cleopatra Jones because they are fabulous sexy action heroes, then you can watch Black Lightning for the same reasons, and you won't be indoctrinated into some kind of intersectional cult just by doing so.
I also think it was a mistake to make this show "separatist" to the extent that it exists in its own universe, because I think it gives the impression that you're not missing anything in the Arrowverse by skipping it.
I think the first step in realizing the misperception is to watch the excellent trailer that the Akils put together at the beginning of this season.
When you grasp the emotional intensity with which the show's characters are being expressed (especially Tobias, who is possibly the most interesting villain on television), then you will at least better understand the attraction of the series as a superhero show. It's not too late to jump on board.
From the promos which call Crisis a "five-show" crossover, yet they don't show Black Lightning in any team shot (while Legends' Atom and White
Canary are in the team shots) it's hard to tell what the extent of Black Lightning's involvement in Crisis will actually be. I'm guess that the connecting threads might be minimal at best, and that's why there's no Mar Novu-related segment on the show. We'll see.
Oh boy. The CW made a major mistake in not including the latest Black Lightning episode "Earth Crisis" in the rotation of the Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover. People are going to neglect this episode and not watch it, even though it has plenty of elements from the Crisis (the red anti-matter wave, the alternate Earths, etc.). They will also miss Jen (China McClain) who is by far the star of the episode. She portrays three entirely different versions of her character from three universes..she wears the costume most of the time, and not only is she especially hot as a villainess, but we also get some brutal female-on-female combat. There's also some practical philosophical lessons imparted to the character, as Jen realizes she needs to strike a balance between being too passive and too destructive.
Don't make the same mistake!
[And by the way, Femina: the word "woke" is used pejoratively by the evil Jen in this episode!]
Don't make the same mistake!
[And by the way, Femina: the word "woke" is used pejoratively by the evil Jen in this episode!]
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Maskripper
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Yeah, it had some elements of the Crisis in it, but was completely focused on characters from this show. An shooting a crossover with 5 episodes from 5 different shows already was a logistical nightmare from what I read.
Spoiler
What I'm curious about is....how will Black Lightning continue? On IMDB there isn't even any episode listed after this one. I'm 99% sure that there will be more, but it's pretty odd.
And the last crisis episode had some major influence on Black Lightning as well... do you guys think everything will return to normal for the Black Lightning show and its characters?
And the last crisis episode had some major influence on Black Lightning as well... do you guys think everything will return to normal for the Black Lightning show and its characters?
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All I could find is speculation that the show might be back on Jan 20. With no other evidence it's hard to say.
https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/black-l ... son-3-news
https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/black-l ... son-3-news
And...Black Lightning of course came back on Jan 20.
Episode 10 is Book of Markovia: Blessings and Curses Reborn.
But as per usual, we don't really see anything at all about "Markovia". (Even though several entire episodes of Young Justice take place there!).
But what we do get is *intensity*. And by that, I mean that Black Lightning is the most *intense* superhero show on the CW, and has been for quite some time - more intense, even, than some earlier seasons of Arrow. And that's because, as De La Soul likes to say, Stakes is High. With other shows, the threat is always quite abstract like "not failing this city" or "saving the universe" or "restoring the time stream" etc., but with Black Lightning we're talking about the well-being (or not) of a *family*...and a neighborhood where both cops and preachers and drug dealers and teenagers are all on the same side fighting the control of the evil government official (Odell is kind of like a walking Tuskegee Experiment).
It's intense when Lynn is so addicted to the brain-augmentation high she gets from green light that she breaks down crying and searches her entire house for remnants of the substance like a obsessed junkie. It's intense when Jen (who is in costume for about half of this episode..so give her a look)
has to inject her friend (who is called a 'terrakinetic' because he can move earth with his mind..although the term should actually be 'geokinetic') with drugs to prevent him from causing an earthquake. And it's intense when Black Lightning participates in a raid of the government facility to free the kids who are subject to the experimentation.
