Despite their opposing views on cheerleading, Courtney Whitmore and Cindy Burman are more alike than they realize. They’re both teens with superpowered family legacies. They’re both frustrated by adults who keep telling them to stay in the high school lane when all they want to do is jump into grown-up action. And they’re both reckless in their desire to prove themselves. But while Courtney falls on the side of truth, justice, and the American way, it turns out that Cindy is more into murder, control, and world domination.
There have been hints that something is a little bit off with Cindy, and “Shiv Part One” finally (mostly) clarifies what’s going on with her. She’s the daughter of hooded master chemist Dr. Ito, and she’s been subjected to some kind of experimentation that’s given her dragon-inspired powers. But whereas past episodes have doled out backstory in quick opening flashbacks, “Shiv Part One” takes a slow burn approach that makes it compelling in its disorientation. It’s not until about halfway through the episode that it finally becomes clear that Cindy already knows the ISA exists. Though she’s desperate for a seat at the table, Dr. Ito orders her to live under the control of her stepmom/babysitter and keep a close eye on Henry Jr.’s potential mental abilities. A father refusing to let his teenage daughter break up with her boyfriend is just one of the many half-metaphorical/half-literal horrors this episode has to offer.
There’s probably more to Cindy’s story too. Beth notes that Cindy used to be nice until her mom died, her dad remarried, and she became “the scariest kid in the fourth grade” overnight, which presumably has something to do with Dr. Ito’s experiments. Though the exact nature of Dr. Ito’s work remains a mystery, the lines about “conditioning” his lackeys and “preparing” his wives implies there’s some sort of reprogramming at play. That could very well explain some of Cindy’s crueler impulses. Right now, however, her mean girl behavior seems to stem from a mix of feeling trapped in her meaningless teenage world and the crushing loneliness of having no one to talk to about everything she knows.
As with “Icicle,” “Shiv Part One” does an excellent job making Cindy sympathetic without undermining her villainy. Meg DeLacy effectively conveys the sense that Cindy’s catty comments cover up her own insecurities, and it’s heartbreaking to see her get shut down by her aloof dad. But it’s also terrifying to watch her whip out a wrist blade and casually murder one of her father’s lackeys.
“Shiv Part One” is the first time we’ve seen a teenage villain in action on Stargirl, and it opens up a whole new avenue of storytelling possibilities for the series. Principal Bowin is adamant that the Injustice Society should keep their children out of the fray, but it now seems all but inevitable that Isaac, Artemis, Henry Jr., and Cameron will get pulled into the fight one way or another. The big question is whether they’ll want to pick up their parents’ legacy of evil as easily as Cindy does.
In addition to exploring Cindy’s backstory, “Shiv Part One” also introduces intriguing threads for Barbara, Mike, Pat, the JSA, Cameron, Henry Jr., and the school’s mysterious janitor. Yet rather than feel scattered, the episode functions well as an ensemble story about the world of Blue Valley and Blue Valley High in particular. We spend more extended time in the school than we have before; Courtney and Cindy make surprisingly effective partners during chemistry class (Cindy’s a chemistry whizz), while Henry Jr. uses his burgeoning mind reading abilities to cheat on a math test. Homecoming Week brings more high school traditions into the mix, with Pat accompanying Courtney and Mike to the big game, and Jordan encouraging Cameron to ask Courtney to the dance.
Befitting the high school theme, Courtney is focused on Principal Bowin this week. She wants to prove that her violin-loving principal is part of the Injustice Society. But by leaping before she looks, Courtney winds up in a brutal hallway brawl with Cindy instead. This episode’s two big action sequences are top notch, and they each demonstrate a different kind of failure. When Courtney confidently takes down Pat’s makeshift ISA training course, she thinks she’s showing off her strength and capabilities. But all she’s really doing is pissing off her new allies and proving that she hasn’t absorbed any of Pat’s lesson about the importance of teamwork.
The brutal, athletic battle against Cindy is an even bigger loss. After six episodes where she’s largely lucked into winning, it’s about time that Courtney faced a real setback. By the end of the showdown, even the Cosmic Staff knows it’s time to accept defeat and go get help from Pat, which is how you know things are really bad. Forget about singlehandedly taking down the ISA, Courtney can’t even hold her own against one of their protégées. It takes an unexpected assist from a sword-wielding janitor to save her life.
