October 22, 2018

Nerds of Prey Exclusive: On the Set With Black Lightning’s Nafessa Williams!

Nerds of Prey was on hand for an exclusive set visit and chat with Nafessa Williams, one of the stars of the hit CW show, Black Lightning. So, what can we expect this season in terms of Anissa, aka Thunder’s, progression and her need to use these powers for justice?

*Black Lightning — “The Book Of Consequences: Chapter Two: Black Jesus Blues” — Pictured: Nafessa Williams as Anissa — Photo: Annette Brown/The CW*

“This season, she’s matured, for sure,” Williams tells Nerds of Prey. “She’s a better superhero. She’s a smarter superhero, not under her daddy’s wing and taking some risks for sure. Just like season one though, she knows exactly what she wants, which is to save her community. She wants to walk in her purpose, be a servant within this community of hers, And she’s doing that.”

Now that Anissa’s from under her father’s thumb, is she feeling confident enough to give Jennifer some guidance and direction in the superhero space? It definitely seems like Anissa is jonesing to work side-by-side with her baby sister, after proper training of course.

“Oh for sure, if we can do this together, if we can suit up together, that is what Anissa wants. Let’s embrace who we are and suit up and hit the streets together. So, this season you’ll see a bit of Anissa training Jennifer but a lot me convincing her like, come on this is our God-given gift. Anissa truly believes that this is a gift, so she’s just trying to really get her sister on board. ”

So, what can Nafessa tease that Anissa will learn this season? “I think what she’ll learn to balance it all. To not be so caught up in just the superhero world, and remember that she needs to have a life. She needs to have love in her life, to date and go out and party and remember that she’s still young. Don’t get too caught up in your job that you’re forgetting to live life.”

Speaking of the balance between love and life, Anissa is entertaining two ladies this year. So, which one does Nafessa think is best for Anissa, former boo thang, Grace or new upcoming potential bae, Zoe B?

*From “The Book Of Consequences: Chapter Two: Black Jesus Blues” — (L-R): Andy Allo as Zoe B and Nafessa Williams as Anissa — Photo: Annette Brown/The CW*

“I think it’s a matter of being with who is best for her,” Williams reasons. “That is in real life and in the superhero world being with someone who is the better person for Anissa. And I’m not really sure who that is yet. Anissa’s still dating, still navigating that world, and really just getting back out there. Season 1 she was really consumed with developing her powers to become the best super hero, that she kind of left the love life out of the picture. This season she’s juggling and finding out who might be the best for her and who she can share this world with. So, I don’t know who that is, but it’ll be who’s a better fit. “

Is this even the time for a long-term relationship anyway?

“I think it’s just a matter of her being young and not really knowing what she wants. She’s 22 years old so she’s still finding out who she is and what she wants and, again, now this new life of being a superhero, which isn’t easy. And it’s not easy to talk to everyone about it. People get hurt. People don’t understand so it’s a matter of, I think first, finding out who she really is. And then she can make a better judgment and a better decision on who she wants to be with and for how long. I think she is more interested in just someone real, who is going to fulfill her and not like just like, some fluff of a relationship. You know, something real.”

Anissa is not just a superhero, but she’s also a student and an educator. Will she encounter any struggles with the new principal, now that her father is no longer presiding over Garfield High School?

“Well, we’re still dealing with the consequences of our decisions from season one. And that means we aren’t operating the same as we were in season one. We’ve got to, you know, make some changes within our family, within our professional lives, and you guys will have to tune in to see exactly how that unfolds with the school and with her teaching. But right now, she’s really, really focused on this whole Robin Hood time in her life.”

And finally, let’s talk about her Robin Hood antics, because Anissa is playing no games this season! “I want to call her Thunder but she’s like Robin Hood. So you see her taking on this new life and this new identity of: ‘by any means necessary.’ However, I gotta do this for my community – like, ‘what do we need, how much,’ [then] ‘I’m gonna go get it.’ And you know, her daddy’s not gonna agree with it and that’s cool! But again, she’s taking more of an approach like ‘I’ve learned all that I feel like I need to up to this point and I’m ready to go out and make decisions on my own and whether he thinks it’s right or not, I have a purpose and a reason for doing it.’ So she’s … Robin Hood and Robin Hood is a gangster.”