STARGIRL 2.5

 

RECAP - STARGIRL  2.5:  "Summer School - Chapter Five" 

To quote the band Creedence Clearwater Revival:  "Looks like we're in for nasty weather."  As the darkness falls upon Blue Valley, Nebraska, Eclipso's presence is most definitely being felt in all corners.  From irregular weather, to people acting out of sorts, this town is about to face an unspeakable evil, and one that the JSA is going to find VERY hard to stop.  And it doesn't help that the most cold-hearted person in this town....Cindy Burman....is toying with the black diamond of Eclipso, trying to recruit her new Injustice team so that she can kill the JSA---and her most hated enemy---Courtney Whitmore AKA Stargirl.  Meanwhile, Eclipso is having his own fun...and then there's The Shade...who's in search of the diamond himself...whom as warned not only Pat and the JSA, but to Courtney herself once again, to NOT meddle in his affairs.  So, aside from whatever personal issues they have...this is going to require them to get their heads in the game.  Of course, Pat AND Barbara are STILL not forthcoming with things regarding Eclipso, that they're trying to protect the kids from, but you can't shield them forever....whether they like it or not...they'll have to face the darkness.  And they will....much sooner than expected. 

We got more insights into the mind of Cindy Burman...so we believe, as she has another dream about her biological mother protecting her from her father.  Telling her that her father can't hurt her, and that Cindy doesn't want to become like him.  But when the lights go out, and Cindy tries to sleep...little Cindy is taken by her father regardless.  Eclipso is doing a good enough job to play on her insecurities and emotions regarding her family.  She is usually very guarded, but we are seeing insights into Cindy that may prove important down the road.  But for now, we just chalk them up to painful memories, as she continues hatching her little evil plan.  She's gotten to Isaac Bowen and Artemis Crock....she now sets her sights on Cameron Mahkent, as he's been busy trying to paint a mural on the wall of one of the buildings in town featuring his father.  But before Cindy can make her move, Cameron's grandmother warns her to stay away from him.  Cindy gets in her face to threaten her, but the old lady shows she's no shrinking violet by having her cold powers activate.   Cindy then takes off.  

Stargirl returns home to find Pat waiting in her room, and she is trying to get more information about Eclipso from The Shade, maybe even offer a team-up to take him down, but Pat shoots that theory down, and says that they need to be paying attention to the weather patterns.  All of Nebraska is supposed to experience nice Summer weather...except Blue Valley, which has the onset of a storm coming.  She wants to know more, and pries Pat a little further about Eclipso...but he just stonewalls her and says nothing more.  She does promise to adhere to his curfew.  

We see Cameron continue to work on the mural, but he senses the storm in the air....thinks it might be his father.  He then takes his work inside, thinking it's going to rain.  He bumps into Mr. Deisinger, the Art/Summer School teacher, who chats up Cam a bit.  Cam had dropped his sketch book, and when Mr, Deisinger sees it, he sees sketches of Courtney.  He says it looks like Cameron found his muse.  He reminds Cameron to not waste time on letting her know how he feels.  Cam takes the teacher's advice and heads to the art room to work.  There, he bumps into Cindy, who tries to work him by apologizing and playing the sympathy card in regards to his dad.  However, Cameron knows better.  He's known Cindy since the 4th grade, and when her own mother died, Cindy, for which Cindy herself said she didn't like her anyway.  He says that her words are empty, and that she doesn't care about anyone or anything.  She is looking to shiv him, but Mr. Deisinger shows up to give Cameron his sketchbook back, and Cam leaves, warning Cindy to stay away from him.  Cindy then turns the diamond onto Mr. Deisinger, and tells him he has a new muse...which is Eclipso.  

Barbara runs into The Shade again, and he once again reiterates to her to ensure that the kids stay out of his way, and he will deal with Eclipso.  She stands her ground, and wants more information, and he says that she reminds her of someone from his past.  But aside from that, should Stargirl continue to snoop, he wants Barb to call him when she finds out anything.   Barbara says she has no way to contact him with the card she got, he said look again, and the card has a phone number emblazened on there...and when she looks up, he's gone. 

Rick sees Cam working on the mural, and sees that it's of Jordan Mahkent.  He's on his way to deliver more food to the beast in the woods (we KNOW it's Grundy, but we want a reveal).  Cam wonders what Rick wants as Rick stares at him.  Rick says "nothing", and drives off.  Cam thinks he's a jerk as he continues to paint. 

The team meets at the shop, and Pat says that they need to keep their eyes on the weather....that's the key for finding the diamond, and for stopping Eclipso.  Beth chimes in that she actually heard the real Dr. McNider, because he didn't know her when she responded to his call.  Pat wants to believe, but he tells her he's dead.  She wonders if maybe he's trapped in some shadow world somewhere.  Pat also says it could be Eclipso---because Eclipso can make you feel what you want, see what you want, and get what you want.  Beth wants to rescue him, but Pat preaches patience...and to continue focusing on the weather. 

Courtney and Yolanda are in class as Mr. Diesinger is trying to teach, but he's constantly coughing, and having trouble breathing.   He calls off class for the day, and after everyone leaves...he goes into the art room, and he ends up throwing up paint.  

Barb and Pat arrie at the junkyard, where Mike is at with Zeke, who is trying to sell them a station wagon that doesn't run well.  Mike figured that if the JSA got a getaway car, that would be cool.  Barb had reminded Pat that Mike is lonely, and wants to be included, but Pat has been hesitant. Pat likes Mike's enthusiasm, and says that they'll work on a JSA project together...and that seems to put Mike in a better mood. 

