Original subtitles

[Jefferson] Previously on Black Lightning...

I inherited a briefcase that has all kinds of goodies in it...

[automated female voice] Access granted.

So, these are the pod kids.

It's where they were giving the original vaccinations to the kids of Freeland.

I can't pinpoint exactly where they are, but they're here.

Khalil is a danger to you when he's with you.

Because of Tobias?

Yes, because of Tobias.

He has to turn himself in to the authorities.

Your father's right.

[Inspector Henderson on phone] Something went wrong with Khalil's transport.

Everybody's dead.

[Jefferson on phone] Khalil?

There's no sign of him.

[Tobias] I wanted you to be great like Alexander.

If you can't walk with the giants,

then you shall crawl with the snakes!

[screams]

[Reverend Holt] We ask you to come by here right now, Lord,

- and put your arms around him. - [Khalil crying]

Hang on, son.

He's gonna keep you.

[Reverend Holt] I have some unfortunate news to share

that I was contemplating whether I should share it or not

because there's so much going on in Freeland.

Khalil Payne, you remember him?

He grew up right here in the church?

- Is currently in the fight of his life. - [congregation assenting]

He's fighting for his life right over here at St. Lewis Hospital.

Brother Khalil is in a bad way.

He needs your prayers, but God willing,

he will win the battle.

'Cause, you see, Jesus will help him overcome.

-[all cheering] -Come on, somebody! Won't he do it?

All right. Yeah.

[exhales]

Brother Khalil is not the only person currently in a battle.

[congregation assenting]

See, every second of every minute of every day,

every man, woman and child right here in Freeland

are fighting for their lives, whether they realize it or not.

Freeland is under siege

by enemy forces seen and unseen, known and unknown!

[EKG beepin9]

[Nichelle sobbing]

[Reverend Holt] The One Hundred and other rival gangs

are killing each other.

The problem is the stray bullets have been killing our children.

[weakly] Mr. P?

Wait... No.

I need you to do something for me.

Yeah, okay. Anything.

[coughing]

Easy.Easy.

I need Black Lightning to kill Tobias.

I can't do that.

I... I'll give you everything that you need...

to take down his operations.

I know his routes, his... contacts, everything.

I won't do that.

We have to let the judicial system handle Tobias.

The system?

[breathing shakily]

You mean the system that let Tobias

get away with shooting me and Reverend Holt?

The same system that let him rip my spine out of my back?

You mean the system

that let him get away with murdering your father?

Mr. P, is that the system that you're talking about?

Huh?

You promise me, can you make him suffer like me?

Yes.

I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you...

when you needed me.

You were always there...

I just couldn't see you.

[Reverend Holt] Over hundreds of years of slavery and Jim Crow laws,

the one thing we have learned as a people

is that we cannot depend on the Democrats,

or the Republicans, or the Independents.

The one thing that has been constant and consistent

during our struggle in this country

has been God and our black sweat,

and our hard work, and our determination to change our condition.

We have to fight and battle forces in our community

and outside of our communities.

We cannot depend on Black Lightning

or Thunder or anybody else to help us.

We, us, we have to take back our streets,

we have to take back our neighborhoods,

we have to take back our communities,

we have to take back our culture.

With God's help and our own hands, we can do it.

No more moaning, no more tears.

We're not gonna ask anymore for justice,

we're gonna take our retribution.

We're not gonna be victims anymore.

Hey, what are you doing on my car?

Are you trying to steal it? [scoffs]

- What? No. No. - You're trying to steal my car.

- Ma'am, I wasn't... - Hello, 911?

Yes, I caught a woman breaking into my car.

She's African-American.

- She threatened me. And she's, like, 5'6". - [scoffs]

[sighs]

Oh, my... Oh, my God! What did you do?

.Me? 'Yes!

Your car got hit by lightning. You want to call the police on God?

[Reverend Holt] We cannot let this world

put out the fire that our ancestors lit

that carried us through the darkness.

Oh, my God.

-[water whooshing] -Oh, God, my new handbag was in there.

I'm sorry, I know that's secondary, but it was expensive.

Like, it is a brand new car. I mean, it was a brand new car.

So, look, I'm walking out of the hospital and the next thing I knew,

a bolt of lightning hit my car. I could've been killed!

