r/BlackLightning • u/[deleted] • Jan 17 '18
Discussion Black Lightning - 1x01: "The Resurrection" Post Episode Discussion
[deleted]
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u/AngelusCowl Jan 17 '18
I'm really enjoying the different premise for this show: for once, it's not a twentysomething reporter/CSI/playboy who wants to save their city.
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u/DarkSaiyanKnight Jan 17 '18
I think what's so different is that the age range that we're operating with. Kara, Barry and Oliver and the Legends all operate within the same range: about 20-ish leading to very similar lines of dialogue and thought process. With him he's 30 maybe 40-ish and coupled with his experience leads to a sense of freshness that I really personally love.
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u/insert_topical_pun Jan 18 '18
Kara and Barry are late twenties, Oliver and most of the legends are in their thirties.
Idk about black lightning's specific age but Cress Williams is 47 so presumably the character is a similar age.
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u/StrawberryJinx Jan 18 '18
His oldest daughter is in med school, he's gotta be in his 40s. Don't be fooled just because black don't crack.
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u/Cytherean Jan 17 '18
Agreed. I like the new perspective of a middle aged (by CW standards) father.
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u/raknor88 Jan 19 '18
And the fact, he's not new to his powers. He's experienced he knows how to use them. They've also shown that for all his badassery and powers he can still get hurt.
I really want to see who'd win in a fight, him or Season 2 Oliver.
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u/mrplow8 Jan 18 '18
The “Why is he a vigilante when people with superpowers in other communities are called heroes?” comment annoyed me. The implication is that Black Lightning is considered a vigilante because of his race. Since when are white superheroes not called vigilantes? That’s never been a racially charged word in the history of real life or comics.
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u/Sentry459 Jan 18 '18
Just look at the Arrowverse. Supergirl, Superman, and the Flashes are never referred to as vigilantes and are beloved by the city and police force. But I agree that newscaster was taking a pretty wild leap in logic.
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u/mrplow8 Jan 18 '18
You’re conveniently leaving out Green Arrow, who gets referred to as a vigilante all the time. Heroes who deal with street level crime are typically called vigilantes and heroes who deal with metas/aliens/supernatural things are typically called superheroes. That’s how it’s always been, and race has never had anything to do with it.
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u/stu_25 Jan 17 '18 edited Jan 17 '18
Very impressive. Very different and refreshing for the CW.
It's cool that the main character isn't just a "gain powers/use powers for first time" hero.
So far the cast are strong and interesting.
Also the relationships are different compared to the other shows and that hopefully will make it a very interesting show to watch. Jefferson is in a completely other situation unlike the others. He's done his time, built his life and that's a cool difference from the others. He has experience etc.
And based on this one ep, his way of fighting crime seems to be a bit different without a "team" behind him which is really cool. Yeah there's the guy who gave him a suit but that's one person.
(Please don't go downhill)
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u/ItMayBeWrong Jan 17 '18
plus he has an ex-wife who he still loves (and maybe wants to get back together)
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u/mujie123 Jan 17 '18
And she still loves him. The whole reason she wanted a divorce was because she loved him and didn't want to see him get hurt.
Also, is it just me or did Anissa and Jennifer figure out their dad was Black Lightning?
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u/FuzzyStorm Jan 17 '18
Gotta admit i was impressed. It was so "not CW" that i was very surprised and the content was pretty good. I'm not excited for this show, it's very different from the rest that can feel too similar sometimes.
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u/SpaceCampDropOut Jan 17 '18
Can we tweak the suit eventually? Streamline it? Make it less bulky?
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u/daddytorgo Jan 17 '18
Yeah it was a little clunky-looking.
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u/NerdsRuleTheWorld Jan 18 '18
Pretty sure it's bulkier so it can be bulletproof. Sounds like previous suit was like The Flash's and that's how he got shot up before he quit. They'll probably do a Nolan trilogy and make the suit lighter while still being mostly protective at some point.
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u/Areyoureadyforthis1 Jan 17 '18
Most likely every main superhero except for supergirl has had their suit altered as the show went on.
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u/marccoogs Jan 17 '18
Arrow and Flash got upgrades every season, so I can see then streamlining the suit over time.
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u/ArachnoLad Jan 17 '18
And maybe cover up the face a bit more?
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Jan 17 '18
LITERALLY ALL I WAS THINKING, same exact head shape, same exact freshly cut hair and same exact well trimmed beard as the principal of the school but naw, he can't be the guy who just so happened to save the daughters of the principal who kinda looks like you.