The janitor reveal is one of the many subtle surprises and intriguing setups woven into “Shiv Part One.” Writer Evan Ball and director Lea Thompson (yes, that Lea Thompson) elevate this episode with fun, creative sequences, starting with the opening JSA montage set to “Takin’ Care Of Business.” Later, the episode crosscuts Dr. Ito’s speech to Cindy with Pat’s conversation with Courtney, emphasizing how two very different fathers put two similar sets of limits on their superpowered daughters. But while Pat’s rules are rooted in love and concern, Dr. Ito seems more interested in control. Once again, parent/child relationships remain Stargirl’s most compelling throughline.
“Shiv Part One” is an all-around exhilarating episode, one that makes me frustrated that I can’t go ahead and binge-watch the second half right now. The expansive worldbuilding of the first six episodes is paying off now that Stargirl can seamlessly dip in and out of a huge number of complex relationships—from Mike bristling over Courtney’s new exclusionary relationship with his dad to Jordan “joking” that he killed the rival for his wife’s affections.
Halfway through its first season, Stargirl is proving increasingly confident about what kind of show it wants to be. “High school mean girl becomes literal supervillain” is just the kind of metaphorical storytelling that Buffy The Vampire and Smallville used to relish in delivering. Like its teen heroes, Stargirl is continuing a proud legacy while forging its own superhero path in the process.
Stray observations
- Love the cheeky decision to have Courtney wear an “Empowered Women Shine Bright” t-shirt in an episode where she faces off against a murderous teenage girl.
- Even though the décor got destroyed and Courtney is injured, I hope next week’s episode still finds a way to go all-in on the Homecoming Week Grease theming. Courtney and Cameron would make a great Sandy and Danny, with Yolanda as Rizzo, Rick as Kenickie, and Beth as Jan. (Pat is Doody, of course.)
- Barbara’s storyline is mostly setup this week (she’s off to help The American Dream buy an old sewing machine factory in Oakville), but I love that she calls out Pat for not talking to her first before agreeing to give Courtney “driving lessons.”
- Mike hints that he and Pat have a harsher backstory than Courtney realizes. I’m very curious to learn more about that.
- Much about the sword-wielding janitor remains a mystery for now (at least for non-comics readers), but given that he immediately recognizes Pat as Stripsey, it’s probably safe to say that he has some sort of connection to the JSA.
- Which is this episode’s most horrifying proclamation: “You are my greatest experiment,” “You were put on this Earth to find love,” or “These shoes are worth more than your life”?
131 Comments
God bless Johns and DCU funding levels. Stargirl is really shaping up to be way better of a show than it has any right to be.
And Beth is back to being annoying for me.Sportsmaster is the greatest hand-to-hand combatant that Pat’s ever seen? I…wouldn’t have guessed that.We got a look at Fiddler, and he didn’t look anything like that painting.What’s Henry Jr. going to do when he reads Cindy’s mind and finds out why she is with him.That also kind of puts a spin on why Cindy destroyed Yolanda. It was at least partly motivated by her father wanting to her to get together with Henry Jr.Cindy killed her mother.I get that Cameron just asking Courtney out is completely realistic, but they’ve spent almost zero time on screen together so I just can’t get invested in the relationship.What is Artemis’ position on the team? Henry Jr. is QB, so is she back-up QB?Mike, with as much of a little jerk as you are to your dad you might want to think about why he’s spending time with her instead of you.Sir Justin with the last minute save.Does Cindy now know that Courtney is Stargirl, since Pat was nice enough to go blurting it out?We got very little of the rest of the JSA this episode. Boo.
Artemis is a running back.
In the practice game she was playing QB.
They might have been running a wildcat option play with the RB taking the snap
She also appears to be playing QB in this episode. It’s hard to tell, because they snap the ball to her, she hands it off, aaaaaaaaaaaand then she’s running it in. A little earlier the announcer says that she passes to another player for 15 yards and a first down. She may be subbing in for Henry Jr. who skipped the game.
If you receive the snap, you’re the QB. Superhero 101.
I’m betting you’ve now officially put more work into figuring that out than the writers did.
what is the fucking POINT of any of this?it bears no resemblance to ANY comic bookit’s dawson’s creek with costumesi would have thought WATCHMEN put an END TO all this GARBAGE
IKR! Pat was Starman’s sidekick during his entire career, from long before he first got his powers, to long after he died. I realize that he didn’t know that Courtney had changed into Stargirl, but someone with that much experience should know better than to go around shouting her secret identity, when a superhero suddenly disappears in a town brimming with supervillains.