[Reverend Holt] We've got to teach our children

not to bend or bow down!

To claim what our ancestors left.

Teach our children to claim their destiny

- and embrace their power... - [Jefferson] Jennifer.

[Reverend Holt] so that they, boldly,

can use it for the benefit of our people.

We got a long way to go.

[applauding and cheering]

I said we got a long way to go!

But we've come so far.

- [woman 1] So far. - [woman 2] Yeah.

[woman 3] Tell it to them.

- Nobody has given us anything. - [all] Nothing!

- And they're not gonna give us anything. - [all] No, sir.

I said every ounce of freedom that we had, we had to take it.

So I say thank God to Harriet Tubman!

Thank God, Fannie Lou Hamer! Thank God, Rosa Parks!

Thank God, Martin Luther King, Jr.

- Let me hear you say "Amen." - [all] Amen!

If you're with me, let me hear you say "Amen"!

[all] Amen!

Oh. Let the church say... Let the church say "Amen."

[gasps]

- [man 1] Oh, my God! - [man 2] Someone call 911.

[distraught chatter]

N' Last night I saw a superhero He was black N'.

N' He said "This is for the street Black Lightning's back" N'

[whispers] Dad.

{gasping} -[Jefferson] Get in.

Okay. All right, are you ready?

- [electricity crackling] - [Jennifer screaming]

[9 roans]

[9 runts]

[panting]

I can't siphon off the electricity. There's too much of it.

[Jennifer sighing]

Who are you calling?

[knocking on door]

[in hushed voice] It's me, Perenna. Open the door.

Hi, Jefferson.

You may want to let me in before somebody sees me.

Perenna, what are you doing here?

- [door closes] - [Perenna] Hello, Jennifer.

I sensed that you might need some help, so I stopped by.

- How are you feeling? - Not good.

I see.

Mr. Pierce?

Jefferson? I need you to give me and Jennifer some privacy.

No. No, I'm not going anywhere.

Dad, I'm fine, please.

All right. I'll be right outside the door.

[door closes]

Okay... let's get to work.

[jazz music playing]

[Tobias] These Negroes would have a vigil

for an apple fallin' from a tree.

Look at them. All this over a purple, six-button-suit-wearing clown.

Ooh. Oh. Girl fight.

Rewind that.

That's Dr. Helga Jace.

Who's that?

Crazy-ass scientist.

I haven't seen her in 30 years.

She looks exactly the same.

She is supposed to be in prison.

Looks like she tried to do an experiment on a bunch of kids.

They all lost their feet. One died.

That's what she does. You see that on her ankle?

Yeah, it looks like an electronic enclosure device.

Gives you a little shock if you try to break a preset perimeter.

Hmm. But why is she back in Freeland working on the pod kids?

I bet if anyone knows where those four metas at the clinic are, it's her.

Todd, you ready to put in some work?

Oh, for sure.

Good.

Remember, control your breathing.

- [electricity crackling] - [breathing deeply]

Good.

Now still your mind, your soul, still your heart.

Can you feel that?

Yeah.

How do you feel?

I feel calm.

Okay, now take control of the power.

As you come down slowly,

pull the energy back into yourself.

[gasps]

Good. You ready?

Yeah.

[sighs]

- Everything okay? - Yep.

Are you sure?

Yeah. I'm going to go spend some time with Khalil.

0K3'!

What did you tell her?

What she needed to know.

Dr. Conley. How are you? Can I speak to you for a moment?

Hello, Dr. Stewart. I'm sorry about what happened to Khalil.

- Family friend? - Yeah.

How can I help you?

As you know, in my research I've been working

with the children exposed to Green Light.

Yes.

So I have experience working with enhanced individuals.

I thought I might be able to offer some help.

Your work is primarily experimental,

so I wouldn't really be able to entertain it

as a course of treatment for Khalil.

My work has gotten results.

It's also caused the deaths of several of those enhanced people.

Look, Lynn, everything that can be done is being done.

The anesthesia Khalil's body is producing

has gone into overdrive trying to deal with his injuries,

making it toxic.

Well, my team could bring in some treatments

that we've developed in our research.

Like I said, that's not going to happen.

We can't allow experimental procedures on our patients.

Have you tried removing the glands that produce the toxins?

