The hunt is on to find Jennifer Pierce.

The electrifying teen ran away with her not-really-an-ex-boyfriend on Black Lightning Season 2 Episode 8 to avoid Tobias's capture. Unfortunately for the star-crossed couple, EVERYONE is out looking for them.

Black Lightning, Thunder, Gambi, the cops, and even worse, Tobias, all made it their mission to find the pair. But, Khalil and Jennifer didn't make it easy at all to pin them down. 

After this hour, I take back what I said about Jennifer growing up and making clear decisions. Nothing about her running away with Khalil was level-headed or reasonable.

In what world would it not be safe for your criminal boyfriend to be under the protection of Blacking Lightning and Thunder?

Her family members are literally superhero metahumans that do well for the community. Anissa and Jefferson (as well as Gambi, who granted she didn't know was alive) had the resources and firepower to protect Khalil from Tobias. They even had the technology to do so!

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The right decision would've been to bring Khalil to her family or even have Black Lightning and Thunder reach out first instead of running away.

Jennifer had plenty of chances where she could've learned from her mistakes and do the right thing. She even had the opportunity to call Anissa to solve the chaos. Instead, she repeated the same action over and over.

Khalil and Jennifer spiraled in their pursuit of freedom. And what's terrible is that they made the situation even worse for everyone around them.

Jennifer had all the warning signs too.

The shootout at the club, stealing a car, and the way Khalil snapped at her should've been the flashing red warning signs that they were in way over their heads. This type of traumatic event added plenty of pressures into their lives ... and they're only teenagers.

Plus, they had allies they could rely on if they only took a minute to think. But they weren't thinking clearly.

Khalil: Look, I’m sorry. Okay, I shouldn’t have yelled at you before.
Jennifer: Yeah, you should be sorry. What the hell was that?
Khalil: I don’t know. Something just came over me, okay? Jenn, the things Tobias did to me ... hitting me ... burning me ... I just didn’t want him to find us. I snapped.
Jennifer: Yeah, well you snap at me like that again, then Tobias is gonna be the last person you’ll have to worry about. I will light your a** up. You need to remember that.

• Permalink: I just didn’t want him to find us. I snapped.

Would they run forever? How would they make a life together while Tobias kept hunting them down? And how couldn't she tell the bump on his head was a tracker?

That mark was a dead giveaway. After the thugs tracked Khalil down on Black Lightning Season 2 Episode 7, it should've been obvious that Tobias had implanted a way to find Khalil.

Jennifer and Khalil snowballed with their foolish decisions so much so that it hurt my head.

To add to the sundae that was Jennifer and Khalil's night, they ran away after Thunder, and Black Lightning saved them from Cutter. (I can't even with the audacity right now.)

Literally, their lives were saved, and they still took off

The ambush from Tobias's hired assassin would've been the perfect time to put the cards on the table and seek help. A master of knives nearly sliced and diced these teens into pieces; that would be a wake-up call to anyone else.

Also, clearly Jennifer's family was worried and searched for her. But nope, she chose a boy over family. That wasn't one of Jennifer's smartest decisions.

Jennifer: What the hell, Khalil?!
Khalil: We needed the money.
Jennifer: You said we were making a quick stop, not walking into a damn shootout.
Khalil: Tobias put a reward on my head. Look, I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I’m just trying to keep you from involved.
Jennifer: My involvement? I just had to use my powers in public. I’d say at this point I’m pretty damn involved.

• Permalink: I just had to use my powers in public. I’d say at this point I’m pretty damn involved.

She may have used her powers to shortcircuit the tracker, but that won't stop Tobias from searching. He's going to send more people like Cutter to finish the job. Next time it might not even be a search and retrieval mission.

Related: Black Lightning Season 2 Episode 7 Review: The Book of Blood: Chapter Three: The Sange

With all the frantic searching for Jennifer that amounted to nothing, we essentially ended up more filler than we needed. Which is a shame since we shouldn't be wasting time this close to the midseason finale. (Every moment should count.)

Speaking of Cutter, her battle against Khalil was top-notch and fun.

The choreography team has been doing a stellar job throughout Black Lightning Season 2. The fight in the club between Khalil and the criminals also had great form and impact.

I loved the level of difficulty in the fight between Painkiller and Cutter, as well as Cutter and Thunder.

The pairs executed a lot of quick moves and physical blows to deliver an intense and thrilling battle. Cutter had a way with knives; she could easily tear down any lesser enemies.