100% agree that Cindy killed her mother.
She made a mistake!
Mike is a wise-cracking, professional show-biz kid and it’s omni-irritating. His Disney Channel acting style is like toenails on a blackboard.
Sportsmaster is the greatest hand-to-hand combatant that Pat’s ever seen? I…wouldn’t have guessed that.Maybe Pat is handicapping it to account for Sportsmaster’s decision to throw baseballs, wear goalie gear, and make a whole thing of it? That kind of hand eye coordination, if just done like Wildcat would have to be superhuman in its own right.
“What is Artemis’ position on the team? Henry Jr. is QB, so is she back-up QB?”
Battering ram, from the looks of things. 😀
One of the great beats of this entire show is that the “villains” seem to be mostly parents who love their kids. Icicle giving his son dating advice was almost touching and you would swear he was a good guy, if we did not know better. The rest want to keep their kids out of their evil activities..(Well, Dr. Ito seems to be an exception as to being a caring parent) I cannot remember a comic book property where all the villains also have kids where they are showing them raising them. (maybe the first Spider Man movie?)
Marvel’s Runaways
“That also kind of puts a spin on why Cindy destroyed Yolanda. It was at
least partly motivated by her father wanting to her to get together with
Henry Jr.”I say this supports my theory that it wasn’t even Henry Jr. that was originally texting Yolanda. Since this an Injustice League op, The Gambler hacked the phone. I originally though it was Cindy pretending to be Henry Jr. but The Gambler could have been doing that too. Heck, he could have been doing it out of his own pervyness and then it just happened to turn out to be useful for the Injustice League.
Given what happened in last week’s ep—psycho parents murder a coach for benching their bitchy daughter—Stargirl can go completely to Hell. The show is beyond sick and that particular “writer” should be banned from ever scripting a TV show, movie, or even a commercial.
Finally, some movement on the Pat’s wife/Mike’s mom mystery.
I’m just glad they tuned Mike down a bit. I really disliked him in the comic.
I’m kind of hoping rather than Sir Justin being a JSA-er, Pat reveals they were on a different team before joining the JSA and we get some Seven Soldiers of Victory action. Some Vigilante, some Crimson Avenger, and maybe some Grant Morrison stuff like the Sheeda and prophecy of 7 heroes banding together.
I’d love a Seven Soldiers of Victory-esque miniseries, like an anthology with a set-up episode, seemingly-unrelated episodes devoted to each Soldier in between, and a season finale where they come together.
Just the thought of Frank’s chapter with the asshole kid getting updated to something even more relevant than it still is. Also that of someone trying to ape the visuals of Irving’s Klarion. Dear HBO…
I think Mike would make a perfect Klarion the Witch Boy in opposition to the heretofore-unseen Jakeem.
His line, “There is no book so bad it has not some good in it.” is a quote from ‘Don Quixote,’ if that’s worth anything.
As is his quote this week “Until death, it is all life” in case no-one mentioned this.
I’d say the world isn’t ready for the Grant Morrison Seven Soldiers, but his take on Doom Patrol is doing well so maybe the world has finally caught up to his particular brand of crazy. Still, if they do go SSoV I expect it to be closer to the pre-Crisis version if only because a superteam that has a knight *and* a cowboy is pretty perfect for this universe.
That would be great even pulling in the time traveling (displacement!) stuff of the original comics.I’m still holding out hope that Jack Knight makes an appearance at some point (With his dad of course).
The fight between Shiv and Stargirl was badass. That’s some of the most fun I’ve had watching two people fight on a superhero TV show since season 2 of Arrow.
I don’t know or care anything about this show except that the girl in the cheerleading outfit gets my vote.
Which girl? The one who called Cindy a “bitch”? If so, I agree.
In the photo. The one who’s in the foreground, is the only one in focus, and is wearing a cheerleader outfit.
You’re kidding, right? You’re talking about Cindy, the villain of the episode, the one the whole episode is about, and she’s just “the girl in the cheerleading outfit”? Why are you here again?
It was a fucking joke! Calm down. Note: “I don’t know or care anything about this show.” I didn’t realize how deeply real it all is to you in St. Louis! Do you know how nuts you seem?? I’ve also thought the Wicked Witch in “Snow White” is pretty hot. You wanna punch me?