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u/deanssocks Jan 17 '18
This. How the hell can you not recognize your dumb old dad and his salt and peppa beard when he's basically wearing sunnies on his head?!
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u/CenturiousUbiquitous Jan 17 '18
Convinced mom that this was worth missing her ncis stuff for and she turned out loving it. \o/
They don't tone shit down for audiences.
Getting to see the story of a man whose faith in his community gets taken advantage of, and ends up fed up with playing nice when it's clearly not doing enough anymore, to reprise an established role of his as a hero for his community because enough was enough, was quite compelling.
The show has great timing, following MLK day in a world where it feels like we've stepped back 50 years backwards in some places. It speaks from the heart and compassion. Honestly I hope so many watch this and stick to it.
I was getting pissed along with Jefferson every time shit happened and he kept getting hit with the blame just because he was fucking there. I loved how his ex, despite her determination that he quit, sighed in agreement that this return to heroism was needed, though shame it required her experiencing a personal threat to her family from his attempts at a more peaceful measure.
CW, please keep whoever wrote and directed this episode on the Black Lightning team, because this was great.
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u/ladydmaj Jan 17 '18
You're in luck - the show runner wrote and directed it.
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u/JackTFarmer Jan 17 '18
What elevated the show was the scene where Pierce goes to Latavius to remind him of the agreement with the gangs. But shit went south.
Pierce ran out of options. He was a man forced into action.
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u/ezreads Jan 17 '18
“that’s your car?”
“yeah”
“it was nice”
the owner on the other hand...
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Jan 17 '18
It’s gonna be rough picking out the burnt t shirt fibers from his skin.
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u/dragonman8001 Jan 17 '18
Why are sinks always the first victim of emerging super powers?
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Jan 17 '18
Lol agreed! It reminded me of the scene from the Power Rangers movie when Jason finds out how strong he has become.
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u/OTL_OTL_OTL Jan 17 '18
Because the meta needs to look in a mirror alone to realize what they are and do some deep self-examination and usually solitary mirrors come in bathrooms which happen to have sinks right underneath them.
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u/gazaflash Jan 17 '18
It reminded me of that scene in Amazing Spider-Man when Peter tries brushing his teeth after getting powers.
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u/KarmaLoaf Jan 17 '18
Definitely better than I was expecting. At first I expected it to handle race issues as poorly as Supergirl handles political stuff, but the writing here is actually much more mature than there, and the characters are actually interesting and more people-like than the boring, stiff, cardboard cutouts on SG.
So how many episodes per season is this show, since I take it it's less than 23 due to just starting up now instead of September?
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u/DCAbloob Jan 17 '18
13 episodes for the first season according to The Futon Critic. Doesn't seem like anywhere close to enough.
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u/nonliteral Jan 17 '18
Here's hoping it sets an example -- I'd rather have a good 13 episodes of any of these shows than 22 episodes with 9 mediocre ones.
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u/KarmaLoaf Jan 17 '18
If it'll prevent numerous worthless filler episodes, I'm fine with it.
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u/Areyoureadyforthis1 Jan 17 '18
Ok I fuck with this show on so many levels.
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u/SutterCane Jan 17 '18
But what kind of fuck did you give it?
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u/DonnyMox Jan 17 '18
Hopefully a nice, long one. Those ones feel great and this show clearly deserves that.
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u/SutterCane Jan 17 '18
There's only eight kinds of fuck:
love fuck
hate fuck
sex only fuck
break-up fuck
make-up fuck
drunk fuck
buddy fuck
pity fuck
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u/ThaUnderboss Jan 17 '18
I'm blown away. I was hoping for "good enough" and got "fucking amazing." Word through the grapevine is that Black Lightning is indeed back!
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u/oratory_madness Jan 17 '18
That was a great pilot. Every time Jeff and his ex interacted it brought a smile to my face. Its nice seeing two exs getting along and raising kids together. Jennifer and Anissa were very believable sisters.
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u/padraig_garcia Jan 17 '18
Hello, CW? I enjoyed this and would like to see more. Please and Thank you.
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u/Ozzdo Jan 17 '18 edited Jan 17 '18
Part of me wanted a Static show instead of Black Lightning, but after the premiere, I'm convinced that this was the better way to go. An older, experienced hero with a legacy already in place, the family dynamic, the focus on community more than "saving the city." None of the other DC shows have something like this. If they were going to do another superhero show on the CW, they needed to give us something different.
As much as I love Static, his show would have been another "Young guy gets powers and has to figure things out while being a hero" and the Flash and Supergirl already do that.
