All language subtitles for BLACK LIGHTNING - S01 E02 - Lawanda, The Book of Hope (1080p - BluRay).eng

[yells]

[Lynn] You have to stop.

I can't keep letting you put
yourself or me through this.

I promise, no more.

[Jefferson] It has been nine years since
I've even come close to using my powers.

[Gambi] Do you remember
why you became Black Lightning?

You wanted to give
the people hope.

[Anissa] Look, somebody has to do
something, because all of this policing

and marching and praying,
it hasn't changed anything.

[grunting]

[Jefferson] It is time that people
know that Black Lightning...

is back.

[narrator] Previously
on Black Lightning...

[Jefferson] Lynn
and! Are making room

for a possibility
of a reconciliation.

All you guys want me to
do is go to school, run track,

and "set a good example
for the other girls."

When did that
become a bad thing?

Don't think just 'cause
I'm a little stoned

that means you're
gonna get some.

[Lala] I think your girl should
start putting in some work

over at the Seahorse Motel.

- I'm not afraid of The One Hundred.
- Bitch, you should be!

Jeff, where are you going?

To get our girls.

Bring them home.

[Will screaming]

There's no doubt that
Black Lightning is back.

- But the question is why? Why now?
- [Jefferson groaning]

If Brother Lightning is back because
he's committed to helping the people,

- then I'm all for it.
- [continues groaning]

But if he's back just for
some personal vendetta,

I can't condone that.

Giving the people of
Freeland false hope

- is selfish, and it's cruel.
- [groaning]

The people of Freeland
have been victimized.

[electricity crackling]

I believe he is the
answer to our prayers...

[continues indistinctly]

[electricity
continues crackling]

[continues groaning]

[panting]

- [electricity crackling]
- [groaning]

[thud]

[Jefferson continues groaning]

Oh, Jeff.

[breathing heavily]

| 901i you. Okay?

"[Ql'unting] '| 9012 you."

[breathing heavily]

Black Lightning is getting
too old for these streets.

[both chuckle]

You're not lying about that.

You remember when
we were young...

when I first saw your superpowers,
I thought you were so cool.

[both laughing]

That my man was a superhero.

[sighs and chuckles]

Not many girls could say that.

Then the reality hit.

And what I thought was
cool... almost destroyed us.

[sighs]

When I see you like this, I...

I feel really selfish.

[stammers] Hold on.

I did this.

[stammers] No, I know.
I feel like a hypocrite.

I told you to go get the girls.
I put you back out there...

Lynn, Black
Lightning is not back.

The girls are safe. I'm done.

I love you, Lynn.

I miss you.

I miss you, too.

I, um... -I should go.
- Uh, wait. Wait.

[Jefferson groans]

I think it's important for
you to be here for the girls.

So I will sleep on the
couch, you take the bed.

Okay-Good night.

Good night.

Now they running up
in schools, taking girls?

What they gonna do next?
Start taking girls out of church?

If there's a war for the
streets, a war for the city,

The One Hundred is winning.

[Jefferson] You know,
I heard someone say

that if there's a war for
the streets of Freeland,

The One Hundred are winning.

But here at Garfield, we
are not fighting for the streets.

No, we are fighting for the minds, the
hopes and the dreams of our children.

Them some real
pretty words, Mr. Pierce.

But pretty words ain't
gonna stop The One Hundred.

[crowd agreeing]

Dr. King said, "The arc of
the moral universe is long",

"but it bends toward
justice." And I believe...

[crowd agreeing]

And they shot Dr. King
in the head, Mr. Pierce!

[crowd agreeing]

Well, The One
Hundred got my little girl.

And the police say
they can't do anything

because supposedly,
there ain't no evidence

she's bein' held
against her will.

- [woman] That's messed up, man.
- LaWanda. LaWanda White?

Yeah, it's me, Mr. Pierce.

It's good to see you, LaWanda.

First, I'm sorry to hear about
your daughter. I really am.

Well, maybe now since the
Seahorse Motel is shut down,

you can take that
time to reconnect.

The Seahorse ain't shut down.

They opened back up for business
the day after all this mess went down.