The only thing that puts me off a bit is how much they keep touting Anissa/Blackbird as a model social justice warrior. At this point, I would almost consider her a "Mary Sue" because she never seems to lose a physical battle (not even to Painkiller) and she always knows how to take out a half dozen trained soldiers with a few moves of "sweep the leg Johnny". She lectures her father about his 'male privilege' even though he basically upholds traditional community values while she robs drug dealers and pays the rent on her fancy hipster apartment with the proceeds. She prefers to act as Blackbird, and not as Thunder who is seen as a mere sidekick of Black Lightning. And then symbolically during the fight to break the meta-kids out, Jefferson deliberately chooses not to 'go right' but rather to follow her lead and 'go left'. In previous episodes, even Jennifer made fun of Anissa for being too much of a cliched Antifa-esque activist, nicknaming her 'Harriet Tubman'. It's pretty tiresome, especially when it's easy to remember the sexy Thunder costume that the character wore.
Otherwise than that, though, Black Lightning continues to be the best overall bang for the buck in CW Superhero Land. Check out this episode for proof.
Episode 10 is Book of Markovia: Blessings and Curses Reborn.
But as per usual, we don't really see anything at all about "Markovia". (Even though several entire episodes of Young Justice take place there!).
But what we do get is *intensity*. And by that, I mean that Black Lightning is the most *intense* superhero show on the CW, and has been for quite some time - more intense, even, than some earlier seasons of Arrow. And that's because, as De La Soul likes to say, Stakes is High. With other shows, the threat is always quite abstract like "not failing this city" or "saving the universe" or "restoring the time stream" etc., but with Black Lightning we're talking about the well-being (or not) of a *family*...and a neighborhood where both cops and preachers and drug dealers and teenagers are all on the same side fighting the control of the evil government official (Odell is kind of like a walking Tuskegee Experiment).
Spoiler
It's intense when Lynn is so addicted to the brain-augmentation high she gets from green light that she breaks down crying and searches her entire house for remnants of the substance like a obsessed junkie. It's intense when Jen (who is in costume for about half of this episode..so give her a look)
has to inject her friend (who is called a 'terrakinetic' because he can move earth with his mind..although the term should actually be 'geokinetic') with drugs to prevent him from causing an earthquake. And it's intense when Black Lightning participates in a raid of the government facility to free the kids who are subject to the experimentation.
The only thing that puts me off a bit is how much they keep touting Anissa/Blackbird as a model social justice warrior. At this point, I would almost consider her a "Mary Sue" because she never seems to lose a physical battle (not even to Painkiller) and she always knows how to take out a half dozen trained soldiers with a few moves of "sweep the leg Johnny". She lectures her father about his 'male privilege' even though he basically upholds traditional community values while she robs drug dealers and pays the rent on her fancy hipster apartment with the proceeds. She prefers to act as Blackbird, and not as Thunder who is seen as a mere sidekick of Black Lightning. And then symbolically during the fight to break the meta-kids out, Jefferson deliberately chooses not to 'go right' but rather to follow her lead and 'go left'. In previous episodes, even Jennifer made fun of Anissa for being too much of a cliched Antifa-esque activist, nicknaming her 'Harriet Tubman'. It's pretty tiresome, especially when it's easy to remember the sexy Thunder costume that the character wore.
Episode 11 is the bees' knees. Lots of intrigue and superpower usage as all three Pierces suit up in their uniforms (Black Lightning, Thunder, and Lightning), smash their way into the Pit and go after Odell, actually capturing him. They also battle Painkiller, although Jen understandably finds it hard to believe Khalil is a bad guy. Nafessa and China look hot fighting together!
Keep an eye on this series, folks! It's doing things that the other shows aren't (especially Arrow - the series finale was a pathetic sobfest with little to recommend except name-checking John Byrne, which doesn't even make any sense since he's known as a Marvel creator).
Keep an eye on this series, folks! It's doing things that the other shows aren't (especially Arrow - the series finale was a pathetic sobfest with little to recommend except name-checking John Byrne, which doesn't even make any sense since he's known as a Marvel creator).
Haven't posted about Black Lightning for a while but they've introduced the very powerful supervillain Gravedigger, portrayed by none other than comedian Wayne Brady! (from Whose Line Is It Anyway?) and he is killing it in the role. Looks very jacked.
But I'm specifically chiming in to give some props to the latest episode -
S3 E15 Book of War Chapter Two: Freedom Ain't Free
Attn Maskripper and others - This episode is kind of slow, there's a lot of talking and planning and it takes a while to get going, but near the end, there's an incredible fight, and a masked superheroine in serious peril! The gorgeous China McClain in her lovely costume as Lightning - supposedly the most powerful character in the Freelandverse - is knocked out and manhandled. Get some screen grabs!