This show continues to have far better characterization and choreography than I ever expected of it. That’s not to say some characters aren’t frustrating and annoying – but the traits that make them that way are grounded in their characters and make sense for them. I went into it with the expectation that it would be ‘something to watch’ but it’s definitely become something to look forward to.
Agreed, I don’t have DC universe, so I can’t watch this until tonight. But it’s been interesting as the show develops in just a few episodes to have a reserve of interesting dynamics (and the grades keep rising) I’m a big Geoff John’s fan, but I wasn’t sure he could translate his skills 100% to live action. The fact that this is the first CW show since flash season 1 to have me anticipating the episodes makes it clear I was wrong. I hope he can keep this pace and bring the same magic to other series he’s working on.
Caught it last night, and the episode did not disappoint. The early-Smallville Buffy comparisons are apt. The bad guys (and girls) are just the right bit of campy to keep them scary, like the confrontation between Cindy and her stepmom. And the little JSA crew bit was also so much fun. They really have created a little world in seven episodes, and the variations between the evil ISA members and how they parent is so interesting. That choreographed fight was CA:Civil War level in the combination of powers and physicality, they keep the cosmic staff a dynamic weapon while making sure Courtney is far from invulnerable.
Does the janitor seriously keep a medieval sword just laying around in his cupboard? And was that the holy grail on his desk…? I thought that perhaps he’d end up being Dr. Fate, because isn’t the human host supposed to go a little nuts when they’re not channeling Doc? But sure, I’ll take an actual knight. Why not?I was also looking forward to an ISA history lesson so it sucks poor old Pat called the first training session a night before anyone else had a chance to do anything. I really thought Courtney learned her lesson last week, so it was especially frustrating for her to act like she hadn’t. Surely now she’ll start taking it seriously? Really nice twist for Cindy to not only be aware of the ISA but be hungry for a seat at the table. I wonder if the other villains know what she’s capable of?
Shinning Knight. later to be stolen by Stan The Thief Lee for Black Knight
The sword is probably spelled for invisibility to most people.
The janitor is Shining Knight – an actual knight with a gold sword and winged horse that was on the Seven Soldiers of Victory along with Pat and Sly when they were Stripesy and Star-Spangled Kid.
He later married the second Firebrand (until she was killed by Dragon King aka Cindy’s dad), and raised the daughter of JSA villain Cyclotron, whose grandson would later join the JSA as Atom-Smasher.
Justice Society lore goes DEEP. If you have several hours, I can draw you a diagram.
There’s another upvote in it for you if you come through with that diagram.
Sir Justin, the Shining Knight, is a long-time DC fixture, and a teammate of Stripesy back in the Golden Age. His sword and armor are gifts from Merlin.One of the best JLU episodes featured him and a bunch of low-level heroes (including Courtney and Pat) getting their butts kicked by DC’s version of the Hulk. It’s called Patriot Act, and the title’s intentional.
Great episode, and more like DC’s version of Red Hulk (which I think came afterwards?). When I watched the Red Hulk reveal on Avengers: EMH I was like, seriously? Why not get JK Simmons while you’re at it?
True; ol’ Greenskin is more like the Shaggy Man (who got sentience and became the General played by Simmons). This guy was more the arrogant, beat-everyone-senseless-because-you-can Rulk.
They did have some fun at Marvel’s expense with that episode; having the General become a monster because of a faulty super-soldier serum back in WWII. I’m surprised they didn’t give him a hammer. 🙂
You got to love when DC and Marvel tip their cap to each other. The JLU writers also did their version of 1970s The Defenders with Dr Fate, Hawkwoman, Grundy, Aquaman, AMAZO, and Inza standing in for Strange, Nighthawk, Hulk, Namor, Silver Surfer, and Clea.
And they were fighting Cthulu
The other low level heroes also being part of the Seven Soldiers of Victory
what is the fucking POINT of any of this?it bears no resemblance to ANY comic book it’s dawson’s creek with costumes i would have thought WATCHMEN put an END TO all this GARBAGE
I cannot believe they’re going there with Sir Justin, but let’s go, I’m ready. The only question is which version of the Seven Soldiers of Victory we’re getting. I’m betting it’s from the Grant Morrison run, which means there’s hope for Zatanna or Klarion the Witch Boy to show up. In any case, they almost have to bring Vigilante in now.
I’m guessing it will lean toward Golden Age actually as they are with the JSA. Maybe one of the Morrison members. Like Frankenstein or Manhattan Guardian. Maybe sub in Zatara so Zatanna could be introduced as one of their peers.