And they gonna stay open as
long as they got those girls in there.

- [crowd agreeing]
- Is that true?

I'm sorry, I didn't know.

Clearly. But, Mr. Pierce,
what I wanna know is,

why Black Lightning rescued
your girls and nobody else's?

[crowd agreeing]

I don't know, LaWanda.

When I was a student here, you
used to like to use quotes to teach us.

Well, I got one.

"Unless all of us are free,
none of us will be free."

[crowd agreeing]

Somebody knows who this
bootleg Black Lightning is.

I want you to raise the protection
amount 50% on every church and business,

every crap game, massage parlor.

Even rib shack. Squeeze
these darkies till they crack.

Damn, boss. You really
do hate black people.

No, I love black people.

I hate incompetent,
thick-lipped,

scratch-where-it-don't-itch
Negroes like you.

[groaning]

Y'all keep us acting
like newly-freed slaves.

[Lala] Boss, I
got a plan for that.

[grunts]

Perception and fear, Lala.

If the people of
Freeland start to perceive

we are no longer in control,
then they won't fear us.

Maybe they'll start
to think that this fool

pretending to be Black
Lightning will actually protect them.

And I surely can't have that.

[Jefferson] Hmm.

Yeah, I remember I'd have to tell you
to let go of each other and get to class.

You were always holding hands.

Darnell was the love of my life.

When he was killed, all they
did was give us a folded flag,

thanked us for his service, and
shot some guns over his casket.

He deserved more.

Yeah, he did.

After that, our
lives just fell apart.

Shaquandalyn loved her daddy
more than anything in this world.

I did everything I could
to try to keep her safe,

but she just got caught up in looking
for her daddy in all the wrong men.

[sniffling]

What can I do to help?

You can go in there and get her.

Take her out of there.

- [stutters] I can't do that.
- Yes, you can.

You just won't.

Man, everybody knows Mr. Pierce
can do whatever he wants in Freeland.

We used to call you Black Jesus,
thought you could walk on water.

- Yeah, look, LaWanda...
- No.

No, it's okay, Mr. Pierce.

Everybody say they praying for me,
but ain't nobody willing to fight for me.

You got your own girls
to worry about, to fight for.

Well, I got to find a
way to fight for mine.

[Jefferson] But in less
than 48 hours, Henderson?

Aw, come on, man. You guys
have to do better than that.

It's a crime scene, Jefferson.

Once we're through cleaning it
up, there's nothing else we can do.

No, no, no. My girls were
kidnapped. Kidnapped!

Lala's responsible, you know
this. They gave you the statement.

Your girls say he was
there. He says he wasn't.

And he has 15 people who
will swear he was at a party

when all of this
was taking place.

Okay, well, you can at least bring
him in for pimping these girls out.

I mean, he at the Seahorse right
now, being forced to turn tricks.

- Don't you think we tried that, Jefferson?
- [sighs]

You arrest these guys, the girls
say they weren't forced to do anything.

You arrest the girls, they get out
and run right back to these guys.

It's not only their bodies that are
slaves to these fools, it's their minds.

Okay, what about that
kid who came into school?

Can you get him to flip on Lala?

Yeah, maybe, if we can find him.

Wait, what?

- What do you mean "if you can find him"?
- [sighs]

Now you telling me he just got up
and walked away from a two-story fall?

How did you hear about that?

[stutters] My girls.
My girls told me.

While they were transporting him to the
hospital, he jumped out the ambulance,

all hyped up on
painkillers and adrenaline.

He ran like a jackrabbit.
My boys couldn't catch him.

You're telling me the two men
responsible for kidnapping my girls

- are still out there somewhere?
- Not for long.

No, my girls are
witnesses, Henderson.

Now, you know what
that means on the streets.

I do. I got a patrol car
sitting outside your house.

The key is, we find
Will, then we get Lala.

I promise.

[clicks tongue] Okay.

Okay-

[Khalil] We're all worried
about you. You good?

[chuckles] Yeah, I'm good.

Look, it's like Fort
Knox at school.

There's security everywhere.

[sighs] When you coming back?

I don't really know.

- Hey, there.
- Hey.

