STARGIRL - SEASON 1.13

 

REVIEW:  STARGIRL - SEASON 1.13:  "Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. Part 2"

We have reached the END of Season 1!  And what better way to give us a season finale, than with a battle between the good guys and bad guys, as the Injustice Society have initiated Icicle's "America First" plan to reprogram all the adults across the world into their image, while the new Justice Society looks for a way to put them down.  Can these youngsters pull together in time to stop this menace?  Let's find out!

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This season went by fast, and so did this season finale.  Honestly, I had THOUGHT the battle between the ISA and JSA would be a tad more epic, but, all things considered, it was a satisfying ending with some new and SHOCKING plot twists to send us into Season 2...which will be a bit of a wait.  But for what we got, I was completely satisfied and entertained with the show, and can't wait to see the new adventures of Stargirl and this new JSA.

When we last saw our heroes, Brainwave was sinched into Ito's machine, powering it and controlling the minds of all the adults not only in Blue Valley, but across the country as well.  People in the town are looking to evacuate, but end up being frozen in their tracks.  At the America Best Building, Barbara is frozen in place before Beth's eyes, and can't do anything but to try and communicate with the team to keep them up to date.  Meanwhile, Stargirl has her hands full, as S.T.R.I.P.E. begins to attack her, as Pat is now under Brainwave's control.  Justin has been frozen into place in front of Wildcat and Hourman.  And the Gambler has informed our new Dr. Mid-Nite they have 30 minutes before all adults in the country are bent to the Injustice Society's will.  Jordan is looking over his handiwork, letting one kid know that his father will be...better...once this is all over. Dr. Mid-Nite finds out that the the ISA have blockers to prevent them from being taken over by Brainwave's power.  

While The Gambler tries to block Mid-Nite from gaining access into the system to hack it, Chuck offers Beth a different solution:  go after what he values MOST - his MONEY.  So, Mid-Nite hacks into all of The Gambler's accounts, and begins to clean them out, much to his chagrin.  He informs Jordan about the JSA on the scene, and he's got the team ready for battle.  The Gambler goes to release Grundy, and at this time, Stargirl manages to snap Pat out of his trance to help in the fight.  Cindy, who was told by Brainwave that she's worthless, and that her father didn't love her, is itching to get out, but still can't to join the fight.  Both teams meet in the tunnels, and the fight is on!

The teams engage in battle, and Grundy fighting Pat, as Wildcat and Hourman debate slaying him.  Cindy finally gets released to play, and she joins the fight, only to impale her own father out of spite, so that takes Dragon King off the board, as he and the Shining Knight were dueling, and he had the upperhand, about to deal the death blow.  Stargirl is fighting Icicle, when she switches up, and goes after Sportsmaster and Tigress, while Hourman tries to take down the Frosty One.  Once he's down, they begin to worry about Grundy, who's coming.  Pat then tells Stargirl to head for the satellite and take it down, he's got Grundy.  Her and Wilcat take off, just as she finishes off Shiv, who wanted another rematch with her.  

Brainwave, meanwhile, senses trouble, and goes after the kids.  Meanwhile, the Gambler tells Jordan about Dr. Mid-Nite trying to hack the system, and tells him her location.  

With Shiv and Stargirl still going toe-to-toe, Wildcat makes her way towards the satellite, and bumps into who she sees as Hank.  Hank tries to convince her that everything is cool, and that he's been hiding in the shadows.  But when he asks where HER friends are, she slashes him, and says that they were Hank's friends, too.  We then see that Brainwave has been taken down....and he dies.  Stargirl then blasts Shiv once again for good measure, and she's down for the count, then joins up with Wildcat to take down the satellite.  Meanwhile, Grundy and S.T.R.I.P.E. are battling it out as well, and Grundy's getting the best of him, ripping off his arm, and taking the robot apart to get to Pat.  Before Grundy and get him, he's nailed by Hourman, and Pat says he's okay, but he's got to go and rescue Barbara.  At this time, Stargirl has flown up to the satellite, and started blasting it with the staff.  The satellites are destroyed, and the machine is down.  The town starts waking up.