Court and Yolanda are out walking after school, and it seems that Yolanda's headaches have subsided...especially since the Eclipso case has her distracted enough.  They see Cam painting, and Courtney ushers Yolanda off, and tells her that if they find out anything about Eclipso, to text her.  Courtney goes to talk to Cam, and they discuss the mural on the wall, and he ends up showing her the sketches of her that he did---and she's very flattered.  

Mr. Diesinger is now possessed by Eclipso, who makes him "see" his muse, and he begins painting while possessed.  Meanwhile, Courtney and Cam have made it to his house, where he shows Courtney the garden that his mother used to maintain and that he bought the house away from the main quarters.  As they're about to get close, Courtney is interrupted by massive texts from Yolanda about her being needed.  Cam isn't happy that Courtney is always leaving, but she promises that it's the last time, and she takes off.

The team meets at the football field, and they have figured out the epicenter of the storm is somewhere on the school grounds, and that's where Eclipso might be.  Eclipso has used Diesinger as his puppet to paint.  Stargirl notices Diesinger's car, and they go into the school to investigate.  They find the art room plastered wall to wall with spattered paint.  They look at the paintings, and then Eclipso slams the classroom door shut, and locks the team in.  And each picture they look at, they're reminded of their worst fear.  Courtney sees a face come out of one painting, Yolanda sees Brainwave, Rick sees Grundy, and Beth sees a picture of her parents.  As Eclipso is playing with them, Rick manages to blow the door off.  They look into lockers, and see the same pictures again, causing fear and panic in the various team members.  Beth is on the ground with a torn picture of her parents, You hear whispers from Eclipso asking them questions to their fears.  For Beth, can she fix the divorce?  For RIck...who's the bigger monster:  Him or Grundy?  For Yolanda...just being reminded of her killing Brainwave.  While they're dealing with their fear, Stargirl chases after Diesinger, who is now formed into some creature.  She uses the Cosmic Staff to try and break the spell of Eclipso on the teacher...and he manages to touch it...and Stargirl manages to get whatever it was off of Diesinger, and he's laying in a pool of paint as the threat subsides.  

Later at the Pit, they team relays what they experienced to Pat, and they mention that Diesinger is now in a psych ward for evaluation.  They made up a story about him working late, and Courtney discovering him.  Pat's now fearful that Eclipso is getting stronger, and is now able to expand his powers.  

Beth finally has the courage to confront her parents about the divorce papers.  They are sullen, and saying that it's a mutual agreement, but they truly haven't decided on going through with it yet.  Her parents agree that they need to sit down as a family to talk about it...but they have to work.  Once again, her parents avoiding the talk because or work, and Beth is there alone to deal with it.  

And we then take a gander at the ISA lair, where Artemis and Isaac are wondering why they haven't made a move yet, and Cindy says they will...but they have one more recruit to get:  Mike Dugan.  Cindy has given up on trying to recruit Cameron, so Mike is her new interest...especially since it's a way to get back at Stargirl.  As they plan, Cameron is busy once again painting the mural...when his suddenly feels a sharp pain, and he drops his paintbrush.  We see the paintbrush, we see that it's partially iced over.  Cameron's freezing powers have manifested. 

We had A LOT happen in a short show...and this show moved QUICK.  The plot is advancing, and we see that Eclipso is becoming more and more a major threat.  This time, he worked the summer school teacher to create paintings that would cause fear in the JSA....and that teach is now in a psych ward because he got used.  The Shade continues to show up unexpectedly, but we see some semi-humaness when he mentions that Barbara reminds him of someone he used to know.  Cindy continues to have her nightmares, as well as using Eclipso to manipulate everyone.  We see that she's got Issac and Artemis on her side, but Cameron completely blows her off.  

Picking up from last year, we see Courtney and Cameron getting closer, though she keeps blowing him off to be Stargirl.  I wonder how long before he figures out she's Stargirl, and with his powers now manifesting, will be decide to do anything with them?  Will he join the JSA, or will Cindy manage to lure him her way?  

The Shade continues to want information, and has issued several threats to both Barbara AND Stargirl about interfering in his business.  But I wonder how long it will be before he and the JSA HAVE to work together for a common cause?  And I'm still convinced he put Dr. Mid-Nite somewhere to keep him safe from Eclipso...but those are answers we HOPE to get down the road.  

Pat and Barb are STILL keeping things from the kids about the dangers of Eclipso, and it's going to bite them in the backside.  The team NEEDS to know, and if they don't reveal the truth, it's going to force the kids to find out, and put them at a disadvantage later on.  Pat wanted honesty, yet he's not totally forthcoming.  As for the team themselves, we got to see them have to face their fears, and make them think about what's happened, or who they are.  For Rick...he needs to find out if he's really as much of a monster as Grundy.  For Yolanda, she's still got to get over the PTSD she's been suffering from the whole battle with the JSA, and killing Brainwave.  Beth...well, she seems to be the only one facing HER fear head on....her parents' eventual split.  Courtney was the only one who jumped into the fray to stop the threat the teacher had become.  But we'll see what her fear is coming up...no doubt about that, I'm sure.  

Overall, I'm enjoying the storyline, and it's well written, and has a nice pace.  We are getting some character development, some backstory, and we see the eminent threat Eclipso has become.  Looking forward to the next chapter, and this show is just very well run, very well written, and engaging.  This is what The Flash needs to aspire to in order to have a good season.  So...how about YOU guys?  What did YOU all think of this week's installment?  Leme know by subscribing and commenting below.

Until next time...keep your eyes on the stars.