There’s something very charming about Stargirl, even when the show veers into the ridiculous. This week’s episode sees some weird tonal shifts happen, but overall it continues the season’s overall quality. Let’s get right to it.
1. Beth’s story is so sad
I know that, in the grand scheme of the world, a seemingly well off kid who happens to be lonely is no tragedy. But the show has gone to great lengths to show us that Beth’s life has improved immeasurably since she got Doctor Mid-Nite’s goggles. Chuck, as she calls the AI of Charles McNider, is basically her best friend, parent, and romantic partner all at once. She seems legitimately in love with the AI (what is this, Her, amirite?), and it is anything but healthy. When Courtney suggests giving the goggles back, Beth legitimately looks like her life is over. I hope that one of the goals of future episodes/seasons is to give Beth something to live for rather than a just a pair of goggles.
2. The beginnings of a story for Mike
Mike, Courtney’s step-brother, is still super obnoxious, but he has the beginnings of a storyline emerging, aside from being obsessed with junk food. His bonding with his step-mother is clearly set up to be a mirror of Pat and Courtney’s relationship, though one is based on love and respect and the other on lies and revenge. I’m not sure if the show has plans for Mike besides semi-comic foil, but at least it’s not just ignoring him, right?
3. DC Universe’s music cues
Titans had its fair share of weird/bad music cues, and Stargirl is following suit. There’s really no reason to have the Gambler jamming out to “Timber” other than for the audience to say “oh, they licensed Ke$ha for this episode.” It’s not exactly a funny song, and why couldn’t Gambler be into pop music? He does a weird little dance to it that, I guess, is sort of humorous, but more just comes off as cheesy and weird. It’s a tonal shift for the character that doesn’t really have precedent in any of his other scenes. It doesn’t give him depth or a new layer, it just shows him dancing to a song that likely cost a lot of money to get for a very unimportant scene. Do you know what a better use of that money would be? A better Doctor Mid-Nite costume.
4. Injustice Society…not that bad?
Look, I’m not saying that killing football coaches is a good thing, but I find it interesting how most of the Injustice Society seems legitimately focused on making life better for their kids. I know this is a common trope, but for an organization that wiped out an entire group of superheroes, their goals seem relatively understandable. Sportsmaster and Tigress have a teenage daughter who is a football star, and they don’t respond well to the various coaches not recognizing/supporting her. Icicle shows a real moment of tenderness this week, where the diner waitress mistakingly brings them a birthday cake. Stargirl keeps reminding us that parents want the best for their kids, even when they are supervillains.
5. Growing up
The ‘new’ JSA is essentially the Infinity Inc. of the comics, with the youth really emphasized. This was never more clear than the scene where the team, in costume for the first time, comes across a maybe dead, maybe just brain damaged guard that’s been knocked out cold and is lying in a pool of his blood. The camera slows down, panning across all of their faces, when they realize “oh shit, this is serious. We’re not just playing superheroes, lives are at risk here. The team is barely working as a unit, they aren’t sticking to their plans, but they now understand what is at stake, and that should help them in the future.
