Black Lightning star previews Tobias Whale's growing anxiety, Lady Eve's debut

Black Lightning is back — and there's obviously one person who isn't happy about it: Tobias Whale (Marvin Jones III).

On this week's Black Lightning, we'll see the leader of the One Hundred gang continue to struggle to accept that his nemesis, who he thought he killed nine years ago, has actually returned.

"Tobias Whale is in a state of shock right now," Jones tells EW. "He has been in a state of comfort knowing that Black Lightning is gone and that he's in the position in the underworld he's in and able to rule the One Hundred the way that he has with an ironclad [fist]. Now, it's a thing where you think you've cleaned the spilled milk, but there's still a little bit there, and you don't want to slip on it in the kitchen in the middle of the night. [There's] a little bit of anxiety."

"LaWanda: The Book of the Burial" also features the debut of Jill Scott as Lady Eve, who has a complicated relationship with Tobias Whale. As EW previously reported, Lady Eve is the owner of a funeral parlor in Freeland who also doubles as the bridge between the One Hundred Gang and a group of corrupt city leaders. Thus, she's one of the few people with any kind of power over Tobias.

"She is, for now, the only woman that has a closeness with Tobias," says Jones, who says she's somewhat motherly toward him. "Tobias Whale has an affinity and such a respect level for women. Lady Eve being a woman of power on the side of the underworld, he gives her and allows her a playing field of authority [over him]. He deals with his own issues with that, if you continue to watch."

As the season progresses, viewers will gain a deeper understanding of Tobias' relationship with Lady Eve and the rest of Freeland's criminal element — and of the man himself. The renewed conflict with Black Lightning (Cress Williams) will peel back his layers. "Throughout this first season of Black Lightning, you're going to be exposed to the human side of Tobias Whale as well as the sociopath that he is," says Jones. "He's going to go through an emotional ride and being the focus of negativity starts to take its toll on his personal life."

Black Lightning airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.