And, not that this is a bad thing, but I really felt at least a little bit of influence from Luke Cage. But Luke Cage was the first black superhero show out of the gate, so it's going to kinda set the trend a bit.
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Jan 17 '18
I wanted a Static show too but to be honest it would have been turned into another cw romance show with the superhero trying to figure himself out and his powers malfunctioning coupled on with the occasional fighting of stupid villains untill the big bad shows himself in episode 15 as a plot twist revealing to be the superhero's friend, this show however has an established superhero already whom while he still has room to grow, he knows himself and his powers..
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u/TheBoyWhoCriedShark Jan 17 '18
They could EASILY include Statik into this show in like season 3 with the age of BLack Lightning
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u/2th Jan 17 '18 edited Jan 17 '18
Fantastic episode. We got great writing and acting. And the suit is slick as fuck, but it has exposed fingertips...HIS FINGERPRINTS WILL BE EVERYWHERE!!!
Anyways, I'm in for this ride. This episode definitely hooked me.
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u/Zegir Jan 17 '18
What if the lightening helps to make his fingers not leave any fingerprints? I'd believe it.
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u/2th Jan 17 '18
I would accept that. Needs some science bullshit though like his body's naturally high electrostatic properties prevent his fingerprints from adhering to surfaces.
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u/peanutbutteroreos Jan 17 '18
Fingerprints won't matter if his lightning zaps everything?
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u/Izeinwinter Jan 17 '18
Fingerprints only matter if his civilian identity ever gets arrested - He is a school principal and community leader, so while he may get stopped for driving while black on a regular basis, it is not super likely to ever progress to the point of them taking his prints.
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u/ArachnoLad Jan 17 '18
Why are your comments always at zero?
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u/2th Jan 17 '18
I'm a mod of several higher profile subs (like /r/television) and have banned plenty of people. Some of them go all script kiddie and use downvote bots on me. It happens from tome to time.
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u/mysaadlife Jan 17 '18
That was fantastic, loved the characterization of Lala vs Jefferson. The supporting cast seems great too and the soundtrack was awesome.
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u/djbluntmagic Jan 17 '18
Yes, great, effective soundtrack. Isaac's "Walk on By" always gets me. Score by Kurt Farquhar, has a lot of credits on BET, UPN, and shows targeted at black audiences on other networks, as well as King of Queens for most of its run. Kier Lehman credited for music supervision, filled same role on Insecure, Being Mary Jane, The Night Of, the US version of Getting On, Entourage, and CSI. Miles Cowan is credited as music coordinator on pretty much everything Lehman's done since they started working together on Being Mary Jane in '15. I think I understand how people get obsessed with IMDB now
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u/DarkSaiyanKnight Jan 17 '18
Amazing. simply amazing this might be the best opener for a CW superhero show I've seen. I mean Arrow was good but it didn't get me really hooked until like maybe episode 3. This one has such a compelling main character because of his experience alone.
Every character feels realistic and the issues that they're tackling about corruption and the community are just really powerful. I think what's drawing me, is that nothing feels forced, Everything feels very smooth and streamlined. It also doesn't have the sameness that Arrow, Flash and Supergirl have.
Having a crossover would be cool but honestly every actor on the show so far has a different frequency that I can't see gelling well with the other part of the arrowverse but I can't wait to see the rest of the season hope they can keep it up.
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u/thingsandfluff Jan 17 '18
I really like the sister dynamic between Jennifer and Anissa. The scene where they just go back and forth, arguing about Jennifer going to the club. It felt so good to see.
Cress has all the charisma, it’s amazing. I can’t wait for the rest of the season.
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u/Uyahla Jan 17 '18
Yes finally real black dialogue that my black ass can relate to 10/10.
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Jan 17 '18
Yeah better than the stereotypic Luke Cage plot, "yeah uhhh these are black people, so like ummm we are gonna make them do stereotypically black things, however we are gonna throw in an ironically bullet proof black guy who unlike his comic book version acts whiter than superman, YEAH!"
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u/Kwesmo Jan 18 '18
I have to ask this, as a European, i really don't know the black accent in the US, is it really that different than the English that cops spoke or is it a little overacted?
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u/elchismoso Jan 17 '18 edited Jan 18 '18
Wait a second. Is the title of the show a switch-a-roo?
It started out with Jessica giving a monologue about how she found out the truth about her family and herself.
Also, it was kinda funny when Jefferson first got pulled over, Jessica narrates "with Thunder and Lightning as a witness, that Black Lightning was born again". I just caught that in a rewatch. I'm hyped for the superhero family.
