Stargirl review: “Summer School: Chapter Five”

Stargirl continues to deal with the threat of Eclipso (Nick Tarabay) in this week’s fifth installment of “Summer School.” Five episodes in, this series has done a marvelous job slowly unraveling this season’s “Big Bad” in a way that is alluring and addictive.

Even though we’ve only heard Eclipso’s evil voice and have not seen any physical manifestation of him, he is still incredibly frightening. Something about Tarabay’s voice as Eclipso gives me the heebie-jeebies!

There has been a lot of story development in Stargirl this season, including the introduction of Thunderbolt (Jim Gaffigan), The Shade (Jonathan Cake), and Cindy’s (Meg DeLacy) team-up with Eclipso. In this week’s episode, we see more of this unravel, as unexpected gloomy weather takes over Blue Valley, indicating Eclipso is likely in town. Of course, we, as the audience, already knew that, but the young JSA, Pat (Luke Wilson), and Barb (Amy Smart) are just discovering it.

To see how that unfolds, check out our review — SPOILERS below!

Cindy’s grand plan

Throughout the episode, Cindy’s plan to revive the ISA (Injustice Society of America) begins to take form. She already has Isaac (Max Frantz) and Artemis (Stella Smith) on board, but she intends to bring on additional members, including Courtney’s (Brec Bassinger) younger brother Mike (Trae Romano).

Naturally, it’d be an insane plot twist if Mike ends up on Team ISA instead of Team JSA, but it also wouldn’t be that unexpected. Pat hasn’t let him be a part of the JSA when Mike had control of Thunderbolt. He was essentially asked to relinquish control, which has him feeling more isolated and vulnerable than ever before.

All Mike needs is a villain like Cindy to come along and mess with his head and convince him that she cares for him and wants him to be included, unlike his family. Honestly, I’m so here for that flip-flop, and based on the end of this week’s episode, it looks like that is exactly what Team ISA is going to try and make happen.

Pat’s secrets

After her random run-in with the Shade, Courtney takes it upon herself to try and track him down. She’s really starting to believe that the Shade may be on their side, as he was more honest with her than Pat has been of late. She had no idea Eclipso killed Dr. MicNider’s daughter, which was something Pat should have told her about.

Unfortunately, there is still something he is hiding from her, and I have a strong feeling that is going to backfire on him and Barb in the next couple of episodes. I don’t know why I feel like the big secret has something to do with who Courtney’s father is. Could it be Eclipso? I don’t know much about this character in the comics, but does he have a physical form? And if so, is Courtney actually the daughter of a villain rather than the hero she was always hoping for?

Cameron Mahkent 

We finally get to see more of Cameron (Hunter Sansone) after his father, Jordan Mahkent, aka Icicle (Neil Jackson) passed away last season. Long story short, he was fighting with the new JSA, and while in his icy form Mike ran him over with an SUV. Yeah, so let’s add murder to Mike’s list of things to feel a hot mess about.

Anyway, we catch up with Cameron painting a mural depicting his father. He’s quite a talented artist, and not just because of the mural; the school’s art teacher Mr. Dysinger takes notice of Cameron’s sketchbook, which is filled with sketches of Courtney. I want to say that is super creepy, but in season 1, they did sort of begin a romance, but it was clouded by the whole “his dad is an evil villain” thing.

While the two of them almost kiss in this week’s episode, Courtney is pulled away by JSA duties. At this point, I think he’s going to just take the hint and assume she isn’t interested; little does he know that the girl he’s into is out there trying to save the world.

There may be no romance to rekindle, however, if Cindy succeeds in either killing Cameron or convincing him to join the ISA. She nearly kills him before Mr. Dysinger shows up. And now Mr. Dysinger is in her crosshairs.

The Shade’s warning for Stargirl

After her run-in with Cameron, Cindy uses Eclipso’s powers to manipulate Mr. Dysinger. And instantly, Eclipso’s morbid, scary voice takes over Dysinger’s mind. It’s always frightening to see him take over someone’s mind like that. Villains are almost unbeatable when they’re on that level!

As Eclipso makes his move, the Shade pays Barb a visit to ask her to tell Courtney to back off. He knows Courtney was out looking for him the night before, and he wants all of them to keep away from him. Side note: The Shade makes a comment about Barb reminding him of a family member from the past, and it really has me scratching my head. Who the heck could he be referring to?

Anyway, Barb is insistent on finding out more about the Black Diamond. According to the Shade, the weather is simply a preview of what is to come, and he is fairly confident that they do not want to see the finale. Yikes, what is that supposed to mean?

The Shade leaves Barb behind with a caveat: keep the young JSA away from the Black Diamond. And if they discover its location, she is to let him know immediately.

Is Dr. Mid-Nite alive on Stargirl?

We take a slight detour to catch up with Rick (Cameron Gellman), who has been trying to lure  out Solomon Grundy. So far we haven’t seen Grundy except in flashbacks of the night he killed Rick’s parents. I’m not sure what Rick’s plan is here.

Back at the garage, Beth (Anjelika Washington) keeps insisting that Dr. McNider is still alive, as he contacted her through the goggles. We saw a glimpse of him in some dark, shadow-filled place, so he probably is still alive. Pat thinks it’s Eclipso’s work, but Rick backs up Beth and says they have to look into it.

Eclipso strikes again

Mr. Dysinger fully succumbs to Eclipso’s powers in an incredibly horrific moment; his eyes take on a glossy, colorful appearance. It’s super weird, and once again reminded me that Stargirl has the bigger budget of The CW superhero shows (along with Superman & Lois).

Anyway, the young JSA is led to their high school, where the weather anomalies are at their strongest. Mr. Dysinger’s car is still there in the wee hours of the night. They discover the art room completely covered in paint.

Eclipso begins appearing from random places in the room. Our heroes start seeing things and fighting things that aren’t actually there. He has full control of them, which makes for a visually awesome sequence.

Eclipso takes the form of a black (sometimes colorful) goo that is very reminiscent of Venom. Except Courtney is able to remove Eclipso from Dysinger’s body by using her staff’s intense light. Mr. Dysinger is then put under psychiatric evaluation.

And as for Eclipso? Well, he’s certainly not gone yet; we see that in the final scene where ice begins surrounding Cameron as he paints the mural.

Icicle 2.0? It’s starting to look like it!

This was a visually stunning episode of Stargirl. The use of colors during the Dysinger/Eclipso were dazzling, and the fight solidified how dangerous Eclipso truly is.

We’re only five episodes into Stargirl season 2, which makes me wonder where all of this will lead. Is Eclipso going to just be one of the villains that the JSA much face this season? I have a feeling that Cindy’s newly formed ISA will battle against the new JSA at some point, and it will be super awkward because Mike will likely be on the side of evil. And as sad as that makes me for the Dugan/Whitmore family, it’s going to make for great television.

Grade: B+

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