Where is Zatanna anyway? It’s been 8 years of Arrowverse and now the DCEU and the streaming service and still no live action portrayal.
Yeah, aside from Smallville, there’s been nothing. Honestly, I’d love to see her end up on Legends.
I’d say alas that we got the Dahrks instead, but obviously they’ve been great for Legends in their own right.
I am still dying to see Lacey Chabert as a live-action Zatanna
She’s voiced by Kathy Micucci in Lego Flash
If I were to fancast this, how about Janet Montgomery of Salem fame?
Needs more Grundy. Approximately 22 more minutes of Grundy, with commercials.(I found this to be another enjoyable episode overall. Very strong debut season so far.)
Mrs McFly did a terrific job this week. I got no problems with the pacing whatsoever. It looks like everyone’s house and a bunch of public places all have secret doors into the ISA HQ.Shiv and Court were looking right into each other’s faces. I can’t believe they don’t know each other’s IDs by now.Mike has gone back to being a full time shit. Sounds like he’ll fit in just fine in this town. I felt more sorry for Cindy than I do for him.Not sure how effective Shining Knight would be in corralling the youngsters should he end up joining the team as a secondary mentor. Does he even know his own mind yet? At least they’re calling Courtney out on her complete lack of teamwork.I hope Cameron and SG find out whether they’re brother and sister before they start going steady. If there is a Mahkent-is-her-real-dad reveal it can’t come too quickly for them. Would be a great way to end the season The Boys-style although why Jordan would keep it under wraps baffles me.
Cindy treating Courtney well as a lab partner and offering to hang out with her is nicer than anything that Mike has done in the whole show. The show has been way better than I thought it would be, but Mike is a real weak point for me. I get that they are trying to justify it with some motivation, but he really needs some moments where he does something that isn’t awful. When your homicidal sociopath character comes across as someone with more capacity for kindness than a character we’re ostensibly supposed to like, that’s kind of a problem.
WITCH BOY!
Courtney definitely recognized Cindy. I could believe Cindy was self-absorbed enough not to recognize Courtney until Pat started yelling her name.
Courtney and Cindy now knowing who each other are, but no one else knowing, reminds me of Ollie and Huntress figuring out each others’ secret identities on Arrow s1. Maybe they will now have a sexy teamup??Cindy was seriously formidable as Shiv, even without the dragon breath or whatever
Cindy may be self-absorbed, but she is also smart and had seen Courtney as well as Stargirl. Neither the Gambler not Sportsmaster had seen Courtney, and Sportsmaster is an idiot.
Actually, this is the first time I’ve had any sympathy for Mike. This episode went a long ways toward humanizing him.
I was more surprised when the trailer for part 2 implied they did recognise each other. Cindy not covering her face means nothing since no one recognises Supergirl ever and I’m pretty sure the whole multiverse is face blind. Pat was just calling Courtney in the hallway but that doesn’t mean he was looking for Stargirl. I assumed Cindy got away when she heard him because ISA is not supposed to be seen by mundanes.
I think the reason Cindy could connect the dots is the injuries not Pat. Courtney may actually be rare case of not being face blind.
I’m willing to accept mask = faceblindness, but Shiv wasn’t wearing a mask. Stargirl better have recognized her. Ambiguous by the end of the episode. If Jordan is Stargirl’s real dad, that makes Barbara’s interactions with him at the office real weird.
I got the impression Courtney’s OMG response was precisely because she did recognize Cindy. As for the other way around, the red and blue balloons in the preview may or may not be a red herring.
That’s an excellent point regarding Barb. Hopefully it relegates the Courtney Mahkent theory back into the fan-wank category, although I can’t help wondering whether Johns has some kind of narrative curveball planned regarding her dad as we’ve yet to see it fully confirmed on screen whether it is Pemberton.
I appreciate that this show deviates from the ArrowVerse show formula in significant ways. One that has worked well is that there is no real equivalent in them to Pat as the mentor figure. Rip on the early seasons of LoT might be the closest. They all treated him with respect (usually) but never listened to him either.
I appreciate that too, but I think any deviations can be attributed to the fact that this show wasn’t intended to be part of the Arrowverse.Which makes me wonder if the rumors of DC Universe being shuttered come true and Stargirl moves over to the CW, will we see classic Arrowverse tropes start to seep in?