Hopefully, we get more of these highly skilled enemies as antagonists. I've mentioned before that Thunder and Black Lightning need a challenge in their conflicts instead of simple electric blasts. These enemies can definitely go toe-to-toe against the superheroes.

Jennifer's absence exposed a few issues within the Pierce family. Particularly, with the way they handled grief and pressure.

Post-Lynn breakdown was the not the right time to point fingers and blame. This entire situation occurred because of Jennifer's decisions; not Anissa's or Jefferson's. Directing their hurt to each other wouldn't have solved anything.

Sure, Anissa should've done more to help her sister with the house confinement and the texts from Khalil. And yes, Jefferson and Lynn needed to stop sheltering their daughter and let her live her life. However, Jennifer is her own person at the end of the day who made the decision.

Though, I think the argument between Jefferson and Anissa had more to do with their underlining tension than recent events.

Jefferson wanted to throw a bit of blame at Anissa for her reckless ways while Anissa wanted to remind her dad about his stubborn, controlling nature. The argument would've happened eventually; Jennifer only gave them the reason to say something.

Anissa: Are you blaming this one me?
Jefferson: No, but if you had told us, we would have ...
Anissa: Wow! Okay, did you ever stop and think about why she was talking to Khalil in the first place? Hmmm? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that, I don’t know, you and Mom never let her out of the house, that you treated her like she was some kind of prisoner?
Jefferson: Wait, we didn’t treat her like a prisoner. We were trying to protect her.
Anissa: No, you were trying to control her! You act like she was some kind of freak or a monster. All your rules, your quotes, and all your focus was too much, Dad! Too damn much! You drove her away, just like you did me.
[She slams the door behind her]

• Permalink: You act like she was some kind of freak or a monster.

Lynn, on the other hand, had the most heartbreaking scene over her daughter running away. If Jennifer saw her mother cry like that and trash her room, she would have absolutely returned home immediately.

The most worrisome thing about Lynn's breakdown was her drinking. This chain drinking wasn't the first time we saw Lynn cope with alcohol.

Related: Black Lightning Season 2 Episode 6 Review: The Book of Blood: Chapter Two: The Perdi

After Dr. Jace caused the mass deaths in the lab, Lynn reacted similarly. Drinking and heated reactions might be her coping mechanism to get through the pain.

We should keep an eye on Lynn during this ordeal with Jennifer's absence. The stress could be a slippery slope that causes more harm later on.

Tobias: Late night. Perhaps what you need is a good read? Always puts me right to sleep.
[He lifts up a book]
Tobias: Moby Dick. One of my favorites.
Nichelle: I guess you’re here to put me to sleep?
[He laughs]
Tobias: Actually, I have a strict “No Mama” rule. I believe a man has to have principles.

• Permalink: Moby Dick. One of my favorites.

Tobias is putting the pieces together!

We can absolutely blame Khalil and Jennifer for this. Without them causing this mess, Tobias would've never started guessing any connections or putting two-and-two together about Black Lightning and Jefferson.

If he figures out the truth, all hell will break loose in Freeland. He'll go after the Pierces as revenge and nothing will stop him from achieving his goal.

Hopefully, Jefferson and Anissa bring Jennifer home before Tobias figures out the truth. The last thing they need is for Tobias to capture Jenn and hold her hostage to seek out Black Lightning. He would have the perfect bait to lure him into a trap.

Last Thoughts Lightning Round:

• Gambi needs to save all his receipts on these drones. He'll probably be able to expense them due to the number of drones that keep getting destroyed.
   
• Speaking of receipts, Gambi kept his ready when Anissa came for his lies. She can't throw stones when her lies are adding up.
   
• Henderson looked a little too happy discovering that the dead body wasn't Jennifer. Like, it's still the dead body of a teenage girl; he needed to pull himself back into the job.
   
• Khalil's mother had so much courage to stand up to Tobias and share the location with Lynn. She was the real hero tonight.
   
• I miss Tori! She was such a good character. Though, could Tobias's continued conversations with the painting be a warning sign of his deteriorating state?
   
• Why did Black Lightning not use his thermal visioning powers to seek out Jennifer's electricity signature in the woods? He would've found her easily.

Now, over to you, Black Lightning fans!

What did you think of "The Book of Rebellion: Chapter One: Exodus"?

Will Tobias discover the truth? What new danger will find Jennifer and Khalil next? Did you like Anissa's new ride?

If you missed the latest episode of Black Lightning, you can watch Black Lightning online via TV Fanatic. Come back here and share your thoughts in the comments.

Justin Carreiro was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.