The Book of Secrets Begins On Black Lightning Next Week

 
Black Lightning‘s book system is pretty clever. Directly adapting the concept from comics, it means the overall story gets to have shorter narrative hooks while still building long terms ideas like the ASA’s original Green Light program. And next week, a new book, “The Book of Secrets” begins. Presumably, it will follow up on the ASA’s first testing site and the remaining pods still hidden within it. That location just happens to be the clinic Anissa (Nafessa Williams) defended awhile back. But even if Tobias (Marvin “Krondon Jones III) avoids hitting the place directly, Freeland is under siege and Reverend Holt (Clifton Powell) doubts Black Lightning (Cress Williams) can save the city, as seen in this preview for next week’s show.

But one fault of the book system is the scheduling issues it can inadvertently create. Last night’s episode, the third part of “The Book of Rebellion,” felt like it should’ve been the winter finale. Sure, it ended the current story line, but the revelation contained in the ASA case seemed like a big enough note to end on for the break. Additionally, pausing in the middle of the book for five weeks meant losing a lot of the moment the final act of the story line should have.
Because of this and a few other story choices, this may be Black Lightning‘s worst episode to date.
Hopefully, returning the focus back the ASA will give the show a chance to reorient itself toward its more interesting elements. That said, China Anne McClain proved to be the best thing about last night’s episode, so a continued focus on her is also a good idea.
Black Lightning airs Mondays on The CW.