Supergirl started on CBS & moved to the CW & I could see Stargirl following a similar path. I don’t think the show changed all that dramatically really. The main differences were adjusting to shooting on location in Vancouver with a smaller budget (which however the production teams know how to make go further)
I disagree about Supergirl. It changed A LOT. The second season Flockhart left and changed really the whole gist of what the show was. The first season was half Kara as Supergirl and half her at Catco trying to live a normal human life. The first season also had better set up for the villains. Season two also brought in Mon El and started the whole CW relationship dominant theme.I really do not think they completely recovered from missing CBS’s guidance until this year
Losing Calista Flockhart and some of the other s1 actors was more about the show moving to Vancouver than anything else. But Melissa Benoist at the time said she wasn’t worried at the time about the network change as the core of the show was the relationship between Kara & Alex and as long as they kept that focus (which they have) she thought it would be fine & personally I agree.
Huh? Stargirl is already on the CW….
The CW is just airing Stargirl. DC Universe produced the first season, which is why it looks like and has more in common with Titans, Doom Patrol, and Swamp Thing.
I have a lot of faith in this show, but I’m starting to think that they could fall victim to the generic superhero pitfall of telling not showing. They talk about the Gambler (I DO DECLARE!) and his vast intellect. So far, we’ve only seen one computer hacking scene and an inability to find Courtney (who only wears half a mask) with facial recognition software. Will they be showing his Foghorn GamLeghorn has these amazing powers of intelligence?
Facial recognition technology actually seems to be pretty bad, between her mask and all her hair framing her face I can see not being able to identify her that way. Also would she even be in any databases? And her a few years younger probably wouldn’t be recognizable anyway
Fair point. If they want to steal from Serenity, I feel Dragon King could give Gambler a “if you want to find something look with your eyes,” speech.
In a town as supposedly small as Blue Valley it really shouldn’t be that hard to identify a 5’2″, slender, blonde, female teen with long curly hair and ridiculous amounts of pent-up energy who just moved to town days/weeks prior to Stargirl showing up. Especially when ISA members and affiliates are regularly at the high school she attends.
I was hoping they’d show the Gambler calculating probabilities and exploiting them beyond hacking…Rube Goldberg the hell out of a single gunshot. Still time enough for that though.
Gambi on Black Lightning is very much a mentor figure. As has Thawne at various points on the Flash. Would Yao Fei or Slade count on Arrow?
Yao Fei and Slade were certainly mentors to Ollie at different times (as was Talia al Ghul) but were not as integral to Arrow as Pat hopefully is to Stargirl Thawne on Flash s1 seems like the other best mentor, but of course that turned out to be a very unique situation
Beth’s Mom and Dad don’t have time for her but they expect her to fix their lunches, everyday?No wonder she’d rather sing karaoke with a digitized program of a old blind white dude than deal with real life shit. Props for her for not fixing their damn lunch, as well. SIDEBAR: Where’s Hooty, I guess he will show up to save Beth from something and will she and Rick become an item, like they did in the comics?
In their defense, they have both been shown several times telling her she doesn’t need to make their meals. I can understand wondering at such a sudden change in behavior. At leas they didn’t accuse her of doing drugs.
Then they should have been happy that she didn’t for once instead of looking for her to wonder what happened to their lunches.
They’re going to starve to death as they no longer know how to feed themselves!
They’re just really surprised. This is probablyt first time in living memory that Beth hasn’t followed her usual routine.
Beth is known for her routines, and seeing her break them is a cause for alarm for them. It’s not that they can’t fix lunches themselves, it’s that they are worried if something is troubling her.
How do we not know that this wasn’t the first time that she had done that? All we know, from what little we saw, is that Beth was singing in the bathroom and didn’t fix them their lunch, one time. Had the writers thrown in a quick scene of the parents talking about her behavior, that would have made all the difference. Now that I think about it, we haven’t seen much of the elders in Wildcat and Hourman’s lives since their solo stories. It’s like the kids are now raising themselves like they were on Glee or something.
Because her spotlight episode made it very clear that she’s a creature of habit. If she missed a lunch before, it would have been a story point.
Ok.
She’s hopped up on goofball goggles!
I realllllly wanna know what the backstory with Mike is. I think he knows more about the JSA than he’s letting on.
I doubt Mike knows much if anything about the JSA but he’s definitely the most interesting he’s been so far.
