STARGIRL 2.2

 

RECAP - STARGIRL  2.2:  "Summer School - Chapter Two" 

School is now in session in Blue Valley.  As Courtney serves her "sentence" for not studying and passing her classes (her own damn fault for NOT paying attention to her school work instead of spending more time being Stargirl), we have a new visitor in town, as Green Lantern's daughter has arrived.  We also still haven't seen just WHO it is Rick Tyler is taking care of in the woods (we are under the impression it's Solomon Grundy, but we haven't a clue yet), Beth is dealing with the dissolution of her parents' marriage, and Yolanda is still suffering from PTSD in the aftermath of the final battle between the JSA & ISA.  Pat now has a nosey mechanic named Zeke who's looking to upgrade S.T.R.I.P.S.E.Y., and Barbara is just trying to keep the family unit together.  And then there's Cindy Burman---now in possession of Eclipso, and she's out to recruit her new team of Injustice, Unlimited. 

We see Cindy's stepmother to start the show drinking and smashing things all around the house, and getting ready to bail, until she answers the door, and it's Cindy, with Eclipso, and she ends up having Eclipso possess her stepmother.

We cut back to the past, where we see Jenny, who's an orphan, being let go from the orphanage because she's no longer a minor, but before she leaves, she's given this tin that possesses some objects in it given to her by the head of the orphanage, Mrs. Ordway...a picture of her and her brother Todd...and the GL ring.  She looks at it, and it powers up, attaches itself to her hand, and then leads her off.  In present day, in the wake of destroying the downstairs portion of the Dugan household, Jenny and Courtney apologize for the damage, and Jenny says she's the daughter of Alan Scott, and that grabs Pat's attention.  When they inquire who that is, he says that he was Green Lantern.  Jenny finds out that Pat was Stripsey, and is pleased to meet him.  She hopes that he can teach her how to use the ring like he taught Courtney how to use the staff.  Courtney isn't convinced that Jenny is who she says she is, but Pat wants Court to give her the benefit of the doubt. As Jenny crashes in Courtney's room, she sees the pictures of the Dugan family, and takes out the pic of her and her brother Todd.  The next day, Jenny has made breakfast for everyone, and Pat says he's taking Jenny to the garage to help her learn how to use the ring, and Court wants to go, but she's got school.  At school, Courtney fills Yolanda in about Jenny, and her doubts, and wonders why Yolanda is in summer school, and Yolanda said her parents enrolled her to keep her out of trouble.  Also in summer school class is Isaac Bowen...who's not real thrilled to be there.

Rick is SUPPOSED to be in school as well, but he's out in the forest, picking up the mess of the food he left for whatever he's taking care of out in the woods.  He leaves some more food out, and keeps looking back, as the mysterious figure is hiding in the bushes looks on.  Rick gets a call from Beth, who tells him to head to Pat's garage, they have a new superhero in town, and she wants him to check it out. Once at the garage, we see Zeke putting on the flamethrower on S.T.R.I.P.S.E.Y., and Pat actually likes the improvements, and Zeke takes his leave, as the kids gather at the garage to meet Jenny.  Pat tries to see what the issue is with the lantern and how Jenny can make it work by opening it up.  However, the lantern blasts him. He wonders just HOW Jenny can use the ring, considering that when GL had it, he had to charge it once every 24 hours.  He gives her the basics of how the ring works.  So, Jenny focuses on what she wants, and manages to create a car.   Meanwhile, Courtney complains to Yolanda about why Pat and everyone is taking Jenny's word at face value...though she does make killer pancakes. 

We go back to Cindy's stepmom, and we see her cleaning up the mess she had made earlier, and we hear Eclipso in her head saying she almost got away, but didn't.  She said that the only thing she can do is kill her stepdaughter to be free.  She takes a knife and sees that she must kill Cindy. Pat is disappointed in her. Pat wants to know why Courtney is all up in Jenny's business, and understands that Courtney didn't have her father, but she still has a family.  Jenny is still trying to FIND hers.  Courtney admits that she feels like a fraud around Jenny....because she feels she's perfect, and Courtney herself isn't. Pat asks Courtney to give Jenny a chance, and then gets a call from Barb.  He then takes off and tells Courtney to fix things with Jenny.  When she asks where he's going, he tells her he'll handle it.  When Jenny comes back, Courtney does her best to apologize to Jenny, and says that Jenny is perfect because she has real super powers, and that she's got it all....but all this does is upset Jenny because she's upset because she knows he DOESN'T have everything, and she was hoping that the ring would help her find her brother, but it hasn't, and she lashes out, and strikes the lantern.  They all look in shock, as the lantern is powering up more and more.  They realize that it's going haywire, and they need to see if they can contain it.  