Jordan has made is way to America first, and sees a still catatonic Barbara.  He manages to destroy the goggles of Dr. Mid-Nite, and she is of no further use.  Jordan takes Barbara, as he still tries to salvage SOMETHING of his desperate plan.  He takes her to the rooftop of a building, where he tells her what his plan was, but that his family ruined it.  He said he had a plan to where he could cure cancer, but he'd be willing to sacrifice lives in order to do it.  Barbara tells him that his wife would be ashamed, and he snaps at her.  Pat arrives in time to prevent Jordan from killing her...just for the moment.

In the tunnels, Hourman and Grundy battle, and Hourman gets the upperhand, pounding on Grundy profusely, until Grundy just...gives up.  Hourman sees that Grundy wants to die.  But Hourman can't do it.  He tells Grundy to go, and NEVER return...which Grundy does.  He then informs Stargirl that the Icicle took her mother, and that Beth is hurt.  Stargirl and Wilcat race to go save her.  

Jordan looks to get one last kill in before he leaves, and as he looks to throw Barbara off the building in front of Pat, Stargirl arrives to do battle with him.  He manages to knock her off the building with the staff, and Wildcat catches her, while Barbara, who almost goes over the building, is saved by Pat.  Icicle reaches the ground, and powers up to battle Stargirl, gets hit with a pickup truck Mike is driving, and shatters into ice.  

In the aftermath, the team surveys the football field, and remembers when it opened up to reveal the HQ of the ISA.  Beth is upset that Chuck has been destroyed, but Courtney reassures her they'll fix the goggles and get Chuck back.  Later on, Justin says it's time for him to go...find the other Seven Soldiers, and Pat tells him they'll be other dragons to slay....and if he finds them, to let him know.  Underground at the ISA HQ, The Gambler hears the National Weather Service call the phenomenon in Blue Valley and 'earthquake'.  And there's this mist that comes into the room, letting him know that everything is folly.

At the Dugan home, it's Christmastime, and the family gathers together with friends.  Courtney gives Pat the gift that she had meant for her father:  a mug that says "World's Greatest Dad".  They hug, a father-daughter relationship born...to Barbara's joy.  

The staff drags Stargirl out on patrol, and she lands on the water tower of the town...now knowing SHE is its hero.  She's then joined by S.T.R.I.P.E.  overlooking the snowly landscape.  They pause, knowing the peace is brief, but enjoy it nonetheless---and off they go...looking for adventure!

Back again at the ISA HQ, Cindy is searching through containers and boxes, until she finds what she's looking for...a diamond shamped amulet that she says houses Eclipso.  And then we switch to Hollywood, California, where we see a man knock on the door of an apartment building, where the resident answers.  The man says he's looking for Pat Dugan, but the man tells him he moved.  When he asks who he is ...we see his face, and he says he's Sylvester Pemberton!

This was a very fitting end to the first season, though, as I said, I had HOPED the battle between the JSA and ISA would be a bit more epic, and was surprised to see Brainwave fall, but did so appropriately at the hands of Wildcat, giving some closure and peace to Yolanda, who still cared for Hank, despite his transgression...though he made it up to her by sacrificing himself to save her and the team.  So, some solace for HER coming out of it.  It was also nice to see Rick have a change of heart at the end of HIS battle with Grundy, even though Grundy killed HIS parents.  Rick realized that killling Grundy...who WANTED to die, anyway, wasn't worth it.  It showed growth on his part.  I felt for Beth, because she feel like she lost a friend, but the team DID need her to help save the day, though she lost Chuck and the goggles in the process.  But the best part was Pat and Courtney---their growing relationship at the end of this season was great.  It solidified a father/daughter combo we saw there, but THEY needed to explore that journey, and come to that conclusion themselves.  And with Barbara and Mike contributing, we now have a solid Dugan family unit.  