He feels like he’s doing a bad Walter Matheau impression. I am almost ready for his big reveal is that he is a de-aged JSA-er and being Pat’s kid is just a cover
Something like that would not surprise me at all…I definitely don’t think he’s just his son.
Is he Starman?
I suppose that would make the most sense. He’s hard on Pat the same way Sly was. But he is also like a Dick Tracy-era wise guy. I don’t know much about early JSA, but isn’t that how Johnny Thunder sort of was. It is within his powerset, if he wishes the Thunderbolt to do it.
There’s a lot of hints at things. I noticed that they very pointedly set up a sight gag where Mike is at the kitchen island and things start sliding to him, then they show the reverse shot where it’s Pat pushing things.
I really enjoy that after Courtney got to see Pat’s side of the story through her frustrations with the others, now the other’s are also seeing his side on Courtney. I hope the rest of the team will bond with him over what a grandstanding pain she can be.Speaking of that scene, maybe I misread it, but it almost looked to me as if the staff started trashing the ISA display on its own and she followed. I’m still convinced it’s a bad influence on her, egging her on and encouraging her rashness. I may be wrong that it’s the real villain of the piece, compared to Cindy and her dad, but I still don’t trust it.
Pat was not exaggerating in the first episode when he said the Cosmic Staff was “temperamental”
The staff does seem to be causing a lot of trouble doesn’t it?
On rewatch, the staff didn’t physically start trashing things on its own, but it “talked” to Courtney and, I think, set her off. I do not trust that staff.
Given her “natural tendencies”, Cindy might wanna consider being a licensed D.D.S.:
That’s right, Courtney. Continue to prove Pat wrong again and again. Make him look stupid before the rest of your team.And remind us that this show’s all about you. 😉
Most horrifying declaration? “Don’t take it out on your stepmother. I don’t have time to prepare another one again.”
When Cindy mutters the line “I wish I could” in reference to going with someone else to the Homecoming dance I thought initially it was because she legit liked Henry. Then after speaking to her dad, I realized that it was because she was ordered to remain with Henry. Now after rewatching her scenes with Courtney, I’m wondering if her complaint is that she would rather go to the dance with someone like Courtney.
Back to back muttering of I wish I could and her secretiveness in bonding with Courtney seemed gay-coded at first to me too, but when it is revealed she knows more about the ISA than any of the other kids and that she has no real relationships because she is a mole or her dad, it actually seemed like sincere loneliness. She could have figured the new girl with seemingly no roots to the area wouldn’t need to be reported on back to her father.
Stargirl is quickly becoming my favorite DC CW show, and it wasn’t even made for the CW. Part of that is due to the villains. They’re all getting very good development, moreso than any of the Arrowverse shows, and that includes Legends. Furthermore, because the new JSA are a bunch of untrained kids, there’s a justified reason as to why the bad guys aren’t defeated by Episode 3.
Stargirl is quickly becoming my favorite DC CW show, and it wasn’t even made for the CWAs much as I love the Arrowverse, that’s probably why. Swamp Thing and Doom Patrol were also great.
The villains on this show have been great, and now Cindy/ Shiv is my favorite one. Possibly my favorite thing in this episode: Cindy listens to her father the dragon king about as much as Courtney listens to Pat: not at all. Cindy fondling the Shiv costume as he repeatedly ordered her not to was very Courtney. That as much as both missing a parent suggests they are on weirdly parallel character paths
Agree 100%. This show having a developed team of villains that are also being well set up clearly makes this a stand out over how most CW shows are now. Arrow’s first and second season and Flash season one are the only things that are comparable.
“Sportsmaster” is still the lamest name ever.They’re doing the BBC thing with Mike, starting as unlikeable, then making him likeable.Courtney is still superhot, and I say that from a respectful old guy distance. Good luck to some poor dumb schmuck!I’m liking Luke Wilson more and more every week.
Brec is actually 21, which makes it slightly less creepy which is what I tell myself. That could explain why she’s such a hothead-like Shazam where the older actor played more immature than the teenager.