Look, I really want to see
you. Can I come by after?

Uh, maybe tomorrow.

[chuckles] It's a little
bit crazy right now.

All right.

[footsteps approaching]

Y'all want to buy some candy?

Yo, I gotta go.

Yo, what you got, little man?

Lala says hi!

[screaming and
gasping] Oh, my...

[officer speaking indistinctly]

Are you okay?

Are you hurt?

- [engine revving]
- [kids cheering]

[hip-hop song playing]

Mr. Pierce, you came to watch
the ghetto Cirque du Soleil, huh?

I hired the 12 O 'Clock Boys to
get the kids a little entertainment.

Man, you better stay
away from my family.

- Or what?
- "or what?"

You lucky it was
just a water gun.

All right, look
here, we had a deal.

You stay away from
the school and my girls.

Things changed.

Your daughters been running
their mouths to the police.

Look, Mr. Pierce,
I'm trying to be nice

'cause you was cool with
me when I went to your school,

but they better keep my
name out of their mouths.

Matter of fact, if I was you,

I'd send your daughters on
a long vacation before I do.

[grunting]

- [chuckles]
- [guns cocking]

[electricity crackling]

[grunts]

[sighs]

[continues grunting]

Don't mistake my
patience for weakness, boy.

[I Boyll?

[cackles]

Hey, man, it's been a long
minute since I've been a boy, man.

Hey, man, fire the bikes back
up, man. You know what it is.

[bikes starting]

They went to my house!

I get it, I understand.

But if they had killed you,

then where is the
hope for this city?

Gambi, I'm not trying to save the
city. I'm trying to protect my family.

Okay, so get back in the suit,
and let's take these guys down.

Jeff, I can access any
database, including Freeland PD.

Let's just see what
information they have.

If we help them find Will, he'll
tell them all he knows about Lala.

Then Lala is arrested, and
he'll flip on whoever his boss is,

and we can get closer
to the source of all of this.

"The source"?

Gambi, you're not hearing me.

After I take down
Lala, I'm done.

[kissing]

[Anissa] Damn, I needed that.

Mmm.

[moans]

[chuckles]

[sighs]

Hey, what's up? You okay?

I'm fine.

Oh, believe me, I know.

You so fine, you bring
sight to the blind, girl.

[both chuckling]

- That was so corny.
- Whatever.

You sound like an
old man at the club.

"Hey, girl, you so fine,

- "you bring sight to the blind, girl."
- I did not sound like that.

[both laughing]

- Yes, you did.
- [sighs]

You sure you okay?

I should be asking you that.
All that you've been through.

Now is not a good time.

It's never a good time.

Tell me.

[sighs]

- Our sex is mind-blowing, you know that.
- Mmm.

But I need more, Anissa.

I feel like I'm just a
distraction for you.

We've been dating a year
and you haven't met my parents,

you don't know
any of my friends.

I mean, babe, you know I'm busy,

between school and teaching, and
trying to help organize the community...

I'm not asking you
to give up any of that.

Well, that's what
it sounds like.

Look, I'm sorry.

Like I said, now's
not a good time,

and you've been
through a lot. So, sorry.

It's okay.

[both sigh]

How are you
coping with all this?

I don't know. It
just feels weird.

It all feels like a
dream or a nightmare.

I don't know, I just want
everything to be back to normal,

but all this strange
stuff keeps happening.

Babe, you know I broke
the sink in my bathroom?

You what?

Yeah. The other night.

So I get up to pee,

and I have some
kind of... panic attack.

So, I grabbed the sink to
brace myself, and it just...

I don't know, it just crumbled
in my hands, like it was nothing.

We'll get you a good therapist.

You know my mother.
She's seen them all.

[chuckles] No, babe, but
the sink... I'm just trying to...

Probably just some old-ass porcelain
sink that was gonna break anyway.

Look, the important thing is,

we find you someone that is
gonna help you get through this.

It'll be okay. Hey.

- Evening, neighbor.
- [chuckles]

You're working late.

And it don't stop.

[chuckling] Yeah, said every
hype man ever stood on a stage.

Exactly. Besides, I
was walking Monk,

and he suggested we check in
to make sure you guys are okay.

