TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Stargirl Season 3 Episode 10: The Killer

I’ll never forget one of the comments I made about Season 1 of Stargirl, that the villains (for the most part) were better than the heroes. “The Killer” did a good job of reinforcing that because many of the best scenes involved the villains, and when they killed the Crocs, I was both sad and furious. They were the breakout characters in Season 3 and I never wanted the “Paula/Barbara” show to end, yet sadly, it did, and in a dumb way.

I’ll focus on the positive first. I did like how the episode focused on the fallout of the fight at the Icicle Family house. From Rick, to Cameron, to the grandparents, to wondering if Mike and Jakeem were absent because of them, wondering if they were set up, and so on. I appreciate them going to those lengths. And I’m glad SOMEONE pointed out my note last week about how they were obviously set up to go to the McKent’s house. It was ironic that Starman said it, but at least someone did.

Another thing I liked was the Crocs trying to diffuse the situation with the grandparents because of their relationship with Jordan from Season 1. It would make sense that villains would talk down villains, and it was believable that it worked. Giving up the mask and asking them to think of the children over everything else was a nice touch.

It was also nice hearing the backstory to the Ultra Humanite and how it tied into past lore with both the JSA and the Dragon King. Cindi hunting the Ultra Humanite to clear her name was a nice touch too.

Sadly, once again, the show had a really weird sense of not just timing but the placement of scenes. Let’s recap, at the beginning of the episode, Mike and Jakeem were still missing and trying to get away from the Ultra Humanite. Last episode, it was nighttime when they found him, yet it was daytime when they were spotted in this episode. Then, in the course of the presumed hours that it took for Mike to get home. The McKent’s were able to get from the hospital to home, with Grandpa McKent making a good recovery despite being laid out in a bed before, Pat and Starman were able to visit the house, then Grandma McKent paid a visit to Barbara, which led to Barbara and Paula doing training, then the Crocs went to visit the McKents! All before Mike showed up at the garage! Really? Oh, and by the time the Crocs left the McKent house and were almost home, it was nighttime. How is that possible?

Also, some of those scenes didn’t make sense at all, including Grandma McKent thinking it was a good idea to just go and kill Barbara…and Paula somehow being RIGHT THERE to help her. There’s timing, and then there’s that.

The interaction with Cameron and Courtney was hit-and-miss, you knew that she wouldn’t give up Mike, but him believing her so easily was bad, as was the cringe, “I don’t want to see you ever again.” This was followed up by the line about how the Ultra Humanite was “the next Eclipso.” No, just…no. While the backstory was fun, it was never established WHY he was such a threat to the JSA, let alone why they’d need “everyone to come together” to fight him off. Doing it with Eclipso? Yeah, that made sense, but not here, not when we didn’t even know the Ultra Humanite existed in this world and Starman didn’t give any clear indication of his abilities.

Plus, remember, Cindi was trying to catch him with a net.

Finally, the Icicle is alive. I was right that the cameraman wasn’t the Ultra Humanite but I didn’t need this revelation. Icicle has been gone for almost two seasons and NOW he comes back? And how first order of business is to…spy on everyone…? Next episode better provide some context.

Oh, and the Crocs willingly going into the sewer when they knew it was a trap? They’re smarter than that. Their first instinct should’ve been to get back to Artemis, you knew they were dead the moment she revealed the college news.

In the end, “The Killer” did pull a twist on some things, but it was a very confusing one, and one the show didn’t need. We’ll see how it plays out.

3/5