ARROWVERSE ALLEY #02

On this instalment of Arrowverse Alley we welcome back the second of the Arrowverse shows to premiere this season, Black Lightning. 

Last week we saw our new fledgling Batwoman face off again Victor Zasz a very well known Gotham villain/ Looking across the social media reaction it seems divided I managed to find a lot of positive reaction to the character across various sites but the first I saw was negative.

For me, I thought the actor did a great job bringing the hitman to life. Alex Morf manages to combine his strange charisma with his cold lethality. I’m hardly an expert on Batman and his rogues’ gallery though.

It is nice to see Ryan facing someone who we know can put up a fight even if he was dealt with quickly. I think Zasz will be back and hopefully for multiple episodes.

After seeing the back and forth with Alice and Safiyah I am wondering whether or not the Queen is lying. She seems like an interesting villain and someone who will help Alice stay relevant this season.

Things change but they stay the same in Freeland it seems. Last season was seemingly a turning point for the city and the Pierce family but now with a time jump, it almost feels like it has gone back in time to where the show started. Jefferson has hung up the suit and is in mourning over the loss of his best friend Bill Henderson. 

The same barely restrained anger we saw in the pilot boils over when Jefferson sees a young black man being harassed in the street. Jefferson has always preached about control to see him attack two police officers in the middle of the day was shocking (Damn it).

The premiere does a good job of giving us the new lay of the land. Thunder and Lightning are now the only heroes operating in the city, gang warfare has broken out again. This time however the media push is going straight to blaming metahumans with even the new Police Captain placing them as Public Enemy No. 1.

This season feels like Black Lightning the miniseries in a similar way to Arrow unfortunately, it feels like there were a few changes forced by Covid. I’ve read a few articles and I tend to agree that there doesn’t feel like much continuity from Crisis or even the finale last season with the senate trial. 

I don’t know what this final chapter of Black Lightning will prove to be but I can only hope it continues at the incredible level of quality it has managed these past seasons.