While the kids are trying to figure out what to do with an out-of-control lantern, Pat heads to the diner to meet up with Richard Swift.  He gets to talking to Swift about classic cars and antiques, trying to gauge what this guy is all about.  As they make idle chatter, Pat, facing the window, sees the kids racing past the diner, with a green glow emanating from them.  He excuses himself, and races out of the diner to catch up with the kids.  Once in the park, Pat asks what's going on, and they say that the lantern's power is out of control.  Courtney realizes that it's Jenny herself powering the lantern...and her emotional state is the reason why.  She tells Jenny to try and control it.  As Jenny tries to, but the lantern ends up exploding....and a crater is in the middle of the area of the team, but it turns out Jenny was able to save them....but the power is completely HER.  And she can fly.  The next day, Courtney wakes up on the couch, and asks Barbara about Jenny, but her mother says that Jenny had taken off before they all got up.  Courtney goes down to the basement, and sees Pat going over a file from the JSA .  Courtney apologizes to Pat about her behavior, and Jenny made her realize that family is the most important, and she'll start putting them AND Courtney Whitmore first, and Stargirl second.  Pat's happy to hear that, but he tells her that they're going to need Stargirl sooner than later.  When she asks why, he tells her about Richard Swift...who's an old JSA enemy named The Shade...and he is BAD NEWS.

Cindy comes home, looking to get dinner from her mother, but her stepmother is waiting for her, and attacks her.  They fight a little, but Eclipso possesses Cindy, and ends up destroying her mother.  Cindy fights to regain control, and Eclipso said he did what he had to in order to protect Cindy, because her stepmother was going to kill her.  Cindy says she could handle herself, and that SHE is in control, and if Eclipso pulls that stunt again, she'll put him back where she found him. She then leaves the house as the episode ends. 

Another quality episode, as we got the introduction of The Shade to the canvas, as well as more background into Jenny's past, and why it is Courtney had issues with her.  Plus, we see just how destructive Eclipso can be, and Cindy got a taste herself of that power.  Plus, we know SOMETHING is out in the forest that Rick is taking care of...but we STILL don't see it.  I'm still convinced it's Grundy, but they're going to keep this under wraps for now.  

I do think it was a nice nod by the show runners to give the name of the head of the orphanage the name of Mrs. Ordway---in honor of former JSA artist as well as Infinity, Inc. writer/artist Jerry Ordway....who also created the character of Jenny Lynn Haden, as well as her brother Todd...for the comics.  Also love that they've been able to stay fairly true to Jenny's origin as far as the nature of her powers---with them NOT because of the power ring, but because she's a metahuman herself.  To see Courtney become envious of her...because she's sweet, kind, and grateful for what she's given...makes Courtney extremely suspicious.  Courtney seems out of character here, since she gave everyone else on her own team a chance, and became friends with them, even though everyone ELSE cast them out.  For her to dump on Jenny because she came from out of town, and no one really knows her, but takes her at face value, has got Courtney on edge.  But then again, Courtney's been a little TOO hyped about being a superhero, and LESS about being Courtney Whitmore.  She's put aside school and just being a daughter for being Stargirl.  And hopefully it's taken Pat and Barbara trying to make her understand that...while being a hero is a wonderful thing...you're STILL just a normal person under the mask...and that person has a life of her own.  Seeing the struggles Jenny has had---not having her father around, and not being able to find her brother...growing up in an orphanage...having powers hasn't made her life better.  She's still lonely, and has no family to speak of.  So, with her powers now cemented in the wake of the lantern being destroyed....she now has the ability to go find her brother Todd.  

We didn't really dive more into Beth or Yolanda's issues this week...they took a back seat so that the show could focus on Jenny, and how she comes to terms with her powers, and getting to know the team.  But I am sure the show runners WILL address those issues in the near future.  And we also know Mike wants to get in on the action, now that he's aware of everything that's going on.  I'm also still convinced Zeke is someone MUCH MORE than what he says he is.  And it appears either Pat LIKES what Zeke has done, or just can't bring himself to tell Zeke the absolute truth.  But I'm hoping we find out more about HIM as the show moves forward.

We finally met yet another old member of the ISA in The Shade.  He certainly carries himself like a villain, even making Barbara creeped out when they met.  What he wants with The Wizard's old equipment is interesting, and it makes me wonder if there's OTHER ISA equipment laying about that he's got an eye on....and what's his purpose with it?  Either way, both Barbara and Pat are aware that this guy is bad news.  

Cindy got a REAL good taste of just how nasty and powerful Eclipso is.  At first, Eclipso just effected her stepmother, forcing her to try and kill Cindy, only to take over Cindy for a short time, just enough to destroy her stepmother.  As much as Cindy likes to THINK she's in charge...Eclipso has his own plans...and she's honestly got NO IDEA what she's gotten herself into.  But interested to see just WHO she starts trying to recruit next.  We DID get to see Isaac Bowen this week, and he's in that emo/anger stage in the wake of his mother's death...so I'm sure HE won't be hard to convince to join the cause against the JSA.  I'm curious as to when she'll try to recruit Mike Dugan, though.  See how she can try and turn him against the family.  

How about you, kids?  Did you enjoy this week's installment?  Subscribe to the page, and leave me a comment on YOUR thoughts and ideas.  

Until then....Keep your eyes on the stars.