Icicle biting the dust seemed a bit anticlimatic, but since he IS made of ice...I don't see HIM down for long.  Also, we got a glimpse into the aggressive nature of Isaac Bowen at the end, so I can see him taking up his mother's mantle, now that SHE is gone.  Sportsmaster and Tigress are either in the wind or in jail...I can't see them gone for long.  I have no idea how this effects Artemis, but it will be interesting to see the children of the ISA, and how they respond to what went down.  The crazy one is Cindy---who had NO problem killing her father, because she felt slighted by him.  And she wanted a seat at the JSA table....and she's gonna get it!  Especially NOW holding the power of Eclipso with her---which, I assume, will be the big bad of Season 2.

Okay...and that shocker at the end---HOW in the hell is Sylvester Pemberton ALIVE?!!  And what does this mean when he tracks Pat to Blue Valley, only to find out there's a 15 year old girl wielding HIS staff?  These are going to be quesetions that we have to hold onto for a few more months, as we await the next season of Stargirl.

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That does it for Season 1!  What did YOU think of the show?  What were some of YOUR favorite moments?  Subscribe and leave a comment below!

Until next season...keep looking towards the stars!

STARGIRL - SEASON 1.12

 

REVIEW:  STARGIRL - SEASON 1.12: "Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. Part 1"

Well....for those of you who have followed the OTHER version of my "Pop Fiction" blog, I have ran into a snag with my previous page, and had to start a new one (don't ask me WHY it went all wonky, but it did).  Either way, This is the new and improved version, and we'll pickup the reviews of our favorite CW shows, movies, comics, as well as anything else that will tickle my fancy to share with you.  So, thanks for your patience as I got this back out.  But if you wanna check all my OTHER blogs out...you can do so at Pop Fiction Blog, and peruse the old stuff.  But for now, we begin anew here, and we left off with our Star-Spangled Heroine...Stargirl.

When last we checked in our gal and team, she had just met her real father, and he wasn't what she thought he'd be---Sylvester Pemberton.  He turned out to be nothing more than a bum, Brainwave is now feeling the power of two, thanks to killing his son, Hank, and also knows the identity of Stargirl and the team.  Jordan is about ready to put his plan into action, and the Shining Knight has joined the team to help put down the ISA.

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We're close to the end, and this was another solid episode!  We now know that Brainwave's power can handle what Dr. Ito's machine pumps out, and their plan is WELL underway.  The team is in desperate mode, as they try to stop the ISA from taking over all the adult's minds.  

This episode basically set up the plan for the Injustice Society, laid it out all nicely for us, and also gae us some justpoxisition on the Justice Scoiety members prior to them going into battle.  We got some little moments between Mike and Courtney, as Mike finally now understands what's going on.  

So, with Jordan and Brainwave finally going over the final touches to the plan, he still notices some hesitation in Jordan, but says that the sooner he forgets Barbara, the better.  The Dugan family is a threat, and as long as Stargirl is out there, the plan is in danger.  So, Brainwave has sent Sportsmaster and Tigress to kill them.  Tigress shows up at the Dugan household as Barbara and Courtney are packing things up, and getting ready to leave for their discreet location.  Barbara holds her own, avoiding Tigress' attack as best she could, taking a couple of lumps, but Courtney ends up grabbing the staff, and taking Tigress out.

Meanwhile, Pat has his own issues, as he arrives at the garage to grab S.T.R.I.P.E., when Sportsmaster shows up.  Pat and him fight as well, but it doesn't go so well for Pat.  While he gets his shots in, Sportsmaster is obviously the better combatant.  But just as Pat is about to go down for the count, Mike manages to knock out Sportsmaster from behind, taking him out.  Mike is now fully dragged into this scenario, and he and Pat make their way to their secret hideout in the mountains.  Justin also arrives, and the team tries to map out the next move.  Justin tries to give encouragement to Rick, who is sitll frustrated at trying to solve his father's equation.  Pat later on offers some encouragement as well, and Rick says he's tried every number that he could think of, and Pat brings up the model year of the Mustang.  Rick's inputs it, and it works!  He's now solved his father's equation.  

