Stargirl review: “Summer School: Chapter Four”

This week’s episode of Stargirl keeps viewers on their toes as Pat (Luke Wilson) contends with the return of Lawrence Crock (Neil Hopkins) and Paula Brooks (Joy Osmanski). It throws a wrench in what was already a complicated situation for the Dugan/Whitmore family.

However, it’s the secret about Eclipso’s (Nick Tarabay) past that keeps Pat and Barb (Amy Smart) up at night, especially given the fact that they’ve been hiding it from Courtney (Brec Bassinger) all this time. Given that Courtney has been extremely eager to take down any villains making their way into Blue Valley, keeping this secret from her is a huge deal.

Lots of plot points from the first season of Stargirl are coming together and building to a larger story about the JSA (Justice Society of America) and ISA (Injustice Society of America). Fans are going to be questioning who is good and who is evil after this week’s episode. Let’s get into the major moments, and beware: there are SPOILERS below.

The return of Crock and Brooks

The episode kicks off with Artemis (Stella Smith) paying her criminal parents (aka Sportsmaster and Tigress) a visit in prison. This young girl has so much anger within her. (And do we blame her?) I don’t know how this young actress pulls it off, but she sells everything Artemis is feeling.

Despite the fact that her parents are members of the ISA and in jail, Artemis doesn’t feel that they’ve done any truly wrong. She believes their crimes to be small and petty, and can’t understand why they’re being punished.

Artemis is currently living with a foster mom. Knowing that her parents are alive and well makes her resent everything about her life, and it all comes full circle a bit later in the episode. Lawerence and Paula break out of prison, and to get Pat’s attention, they kidnap Mike (Trae Romano).

Their shenanigans lead Pat right to them, and soon after into the Dugan/Whitmore home. It’s a bit jarring to see ISA members just gallivanting around their house. But at the same time, Stargirl does a good job helping viewers realize that while these two are villains, they’re also parents who want to be there for their kid. They convince Pat to take them to one of Artemis’ football games, and hearing her parents cheer from the sidelines is everything she needs to regain her confidence in life, and in the game.

Unfortunately, Cindy’s (Meg DeLacy) untimely arrival mucks things up. She uses Eclipso’s stone to take over Artemis’ mind and make her attack the people around her, including Courtney. With every passing episode of Stargirl, it’s become clear that Cindy is just a vessel through which Eclipso operates; she’ll be discarded eventually, probably sooner rather than later.

Stargirl learns the truth about Eclipso

Courtney and the rest of the new JSA have learned that Eclipso is in Blue Valley. Pat and Barb it too, but it’s not until this week’s episode that they finally come clean to one another.

Pat confesses to Courtney that Eclipso is “the devil in the shadows” and lives in the black diamond that the Shade (Jonathan Cake) is after. Whoever possesses the diamond has Eclipso’s powers: mind control, illusions, utter disgust for humanity, etc.

Basically, having the diamond makes you do horrible things of the kind we’ve seen Cindy do over the course of the last three episodes. That the Shade is looking for the black diamond and hoping to team up with Eclipso is more frightening than Pat may want to lead on.

But that fear won’t stop Courtney and the rest of the new JSA from looking into the matter. So far all the information they have is from Pat or Dr. Mid Nite’s (Alex Collins) goggles.

Stargirl encounters The Shade

The new JSA begins to suss out the details of how Eclipso’s black diamond traveled from the Diablo Islands to Blue Valley. Apparently, an explorer named Bruce Gordon found it and was the only one who came back from the Diablo Islands alive. Courtney goes to the used bookstore to try and find more information while Beth (Anjelika Washington) tries to repair Dr. Mid Nite’s goggles.

While at the bookstore, Courtney runs into the Shade, who is always lurking in the shadows ready to make his move. Their conversation leads to a huge revelation for Courtney: that Eclipso killed Dr. Mid Nite’s 10-year-old daughter. It turns out that The Shade wants to find the black diamond so he can throw it into the depths of the ocean so it can never hurt anyone ever again.

Talk about a plot twist!

The Shade is a villain through and through — he admits as much — but he’s also the person the new JSA needs to take down Eclipso. Could there be a team-up on this season of Stargirl?

And while we’re on the topic of team-ups, Cindy manages to convince Isaac (Max Frantz) to join her mission to recreate the ISA, which both their parents were a part of. So while the new JSA begins to take shape and defeat villains, the new ISA is slowly building momentum as well.

I think we’re leading up to an epic battle by the end of the season. But more importantly than that, there’s still a secret that Pat and Barb are keeping from Courtney, and it has something to do with Eclipso.

My sixth sense is telling me that we’re going to learn that Courtney’s father is Eclipso somehow (I’m not sure if I’m reaching here). It’s the only thing bad enough that they would be this dead-set on keeping it from Courtney. But it won’t be long before Courtney learns the truth (whatever it may be), especially now that she’s teaming up with The Shade.

We’ll have to hang tight to see how this story plays out, but before I wrap this review up, I must mention the final moments of the episode where Beth communicates with Dr. Mid-Nite; not his A.I., but the actual Dr. Mid-Nite who is stuck somewhere in the shadows (probably courtesy of The Shade).

…So maybe The Shade isn’t as bad as we all thought?

Stargirl wraps up yet another epic episode filled with all kinds of twists and turns that leave me wanting more. There are so many storylines taking place right now, and in the background, Rick (Cameron Gellman) is presumably trying to communicate with Solomon Grundy.

In just four episodes, we’ve got all this business with Eclipso and The Shade, the introduction of Thunderbolt, and now, we’re learning that Dr. Mid-Nite may very well be alive. There is a lot at stake here as Stargirl and her newly formed JSA band together to face whatever is heading towards Blue Valley.

Next week can’t come soon enough!

Grade: A-

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