Yeah, well, Anissa's,
uh, with her girlfriend, uh...

Jennifer's upstairs, asleep.

They're more
resilient than I thought.

People usually are.

Oh, thanks.

[Inspector Henderson]
Oh, you're welcome.

Hey, uh...

Lynn still here?

[both chuckle]

Yes, Henderson,
she is still here.

She's upstairs,
asleep with Jennifer.

Negro, don't act
all stoic on me.

- [laughs]
- I know you.

You probably in there tap-dancing,
you so happy she's back.

Yeah, well, well, she's
not back completely...

but I think we're getting close.

Yeah, I'm happy to hear that, man.
You all deserve some happiness.

And we gonna get
these guys, Jefferson.

Will, Lala, we'll get 'em.

Yeah, I know.

Oh, by the way, you might
wanna talk to your girl LaWanda.

She posted herself up outside
the Seahorse with a camera,

recording johns

- and taking down license plate numbers.
- [sighs]

I tried to talk to her, but she
just called me an Uncle Tom

and walked away. She
gonna get herself killed.

What are you gonna do about it?

There's nothing I
can do. She got rights.

Come on, boy.

[music playing on speakers]

[singing] N' Sit yourself
down, girl And talk to me N'.

N' Tell me what's
on your mind N'.

N Don't keep on telling
me Everything's okay... N'

[music continues playing]

[muffled whimpering]

This is why I don't
like hiring family.

They never appreciate
nothing you try and do for 'em.

You got me in a world
of confusion, cuzo.

- But at the end of the day...
- [gun cocks]

[muffled grunting]

I'll straighten it out.

[Lala humming]

[continues singing along]

I.“ And you covered
Your head... N'.

Thanks for getting the word out.

- Sure. Okay, you're welcome.
- [Jefferson] LaWanda.

- [sighs] LaWanda, you gotta stop this.
- No, I don't.

[sighs] This is suicide.

Now, as soon as all these reporters
leave, when this story gets old,

The One Hundred will kill you.

Would you die for your
daughters, Mr. Pierce?

Would you just walk away if
Black Lightning hadn't saved 'em?

Huh?

That's what I thought.

[stammers] LaWanda, no, don't
do this. Okay? Forty-eight hours.

- [sighs]
- Just give me 48 hours.

I promise you, I will
get your daughter back.

I have connections at
the police department.

No. Didn't you hear me?
They ain't trying to listen!

No, they will listen
to me, I promise.

We will find a way.

But none of that is gonna matter

if your daughter comes home
safe and her mother's dead.

I love my daughter, Mr. Pierce.

She's all I got.

I know how you feel.

Believe me.

So, let me help you.

Okay. I'll stop.

[sighs]

But I ain't leaving.
I'll just sit in my car.

I ain't taking my
eyes off this place,

just in case they try to take
her somewhere I can't find her.

Okay, fair enough. Thank you.

And I promise you,
I won't let you down.

[sighs]

Thank you.

[sobbing]

Ooh. I'm sorry.

Damn. [Grunts]

- Well, it is good to see you, girl.
- [chuckles]

- It's good to see you, too.
- [chuckles]

Thanks for coming.

Aight, so... so Black
Lightning, huh?

I mean, you saw Black Lightning?

Girl, that... Yo,
that is pretty cool.

Yeah.

I was kind of scared

because when you try
and look at his face, it hurts.

I don't know, it's like
looking into a spotlight.

There's something
that's out of focus.

J...

Look, when all this went
down, I realized something.

What's that?

[stutters] I mean, you know that
we've been friends for a long time.

And, uh...

[clicks tongue]

[stammers] Thought I'd maybe...

I've been wanting to
ask you to be my girl.

And, you know, I
realized... [sighs]

That if they had killed you, I mean, I
never would've had the chance and...

Well, now I'm doing it.

[stutters] Do you,
maybe, wanna...

You want to be my girlfriend?

[chuckles]

- Yeah.
- Yeah?

Yeah. Cool. I'd like that.

All right. Cool. Thanks.

Uh... Well, look, I
kinda got you something.

It's not fancy, but I saw it
and thought about you, so...

