Black Lightning: Are Jefferson’s powers killing him or is it really the suit?
By Callum Gunn
What is killing Jefferson, the suit or himself?
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Jefferson struggled with his powers during the latest episode of Black Lightning, titled “And the Devil Brought the Plague: The Book of Green Light.” He started suffering from symptoms such as headaches and a loss of control with his powers, similar to the way he suffered from the shakes the night after he used his powers again for the first time in nine years.
Gambi made a comment about it being a problem with the suit and something he would need time to fix. However, there are also hints that this could be something bigger. Are Jefferson’s powers killing him?
Gambi knows far more than he’s telling Jefferson
Not only did Gambi delete the surveillance video of Tobias Whale, but he has also hid the knowledge of Anissa’s footprint in the street. Gambi knows far more than he has told anyone, especially Jefferson. One of the things he knows is linked to the potential reasoning for the missing children with super-human abilities; the children Jefferson’s father had researched and the ones Anissa learned about during the latest Black Lightning episode.
When meeting with Whale, Gambi mentioned a serum and consequences of taking that serum. It’s not clear exactly what these consequences are, but there is clearly something dangerous and it could be the key to Whale’s downfall. It could also be a weakness for Jefferson, presuming Jefferson has been infected with the same or a similar serum.
Those consequences could be that the more the powers are used, the weaker the body gets. If Jefferson was injected with something, it could have been unstable and may be infecting his body. While initially he has these abilities, in the long term the serum could lead to rejection and death.
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Jefferson suffered without the suit
When Jefferson was in the drug store, he didn’t have the suit on. He still had multiple headaches and flashes of symptoms. These symptoms came on while his adrenaline was pumping. In the store, he was in an altercation with the shop assistant. This would suggest that it’s not the suit, but the powers that are causing the problems and are potentially killing him.
The problems could still be linked to the suit. An issue within the suit could leave lingering effects afterwards. His powers are linked to electricity, which could certainly be linked to his nervous system. If there’s a problem with the suit, it could take time to affect the whole nervous system.
He did start to see some improvement during the episode. It was after putting the suit back on that he collapsed. Of course, this could just be a red-herring in the episode, making fans believe that it really is just the suit that’s causing a problem.
Next: Will Khalil become the mole to flush out Black Lightning?
What do you think is causing Jefferson’s migraines and symptoms? What is Gambi hiding from Jefferson and Lynn? What are the consequences to the serum? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Black Lightning returns Feb. 27 at 9/8c on The CW.