Stargirl review: “Summer School: Chapter One”

Stargirl returns with a bang as its season 2 premiere lays the groundwork for what promises to be one heck of a season.

Stargirl is back, DC fans, and we couldn’t be more excited! I was a bit skeptical and unsure what to expect from the series, especially since it moved from being a DC Universe exclusive series to The CW which is now its permanent home. But it’s clear from the get-go of the season 2 premiere that the network invested a lot of money into the beloved show. I think I’m starting to understand why shows like The Flash have such poor visual effects; all the money must be going to Stargirl and/or Superman & Lois.

But in any case, I digress. The Stargirl season 2 premiere took us right back into the thick of things, which seemed to be rather uneventful for Courtney (Brec Bassinger), a.k.a. Stargirl. She and her merry band of superheroes seemingly nipped the town’s major villain in the bud back in season 1, and now things seem to be relatively calm.

Of course, while Courtney is convinced that dangers are still lurking, everyone else around her seems to think she needs to take a backseat to all this superhero stuff. As a young teenager in high school, I think switching gears like that is easier said than done. And this is why Courtney doesn’t really stop fighting or keeping an eye out for any sign of danger.

That attentiveness, however, gets her into a bit of trouble at school which sets up the storyline for Stargirl season 2. Courtney is failing out of her classes which means summer school, here she comes! She’d rather fight crime, but she doesn’t have much of an option after being confronted by her mother, Barbara (Amy Smart), and stepdad, Pat (Luke Wilson). The whole summer school thing messes up the family’s plans to get out of the city for a bit, which just might have worked out in their favor given how the season 2 premiere of Stargirl played out.

Let’s get into the details. Beware, SPOILERS ahead!

Decades ago

The Stargirl season 2 premiere kicks off with a flashback dating “decades ago” in the town of Melody Hills, Indiana. A young (and very frightening) girl named Rebecca (Olive Elise Abercrombie) is introduced and immediately we learn that she wants to go to a neighborhood party. A young boy introducing himself as Bruce (Milo Stein) convinces Rebecca to go against her mother’s wishes and come out to the party even though her mother forbade her.

Bruce is all kinds of trouble and eventually even convinces Rebecca to steal a present from the party, and surprisingly she does just that. My guess is she regrets it immediately when she sees that the doll is very Chucky-esque. Seriously, why do people get dolls?

The entire intro sequence is just to get us to the point during which Bruce reveals that he’s a dark entity, a.k.a. Eclipso, and believes Rebecca should be punished for being a bad girl. We don’t see what becomes of Rebecca but we hear her mother’s ear-deafening screams when she seems to find her across the street.

I think we all know what happens to Rebecca, but in addition to that, we learn that her full name is Rebecca McNider. Ring any bells, folks?

Stargirl’s growing pains

After taking down the Injustice Society in season 1, things have been awfully quiet on the crime front. It’s something Courtney is struggling with, but she doesn’t give up her mission to keep her town and loved ones safe.

As much as Courtney wants the team to find something to fight for, everyone but her begins to lose interest. When the craziest thing happening in your town is a raccoon looking through trash, I think your efforts could be used elsewhere.

Unfortunately, Courtney doesn’t seem to get that point and refuses to give up looking for the next villain. Of course, there is going to be trouble this season, but for now, Courtney is searching high and low for any threats that may be out there.

Concerned about her well-being, Pat insists that Courtney just tries to be a normal teenage girl, but Courtney doesn’t agree. In fact, she believes being Stargirl is her destiny and nothing else matters. This appears to be an “I’m an adult now and I know everything now” scenario, and Bassinger delivers the scenes so well that I almost believe she thinks there is nothing more to life than fighting crime.

Solomon Grundy, Beth, and Rick

Beth (Anjelika Washington) has a lot going on when the Stargirl season 2 premiere kicks off. She’s been the guiding, positive light in everyone’s life, however, she is struggling a bit in this episode. First and foremost, she hopes to fix her goggles in the hopes that Chuck, a.k.a. Dr. Midnight, would return. She has no such luck, and it only gets worse when she finds out her parents want to get divorced.

