I know I’m an easy mark for superhero television; at some level, I’m still legitimately shocked that I get to watch as many comic tv series as I do, because as a kid, this would’ve been a dream come true. Bu even recognizing that I’m a cheap date, enjoyment wise, the last few episode of Stargirl have been far more watchable than the first few episodes, as fun as they were. The show is building a few different things simultaneously, and the relatively short season order means there isn’t much fat to trim away. Let’s get to it.
1. Staff psychiatrist
The episode begins with Pat going to great lengths to set up a believable story for how Courtney wound up in the hospital, crashing his Buick and filing a police report to cover his tracks. While Pat has been a good stepdad this entire season, this episode really highlighted his love for Court. Here’s a man who watched his entire life destroyed by the Injustice Society, and yet he’s able to toss that all out the window the second his stepdaughter appears in trouble.
After bringing Courtney home, Pat has a one on one with his Cosmic Staff in the basement, even though the rod refuses to acknowledge his presence. He pours his heart out to it, and begs it to protect Courtney from danger. It’s a heartfelt scene, despite Luke Wilson’s limited acting chops. But the scene is undercut later in the episode when the staff takes about 5 seconds of Courtney guff before deciding to take her directly into danger. Mystical objects are notoriously shitty at keeping their word.
2. The Pat and Beth Adventures
In what can only be described as a screwball comedy scene in the middle of a CW show, Pat and Beth find themselves inside Cindy’s house, talking to her Step(ford)mom and trying to dig up some dirt. Beth is brave as shit, but also incredibly dumb in this scene, and winds up both underground in the ISA HQ and also in Cindy’s room. They get some valuable intel, but almost blow literally everything in the process.
Oh, also, Step(ford)mom tries to put the moves on Pat, who kills the time by helping her declog her garbage disposal, and no, that’s not an innuendo, despite sounding very much like one. Between Barbara being lusted after by Icicle and Pat almost getting down with Mrs. Dragon, this was a week of near infidelity from the Dugan/Whitmores.
3. Does. Not. Compute
How does this show keep making Mike more interesting? He’s still a food-obsessed Bud Bundy clone, but his talk with Courtney about his complex feelings over spending time with Pat was legitimately impressive writing. He has a pretty punchable demeanor most of the time, but Stargirl has figured out what Mike needs to be within the show far quicker than I anticipated. He and Courtney finally seem to be building a real relationship, which will inevitably put him either in the JSA or the ISA next season. Time will tell.
4. Shiv is sharp
Thank goodness that the show didn’t actually want us to believe that Cindy didn’t recognize Courtney in her Stargirl getup. There is an entire scene where we are on pins and needles, trying to deduce if Cindy has a clue, but the whole time it is becoming more and more clear that, if she doesn’t, she’s maybe the dumbest character on television in 2020. I’m glad that there won’t be a few weeks, or even a season, of Cindy trying to get to the bottom of who Stargirl is.
We get our second Stargirl/Shiv showdown, and while not as jarringly fight choreography-heavy as the first one, it is still one of the more action-packed sequences on the show thus far. It also has a few really dark elements to it, whether it is Cindy trying to manipulate Henry into taking out Courtney, or Cindy being dragged into the sewer by her father’s minions. It’s some pretty bleak shit!
5. Like father, like son
For those who aren’t Infinity Inc heads, Brainwave Jr. was a founding member of the group, and a character that, though vacillating between good and evil, was more often on the side of good. Henry has been a similar character on the show thus far as well. Tricked into hurting Yolanda, lied to by his now comatose father, manipulated by Cindy, Henry has had, perhaps, the roughest go of any character on the show as of late. He’s just starting to unlock his telepathic potential, and is clearly confused by it. He seems like a surefire member of the JSA at some point down the road, but I’m not sure how closely to the comics the series is going to choose to hew.
