I’ve been on the fence about certain elements of this show since it debuted, but the past few episodes have managed to, without fundamentally changing the tone of the series, ratcheted up the stakes in a really satisfying way.
1. (Almost) All good Courtney, no bad Stargirl
This episode was, by far, the best Courtney episode thus far. All of her good qualities were on display, and it’s easy to root for her at (almost) every point in the episode. As I was thinking this thought, I realized its because not once did she suit up as Stargirl in the episode. The good Court/bad Star duality is still going strong, nine episodes in.
The only part of good Courtney this week that wasn’t great was her dismissal of Yolanda’s feelings about asking Henry to join the team. Yolanda’s life was destroyed by Henry, and while Courtney isn’t wrong about his powers or his heart, she needs to stick by her friend. Perhaps if she approached Yolanda as an equal and discussed the situation in a less “here is what I’m going to do” way, she could’ve been convinced of it.
2. Pandering to the hardcore comics geek
This week saw Pat tell Courtney about his pre-JSA team, the Seven Soldiers of Victory. This, ostensibly, is to introduce the viewers to the idea of Shining Knight, before giving him a spotlight episode in a few weeks, but it was a weirdly written scene, which saw Pat attempt to explain a Dragon King encounter with the Seven Soldiers as a reason for getting ‘all the help they can get’ to take down the Injustice Society.
As wild as it is to get an episode next week called “Brainwave Jr,” it’s equally weird to see the Seven Soldiers referenced. It’s so telling that Geoff Johns and James Robinson are on a writing staff that couldn’t just say that Shining Knight was a JSA member, no, they had to introduce another Golden Age team. It’s also very telling which members were never mentioned: Green Arrow and Speedy. The CW Multiverse is still a confusing one, apparently.
3. Thank goodness this show exposes how bad masks are at concealing identities
Arrow was predicated on seasons upon seasons of people not knowing Oliver Queen was the Arrow because he wore a domino mask and a hood. Stargirl has reversed course on that, and in two weeks let two characters quite easily identify their classmates in disguise. And when you think about it, of course they would. Yolanda and Henry were in a serious relationship, would he not recognize her because she has a surprisingly bulk cat mask on?
This scene also did a lot of good work towards both Henry and Yolanda’s characters feeling more well-rounded. Yolanda clearly still is angry about what Henry did, and is being protective both of her friends and her emotions. This scene also shows Henry taking Courtney’s advice and digging deeper into Yolanda’s mind, past her anger, to see her true feelings. Of course, shortly after he straight up murders a dude with his powers, so maybe he’s not making as much progress as we had hoped.
4. The Icicle Family Circus
The more this season unfolds, it appears that the ISA story may just be a one season affair, as the cards are being laid on the table pretty quickly. The reveal that leads Courtney to recognize that Jordan is Icicle was a really subtle, well set up one. She sees him handle a scalding hot dish without incident, and is quickly able to put two and two together. We also get a few scenes with his creepy fucking parents, who are brought along to dinner so that they could speak in their native tongue and insult the entire Dugan/Whitmore family.
The series has done a nice job establishing Icicle as a relatable villain, whose plans sound almost noble at times, before the methods are discussed. They’ve also made Cameron, his son, an incredibly charming and likable character, and one that Courtney clearly has chemistry with. This whole scene was a really well written, well acted one, and sets up the dominoes to fall in the coming weeks.
Continued below5. Oh snap, Barbara knows what’s up
I fully expected Barbara to be in the dark until, at minimum, the season finale, but this episode brings her straight into the shit with her seeing the Cosmic Staff dancing about and glowing. Pat wants to tell her the truth, which makes him, a good husband, but will likely put a serious crimp in their nascent crimefighting team. No one in their right mind would let their teenage daughter put her life on the line, and if Pat is going to be totally honest with her, he’s also about to ruin her professional career and her personal life all in one fell swoop.
Now, this could all be some misdirect, but I have no idea how that would work. “Oh no Barbara, Courtney is just a witch practicing prestidigitation!” “What you just saw was some good, old fashioned up close magic. Want to see me make a quarter come out of your ear?” “What are you talking about? There wasn’t a staff here!”
Regardless, tune in next week for “Brainwave Jr,” the tenth episode of the series.