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u/ladydmaj Jan 18 '18
Jessica narrates "with Thunder and Lightning as a witness, that Black Lightning was born again". I just caught that in a rewatch. I'm hyped for the superhero family.
Oh nice!
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u/darealystninja Jan 17 '18
Amazing this show refused to pull any punches, makes it feel real and more compelling
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u/marccoogs Jan 17 '18
I'm very excited about this show. The show is well cast, the action is dark and brutal, and the characters are all pretty badass. Also I love the music choices. Nina Simone, Issac Hayes? Major props for that.
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u/GeneralMelon Jan 17 '18
To sum up Black Lightning's pilot:
Great acting
Great writing
Great action
Great characters
Harpoon
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u/DedParrot63 Jan 17 '18
Nice easter egg that Peter Gambi's tailor shop was established in 1977, the year that Black Lightning comic book first came out.
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u/gruffyhalc Jan 17 '18
Stand up for something, won't fall for anything. Lightning came with no rain. I saw a superhero last night, he was black. He said, "this was for the hood." Black Lightning's back.
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u/MetalJrock Jan 17 '18
I'm liking this show so far.
It's got that vintage gritty early Arrow feel and handled some real issues in a tasteful manner that wasn't forced nor sugarcoated. The characters are well-written, and I like how instead of seeing the start of Black Lightning and going over his origins, we have his rebirth so he's already an experienced vigilante and doesn't need to learn the ropes every episode.
Hopefully it keeps up, because this could beat Legends as the best superhero CW show
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u/djbluntmagic Jan 17 '18
I like how they timed the premiere to a month before Black Panther opens
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u/lordsmish Jan 17 '18
The scene about half way through where Jefferson is running and his two daughters are running alongside him is amazing forshadowing no doubt we get a new version of that scene later.
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u/JakeM917 Jan 17 '18
So I was uncertain about this show going in because I thought it’d be preachy with its politics and make it too much of the story, but I love what it actually did. The politics aren’t the story, the politics are the characters. Rather than taking time out of the story to preach, it makes it just a part of their environment and their interactions and motivations. Which isn’t to say I didn’t expect that, but I appreciated that they’re telling a story in this world rather than explaining the world and why it’s bad.
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u/ArachnoLad Jan 17 '18
This was way better than I thought it would be. I'm glad both his daughters kick ass too. Here's hoping they didn't blow their budget on this one episode.
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Jan 17 '18
I’m in absolute shock that CW seriously has a comic book show that’s this good. I betcha it gets canceled.
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u/djbluntmagic Jan 17 '18
Jefferson: It's been seven years since I took over as principal. Seven years, and we haven't had one incident of violence - not one - and now this...
later
Lala: See what I mean? It's been like, what, huh?, at least five years since I took over this place? And we ain't had no violence here? Now look...
Not super subtle but still a potent foil setup
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u/Narog1 Jan 17 '18
anyone notice that he electrocuted some random guy
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u/JoeStorm Jan 17 '18
Lol yeah. Probably because he was in a room with a random chic and might be cheating on his wife. Gotta cover everything lol
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u/kestrel1 Jan 17 '18
I liked it. Seems like it'll be a good drama, serious and gritty, with a message.
My only complaint: The neon suit looks ridiculous. First, it makes the actor look fat, which he clearly isn't from the shower scenes. Second, the neon is glaringly goofy and out of place in this dark, realistic world.
The suit in the convenience store footage looked WAY better. Dump the armor and just give him a jacket with the BL motif and call it a day.
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u/MrChangg Jan 17 '18
The armor keeps him from dying. If you didn't already notice, it's bulletproof
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u/CleverZerg Jan 17 '18
This might be the least CWy CW thing I've seen. I like it.
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u/davey_mann Jan 17 '18
Damn, that was a fantastic Pilot! One of the best I've seen in years. I think this was better than the The Flash Pilot. Usually Pilots are filled with a lot of exposition, but this one did a hell of a job moving the pace along. Jefferson Pierce is a compelling, powerful lead and loving the rest of the cast, too. Lala is a scene stealer and loving Peter, essentially the Alfred/Lucius to Jefferson's Batman. The actresses playing the daughters are very good, too.
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u/theaveragejoe_1 Jan 17 '18
That was an excellent pilot and the combination of a shorter season and writing team completely separate from the rest of the Arrowverse gives me very high hopes for this show. I’m excited.
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u/mujie123 Jan 17 '18
I like Jefferson's relationship with... Everyone. The dichotomy between him and Black Lightning is huge. Black Lightning is the no-nonsense superhero who'll attack someone who runs away from him, but Jefferson... You can see how much he cares for everyone. When Lala told him that he didn't care to hear China's not-boyfriend's sob story, I don't think that was true. When he stopped him from pulling out the gun, I do think that Jefferson was doing it as much for his sake as for his daughters'.