[grunts]

That looks good on you.

Thank you.

[both chuckle]

Oh. Hey. I didn't
hear you come in.

- Huh.
- You want me to make you something to eat?

No, no, I'm fine. Thank you.

So, uh, how are the girls?

Good. Jennifer is on the roof
in her favorite place with Khalil.

- So, she's happy.
- Mmm.

And Anissa's still at
her girlfriend's house.

And I can never
remember that girl's name.

- Cheena, I think.
- [both laughing]

What? Nothing like that. No.

Well, it feels good
to have you here.

It feels good to be here.

Yeah.

[both] Mmm.

That feels good.

Well, there's one,
uh, fact that I lean on.

Yeah?

That I love you and those girls
more than anything in the world.

I need to take
things slow, Jeff.

As a neuroscientist, I know everything
there is to know about the brain,

but not so much about the heart.

Oh, that's a smooth
line, lady. Yeah.

[both laughing]

Sorry, Mr. Pierce.

Lala.

You better take that
camera out of my face.

LaWanda, take your ass home now.
I'm not playing no games with you.

- I want my daughter.
- Hey!

I want my daughter. No,
get your hands off me!

[gunshots]

Man! Come on, babe. I
ain't got time for this, man.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[phone ringing]

Hey, man, what's up?

[Inspector Henderson]
Jeff, um... [clears throat]

I didn't want you to
hear it on the news.

LaWanda's dead.

I just got the call
a few minutes ago.

Sorry, man.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[electricity crackling]

[male reporter] A local
woman was found dead...

[Jefferson] What
good did it do, Lynn?

She was my student.

[scoffs] I had a fantasy that when
they leave me, their lives are better.

[stutters] That they
could transcend

this neighborhood,
this city, world.

Yeah, I saved more lives as
the principal of Garfield High

than I ever did as
Black Lightning.

- It's true.
- It's a lie!

- LaWanda is dead.
- She is.

I know. I know.

And it hurts, and I
understand. I feel it, too...

But I could have saved her.

I could save so many.

I've been living a lie.

[stuttering] Living in the hopes
that you and me and the girls

could somehow live
behind a white picket fence,

a normal life!

I'm not normal. Never
have been. Never will be.

Jeff, listen to me. This
is the addiction talking...

[stutters] What? There
is no damn addiction!

[breathing heavily]

[stutters] Do you
remember what you said

when we discovered my powers?

You said it was a gift.

A blessing from God.

It's still a gift.

It's still a blessing from God.

And I intend to use it.

Not just for the girls,

but for all the other people
out there who need me.

Jefferson, please,
we are so close

to putting the pieces of
our lives back together.

[Lynn sighs]

Yeah, we are.

Maybe.

No more maybes for me, Lynn.

It is time that people know
that Black Lightning is back.

[indistinct chatter]

- [school bell rings]
- Morning.

Welcome back. I mean, let's be honest,
you never kept your eyes off this place,

but just making it official.

[sighs] Thank you.

- [sighs] How are the girls holding up?
- As best they can.

Yeah, I think getting back
into the school routine will help.

Mmm. How are you holding up?

I'm good.

Look, I see you keeping
everything and everyone together.

I just hope someone is
doing the same for you.

I mean, if you need to
talk or whatever, I'm here.

- Thank you, Kara. I appreciate it.
- [cell phone buzzing]

Yeah.

- Hey.
- [Gambi] Good news.

I found Will.

Bad news, he's dead.

I got here before the police, and whoever
killed him didn't take his cell phone.

Mobile phones are the enemy of
bad guys. When are they gonna learn?

Lala's still out
there on the loose,

and he's getting desperate,
Gambi. He killed LaWanda.

He's gonna come after my girls
next if we don't get to him first.

We will.

[Jennifer and Kiesha laughing]

- Give me some more. Give me some more.
- Okay, okay, okay.

Hey, YOLO.

It's the truth, you
only live once.

Yeah, 'cause one minute your
ass can be here, everything's cool,

and then the next minute,
your ass is kidnapped.

Yeah, but they should have different
terms for it. I'm not a kid anymore.

They should call it teen-napped.

