Black Lightning S01E04 "Black Jesus" Recap

Jefferson is called over to check on a student freaking out in the bathroom. The student, Bernard, had taken a new strength-enhancing street drug called Green Light. He rips a urinal off the wall and throws it at Jefferson before charging at him. Jefferson is forced to use his electric powers to knock Bernard unconscious to prevent him from hurting anyone or himself. Jefferson discovers the green pills and takes them to investigate further before anyone else can take them.

Anissa stops some local drug-dealers from selling some green pills to two of her students.

Jefferson brings the pills to Gambi, who tells him about Green Light, the new drug he's been hearing about. Jefferson is concerned by the escalating attacks on the city by the One Hundred. Jefferson goes out as Black Lightning to interrogate some of the low-level drug dealers to try to find out who is in charge of these deals. A drug dealer tells Black Lightning to go after Two-Bits, and where to find him.

Lady Eve reprimands Tobias for his failure to kill Black Lightning. Tobias is revealed to have entered the criminal world after being forced out of the world of legitimate politics because he had supposedly been the one to kill Black Lightning. His death was what gave him clout but now people are starting to question him. Tobias promises Lady Eve that he will take Black Lightning out, and she wants it down without making so much of a mess to the people in the city.

The school board wants to expel Bernard but he and his father have a meeting with Jefferson, who insists that he will not have Jefferson expelled. Jefferson will not be able to go to any of the colleges that have accepted him if he is expelled, and his father insists that he give up the name of the person that supplied him with the drugs: Ronald Wright. Jefferson calls Gambi about Ronald Wright and Gambi tells him that Wright is dead now for having overdosed on his own supply.

Khalil begins physical therapy following his spinal injury from being shot. Jennifer is devastated by the trauma of the incident. Khalil's mother has been taking extra shifts to pay for the hospital bills so Jennifer insists on quitting track to help take care of Khalil. Jefferson doesn't want her to quit but Jennifer insists that she was only running track to make him happy.

Tobias confronts the morgue doctor that had told him Black Lightning was dead, beating him badly while interrogating him. He then has Joey Toledo beat the doctor to death.

Anissa goes out in a black hoodie and uses her strength to fight off the drug dealers she had got into a confrontation with earlier. She is alarmed by seeing the severity of their injuries and calls an ambulance to help them.

Jefferson goes out to meet Two Bits, who was an old friend of his from his track days. He warns him that the Green Light business is a bad one to be in, but Two Bits says that he doesn't have a choice since he needs to make money to provide for his family. After meeting with Gambi, Jefferson proposes that Black Lightning should be the one to visit Two Bits to get more information from him.  Two Bits agrees to give him the information he needs to know and stop dealing drugs if he doesn't call the cops since doing so would get him a third strike and 30 years in prison. Jefferson gets the location of a warehouse.

Tobias' sister Tori arrives to help him with his quest to take out Black Lightning once and for all.

The school board tries once again to expel Bernard, against Jefferson's wishes. But Jefferson has to follow the lead to the warehouse with the help of Gambi talking to him from back at the base. Jefferson also has a new upgrade on his suit that allows him to see all the electrical grids within a certain proximity to him.

Anissa and Grace are confronted outside a bar by some thugs that have been harassing the lesbian bar Grace bartends at. The thugs knock Grace out so Anissa uses her strength of fight them off and knock them out. Jefferson is summoned to the scene by the sound of an explosion. Gambi lies to Jefferson and claims that the security cameras didn't catch anything. He later returns to the scene and takes a photo of Anissa's footprint, and erases the security footage.

Khalil receives the bad news that now his spinal cord is completely severed so there is no chance of him ever walking again. This gives Jefferson the push to make another stand to save Bernard from expulsion but in the future he will not be able to have that final say on disciplinary matters for the students. Jefferson gets a call from Bernard's father saying that he had gone looking for more Green Light but when Bernard's father tried to get him back, some of the One Hundred pistol-whipped him and now the cops won't do anything. Black Lightning heads to a drug den and saves Bernard. Later as Jefferson, he puts Bernard into rehab.

Tori proposes to Tobias that they turn the people's opinion against Black Lightning. Tobias then visits Khalil in the hospital, pays his medical bills, and tells him that Black Lightning is the reason he will never walk again.

Black Lightning airs on Tuesdays on the CW at 9/8c.