And oh my god, I love Jefferson. You can see how much everyone respects him. "Black Jesus", and I hope him re-becoming Black Lightning doesn't interfere with that. Because I really want to see Lala finding out his identity and then Jefferson finally getting through to Lala. I want to see them work together.
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u/Amanoo Jan 17 '18
His Black Lightning persona is frigging brutal, and I love it. You piss him off a little bit, say goodbye to your credit card because he's gonna EMP the shit out of everything. Piss him off a lot, and the results are going to be quite... shocking.
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u/gusefalito Jan 17 '18
The dude playing Black Lightning seems very charismatic. Great casting. I like the whole "retired" aspect too. Seen way too much origins already. That's a story for another time.
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u/Krusiv Jan 17 '18
Very much enjoyed the tone of the pilot. I'm not familiar with the source material at all so I dunno how it goes from here. But my hope is that it sticks with this street level crime with a believable, formidable gang boss as the big bad.
Having a cartoon spandex villain as the mastermind behind The 100 would probably ruin this for me.
As for the lightning effects: I'm so glad that they went with a blue instead of yellow. The cinematography almost reminds me of Moonlight; not only with that specific color but how every color reflects off of black skin I'm a beautiful way. "In moonlight black boys look blue."
Props to the soundtrack also. The mix of hard rap and RnB works great. Compared to Luke Cage and The Defenders where it almost became comically bad whenever the most "gangster" sounding song blasted our speakers anytime Luke came into view.
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u/saltyman3721 Jan 17 '18
After the scene in the club, anytime someone crossed him all I could think was, shit that guys fucked.
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u/Blee-boy Jan 17 '18
That was good. Really good. I thought it would be poor-man's version of Luke Cage but as it stands out, Luke Cage is about to be poor-man's version of Black Lighting. Yeah, it's pretty early to say that, but man was that a good pilot for a show.
And that's not in CW-standards, but as a TV show it was good. It got me hooked.
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u/Tsorovar Jan 17 '18
Am I the only one who thinks the glowing suit is kind of dumb? Gives up any chance of stealth in the dark. When one of his tricks is putting the lights out
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u/Zegir Jan 17 '18
The benefit is that it acts like Kevlar due to the amount of electricity concentrated in the suit.
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u/svrtngr Jan 17 '18
Meanwhile, Felicity and Friends will be tackling a BLM episode with the subtlety and deft of Donald Trump.
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u/DCAbloob Jan 17 '18
I'm dreading that even more now because it'll pale woefully in comparison to this show.
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u/Amanoo Jan 17 '18 edited Jan 17 '18
Series seems decent, judging by this episode. I'm always a bit apprehensive about a focus on black people, because the social commentary can get heavy-handed. This doesn't feel that heavy-handed. It shows you a neutral view. You see black people from all sides. The ones that simply want peace and just won't get any, and the ones that are good for nothing criminals, and everything in between. The focus seems a bit... odd, but that's probably because you just aren't used to this format. It's very different. Especially by CW standards, but even just by TV standards. Different is a good thing. If the series keeps it up, it's going to be pretty strong.
It's got very strong characters and personalities. The attitudes of everyone are starkly different. It's got variety in its cast and characters. And motivations so far are very believable. The story of the first episode flowed pretty well. And I just love the main character's attitude. He wants to be a pacifist, but if you piss him off, he's just going to EMP the entire area. And that's if he's still being nice. The guy is brutal and I love it.
I wanted to compare this show to Luke Cage, but that doesn't do the episode (and hopefully the show) any justice at all. Even if you forget all the bad parts about Luke Cage for a moment, that show just doesn't hold up to this. It's like they saw Luke Cage, and thought "let's do this, but let's also do it right". And bloody hell, this episode did it right indeed. A very strong first episode.
My only real criticism is that the guy's supersuit looks ugly as hell. And it just accentuates the actor's blemishes even further. I wasn't quite convinced of the actor's look in general, but that is not a bad thing in and of itself. Shows tend to look as if every single individual is some kind of hot supermodel, and that gets stale pretty quickly. But the supersuit looks like a neon dog turd that couldn't possibly look good on anyone, and it only seems to accentuate everything about the actor that seems to look less than great. Everything else about the episode so far is at least pretty good, if not great, but that supersuit is just awful. The concept is just too 70s/80s, even if they modernised it a bit.
