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Black Lightning - Season 1 Episode 13: Shadow of Death: The Book of War
The show centers on Jefferson Pierce. He made his choice: he hung up the suit and his secret identity years ago, but with a daughter hell-bent on justice and a star student being recruited by a local gang, he'll be pulled back into the fight as the wanted vigilante and DC legend Black Lightning.
Finales can and should add baggage to a story between adversaries, especially in superhero shows and especially looking ahead to further seasons. But this felt, at worst, like an unnecessary add-on to a rivalry already teeming with mystique.
In many ways, Black Lightning played it safe when it came to its superhero drama, but its character work was top notch, as was its centering of real-world, racial issues.
It's Black Lightning underlining what's been there all along, which is that Jefferson's powers aren't just life-changing, they're life-saving, not just for him but for his community, and for black bodies.
If you're partial to a TV season that heavily references its pilot in its finale, then you should be pretty happy with "Shadow of Death: The Book of War" (as I am and was).
It wasn't perfect, but it definitely kept us invested in the characters and fascinated with the world they live in. Going forward, the show should eschew The CW standard and continue to do tight, complex 13 episode seasons.