Stargirl review: “Summer School: Chapter Eight”

Stargirl tackles race in this week’s episode, working through a very racist Eclipso (Nick E. Tarabay), who has taken over young Bruce Gordon’s (Milo Stein) body. To hear such vile words coming from his mouth is rather uncomfortable.

Eclipso’s antics are the focal point of this week’s episode as he spends his time messing with the minds of Beth (Anjelika Washington) and Rick (Cameron Gellman). They’re seeing things that aren’t there, which results in devastating consequences…at least for one of them.

Yolanda (Yvette Monreal) is MIA from the episode because she officially quit the JSA after the run-in with Eclipso. She simply can’t handle the trauma of what Eclipso did to her mind.

There was a lot of plot development in this week’s episode of Stargirl, so let’s get into all the major moments. SPOILERS below!

Rick and Solomon Grundy

A couple of weeks ago we saw that Rick was struggling to convince his teacher at school that he didn’t cheat on his exam. He even had to take the test twice to prove it! She stops by his place to apologize and drops off college brochures and information on financial aid. It all looks promising, that is until Rick’s drunk uncle shows up to remind Rick that he’ll end up in jail before he ever goes to college.

Filled with rage, Rick heads out to the woods to vent out his frustrations, and Solomon Grundy is drawn by his yells. Ricks tells him a story, but realizes that Grundy probably has no idea what he’s even saying. But some company at least helps ease Rick’s mind.

As Rick heads out of the forest, he overhears on the radio that townspeople are going on a hunt to kill a bear. Of course, we know it’s not a bear, but actually Grundy. Rick calls Pat (Luke Wilson) to recruit some help to save him. Courtney (Brec Bassinger) and Pat show up to help, complete with Cosmo (Courtney’s staff). Rick is talking to two hunters, one of which was wounded by Grundy. To make matters worse, a 10-year-old girl has gone missing, and they think the “bear” is to blame.

Rick eventually finds Grundy by the stream with bloody hands and the young 10-year-old dead by his feet. He’s beside himself thinking Grundy killed the little girl, but once Pat and Courtney arrive, we learn that Grundy actually didn’t do anything. The girl is actually Rebecca McNider (Olive Elise Abercrombie), who was killed by Eclipso many years ago. Basically, she’s yet another hallucination created by Eclipso to mess with everyone’s minds.

Rick tracks Grundy to his home and begins beating him up. He doesn’t stop until Courtney and Pat show up to tell him that he’s not beating up Grundy, but rather his own uncle. I know it’s not right, but his uncle is a jerk, so I think I’m okay with Rick beating him up. Just saying!

Beth and Dr. McNider

Beth is able to use the goggles to once again communicate with Dr. McNider (Alex Collins), who claims he is technically “still alive.” I’m not sure where he is because his voice cuts in and out, but it seems like he is stuck in some shadowland? The verdict is still out on that.

Beth is surprised by a visit from her parents in the middle of the day, but she goes with it. They decided to come home so they could talk to her about their divorce, but the conversation starts getting incredibly weird. Her parents talk about when they first fell in love, which is sweet enough, but eventually her father tells Beth that it’s because of her they’re getting divorced.

Obviously, Eclipso is screwing with her. And if you didn’t already believe that, then all the bugs oozing out of her food should be a pretty strong indicator.

Beth heads to Courtney’s house and runs into young Bruce. Oh creepy, creepy Bruce. He immediately begins berating her, saying that she stole the goggles and that she doesn’t belong in the JSA. He taunts her by saying the staff picked Courtney, Courtney chose Yolanda, and Rick’s father chose him. No one actually chose Beth. Yikes, Eclipso is savage.

This is where the racist commentary from the demon begins; he tells Beth that she’s no fighter and that the stereotypes about “her people” are wrong before shoving her into a closet. When she makes her way out, she finds herself at the ISA headquarters where she meets the original Starman (Jole McHale), Wildcat (Brian Stapf) and Hourman (Lou Ferrigno Jr.). They also start berating her saying she doesn’t belong, with Bruce chiming in to say that she’s the wrong age, wrong gender, and wrong color. Someone get rid of this horrible demon, STAT!

Eclipso continues to torment Beth, but she gains the upper hand when she realizes that Eclipso just means to break her down and admit her worst fears. But Beth knows better than this (go, girl!) and prides herself on being strong and proud, and how she loves being Black. This ultimately helps her ward off Eclipso.

Beth winds up back in her living room.  The voice of Dr. McNider tells Beth she never left her home, but she did manage to save herself.

And with that, Beth officially becomes the new Dr. Mid-Nite! It’s about time, folks!

Stargirl takes a devastating turn

Stargirl ends on a somber note as we find Rick in the back of a police car, just as his uncle predicted at the beginning of the episode. It’s a nightmarish mess, and there’s no saying how Rick makes it out of it unscathed. Grundy watches from a distance as his friend is carted away to jail. When I heard Grundy say friend, I’m pretty sure I heard my heart break.

Back at the Whitmore/Dugan house, Barb (Amy Smart) fills in Mike (Trae Romano) on everything that has been happening with Eclipso and Beth, and Rick. A solution seems far away, but at least the family is in it together.

Stargirl is inching closer to the end of the season, and so far it’s been an incredibly entertaining journey. The storyline is engaging, exciting and even frightening at times. I mean, come on, young Bruce taken over by Eclipso? I don’t think we’ve seen anything that creepy in a long time.

I’m thoroughly enjoying the second season of Stargirl, especially because it has had so much comic book material. We’ve seen a lot of familiar faces pop up throughout the season and I have a sneaking suspicion we’re not quite done yet.

There’s a lot to look forward to as Team JSA contends with Eclipso. Will they be able to stop him, save their team, and rescue Blue Valley? I sure hope so!

Grade: A-

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