Episode 7: The Book of Blood (Chapter 3) – The Sange
Directed by: Eric Laneuville
Written by: Keli Goff

“The Sange” is perhaps the best-organized episode of Black Lightning this season, choosing to focus on two story beats at a time, avoiding the usual whiplash from bouncing back and forth between three and four plot elements in one hour. The first half sees the showdown between Black Lightning and Thunder with Looker and her Sange horde. Looker (Sofia Vassilieva) is portrayed as a “dark mirror” to Black Lightning, as he fights against racial oppression, Looker’s crusade is the reverse, with the focus on Whites and a separatist agenda. But despite the casualties suffered, the conclusion to the main story is not the cleanest cut, with a lot of loose ends left dangling. The ultimate destiny of South Freeland, the Sange/Perdi and the bi-racial meta-human infant twins are left ambiguous, yet a bit hopeful.

Jennifer and Khalil’s relationship gets more added, and deserved, attention here too. This natural development is merely the culmination of their own personal journeys and desires. Their subtle similarities and previous romantic fawning play into why their affection and devotion to each other is so strong, despite opposing external forces in their lives. I’m sure anyone glued to China and Jordan’s onscreen chemistry by now will find the ending a bit bitter-sweet.

Another strong, but brief moment is Jefferson’s fateful reunion with an old friend/guardian angel. Even with what little screen time is given, just one scene together, the performance spoke volumes as to the mélange of emotions both were experiencing at that moment. This, however, does not excuse Gambi’s inactivity up to this point, acting like a super spy godfather than doing anything else in finding out who ordered the hit on him – at least since that one failed interrogation.

Book of Blood and the old-fashioned Perdi/Sange plot was an okay distraction but ultimately accomplished nothing within the grander scheme of things or the main characters themselves. Genuine, lasting consequences came from everything outside the “main story”. From the pod-kid disaster, the assassination attempt on Gambi, and the blossoming relationship with Khalil and Jennifer, Blood’s biggest crime isn’t what it did, but what it omitted. I would have liked to see Gambi go on an extended side mission in tracking down the one who ordered the hit, successfully or otherwise, as well as sincerely develop Tobias and his clandestine schemes of controlling Freeland who now comes off as an incompetent, increasingly impotent would-be kingpin. I can only hope the next book succeeds where Book of Blood falters.

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Hailing from the eastern-most Caribbean island of Barbados, Fabian Wood has long since been fascinated by the power of storytelling to inspire and invoke emotions – whether in film, comics or video games. No longer content to be just an avid comic book reader and video gamer, he’s eager to exercise his literary acumen as an aspiring writer and reviewer.