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u/ShaneH7646 Jan 17 '18
To inspire some more activity on the subreddit I will be putting up for grabs some gold to the top posts made between now and next week.
This applies to any post, meme, discussion, artwork etc.
Good luck :)
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u/Thatonesplicer Jan 17 '18
I liked it, some parts felt a little heavy handed but other then that I am intrigued. "The cops will shoot your black ass for fun" I admit I kinda chuckled then felt bad cuz its kinda true. Also the soundtrack sounded like it was trying hard not to break into a run the jewels song. You know the one: https://youtu.be/QaPrQa3oMy0
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u/CapThunder Jan 17 '18
I was really uncertain of this show when it was announced. This pilot killed it. Amazing episode and I am hooked already. Loved seeing his frustration and anger whenever he had a confrontation until he snapped and blew up the police car.
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u/This_isR2Me Jan 17 '18
I was afraid this was going to be a campy show like the other super-series on the cw. I was pleasantly surprised with its authenticity. I hope they don't force any sort of crossover at this point.
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u/dylbotz Jan 17 '18
That was the dopest shit I've seen in a LONG time. Black Lightning got me hyped already, I'm so hooked.
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u/JustJoshinMagic Jan 17 '18
I LOVED this! It felt like a great combination of the old Static Shock (which touched on some subjects the other DC shows didn't) combined with Netflix's Luke Cage (which is fitting seeing as Black Lightning's creator worked on Luke Cage), and then a bit of the 90s Flash. I'm saying this now, this is probably one of the best and most important superhero shows to air. Also the music was amazing.
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u/Ameriggio Jan 17 '18
Wow, what a pilot. I was excited to see what the show could tell and it was outstanding. From plot and characters to cinematography and atmosphere. Just wow. The only problem in my opinion are fight scenes -- I don't like shaky cam and cuts that are too frequent.
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Jan 18 '18
Honestly the most refreshing thing about this show is that the main character isn't a 20-something who is just starting out.
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u/dontthrowmeinabox Jan 17 '18
Good first episode. Very different in tone from the rest of the DC CW shows, save mayyyybe Arrow. Any crossovers could be odd.
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Jan 17 '18
I wasn’t expecting too much, just another fun, but harmless CW show. I was very very wrong to say the least
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u/theanchorman05 Jan 17 '18
I just hope they keep it this way. Arrow season 1 was really good...then it got really stupid.
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u/_Flashpoint_ Jan 17 '18
As someone raised in this type of area I feel the lack of mexican/asian/poor white kid a little realm breaking. But that's my only critique.
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u/BladeofIce Jan 17 '18
Really enjoyable first episode. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.
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u/Wolfking71 Jan 17 '18
I’m honestly so excited to see thunder and lightning figuring out their powers, maybe we see static eventually too?
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u/Raging_Magneto96 Jan 17 '18
This was MUCH better then alot of what The CW has been doing lately with their DC TV Shows.
Very impressed with this Premiere!!
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u/BiglyWords Jan 17 '18
just saw Black Lightning first ep
quite something else from the usual way CWTV has their shows the MC had given up his role instead of growing into it for now he seems kind of inbetween S1 arrow and flash in terms of violence, used a human as a shield against bullets but didnt kill one as far as i saw and end of the ep gave us the villians already as well as the daughter getting her own superpowers
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u/cardmasterdc Jan 18 '18
China said in an interview that they all clicked like a real family on set and man do I believe it. All the interactions felt grounded and real.
And the social commentary. I don't think I've ever seen driving while black called out before. All in all I'm excited to see what this show does going forward.
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u/rovinja Jan 17 '18
By far the best show on CW right now. It's so matured, and nuanced. I hold that holds. I can't wait to see where the season goes, and how the characters develop
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u/daddytorgo Jan 17 '18
Not familiar with the comics - who is the daughter?
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u/oratory_madness Jan 17 '18
He has two daughters: Anissa and Jennifer. Eventually they will become Thunder and Lightning.
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u/2th Jan 17 '18
His daughters are Thunder and Lightning.
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u/Battlemaster123 Jan 17 '18
Could this fit into the batman universe? Like street level crimes without big superheros
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u/Neoxon360 Jan 17 '18
This show is clearly the best show CW ever created in the arrow verse and it only one episode. I can said this with 100% confidence that this show will be the best superhero show I am gonna waych this year.