You can use a different class of anesthesia in the operation.

We've tried that.

Well, can you replace the implant?

We wouldn't even know how.

Whoever rebuilt his spine

has technology that no one I know of

has in the United States or elsewhere.

Hey, Jeff. How you doing?

I've been better.

Look, I hate to tell you this, but, uh...

What?

[sighs] Reverend Holt had a heart attack during his sermon

in front of his entire congregation.

What?

Wait, are you sure it was a heart attack?

Tobias has been trying to get Reverend Holt to sell the clinic,

but he wouldn't do it,

and Tobias is used to getting what he wants.

That's why I'm betting he's behind the bombing of the clinic.

- Doesn't matter without proof. - Yeah. [Sighs]

If we can't use Khalil's testimony as evidence,

maybe we can use it as the information

to help build a case against Tobias.

We may have something.

Hey, Bill.

I know where Tobias lives now.

Okay, but I can't go in there without a warrant.

The last time I arrested Tobias,

he ended up having a press conference

on the steps of my police station...

and called me out for false arrest.

Look, in order to catch Tobias,

we have to work together.

Isn't that what we're doing?

What?

I have...

resources that can help you.

What does that mean?

Why are we here?

Okay, look, Bill, you my boy...

and I should have told you a long time ago

who I really am, that is on me.

But I just wanna make sure now that there's no more secrets between us.

I'm a cop, you're a vigilante.

Are we good?

We're good.

0K3'!

[trilling]

Oh, hell no. Really?

Oh, you...

What the hell?

You got any other dead people around here?

Lady Eve? Joey Toledo? Jimmy Hoffa?

No, just Gambi.

Is this it, man? Anything else?

This is everything.

Deputy Chief Henderson...

I faked my death because there were some very serious people after me.

And I needed to smoke them out.

I asked Jefferson to keep my secret.

Do you know who tried to kill you?

No, sir. Not yet.

[takes deep breath]

And I'm guessing you're not really a tailor, huh?

No, I am a tailor... That's just not all that I do.

Well, bully for you.

Y'all got all this fancy tech down here

and the only means of communication

you provide me with is this cheap-ass phone?

- We're old-school. - [inspector Henderson scoffs]

It's more like cheap school.

I, uh, had a tox screening done on Reverend Holt's body.

He was poisoned.

But how did you even get access to the body to get a tox screen?

It takes us weeks to get results.

I have people, and we don't have weeks.

Tobias is up to something much bigger than Reverend Holt.

- He just did that for fun. - Now we just need to prove it.

We need to get him on more than just one murder.

Yeah, one murder never sticks with Tobias.

I mean, he always finds a way to bribe or intimidate the jury.

Murder a witness.

But if we can get him for a whole bunch of murders...

A continuing criminal enterprise.

If we can get enough evidence that Tobias is running one,

we could turn it over to the feds.

They'll RICO him and put him away forever.

That is the plan.

SO... you in?

What y'all got to eat down here?

[EKG beepin9]

[Khalil coughing]

Baby?

Are you okay?

Mom, all people are made up of millions of electrical impulses.

0K3'!

I can see those sparks.

What do you mean?

I mean, I can see inside people.

I didn't know you could do that.

Neither did I, but...

Baby?

On a healthy person, those impulses pulsate at a rapid and steady pace,

but the electrical impulses inside of Khalil

are slowing, and they're getting dimmer.

I can see him dying and I can feel him dying.

I'm sorry.

But since those synapses are electrical,

I was thinking maybe I could help them along.

Help them along?

Yeah, I can control electricity.

So maybe there's a way that I could give his synapses a jump-start.

- You know, like a car? - I don't think that's a good idea.

Khalil is not a car, you can't jump-start him.

What?

Mom, the pods.

We could put Khalil in a pod in hibernation until we can...

We can figure out how to help him.

Think about it. Those vaccine kids,

they've survived in pods for over 30 years.

We could do the same thing with Khalil.

He's enhanced, he's not a meta-human.

I couldn't survive in one of those pods,

and I'm not sure he could, either.

Maybe not, but we have to try. Mom, we have to try.

Please.

[sighs]

Thank you.

Thank you.

[door opens]

Grace?

Hey!

He".Hey.

What are you doing here?

