After last week’s massive JSA tease, it is time for Courtney to assemble her crew. First up: Wildcat!
1. A very special episode
Blue Valley is a weird place on this show. On one hand, it is very old-fashioned, with folks driving cars from the 50s and dudes walking around in letterman jackets. But the show also wants you to know that, yes, this is the modern day, and there are things like ::shudders:: sexting! Yes, this episode’s main conflict is based around Yolanda Montez sending sexts to her then-boyfriend, which got leaked throughout the school and, basically ruined her life. Her family is shamed, her relationship is over, and her reputation is forever tarnished.
Despite my using after school special terminology, this episode actually handles the sexting situation fairly well. Sure, people make a huge deal out of it, but that is both how strict families and small towns process things, even today. That would be especially true in the faux-Pleasantville that is Blue Valley. Everyone shaming Yolanda is presented as being either a bad person or an overprotective family member, and there is little to no shaming coming from the show itself, aside from a broad “you probably shouldn’t send nudes” message which, as a man in his late 30s, is solid advice for all you kids out there.
This episode is the first of the series written by James Robinson, “Starman” scribe and, unfortunately, League of Extraordinary Gentleman screenwriter. A longtime co-conspirator of Geoff Johns, its not surprising to see Robinson show up on this writing staff. This episode has a few direct nods to his past work, like the reference that Icicle makes to the Shade ‘betraying’ the Injustice Society. But also, bringing in a D-list villain in Dragon King also feels like something Robinson would have lobbied for in the writer’s room.
2. The clothes make the hero
I mentioned in the first recap the oddness of making the cosmic staff a sentient creature in this show, and that seems to be a theme that will keep emerging, as the Wildcat costume, presumably the same one worn by Ted Knight, is similarly imbued with magic. When Yolanda puts it on, it form fits to her body like a glove, and gives her enhanced balance and agility, along with retractable claws.
Yvette Monreal, who plays Yolanda, is easily the best actor on the series thus far, and she does her best work when playing the Yolanda that is just comfortable enough with Courtney to open up a bit. The show has a theme thus far of having extremely likable and relatable characters out of costume, and Wildcat continues the trend of making every character dumber/less relatable once they put on their super-outfits. I don’t believe this is being done as commentary on the irresponsible nature of superheroes, either, I think the show is just struggling to do their teenage characters feelings real, and I get that.
The one downside of Wildcat is that, despite saying the names ‘Yolanda Montez’ (more on that in a second) and ‘Wildcat’ a million times, Monreal is clearly playing Catwoman. Yes, its Catwoman with a magical suit, but instead of making her a tough as nails boxer that succeeds as a superhero because of her intestinal fortitude and hard work, she’s a tough as nails boxer with a magical cat suit and retractable claws. When Johns was writing “JSA,” he made the very dumb decision to give Wildcat nine actual lives, and this seems like a further reach to make the character something more than just a simple boxer.
3. “Yolanda Montez”
There are a bunch of times in this episode that Yolanda refers to herself not only in the third person, but with her first and last name. This is all, seemingly, in the service of having her say, to her parents, grandmother, and brother, that she wants to get back to the old her. By tying the ‘old her’ to the name ‘Yolanda Montez,’ it allows her family’s rejection of ‘Yolanda Montez’ to signal her embrace of her new name, Wildcat. This is not quite the Saul -> Paul transformation the show wants it to be, but I understand the rationale. It’s too bad that it is executed in such a clunky manner.
Continued belowHowever, before shedding Yolanda for Wildcat, she does have a moment of clarity where she realizes that it is fucking nuts to be starting a career as a crimefighter as a teenager with a girl she just met. The show plays fast and loose with timeframes, both macro (how long exactly have the Dugans/Whitmores been in Blue Valley?) and micro (why does Yolanda’s family not notice she’s gone, seemingly for hours, but also why is no one home at Courtney’s house? It is 1am or 6pm?), but at least it acknowledges that Courtney’s plan is, at absolute best, a little presumptuous.
4. Worst fake fiddling I’ve ever seen
I’m a musician, and so I can be pretty critical of bad faking of musical instruments, if only because it takes about 5 seconds of coaching to help someone look like they know what they are doing. Hey, DC Universe, for a low, low price, I’ll be your musical instrument consultant so that the Fiddler, aka the Blue Valley High principal, doesn’t look like my four year old son pretending to play along to the radio. This was so bad, it made me think no one who works on the show has ever seen someone play the violin. That’s sad for so many reasons.
5. Pat is on the case
The role of Pat, thus far, has been both as the gateway and the gatekeeper for Courtney’s superheroics. But in this episode, we see Pat finally motivated to do something besides just tinker with his robot. By seeing the Wizard’s widow’s wayward wagon (ok, I know its not exactly a wagon or wayward, but I love alliteration, so suck something, speedy), Pat begins to recognize just how insidious Blue Valley has become, and how dangerous it can be for innocent people. This may be what forces his hand to allow Courtney to more openly pursue her JSA.
But for the love of Pete, please let her be more prudent with her choices.
That said, next week’s episode is called “Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite,” so I doubt she’ll be prudent. See ya then!
