"S.T.R.I.P.E."
In its 2nd episode, Stargirl did literally everything that I ever could've asked for following up on some of my causes for concern as well as major positives from the pilot. This episode acted as sort of an origin story for both Stargirl and Stripe which was fantastic. We get to see more of Luke Wilson in the role of this sidekick with an intriguing and alluring history attempting to now fully progress as a hero on his own via a giant mech. All of the scenes with Patrick trying to get this massive battle suit to work both in training and in action was pretty entertaining and charming (the key word that describes this series thus far) while being visually well executed for the most part.
Speaking of which, the scene that stood out to me the most during this episode following along the Stripe character arc here was Pat basically going on a suicidal mission to stop Brainwave in order to protect his family. The emotional interaction between him and Courtney implying that he may not make it out alive was very heartfelt. Luke Wilson absolutely shined during this dramatic moment showing that the actor has what it takes to deliver both the charming, lovable, and clumsy father figure in addition to a deeply affected sidekick with a tragic background trying to end the cycle of super powered violence. That's sort of the unique core component that stands out to me with this series. The idea of an ex-superhero sidekick trying to get his stepdaughter (the new hero of a new era) to understand the drastic stakes of being in this position after witnessing the tragedy of those that came before. It's such a refreshing spin on the genre and one that I happily welcome.
In regards to Stargirl herself, I find myself slowly but surely warming up to her quick-to-react hyper attitude towards finding out about her father and throwing herself into situations to which she has no experience in. These types of characters typically annoy the life out of me, but with Courtney's particular situation and Brec's enthusiastic performance, I can easily see how this can work. It's her interactions with Pat as someone to hopefully ground her to an eventual state of maturity and awareness in the "superheroing business" that I find potential filled. It's such a quirky concept of having the hero's sidekick be their father (or stepfather in this case), yet it somehow works with their personalities. My only concern here is that the writers drag out the drama with Courtney constantly going against Pat's orders and telling him that he's not her real father. Please writers of Stargirl who I'm 99% sure isn't gonna read this, don't make the same mistakes almost every series within the Arrowverse did with some of their character drama. Let the characters grow and don't drag out something just for the sake of drama. PLEASE!!!
Alright, onto more of the positives. Watching the classic "hero building their costume" moment was fun to watch here with Courtney basically destroying an entire classroom full of sewing machines just to alter Starman's suit. I'm not sure if this was a dig on costumed heroes in movies and shows ironically being perfect at sewing for some reason, but I loved it as sort of a funny jab. The design will take some getting used to, but I do find that it perfectly fits both the vibrant family-friendly tone of the show and the character's sensibilities itself overall. Another thing that'll take a little getting used to is a few of the questionable VFX shots of Stargirl doing acrobatics with the staff mid flight. Some of it is a bit shaky however, unlike Supergirl (no offense), I find even the least impressive of the Stargirl's CGI elements to be passable enough to look pass and enjoy for what the scene is attempting to convey.
Alright, now let's get to the point of the review where I give myself a small pat on the shoulder followed by a huge sigh of relief. In the pilot episode review, I spoke about how I found Christopher Baker's performance as Brainwave to be dull and very much generic as simplistic unremarkable bad guys go. However, I did ensure to slip in the open minded statement that I was sure that the actor was actually good and that the directing and writing only needed to give him more to do than just "look evil". Well, with this episode, I can happily say that I actually rather enjoyed Brainwave a bit more than I thought I would. Funny enough tho, it's not so much Christopher Baker as the costumed villain using his powers but instead his civilian counterpart just looking like a creepy dad who probably shouldn't be around anyone else's kids...or even his own for that matter. All of his scenes speaking to his son in an uncomfortable fashion then later looking a total creep in a high school setting staring down students to find Courtney was perfect.
It's bizarre for me to enjoy the super villain's scenes when they're not in costume and is placed in a mundane environment but this is where I truly feel Baker's performance shined the greatest in this role. It's the imagery of having this sinister looking guy in a normal environment who the audience knows is a straight up super villain with the potential to kill everyone in the room that worked so well with me. I like that they don't shy away from random people in the area looking at him with looks of caution as its clearly obvious that something's completely off about this guy. The scene where he finally discovers Courtney during the PTA meeting and corners her away from everyone to threaten her was by far the best scene with Brainwave for me. To be honest, I actually find him more threatening without the costume and sporting the glasses...but that's just me.
