WiC Watches: Stargirl
By Ariba Bhuvad
Pictured (L-R): Yvette Monreal as Wildcat and Cameron Gellman as Hourman — Photo: Jace Downs/The CW
Episode 6: “The Justice Society”
Stargirl hits a roadblock during this week’s episode as Pat becomes aware of just what Courtney has been up to behind his back. I mean, he had an idea that she hadn’t given up on the idea of taking on her possible father’s legacy. But he had no idea to what extent she had gone to recreate the Justice Society. Well, the Wildcat’s out of the bag now!
Anyway, Pat finds the not-so-discreetly hidden duffel bag of JSA artifacts in Courtney’s closet. Once he realizes that she’s been handing out some of them to other kids, he sort of loses it. And I use that phrase very loosely, as Luke Wilson’s portrayal of Pat is anything but intimidating.
Pat doesn’t want anyone else getting involved in the dangerous superhero game. He asks Courtney to retrieve everything that she’s given out, including Wildcat’s costume, Dr. Mid-Nite’s googles, and Hourman’s hourglass. This episode got me in the feels a little bit because it was tough to see how much Yolanda and Beth’s lives had improved since meeting Courtney and getting involved with the JSA.
Let’s not forget, a couple of episodes ago, Yolanda’s family gave her the cold shoulder when she tried to apologize for her mistakes. That was one hell of a brutal scene, and it still gets me. Meanwhile, Beth is a bit of a loner given that she doesn’t have many friends and her parents are always at work. Having Dr. Mid-Nite’s goggles has given her a new purpose in life. Last week, we saw how much the idea of becoming Hourman impacted Rick, so having to take it away hurts both us and Courtney.
I’d like to give a shout out to Stargirl for giving us meaningful stories and for not dragging the plotlines along. They could have wasted time digging into why each character should take on the mantle of the JSA character they’re meant to become, but they didn’t. It’s been kept short and simple, and the first season is progressing along nicely. Now, if only they could do something about some of their costumes…
But as iffy as the costumes are, the kids obviously aren’t keen to give them all back. Pat attempts to convince Rick but fails miserably. By the end, I think we were all collectively cheering when the newly formed JSA stood together alongside Stripesy. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
“The Justice Society” introduces us to two more members of the Injustice Society: Sportsmaster and Tigress. Seriously, who comes up with these names? I’d like to volunteer as tribute for deciding on character names.
I have to say I’m not convinced on these two just yet. They’re not exactly…scary. Icicle demands fear and respect whenever he walks into the room. Also, he’s layered. Yes, Icicle is evil and horrible, but there’s the backstory with his deceased wife and how he continues to grapple with her loss. It helps us understand why he’s so dead set on living the villain life. Everything he does is about getting revenge for her. I love seeing different sides of villains.
Anyway, at episode’s end, we get to see the new JSA’s first fight…and it’s epic. It’s Stargirl and her crew against Sportsmaster and Tigress, and the kids display how much talent they really have. Not that things go completely smoothly. They all need some training, but all in all, they’re settling into their JSA roles quite nicely.
I appreciate that the fight scenes weren’t over the top and continued to highlight that these guys haven’t done anything like this before. They’re still kids trying to take on supervillains, and it would be unrealistic for them to have everything under control. Besides some of the cheesy visual effects, I think overall the JSA is off to a solid start.
And the best part? Pat is finally on board! Let the training begin.