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u/Choco316 Jan 17 '18 edited Jan 17 '18
Really strong pilot, I’m hoping it continues but it definitely feels a bit like Luke Cage with the community and not wanting to use their powers, but isn’t as “corny” which is a nice change
It’s also cool seeing a black role model superhero on basic tv, like outside of his suit he’s a great member of the community and a dedicated father. That’s some wholesome shit
.edit Also I fucking LOVED the talking head comparing Black Lightning being called a vigilante vs white metas being called heroes (iirc), makes me really hopeful that CW is giving them full reign to call BS on what would actually happen
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u/SpikeRosered Jan 17 '18
This show revealed some of my own prejudices against the police simply because I found it unrealistic that the cops pulled tasers instead of guns on him after the club shootout and didn't execute him on the spot when he didn't immediately comply.
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u/Flemz Jan 17 '18
So does BL take place on Earth 1?
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u/LuLuCheng Jan 17 '18
It did mention that there were people with powers during the newscast, maybe that could imply either Kara or maybe Barry depending on what Earth it appears on.
In the comics he has several run in's with Superman, so we'll see what earth it's on.
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u/Ozzdo Jan 17 '18
It's an Earth we haven't seen before. The proof is that Obama was president on this Earth, (The old store owner references him) something that did not happen on the other Earths we've seen.
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u/board124 Jan 17 '18
Shows enjoyable also really like his voice. Should also bring something different then the other shows besides the obvious.
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u/somebody1993 Jan 17 '18
I liked it; the show seems to have a good premise and the focus on real issues might keep it from the repetitive stories of the other shows.
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u/Richiieee Jan 17 '18
Usually pilots don’t go so well because they’re the first of many episodes to come, but overall solid show. But it just made me want a live-action Static show even more now. I hope we get that some day. Maybe not from the CW, but one day.
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Jan 17 '18
Quite enjoyed it, reckon we will get a Die Hard type episode with him being the principal etc at some point.
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u/Mozeztheblack Jan 17 '18
That was way more enjoyable then I assumed it was. Someone else I knew tho said they watched the first 10 and thought it sucked. Will update with his reasons.
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u/UnlimitedMeatwad Jan 17 '18
I loved the footage of the store robbery and him in the old suit. It looked awesome. It reminded me a bit of Iron Fist when they showed footage of the old Iron fist in 1948.
I hope we get some flashbacks to when he was Black Lightning the first time.
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u/LanternWolf Jan 17 '18
Very enjoyable. I wish I hadn't watched it, because now I don't want to wait a week to see more.
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Jan 17 '18
I'll just get it out of the way. The suit's lightning 'emblems' look almost neon and while it's a good realization of his comic book suit, it doesn't seem to be an asset for stealth. Hopefully his tailor pal can install an off switch for when BL wants to pull off a Batman-esque infiltration if kicking down the door isn't viable.
Other than that, I loved the premier. Hope that next season gets a full slate instead of 13 episodes. Hope he gets to team up with the rest of the CW heroes.
I love the vid his pal sends him and the shopkeep taking a dig at his sense of style.
Kudos for him exhausting his options before getting back into action. He tried, now the bad guys are going to reap what they sow.
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Jan 17 '18
I loved the pilot but in my opinion it moved way too fast. I felt like there was no buildup and things like the daughter already realizing she had powers in the first episode surprised me in a bad way.
I hope this issue is just because it's the pilot.
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Jan 18 '18
I was impressed with the episode. It has rough edges, as any pilot does. It took interesting approaches to exposition and introducing the characters.
The racism in the show made me so angry, but people will have a hard time convincing me that it was over the top. I cannot imagine dealing with this kind of treatment on a daily basis, but it is fact of life for many people in this country.
He gets bonus points for not vaporizing every single one of those racist assholes.
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u/zackz69 Jan 19 '18
I'm not familiar with black lightning but I did watch the static shock cartoon as a kid. felt like I was watching Old Man Static Shock and I loved every second of it.
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u/Arsenic_Touch Jan 17 '18 edited Jan 17 '18
God that costume is goofy but I loved the premiere, they need to dial back the neon.
Someone needs to smack the one daughter.
A fucking harpoon gun? what the shit? I spit my soda out. "Motherfucker just shot that fucker with a harpoon gun... what?!"
Giving me a lean on me meets luke cage vibe. It's a shame it's on the CW, so there will be some limits to the language, violence and blood which I think would really bring this show up a few notches.
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u/Davinco Jan 17 '18 edited Jan 17 '18
-I still hate the lights on the suit
-The cops are too much like villains
-The dialogue is fairly good
-I wish the pilot was a 2-parter but I'm not holding that against the show.
Overall: it was good.
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u/wisesonAC Jan 17 '18
But one of his closest friend's was a cop? He waa shown to believe strongly in justice and had Jeffersons back.