Later on when Stripe decides to take him on with his slightly malfunctioning mech, we get to see more of the villain's telekinetic abilities at play. I honestly wasn't sure if Pat was gonna make it out after his failed attempt to cut through Brainwave's psychic counterattacks until Stargirl showed up. This showdown was actually pretty solid establishing the balancing of threat levels of each character. Brainwave was previously shown to be a dangerous psychic even giving Starman a run for his money, so it's nice to see this battle continue that track record by having him best both heroes at first. We also see that the cosmic staff's power is a legitimate threat to Henry with the character even stating that he is worried that someone else had taken the mantle and weapon (again doing a good job at breaking down to the audience how powerful each player in a scene should be). This makes the team up of Stripe using the robot's light to blind Brainwave and Stargirl almost piercing his head with the cosmic staff to feel like a logical and satisfying victory.
With Brainwave being in a supposedly temporary coma, I love the fact that the writers injected a scene where Courtney worries that she may have just killed someone. This is a teenager after all so possibly killing a man (even if it's a costumed super villain) shouldn't be some walk in the park sidelined event but a major moment of reflection. There is a previous scene earlier in the episode showing Courtney's hands trembling after her first encounter with Brainwave that perfectly sells this as well, so it's cool to see that some thought was put into this series' titular hero being a complete amateur in this field. I do wish that this conversation went on a bit longer, but I'm glad that it was put in there to at least show that such a thing would be impactful to a child stepping into this larger than life conflict.
There's also a nice bit of lore building during this scene where Courtney asks about the staff's sentience to which Patrick discloses that he doesn't fully understand the weapon as it wasn't built by Starman but a guy name Ted Knight. Again, following up on one of my favorite things about the pilot, Stargirl seems to be a series surrounded by a thick layer of compelling mythology that we'll be getting bits and pieces of occasionally. This was one of those fun eye popping DC Comics lore drops for me.
Moving onto another great scene that I especially loved during this episode was Courtney being enthusiastic about fully embracing her role as Stargirl to take on the other members of the Injustice Society as Pat completely rejects his involvement out of fear. Again, it's such an intriguing concept for the hero's stepfather to be their sidekick already. But to then have said father figure be the one terrified and discouraged to embark on this heroic quest only to then be uplifted by their daughter is such a jarring yet refreshingly adorable moment. Yes, it does feel a little off for any father to continue this type of trajectory with their children and family safety in mind, yet for whatever strange reason, the tone of the series somehow sells me on the plausibility of it all. Hmmm, or maybe it's just Luke Wilson's naturally constant "Oh all right you win" type of attitude that does it for me. Either way, I'm onboard.
Ending the episode is our big season villain reveal moment where Icicle shows up in town, walks into what I assume to be the Injustice Society's lair and is shown footage of Stargirl flying. Minus the questionable choice of music (something that I'm admittedly starting to see a pattern with already since the pilot), I really enjoyed this scene getting to see our villains almost looking as if they're bring the band together again. What makes this exciting is that we essentially have both the rebirth of Stripe being a sidekick to a new version of Starman (but now with deeper dramatic stakes) and the rebirth of a super villain team that essentially ended the Golden Age of Heroes. How Stargirl and Stripe manages to even confront this already established to be high ranked team of villains is worthy of anticipation. With that I can happily say "I can't wait to see what happens next".
Overall, I enjoyed this episode quite a bit from both an entertainment value perspective and a superhero origin piece. With a few excellent character interaction scenes, solid visual direction for the most part, a fun and charming family tone with Courtney and Pat embarrassingly avoiding suspicion from everyone else, and a genuinely eerie villain highlight, I'm really loving the direction that Stargirl is taking so far. My only hope, and I'm always cautious when saying this, is that the series continues on this upward trajectory of quality and not end up where other live action comic book shows have in the past. So far, I truly think Stargirl has the potential to be one of the better DC Comics shows airing on the CW once it keeps a strong sense of consistency.
Bonus Thoughts
1. Stargirl's Natural Lightheartedness
Something that shows like The Flash and Supergirl have been praised for is its light hearted nature and occasionally funny sense of humor. In just two episodes, I'm already connecting to Stargirl's genuine sense of charm in its core family casting and random comedy bits. Pat having a gym instructor (who may or may not be suspicious in his own right as a villain) constantly on his case about his health and physique feels a bit abruptly tossed in yet I found those scenes to blend in nicely with the show's established adorable, family friendly tone. The same can be said for the moment where Pat and Courtney struggle to explain their facial scars to the rest of the family or when Patrick laughably tries to sound badass when confronting Brainwave. Moments like these can easily come across as cringe worthy attempts at comedy in another series, yet here, it somehow works beautifully.
Favorite Shots
A segment that I haven't done since the days of Gotham episode reviews. This week's episode of Stargirl had a pretty cool shot that I wanted to display here which is the titular hero flying towards the moon on the cosmic staff and STRIPE's mech suit opening up for him. The CGI of Stargirl actually leaping on the staff and flying isn't particularly great but the final money shot frame of her far off in the distance towards the moon was beautiful.
Episode Rating: 9/10
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