STARGIRL 2.12

 

RECAP - STARGIRL  2.12:  "Summer School - Chapter Twelve"  

In the penultimate episode of this second season of Stargirl, we see everyone coping with what happened, and coming together to see what they can do about stopping Eclipso, as he gets prepared to make HIS grandstand play.  Mike finds the new wielder of the Thunderbolt, and Courtney makes an attempt to rally the troops to face Eclipso one last time---with an uneasy ally:  Cindy Burman. 

The Dugans return home with Dr. McNider, as the dog has destroyed the house, and a few hours earlier, Jenny and Beth were at the school cafeteria, tracking the other source of The Shade, and manage to find a piece of what was left of Eclipso.  Jenny destroyed it, and she wonders about it, as Beth gets a call from Courtney, letting her know that they're back home, and they're safe.  As Jenny and Beth arrive at the Dugan home, they find they have company:  Cindy Burman, whom Courtney rescued from the Shadowlands....and Beth finally gets to meet the actual Dr. McNider face to face.  Previously, Dr. McNider and Pat discussed how Eclipso could be defeated, and McNider asks Pat what destroys darkness, and Pat says the light---of which Courtney and her friends have---but Pat isn't sure the kids are ready.  McNider believes Beth is.  

Cindy and Courtney still bicker over who's to blame for the whole situation with Eclipso, and Barbara says that enough is enough.  Cindy does offer a truce for now in order to stop Eclipso.  But she warns them that they're going to have to get tough.  Evil is relative...and Courtney may think that Cindy is right---at least for THIS scenario.  As Pat and Beth team up to find ways to stop Eclipso, they all wonder where Mike is...and Pat says he's out chasing the Thunderbolt.  Mike has traced the trail of the Thunderbolt to a young man named Jakeem Williamson.  Mike wonders what Jakeem has been doing, and Jakeem was just wishing for food, and it happened.  But he got out of control, and then the Thunderbolt took off.  He doesn't know where he went, and Mike let's him know there's a responsibility to having the Thunderbolt, and Jakeem wonders how it ended up with him....all he wanted was a friend because he's been alone.  So, Mike sticks with him until the Thunderbolt comes back...they need him to save the world.  

Jenny has been restless, and Barb looks in on her, and tells her to rest after using her powers.  But Jenny ends up having nightmares throughout the episode, imagining Eclipso having killed all her friends.  Pat goes to see if he can get Rick released from jail, and he goes about that task by talking to Rick's uncle.  He tries to plead Rick's case to his uncle, but his uncle won't have it, and tells Pat to go screw himself.  Pat then says that Rick's uncle was supposed to protect and care for Rick....but he didn't do any such thing.  Pat says that he knows what kind of man Rick's uncle is....and he's NOT a nice guy.  Pat tells him that he remembers his military days, and knows a thing or two about having darkness within him...as he draws the shades to Rick's uncle's hospital room...as Rick's uncle starts to panic.  We later see Rick being released, and he wonders how, and Pat says his uncle dropped the charges, when Rick asks how...Pat feins indifference.  They take off, because they need Rick to help battle Eclipso. 

Courtney knows they need Yolanda, but Yolanda doesn't want any part of it.  Courtney tells her what really happened with the original JSA and Bruce Gordon, but it doesn't mean anything to Yolanda...it doesn't make it better.  It just means that the Wildcat suit was worn by killers, and she doesn't want a part of it anymore.  Cindy observes the entire interaction, and later shows up at Yolanda's, and tells her to stay retired, they don't need weaklings.  Cindy tells her that she's working with Courtney in order to stop Eclipso, and Yolanda doesn't trust her.  Cindy goads her, and Yolanda threatens her if she harms her friends.  That's what Cindy was looking for.  She told her the truth about the day of Yolanda's acceptance speech:  it wasn't Henry that sent them....it was Cindy.  

Courtney and Barbara talk, and Courtney tells her about the memory she had in the Shadowlands.  She asks her mother if it was hard raising her alone---which Barbara says it was...but she wouldn't have given up anything in regards to Courtney.  They hug it out, and Yolanda shows up.  She's not happy that she's willing to work with Cindy, but she feels that Cindy won't turn on them to side with Eclipso after what he did to her.  But Yolanda says she's back for one reason only:  to stop Eclipso.  Once this is over---she's done.  Courtney understands.  Cindy does talk to Courtney, and says she's going to have to learn to be bad to defeat evil.  As everyone prepares for the fight ahead, Cindy places a call, and tells whomever is on the other side, they need to get back to Blue Valley.  

Dr. McNider and Beth make their way into the ISA HQ and look for the mainframe, when they're met by little Bruce Gordon.  He says he's set everything up, and lured the duo there because he wants the darkness of Courtney Whitmore----because once he has that----he'll be able to ascend to godhood.  Jenny's last nightmare is that of Stargirl possessed by Eclipso.  

Well...we certainly have things set up for QUITE the season finale.  And we have some questions to answer before it's all said and done.  First and foremost:  what is so special about Courtney, that Bruce NEEDS her darkness in order to complete his rise to godhood?  Is it that SHE is the one who has stood her ground against him, and defied him by NOT giving into her darkness, and therefore, he won't be complete until he's taken ALL the light from everyone?  We see that Jenny is struggling in her nightmares with the potential outcome of this battle, as she sees everyone die...and sees Stargirl as possessed as Eclipso.  We also know that Cindy played HER cards well to entice Yolanda back into the fight by FINALLY admitting that SHE was the one behind Yolanda's downfall....not Henry.  And we wonder just WHOM she was calling on the phone to get back to Blue Valley...Artemis?  All we know is that she's going to bring extra muscle for the fight...but make no mistake:  she's still out to get the new JSA.  

We got to see Pat's dark side tonight, in his efforts to help get Rick released---by showing Rick's uncle the kind of bad HE can be.  And Courtney made some amends with her mom, and Barbara validated her love for Courtney.  We finally got a Yolanda sighting, and she's drawn back into the hero world, much to her dismay, but she's there to defeat Eclipso, and protect Courtney and her friends from Cindy.  As for Mike....he stepped up in giving the speech to Jakeem about the responsibility to the Thunderbolt.  And it also looks like that they could become friends down the road.  It was also great to see the original Dr. Mid-Nite meet Beth.  That was a great moment.  Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that The Shade is still around---Barbara could feel his presence, as we saw his shadow on the wall.  He's not gone completely. 

Well....what did YOU all think of this week's show?  Are you ready for the season finale?  It's been an interesting journey, and we'll see how our team finds it's way through the darkness....and will there BE a team after this?  Lemme know what ALL of you think by subscribing and leaving a comment below.  

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