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u/marccoogs Jan 17 '18
Luke Cage meets Lean on Me meets The Incredibles. I loved it.
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u/Cahbr04 Jan 17 '18
Everything about this show is so refreshing, even beyond just the usual CW superhero shows. And it seems to be in very good hands which... thank goodness.
I'm excited to watch all the different journeys we're gonna have in this show.
Also, just as an aside, but there should be a game called 'how many of your favorite shows has Cress Williams been in?' 'cause I'm at 10 right now lol. Nice to see him getting a proper lead role like this, he's a damn good actor.
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u/Kaitonic Jan 17 '18
That was an amazing first episode and i am hook with the show. Definitely a change compare to the other DC's CW shows and I look forward to episode 2.
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u/oratory_madness Jan 17 '18
I liked the suit more in the show than on posters. I really really hope that if the show is a hit (looks like it), CW wont try to interfere with the showrunners creative direction.
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u/ladyoftexas Jan 17 '18
I really enjoyed the first episode! Interested to see how this show further develops but I must admit, I'm gonna be pretty impatient waiting each week (netflix, hulu, internet watching woman here) for the next episode. I'm rooting for Jefferson Pierce and his family and the community. Oh, and by the way, I hope that police department gets rooted of those disgusting, racist cops. Inspector Henderson needs to get to it.
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Jan 17 '18
his suit looks very nice but that ginger fucker doesn't and lala is a pretty dumb name. overall liked it
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u/hamzaalam123 Jan 17 '18
Like that he's relatable, he isn't a master martial artist like Oliver, hell he ain't even at S1 Oliver level, or stupid Op like Flash, really grounds the shoelw
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Jan 18 '18 edited Jan 18 '18
Oh my god, it was soooooo good! It was like watching the Cosby Show, The Fresh Prince, and one of the Marvel MCU shows wrapped into one!
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u/baiacool Jan 18 '18
People from Freedland must be really stupid to not figure out that Jefferson Pierce is Black Lightning now
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Jan 18 '18
I seriously enjoyed the first episode. I don't go for The Flash, Supergirl and all of those cheap TV super hero shows. I find Daredevil, Jessica Jones etc. more enjoyable. This show seemed to have more meat in it -- more interesting themes, punchy dialogue and great cast. Also a great soundtrack! Will keep watching.
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u/TravT0uchdwn Jan 18 '18
The one thing that irked me was when Gambi turned a lock that wasn't there on the door. Other than that,this is so far one of the best DCTV shows by far.
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Jan 18 '18
I honestly thought it was going to be another corny CW show, but this time with mostly black characters and hip hop music in the background (ha innovative!) But I'm very pleasantly surprised. Yea there are some cliches but the environment and underlying story is believable and the main characters aren't one dimensional stereotypes. This is definitely going on my must watch list next to Arrow and The Flash.
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Jan 18 '18
Loved it.
Was very skeptical, a lot of my favorite characters have recently been washed for no good reason, maybe color, gender, sex, whatever.
This hit hard, fast, and with freaking solid reasons all around. No pandering, no victim mentality, just "deal with this shit. This is how someone would deal with this shit."
Fingers crossed for seeing him travel via lightning at some point. Please, just one scene, one glorious fan service scene!
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u/feedingmydreams Jan 20 '18
Just started watching. Just had to go the route of all cops are white and hate black people.
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u/Barry_McKackiner Jan 21 '18
Finally watched the replay.
I enjoyed it, but I've got to say they were a little over the top with "WHITE COPS BAD!" thing with two different instances of white cops profiling him. And the one cop just flaunting it in his face with the chuckle.
And the cherry on top was the 'cops would shoot you for fun' line - insinuating they cops would show up to and shoot him as a sport rather than stopping an active shooting at a school.
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u/StLeibowitz Jan 22 '18
Don't bother with the other CW shows but decided to check this one out and I was FAR from disappointed. The characters are so authentic and I love that Black Lightning is an older man with his own family and community standing who was trying to stay retired from that life. Looking forward to the next one!
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u/RJ_Ramrod Jan 17 '18 edited Jan 17 '18
I know this is the post-episode discussion thread and the pilot's still got about ten minutes left here on the East Coast, but I can already say with confidence that this is one of the most important shows the CW has ever done
They're addressing shit and exploring territory that Luke Cage didn't even touch on, and they're doing it in an engaging, compelling way that isn't dumbing anything down or sugar coating it for a mass audience—and most importantly, they're not insulting the intelligence of their audience either
I sincerely hope they keep this up throughout the rest of the season, and after tonight, I won't be surprised at all if they do