Stargirl review: “Summer School: Chapter Twelve”

Stargirl sets the stage for next week’s finale with a riveting episode. We got a lot of quiet conversations this week, but brewing under all is Eclipso’s (Nick E. Tarabay) evil plan.

Of course, we don’t see the face of that plan until the very final moments, but I am ecstatic about what next week’s season finale holds. The entire second season has been a rollercoaster ride, taking us on a trip through the JSA’s sketchy past, Stargirl’s brief hiatus, and introducing the creepiest villain we’ve seen to date.

To take down Eclipso, it’s going to take much more than just Stargirl (Brec Bassinger). Luckily, the penultimate episode brings the new JSA back together again (yes, including Yvette Monreal’s Yolanda!) as well as an unexpected, temporary ally in the form of Cindy Burman (Meg DeLacy). I’m not sure how that is going to work out for them in the end, but for now, Stargirl is choosing to trust in Cindy in the name of taking down Eclipso.

There is a lot to get through from this week’s episode of Stargirl, so without further ado, let’s get right into it! SPOILERS ahead!

Team Stargirl gets to work

Over the last few episodes, the new JSA has been split up, with Rick (Cameron Gellman) in jail and Yolanda deep in sorrow over killing someone. However, the penultimate episode changes all of that thanks to Courtney, Pat (Luke Wilson) and Mike (Trae Romano).

The family gets to work convincing the team to pull together. That includes some shady behavior, as when Pat “convinces” Rick’s uncle Matt (Adam Aalderks) to drop the charges against Rick in order to get him out of jail. Seeing Pat close the hospital room curtains while Rick’s uncle is connected to all these tubes was eerier than I expected. I mean, it’s Pat, after all, the guy is usually a saint! Desperate times, I suppose. Whatever Pat did got Rick out of jail, so he handled the situation, but potentially at the cost of his innocence. I’m not sure we can blame him because he has been stomped on and walked all over for being the nice guy, so something’s gotta give.

Meanwhile, Mike finds his way to Jakeem (Alkoya Brunson), the kid who inherited (or rather was given) Thunderbolt after Mike wished him away. In order to fight Eclipso, the new JSA needs all the help they can get, even the help of a “genie” like Thunderbolt. Unfortunately, when Mike catches up with Jakeem, Thunderbolt is away grabbing some Chinese food from China (yah, he takes his job very seriously).

With no time to waste, Mike fills Jakeem in on the mission at hand, but before Jakeem can help out, he’s got some chores to complete. It’s not all about saving the world, you know.

Yolanda returns

While most of the team is all ready to go, Courtney still has to get Yolanda on board. She tries to tell Yolanda that she’s not the first JSA team member to kill someone, which doesn’t exactly help, because, well, it’s still murder.

It only broke Yolanda’s heart further to learn that she was the second Wildcat to kill someone. But things take a turn when Cindy, of all people, shows up in Yolanda’s room. She does some reverse psychology to get Yolanda to come back and it works beautifully!

Team JSA is back, folks!

The plan to take down Eclipso

As the penultimate episode comes to a close, we see Beth (Anjelika Washington) finally meet Dr. McNider (Alex Collins) in person. They combine the power of their goggles to try and locate Eclipso, but they realize that they need the ISA’s massive supercomputer to get the job done.

When they arrive at the ISA headquarters, they run into young Bruce (Milo Stein) — creepy, little ‘ol Bruce, aka Eclipso’s disguise. Luckily, Beth calls the new JSA for help while Eclipso reveals his master plan.

While Eclipso exposits, we cut to Jennie (Ashley Winfrey), Green Lantern’s daughter, who is having some weird nightmares. She’s having a vision of the future where Yolanda, Cindy and Pat are all dead. And Stargirl, yes Stargirl, is walking by their dead bodies. As she turns around, we see that Stargirl’s face has transformed into an Eclipso-esque face.

According to Bruce/Eclipso, the plan has always been to bring out the evil within Courtney/Stargirl…and if Jennie’s nightmares are correct…

Tune in next week to see how it all goes down!

Stargirl has managed to surpass all expectations, and I have no doubt that next week is going to successfully wind up what has been an incredibly epic season. We’ve seen the team fall apart, come together, and even rope in past enemies to get the job done.

And there have been many comic book references made throughout, which has been a delight in and of itself. I don’t have enough good things to say about Stargirl season 2, and I’m beyond excited to see how Team JSA plus Cindy come together to fight Eclipso.

It’s going to be quite a season finale, folks!

Grade: A

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