It turns out that the equation, once Chuck scans it, Beth's gogles shine, and it's coordinates to a map that shows the entire underground network of the JSA.  Information Rex Tyler had prior to him and his wife getting killed by Solomon Grundy.  While they have discovered that, Courtney and Mike had a chat, and Mike admires Courtney, and hopes that one day he can be a hero like his dad and her.  She lets him touch the staff, but it doesn't work for him.  Courtney apologizes, but their bond gets closer.  

With the map now on display, they decide to split up to stop the ISA's plan, which is using this weapon Ito created called a synaptic amplifier, which will control the minds of everyone unless they stop it.  Courtney says they'll break off into teams, and attack the ISA a different places to avoid detection.  Pat and Barbara managed to have a tiny chat beforehand, wondering where they go now with Pat's past coming back to haunt him.  He thought he'd left it all behind but he couldn't.

Principal Bowen had been lifting up her son when she found out he was bullied again.  She told the story of how his father had used the bow of his fiddle to jam it into the ear of a person who bullied him....they then gave him respect.  She gets a call, and has to leave.  She arrives at the Dugan household, where Sportsmaster and Tigress recover from the ass kicking they took.  The Fiddler tells them she's there to clean up their mistakes, and to put down the Dugan family once and for all.  She berates them for their sadism in idiocy.  She also feels sorry for Artemis.  That was pushing it, as Tigress shoots a tiny bow into her, killing her.  They take off to join up with Icicle and Brainwave.  

Meanwhile, Ito and Brainwave prepare for the task at hand, and Ito warns him that there could be side effects such as brain damage and paralysis if this doesn't work.  Brainwave is hooked up to the machine for a test run, and Ito starts it.  There's a massive power surge, but Brainwave survives the test...he is ready to execute the plan.  

The team splits, with Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., and Justin approaching from the lake side, while Yolanda and Rick, apporach from another section, while Barbara and Beth head to America Best to hack into the computer to try and stop the machine from activating from there.  However, the Gambler hacks Beth's goggles, and tells them they can't stop what's about to happen.  What they discover is that this machine will only effect the adults in the world, and before they can react, Barbara and Justin are under control as well as the adult townsfolk.  In the tunnels, Pat is also under control, and begins to attack Stargirl as the episode ends.  

This episode was a nice build-up to the season finale.  It gave us the outright plan for the ISA, and gave the team time to formulate a plan, just before things seem to go wrong.  I finally am happy that Mike is in the loop about everything now, and seems in awe of Courtney.  Also, props to the kid for sticking up for his dad when Sportsmaster was pounding the crap out of him.  We also got some more of Barbara and Pat's situation, with him regretting that his past has come back to haunt him.  Feeling bad about dragging Courtney into it, but she's actually proud of her daughter.  We have a now cohesive family unit.  Justin seems to be returning to his old self, and we finally got the answer to the equation and what it was for.  

Anyone notice that homage to X-Men, with Dr. Ito's machine for Brainwave?  Can you say CEREBRO, anyone?  Just too obvious with that idea.  Also, Sportsmaster and Tigress are certainly out on a limb---going so far as to shoot The Fiddler for her ripping them a new one, and eventually going a step too far, bringing up Artemis in her rant.  Now, I wonder what Isaac will do once he finds out his mother is gone too?  She was just used to put more heat on the psychotic duo on edge, and she paid the price for it.  But her death was so quick.  I always felt that Bowen was just so expendable in this show.  

Anyway, we're set for the finale, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens, as this new JSA battles the ISA.  

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That's it for this next-to-last episode of the season....the finale is next!

What did YOU think?  Subscribe to the blog and leave a comment!  

Until the finale...keep your eyes on the stars!