And also for those who like a little bit of lesbian romance (batgirl1969?)....Anissa and Grace are lovey-dovey and they are getting married! (plus Grace Choi is finally getting the super strength that she had in the Batman & the Outsiders comics)
Recommended episode! (even though it's just a planning episode for the big battle which should be great next week).
But I'm specifically chiming in to give some props to the latest episode -
S3 E15 Book of War Chapter Two: Freedom Ain't Free
Attn Maskripper and others - This episode is kind of slow, there's a lot of talking and planning and it takes a while to get going, but near the end, there's an incredible fight, and a masked superheroine in serious peril! The gorgeous China McClain in her lovely costume as Lightning - supposedly the most powerful character in the Freelandverse - is knocked out and manhandled. Get some screen grabs!
And also for those who like a little bit of lesbian romance (batgirl1969?)....Anissa and Grace are lovey-dovey and they are getting married! (plus Grace Choi is finally getting the super strength that she had in the Batman & the Outsiders comics)
Recommended episode! (even though it's just a planning episode for the big battle which should be great next week).
If you thought Lightning sprawled out on the ground in her tight costume was good in the previous episode, then take a gander at the peril and female-on-female combat in the Black Lightning Season 3 finale!
S3 E16 Book of War: Chapter Three - Liberation
Don't want to spoil the contents too much, but it's everything the title implies. And there are some great moments in here for superheroine lovers.
In the first segment, you can screen-grab an over-the-shoulder carry as the Markovian soliders haul away Lightning in her costume.
Then in the second segment, you can take a long look at the beautiful China McLain, still in her Lightning costume, trapped in a transparent confinement cage where she can't get out. Unfortunately, the scene also has a bunch of woke dialogue, but it does establish the differences in the motives of Gravedigger (played wonderfully by comedian Wayne Brady) and Lightning, drawn as analogies to the philosophical differences between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. So at least you learn something from it.
Later on, we see Thunder, in her lovely full costume (none of this drab Blackbird nonsense anymore) fighting her ensorceled girlfriend Grace Choi. The combat is great, and if you wanted to see two super-strong hot women battling it out, you've got it here.
Lightning later reappears in another battle against Gravedigger and holds her own. Then in the final scene we see the entire Pierce family striding proudly together, including great angles of both Thunder and Lightning in their tight costumes. Proud and powerful superheroines, doing their thing! It's been a very equalizing, reasonably feminist approach given that the show itself is actually about a very established male superhero from the DC Universe.
The only thing that made it a bit unbelievable in the finale is the display of powers that Jefferson's wife Lynn shows in this episode.
You'll have to decide for yourself whether you think her powers are a bit unreasonable, and whether they could have written it another way. Plus, the fact that her powers come from her addiction to the drug, and yet it doesn't completely tear her apart physically (like it did to all the children who took it) seems a bit convenient, as well. The addiction element to the story is never actually resolved - she doesn't kick the habit.
The most amazing Easter egg, of course, in this episode, is the appearance of the two creators of Black Lightning - Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden - as speaking-part characters in one of the final scenes. Watch out for them - they are named in the dialogue!
Looks to me from the way they wrote this finale like they already know there's going to be a fourth season. For a show that nobody watches and nobody's talking about (at least, I don't hear any comic book folks talking about it, nor do I ever see anyone at Cons cosplaying the characters the way they do Arrow, Supergirl, Flash and Batwoman) but is apparently "too woke to fail." Lady Eve, Tobias, and Gravedigger are all likely to return.
But as long as Nafessa and China have such prominent parts in the production, that's just fine with me!
Maskripper, are you reading this thread? If so, post some of your patented masked-heroine screen grabs.
S3 E16 Book of War: Chapter Three - Liberation
Don't want to spoil the contents too much, but it's everything the title implies. And there are some great moments in here for superheroine lovers.
Spoiler
In the first segment, you can screen-grab an over-the-shoulder carry as the Markovian soliders haul away Lightning in her costume.
Then in the second segment, you can take a long look at the beautiful China McLain, still in her Lightning costume, trapped in a transparent confinement cage where she can't get out. Unfortunately, the scene also has a bunch of woke dialogue, but it does establish the differences in the motives of Gravedigger (played wonderfully by comedian Wayne Brady) and Lightning, drawn as analogies to the philosophical differences between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. So at least you learn something from it.