I know what it's like to be waiting in the hospital when someone's hurt,

andlthoughtyou could use some greasy hamburgers and fries.

[Anissa] Mmm.

- [sniffs] Mmm, my God! They smell so good. - It's the onions.

And the grease.

Look...

I'm not going to tell you that everything happens for a reason,

because I don't believe that.

I came to tell you that I care,

and I'm sorry that you and your family are going through this.

Thank you.

All right, let's bless this food,

because I am starving.

Yeah, it's all yours.

[muffled grunting]

I told you what would happen if you came up short.

You always knew I'd rule. Knew before I did.

But did you know I'd have to deal with such incompetence?

Damn! They don't make these shiftless Negroes like they used to.

A little bit of discipline and they fall apart.

[grunt]

Take care of that for me.

I don't dispose of bodies.

Well, I'm expanding your job description.

Very good work on that thing with the reverend.

Poisoned handkerchief. Hadn't heard of that one before.

Good work on paying me on time.

Look, I know I never apologized.

You're apologizing?

I was wrong to end it that way.

It was a long time ago. What's done is done.

Besides, what happened helped me find my true calling.

That's good. Now get rid of that body.

Dr. Conley, I'm here to run some tests on Khalil

to determine if he's a candidate to be put in stasis

until we can find a way to figure out if we can help him out.

It's illegal for you to run any tests

or medical procedures on a patient in our care.

This is ASA official business now.

Also signed by Khalil's mother,

who's giving us authority to help in his care.

I'm sorry, we will not allow an outside entity

to perform work on a patient in our hospital.

If you prevent her son from getting treatments that might save his life,

I'm sure she will sue this hospital, and I'm sure she'll win.

Then I'm sure she will take all of that money

and sue you personally into homelessness.

[jazz music playing]

Deputy Chief Henderson. I'm always happy to see a brother come up.

Nice digs. So this is your secret hiding place?

No secret, Deputy Chief.

I'm just like any other citizen of Freeland,

except wealthier.

To what do I owe this unannounced, no-warrant visit?

Khalil Payne showed up at St. Lewis Hospital

- with his spine ripped out. - I heard about that.

What a shame.

Khalil should have been more careful who he pissed off.

Word on the street is the person he pissed off is you.

It's true, I was angry.

Angry's not the word. Disappointed in Khalil.

I had such compassion for his situation, a track star losing his legs.

I mean, I tried to mentor him,

but after I saw what he did to those children at Garfield,

I cut ties with him.

I can't stand by lawlessness and violence, Deputy Chief.

I'm sure a man like you can understand.

When was the last time you saw him, Tobias?

[scoffs]

It's been a while now.

Last I heard, Khalil tried to abscond

with a bunch of stacks from The One Hundred.

My opinion? They probably were making an example out of him.

[on speakers] Do you like what you see?

I need you to scan as much of the room as possible.

Wonder how you can afford it.

It's called good old-fashioned hard work.

Look, you can arrest me if you want,

but we both know how that's going to end up.

I'll lawyer up, get released in a few hours,

then hold another press conference about you.

[Gambi] Go back to the pool cues on the wall.

And the incompetent Freeland PD.

So you need to arrest me or get out.

- [Gambi] That's it. - [Tobias] 'Cause I have somewhere to be.

-[system chimes] -[Gambi] Got it. That's a safe.

I have the make and model.

We have what we need, Henderson.

You can get out of there.

I'll be seeing you again.

[Tobias laughs]

Aw, don't go away mad, Deputy Chief!

Just go away.

[laughing]

[beeps]

[door opens]

Hello, Dr. Jace. I'm Todd.

- Who are you? - I just told you, I'm Todd.

You told me your name, but who are you?

I'm the person getting you a one-night "get out of jail free" card.

I'm wearing an ankle device.

I know.

[device trilling]

[Todd] That should do it.

Please act like you're reading.

Stand up now, please?

- You have got toys. - [chuckles]

That's right, mama.

What do you want from me?

Well, it's not really about what I want.

It's about what Tobias wants.

- Tobias Whale? - Do you know of any other Tobiases?

[Todd clears throat]

[soft jazz music playing]

[Tobias] Damn.

I guess orange is the new black. Long time no see.

- And yet we both look the same. - Indeed.

You never thanked me for creating the anti-aging serum

- that's kept us both so young. - True that.

