TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Stargirl Season 2 Episode 3

If you recall my Season 1 reviews of Stargirl, I noted that right up until the end that the villains of the show were the true MVPs (and the only reason that changed was because they died and were beaten in stupid ways). They had the style, determination and the skills to show why they were chosen for Season 1 of the show. And for Season 2…it’s happening again, albeit in a much slower fashion. Because The Shade is proving to be someone very special while the heroes…again…are not.

I’ll start out with the MVP in Shade because frankly, he carries a weight to him that can’t be ignored. From his very tense confrontation with Barbara in the storage locker, to his “tea time” with the heroes, you could tell that there were many layers to him without him NEEDING to say it. Including how he may not have been the true killer of Dr. Midnite, how he didn’t like the “lunatic” that was The Icicle, and how he didn’t have any “dark intentions” for Blue Valley or the world at large. And his final line at the end of the episode makes me wonder if he’s honestly just trying to get the Eclipso diamond out of play because he knows the damage it can do.

That kind of depth is appreciated, especially since the heroes are either given no time to grow, or are being sticks in the mud in the worst ways.

Yes, I speak of Courtney, who once again went above and beyond to show just how self-centered she is. And lest you think I’m being too hard on her, let’s talk about the conversation during the “Shade reveal” scene where Pat called her the “girl who cried wolf” and then when he admitted she was (technically) right she went, “of course I was right!” Wow…arrogant much?

Then, later on, she was over the top with confidence when it came to facing Shade despite the fact that even Pat was nervous about dealing with this guy. And then in regards to Mike (whom I’ll get to…), she went from being responsible in terms of leaning into Pat’s fatherly judgment to her going, “No, we voted, he’s in!” and so on and so forth. It’s REALLY getting annoying that this is playing out multiple times over multiple episodes. And in the trailer for the next episode, we see similar lines being spoken already! Not good.

Just as not good was Mike’s run as “Mikey Thunder”. And for reasons that tie to both character and comic lore. First and foremost, the magic word to summon the Thunderbolt in the comics is “Cei-U” not “So Cool”, so that was dumb. The other problem lore-wise was that they made it so that the genie would do wishes for those “like him”. In this case, those who were “incredibly alone.” Which apparently led it to being with Mike.

Which…is…so…DUMB!!!!

Why? Because he’s only feeling “alone” because of how he’s not a superhero. Even saying, once again, that it’s his “destiny” to be in the JSA and that it’s right to go and do this no matter the consequences. Which he proved when he almost got everyone killed fighting Shade after he PROMISED to listen to his dad. You know, the guy who knows the Thunderbolt better than all of them combined?

Just as dumb though was that through Yolanda we find out that he killed Icicle on accident, and thus feels nothing for what happened! WHAT??!?!!?

Thankfully, his run ended when he did an inadvertent wish that sent the pen to Jakeem Thunder, who was MUCH better in the “I’m alone” category than Mike was.

Which brings me to my final point, Beth. Because Beth honestly had a mini-story arc that went nowhere here in that she learned the “truth” about Dr. Midnite’s death and wanted to avenge him, was furious about Shade getting away and yet had only one scene to really expand on her feelings. What’s more, the scene that played out was not only incredibly wooden, it was interrupted by the googles warning about Eclipso (who was nowhere to be found alongside Cynthia).

Both Beth and Yolanda have only had incredibly small pieces of screentime to expand how they’re feeling in their own worlds, and that’s sad, because they deserve the time to grow…and yet they’re not because of more screentime being given to characters not going anywhere like Mike and Courtney.

In the end, while the villain shined in this episode, the heroes didn’t, and that’s becoming a tune I’m repeating more times than I want to.