Later on, we see Thunder, in her lovely full costume (none of this drab Blackbird nonsense anymore) fighting her ensorceled girlfriend Grace Choi. The combat is great, and if you wanted to see two super-strong hot women battling it out, you've got it here.
Lightning later reappears in another battle against Gravedigger and holds her own. Then in the final scene we see the entire Pierce family striding proudly together, including great angles of both Thunder and Lightning in their tight costumes. Proud and powerful superheroines, doing their thing! It's been a very equalizing, reasonably feminist approach given that the show itself is actually about a very established male superhero from the DC Universe.
The only thing that made it a bit unbelievable in the finale is the display of powers that Jefferson's wife Lynn shows in this episode.
You'll have to decide for yourself whether you think her powers are a bit unreasonable, and whether they could have written it another way. Plus, the fact that her powers come from her addiction to the drug, and yet it doesn't completely tear her apart physically (like it did to all the children who took it) seems a bit convenient, as well. The addiction element to the story is never actually resolved - she doesn't kick the habit.
The most amazing Easter egg, of course, in this episode, is the appearance of the two creators of Black Lightning - Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden - as speaking-part characters in one of the final scenes. Watch out for them - they are named in the dialogue!
But as long as Nafessa and China have such prominent parts in the production, that's just fine with me!
Maskripper, are you reading this thread? If so, post some of your patented masked-heroine screen grabs.
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Maskripper
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Yes, I do
Overall I enjoyed the season 3, it is my favorite of this show so far.
I liked the storyline...and 3 masked women in the season were a real treat.
A shame that resistance vigilante "Blackbird" was only in a few episodes. Because she is the only one with a real mask ....for my taste.
Thunder with her....sunglasses.... and Lightning with her tiny eye mask are only slightly better masked than Kara on the Supergirl show.
But here, as wished, some pictures:
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(By the way a rather great to way to expose all of their secret identities....
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Good photo posts, Maskripper! Sorry I don't agree with you about Blackbird - I think the mask covers too much of her face. You lose the beauty of the heroine, unlike with Batwoman where you can get an overall impression of the heroine's face. Also, the Blackbird costume is not as tight, and the Blackbird persona reminds me way too much of an Antifa clone - more of a terrorist wannabe than an actual proud superheroine.
As far as watching the four main characters of the series stride out of the courtroom together when three of them are in costume?
Sure. They just revealed their identities to the whole world - there's no way that people can't make the association with the Pierce family. It'll be interesting to see how they explain that in Season 4, or even if they do. Anyway, a very good Season 3 - for my money, the best overall season of all the CW's DC Universe shows.
As far as watching the four main characters of the series stride out of the courtroom together when three of them are in costume?
Sure. They just revealed their identities to the whole world - there's no way that people can't make the association with the Pierce family. It'll be interesting to see how they explain that in Season 4, or even if they do. Anyway, a very good Season 3 - for my money, the best overall season of all the CW's DC Universe shows.
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Maskripper
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Yeah, seemingly many folks want to see most of the face of the heroine when she is masked.shevek wrote: ↑4 years agoGood photo posts, Maskripper! Sorry I don't agree with you about Blackbird - I think the mask covers too much of her face. You lose the beauty of the heroine, unlike with Batwoman where you can get an overall impression of the heroine's face. Also, the Blackbird costume is not as tight, and the Blackbird persona reminds me way too much of an Antifa clone - more of a terrorist wannabe than an actual proud superheroine.
As far as watching the four main characters of the series stride out of the courtroom together when three of them are in costume?
Sure. They just revealed their identities to the whole world - there's no way that people can't make the association with the Pierce family. It'll be interesting to see how they explain that in Season 4, or even if they do. Anyway, a very good Season 3 - for my money, the best overall season of all the CW's DC Universe shows.
For me, I do prefer "half masks" (Black Scorpion), cowls (Batgirl/Batwoman) and full face masks (Spider-Gwen) as they add a real mystery to the heroine.
Who is she? What does she looks like without the mask? That makes the reveal so much more interesting.
And also it offers the possibility for mask damage as I love damaged/ripped masks. And that isn't really a possibility with eye masks.
I want the heroine to have a well covered secret identity. And I really it when it's NOT too easy to unmask them as I love the unmasking struggle.
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And regarding my ranking of the Arrowverse shows from THIS SEASONs...it would look like this as today:
1. Batwoman
2. The Flash
3. Black Lightning
4. Arrow
5. Supergirl
6. Legends of Tomorrow
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