Stargirl review: “Summer School: Chapter Six”

Now was that an episode or what?! “Summer School: Chapter Six” has to be one of the most exciting episodes of the show so far. There was a lot of plot development, and so many twists and turns that my head is still reeling.

Of course, it all involves Eclipso (Nick E. Tarabay) and his determination to wreak havoc on the little town of Blue Valley through his current host, Cindy Burman (Meg DeLacy). And without getting into too many spoilers just yet, I’ll simply say that there is a massive update on that front that will reverberate throughout the rest of the season.

The Dugan/Whitmore family along with the young JSA face a lot of obstacles this week. It’s jarring to see them defeated, but even with the odds stacked against them, I have full confidence that they will defeat Eclipso.

Let me tell you what I mean. Beware SPOILERS below!

Stargirl’s young ISA 

The episode kicks off with Isaac (Max Frantz) and Artemis (Stella Smith) threatening Yolanda (Yvette Monreal) and Beth (Anjelika Washington). Artemis has so much rage inside of her and Smith does a stand-up job of bringing it out.

As people who have lost their parents to death or prison, both Isaac and Artemis are easily persuaded by Cindy to help Eclipso’s cause. Taking advantage of their vulnerabilities is a classic villain move, and it’s certainly working for Cindy.

Elsewhere, Dysinger is still under psychiatric evaluation after Eclipso took over his mind last week. Courtney (Brec Bassinger) and Pat (Luke Wilson) volunteer their time to clean up Eclipso’s damage to the high school art room…although it’s kind of pretty with colorful paint splattered all over the place.

During the cleanup, they’re shocked to learn that Cindy is back in Blue Valley. The bearer of bad news is Cameron Mahkent (Hunter Sansone), who reveals this after they find a painting of Cindy holding up the Black Diamond. There is simply no time to waste (poor Cameron gets ditched again) as Pat and Courtney rush out of the school to gather the team and S.T.R.I.P.E. to head to Cindy’s house.

Cindy (and the ISA) strikes again!

Stargirl has been hinting that Cindy’s plan is to ultimately convince Mike (Trae Romano) to join the dark side. This week, Cindy makes her move, but not exactly in the way we thought.

Lost ever since he gave up the power of Thunderbolt, Mike has been hanging around the junkyard with Zeek (King Orba) hoping to find a new project. They ultimately find a loophole to let Mike help Zeek with S.T.R.I.P.E, but before they can do that, Cindy shows up.

Mike is under the impression that Cindy is asking him to join the ISA, but she simply laughs in his face. Why would she want him to join her team, especially since he’s just like his useless father? Her words, not mine. Plus, he’s simply the bait to lure in the JSA…

Meanwhile, Pat is attacked by Artemis and Isaac, who plays a killer violin. He tries not to fight back against children, but when things get out of hand, Pat tries to stop them. By then it’s too late and Pat is beaten up to a pulp. Luckily, Artemis feels some pity for him since he’s her father’s friend and doesn’t let Isaac kill him; instead, they go to town on S.T.R.I.P.E.

Team Stargirl saves Mike 

While at the hospital with Pat, Courtney gets a threatening call from Cindy about Mike. It’s basically a “show up and fight me or I’ll kill your brother” call, and so with Barb’s (Amy Smart) blessing, Courtney is off to kick some major a**!

In the meantime, Barb tries giving the Shade (Jonathan Cake) a call. He’s equally surprised to learn from Barb that Cindy has the Black Diamond, and from the look on his face, it’s clear he has just one objective: destroy the Diamond, destroy Eclipso.

The JSA shows up at Blue Valley High School to face the ISA, and what follows is one epic battle. Stargirl faces off with Cindy, Yolanda tries to avoid Isaac’s violin attacks, and Beth and Rick (Cameron Gellman) try to fight off a crazy Artemis.

For a while there, it’s unclear if anyone is going to make it out of this fight alive. Luckily, Mike is rescued by Beth, but it’s followed by a very shocking plot twist…

Hi, I’m Eclipso…in the flesh

The Shade shows up to try and stop Cindy/destroy the Diamond, but things take a violent turn. Stargirl tries to stop Cindy with the staff, but it seems like that is exactly what Cindy wants her to do. Or rather, what Eclipso wants her to do.

The staff hits the Black Diamond, which causes an explosion and a strange eclipse in Blue Valley’s sky. Oh, and it also results in Eclipso taking physical form. Yes, that’s right, it was his plan all along to get the power from the staff so he could come into his own form and do whatever the heck he pleases.

If you’ve read the Stargirl comics or even watched the old-school Power Rangers movie and know who Ivan Ooze is, then you won’t be surprised to see how Eclipso looks. Well, I was surprised because they did a pretty great job of making him look accurate.

Cindy is taken aback to learn that she was betrayed by Eclipso. (Is she really though?) She tries to confront him, but with a snap of his finger, a chokehold, and some weird mystical wormhole, he kills Cindy and Isaac (turns him into dust) in one go. Artemis, of course, runs away from all of it.

Not even The Shade can stop Eclipso (he’s banished into smoke?), and Courtney’s staff completely stops working after Eclipso grabs a hold of it. Basically, this guy is a true monster and nothing will be able to stop him.

The eclipse over Blue Valley disappears, but that doesn’t mean the threat is gone. In fact, it’s only just beginning as Eclipso takes the form of a young Bruce Gordan (Milo Stein) who will grow up to become the leading scientist in the field of Solar Energy (at least in the comics anyway).

The final scene is young Bruce/Eclipso skipping through the town of Blue Valley, laughing in the creepiest way possible. Seriously, I can’t get that laugh out of my head — hello, nightmares.

So much yes to this week’s episode of Stargirl! It was a wild ride and paved the way for what is going to be a ridiculously intense season. We’re only six episodes in, so I can’t even begin to imagine where the story goes from here.

Will Blue Valley ever be able to break free of Eclipso’s hold? Or will he just linger around in the background as Bruce Gordon for years to come? And how the heck will team JSA take on this threat, especially when so many people have already died?

I’m not sure, but I do know one thing: Stargirl has managed to surpass expectations and go above and beyond what it did in its freshman season. From their visual effects to the story to the characters, the series is not messing around. I can’t wait to see what’s in store in the coming weeks, especially when it comes to the threat of Eclipso.

Until next week, folks!

Grade: A-

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