My usual random thoughts. 1. Beth singing into her toothbrush was cute but apparently her being “busy” is new to her parents. 2. Pat’s “You probably have a better idea” to Barbara and her “I really wish you would have talked to me about this” illustrates their dynamic since she thinks nothing of undermining him with Mike. 3. Henry is starting to see how shallow and self involved Cindy is. 4. “Say it louder” to Beth. Rick is finally saying what someone in a CW superhero show should have said years ago. 5. “Why are you such a bitch?” Wow. Someone stood up to Cindy. And now so did Henry. 6. And Henry’s powers are continuing to emerge. BTW, 45 minutes is 2700 seconds if anyone cares. 7. That’s probably the first time anyone has said the word “Nice” to Cindy in a long time. Her current step mom is apparently afraid of her. A nanny cam would probably be a good idea given how she treats “Mom.” 8. When does Pat find time to fix cars? First he built S.T.R.I.P.E. then he practically built the Danger Room from the X Men. 9. “We agreed to keep our sons and daughters in the dark.” Which brings us back to Cindy. Yes, she knows. It sounds like she killed her mom. And her dad calls her an “experiment.”10. Cameron’s dad is probably not kidding about killing a romantic rival.11. Wow. Mike became human and someone you might care about.12. I called it. Cameron likes Courtney. And now she has a date and Cindy doesn’t and she’s blowing her off. This won’t end well.13. Gee, Courtney, what happened to waiting until you’re ready and teamwork and stuff?14. Janitor kicks ass. And he recognizes Pat.
Most adorable moment of the episode: Courtney running down the basement stairs to say good morning to the staff.
That was definitely cute.
This episode was incredibly good. Meg DeLacy did a fantastic job and like Caroline said, the episode did a great job of making Cindy feel sympathetic yet evil. I don’t know how to feel about Cameron asking Courtney out because they never really interacted that much onscreen. It’ll be interesting to see how they build on that.That last fight scene was so brutal…SO BRUTAL! Hopefully, this will be Courtney’s wake-up call and she’ll finally realize she can’t do it alone.
Yeah, so, I’m doubling down on the whole “Henry had nothing to do with Yolanda’s photos getting leaked” thing. Now it was clearly something Cindy did (at the behest of her father, no doubt) so that they could end up using Henry’s developing powers (in case he had them).
Most terrifying thing about this episode was Cindy’s step-mother. At first I thought “Robot?” but that’s not Dr. Ito’s style. So she’s either a creation of his, or someone poor woman who was ‘conditioned’ like his other minions.
And episode 11 is called “Shining Knight” for anyone paying attention. 😉
I wondered what was up with Cindy’s step mom too. If any home needed a nanny cam it’s this one. It would show dad the other side. Then again, he doesn’t really seem to have much power over Cindy, does he? “I’m warning you. I’m not going to tell you again. I mean it this time.”
I think the step mom is a prisoner/brainwahsed. I also kind of think by context that Dr. Ito only puts up with Cindy acting like that because she is his daughter and lets her have some free will.
“How dare you do the complete opposite of what I told you to do. I’m so mad right now. You… umm… you’re grounded. I guess? I dunno. I’m going back to my secret underground lair. Here’s my credit card.”
😀
Yeah, that’s kinda how it came across. It’s like Dad is this mega bad guy to the world but at home he’s a doormat. I mentioned last time that Artemis’ parents aren’t doing her any favors by not teaching her at least some discipline.
I read that as less that Dr. Ito is a doormat when it comes to his daughter and more that he doesn’t give a shit as long as his experiment isn’t messed up.
How hard would it be for Cindy to hack Henry’s phone? Or just grab it for a minute and send pictures to herself?
I agree this was probably the best episode of the season as it was consistently good from beginning to end. This show has really impressed me. It really develops their villains, without excusing that they are evil. This is how it should be done and I am baffled at why the CW shows have such trouble doing this. We see why Cindy is the way she is..but also that she is pure evil. It is also interesting her trigger seems to be getting rejected by anyone in the slightest flings her to homicidal rage.This episode also finally drives home what this season has really been hinting at and what Pat has told them from the start. They really have no business fighting real supervillains at this point. In fact, watching Courtney get demolished like this, one can argue that Pat has been negligent as hell even allowing these kids to entertain they could be superheroes. I know this show will not keep to this path, but it is nice to see that season one of this show is really running with the fact they are so inexperienced and young rather than just make them instant great heroes.Favorite line..Icicle talking about how he wooed Cameron’s mother by saying he killed his romantic rival, and Cameron thinking it was a joke..ha)
So is Pat going to have to change Courtney out of her Stargirl costume to take her to the hospital? Hopefully she regains consciousness and can do that herself. (Can the Cosmic Staff help with that?)
I was hoping Justin would give us a Checkov’s Grail moment there, to be honest.
Solid episode. I hope part 2 delivers as well