- And Anissa would be adult-napped.
- [stutters]

Okay, did they hit you hard
in the head or something,

- because you tripping a little bit.
- [both laughing]

You trippin'.

- Really?
- Yeah, you need some more of that.

No. Right.

[exclaiming]

- It's strong, it's good.
- [chuckles]

[Khalil panting]

Hi.

Oh, what you doing here?

YOLO.

What?

You only live once.

[panting]

What, so you drinking now?

At school?

It's not cool, J.

Khalil, calm down. I just
wanted to ask you something.

Look, I'm not gonna calm down.

[sighs] Look, you saw and went
through some craziness. I get it.

But that is not the
way to deal with it.

[panting]

I've seen it all, J.

My brother shot and killed,

father in jail, Mama working
her damn ass off just to provide.

Yeah, I live the life
that rappers talk about,

and ain't none of
it cute. None of it.

But you know what?
God gave me a gift.

I can run fast.

So I'm gonna run my black
ass straight up out of here,

and I ain't looking back.

But I want you to come
with me, but not like this.

No, that is going
backwards and I can't do that.

I just see the world
completely different now.

Oh, I got you.

- [sighs]
- Really, I do.

It's just growing up.

Come here, J.

[Khalil sighs]

I forgot how warm and
beautiful this place is.

You know how this ends, right?

The same way it always
ends for everyone, Lynn.

None of us get
out of here alive.

- He was happy.
- But what kind of happy?

Happy like a lion in a cage?

King of the zoo,
not of the jungle?

Happy like a man who was at
peace just being Jefferson Pierce.

But he isn't just Jefferson Pierce,
he is so much more than that.

And you know that
better than anyone.

I do, and that's why I want you to
stop him before he gets addicted again.

We have a difference
of opinion on that.

I don't believe Jefferson was
ever addicted to his powers.

He was in a war to save
this city and its people,

and he was winning.

Then he suddenly stopped
because he was addicted to you.

And now look at the
condition of this city

and its people. It's...
it's complete chaos.

Sounds like you're
blaming me for the chaos.

A little.

Just like you blame
me, then and now.

But ultimately, it is Jefferson's
choice what he does with his powers.

[sighs]

[door chimes]

[cell phone buzzing]

Hey.

[Gambi] Will's phone had Lala's
address on it. I've got him on my GPS.

[crowd cheering]

[woman] Ooh, he is fine.

Black Lightning, my man.

- Lala, what floor?
- Penthouse.

Thanks, bro.

- [electricity crackling]
- [men groaning]

| 901 you.

No. I'm gonna take the stairs.

[groans]

I'm just getting back into this.

A brother needs all
the exercise he can get.

[gunshots]

[men grunting]

[man grunting]

[Black Lightning grunting]

Stop! Put your hands
high above your head!

[dispatcher on radio]
Uh, there's some kinda

disturbance, we need
additional back-up...

It's been a while, Inspector.

[inhales deeply] I don't want
to spend a lot of time on this,

so I'll make it plain.

LaWanda is telling her
story from the dead, buddy.

Her cell phone was recording, so
we got you on tape shooting her.

Your boy is flipping on you.

How you think we found you?

Mmm-hmm.

Your world is
falling apart, Lala.

[Jefferson sighs]

It's over. The girls are safe.

And the Seahorse
has been shut down.

And Black Lightning?

[sighs] Look, things
are different now.

The girls are older.

Maybe we can find
a way to live with it.

[sighs]

[cash register dings]

[muffled] On the counter! Hurry!
Come on! Come on, hurry up!

Put it on the counter!
Come on, hurry!

Hurry up! On the ground, bitch!

You stay! You keep
doing what you were doing.

I said on the ground.
Are you deaf, bitch?

- Okay. [Gasping]
- I will shoot you!

[grunting] Get down!

[gasping]

[man grunts]

[both panting]

[Jefferson] Yeah,
we were close, Lynn.

What's up?

Have fun.

Lala.

You shot somebody's mama?

Any man that'd do
that has no morals.

- No principles to live by.
- [groaning]

Which means there's
nothing you are not capable of,

including becoming a rat.

[choking]