Meanwhile, Rick (Cameron Gellman) finds himself on the pursuit to find Solomon Grundy, who has been making his mark around town. The local townspeople are convinced it’s a bear, but Rick knows otherwise and is determined to find him.

Side note: I’m loving this side storyline of Grundy and Rick! Even though we’ve only had one episode from the season, I can already tell that the writers are trying to flesh out some of these major characters. I’ve been wanting to know more about them since I started watching the first season, and I think given the individualized focus on each character in the season 2 premiere, we’re headed in that direction.

Yolanda (Yvette Monreal) is struggling when we catch up with her in the season 2 premiere. She can’t seem to make a confession about Brainwave’s death and is even more confused about keeping the JSA going. Courtney doesn’t want to shut anything down, but it is starting to seem like these guys just need to be normal teenagers for a bit.

But, of course, this is far from what will happen as we go further into the season.

Stargirl goes to summer school 

It’s the last day of school, but instead of being excited about the summer, Courtney learns that she will have to attend summer school due to her failing grades. Her focus has been on being Stargirl this entire time, and because she’s not letting it go for a while, it’s proving to come back to bite her in the butt.

Because of her vigilance to any wrongdoing, Courtney winds up fighting with Artemis Crock (Stella Smith), who she believes is going to hurt her. It’s uncalled for but Courtney is simply in a place where she doesn’t think anything or anyone is worth trusting. Can we blame the girl after the events of season 1? The Injustice Society really did a number on her!

Stargirl, her staff, and Green Lantern’s daughter?

My favorite part of the season 2 premiere is the fight between Courtney and a young woman who identifies herself as Green Lantern’s daughter. Specifically, Green Lantern Alan Scott. I’m interested to see how his daughter plays into the season because Alan Scott’s story with the Green Lanterns is a topsy turvy one, especially when we’re talking about how he came to be a part of the group.

The fight between Courtney and the daughter ends up being pretty dramatic as they completely trash the house in the process. It’s awesome to see how much Courtney has learned to jive with her staff, and how epic the Green Lantern ring and light actually look. Now, if only DCTV could tie this in with Arrow’s Diggle (David Ramsey) who was teased to have a connection with the Green Lanterns. Give us something on that front, guys!

The Injustice Society

Cindy makes her way into the secret hideout of the ISA, which is located behind a locker at school. Not sure that this seems like a great idea, but we’ll roll with it. After going into the lair, Cindy starts looking through the files titled “Injustice Unlimited.” She’s overwhelmed with emotion about Henry Jr. but then proceeds to add a picture to the mix of recruits she is considering, including Mike Dugan (Trae Romano). Something tells me Mike just might join him…

The episode comes to an intriguing close as Pat deals with a man named Zeke (King Orba) who was supposed to watch his garage while the family went on vacation. But since that plan didn’t work out, he goes back into the shop only to learn that Zeke has been making adjustments on S.T.R.I.P.E, including adding a flamethrower (I’m so here for this!).

Meanwhile, we get one more scene of Joel McHale’s Sylvester Pemberton who is looking to find out Pat’s location. Does he want to see his daughter? Does he know something these guys don’t? Or is this just the start of something sinister and villainous? Tune in next week to find out!

Stargirl season 2 is off to a stellar start, and it already has me hooked and invested in its story. The CW has put a lot of effort into this show, and it’s obvious from its production design. They’ve got high expectations for the series, otherwise, they wouldn’t be putting so much thought and money into it.

And I can see why there is such love for the series because it has so much potential with its stories, characters, and overall plot development. We’ve already seen from the Stargirl season 2 premiere that this journey is going to be a tumultuous one for Courtney, and with her lacking support on all fronts, she just might find herself in a very lost and vulnerable place. I’m hoping that is not the case, but every superhero needs their backup, and she’s got just the team to help her out!

See you guys next week!

Grade: B

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