Maybe that's because when you gave me the serum,

you didn't know if it would keep me from aging or kill me.

The day I thank a crazy scientist

for experimenting on my ass is the day I die.

Now, why don't you elucidate me on what you've been up to?

Big picture and small.

I was the architect of the original vaccine program in Freeland.

When it ended, I went to Markovia

to create a meta program for them.

News reports of Freeland's Green Light epidemic

caught my eye, and I came home.

Except you came home before that and got your ass arrested

for resuming your same old tricks,

illegal experiments on kids.

Lie to me again and I'll rip your tongue out with fingernail clippers.

The ASA helped me defect a few years ago,

hoping to cripple Markovia's meta program,

but I got in trouble, as you've described.

Recently, I've been brought out in ASA custody

to work with the pod kids.

But you killed somebody else and they threw you back inside.

- Multiple somebodies, yes. - Aw, that's a shame.

I have something that might be of extreme value to you.

I already know there's meta-humans in the clinic.

But no one but me knows where they are.

You get these metas and you will have more power than you ever imagined.

You have no idea

how much power I've imagined having.

Well, then this is just what you're looking for.

[indistinct chatter]

[EKG beepin9]

[weakly] J...

J, I'm dying. [breathing shakily]

I can feel it.

It's okay. [Breath trembling]

[computer beeps]

[Gambi] The briefcase isn't there.

[9 runts]

[sighs]

Yeah... makes sense.

Makes sense.

I mean, with Khalil ready to turn state's evidence.

Then the visit by Henderson? Tobias is not stupid.

He knows he's being watched.

We tried.

[cell phone vibrating]

Hey.

Jefferson, you need to come back to the hospital.

I'll be right there.

I gotta go.

I'll be here.

[Jennifer] Mom, you have gotta get Khalil into a pod fast.

- He doesn't have much time left. - Baby...

The toxins in Khalil's body is stopping us from putting him under.

If we can't put him under, we can't put him in a pod.

I'm sorry.

We can't save him.

Jennifer, sweetheart...

you should go and tell Khalil

anything that you need to tell him...

[gasps]

While you still can.

N' I don't wanna Write this down N'.

N' I wanna tell you How I feel right now N'.

- Wait a minute. - What's wrong?

- Where are we? - We're at prom.

No... seriously, where are we?

J, am I dead?

No.

Not yet. Almost.

But we're in my head, in my safe space.

How is that even possible?

[sighs] I mean, it's a long story, and we don't have time.

I wanted a little more time with you before it was too late.

Oh.

N' Put my heart And soul into this song N'.

N' I hope you feel me N'.

N' From where I am To wherever you are N'.

N' I mean that sincerely N'.

N' Tomorrow may never come N'.

N' For you Umi N'.

N' Life is not promised H'

[sighs]

[Khalil sniffles]

I love you, Jen.

I love you, too, Khalil.

N' So close to you N'.

N' Don't be afraid N'.

N' To let it shine N'

[Khalil sighs]

N' Shine your light For the world to see N'.

N' My Abi said Shine your light On the world H.

N' Shine your light For the world to see N'

[electrical pulsating]

[deep breathing]

[EKG beepin9]

[Khalil breathing deeply]

[Khalil moaning weakly]

[Anissa sniffling]

N' Sometimes My heart gets heavy N'.

N' Sometimes I just want To leave and fly away N'

- [EKG flatlining] - [exhales deeply]

N' I feel like a man N'.

N' Going insane Losing my brain N'.

N' Trying to maintain Doing my thing N'.

N' Put my heart and soul Into this y'all N'.

N' I hope you feel me Where I am H'

[Jennifer gasps]

N' Sometimes I don't want to be bothered N'

[Nichelle sobbing]

[Tobias grunting]

N' Umi said shine your light On the world H.

N' Shine your light For the world to see N'.

N' My Abi said Shine your light On the world H.

N' Shine your light For the world to see N'.

N' My dreamers said Shine your light On the world H.

N' Want black people To be free N'

- [beeps] - [door opens]

N' My elders said Shine your light On the world N'.

N' Shine your light For the world to see N'.

N' I want black people To be free N'.

N' To be free, to be free N'.

N' All my people to be free To be free N'

[closing theme music playing]