DC’s Stargirl 2×09 Review: “Summer School: Chapter Nine”

Eclipso sets his sights on the Whitmore-Dugan household, forcing an old secret of the JSA to come out in “Summer School: Chapter Nine.”

DC’s Stargirl continues its descent into darkness as Eclipso brings a literal and figurative storm to Courtney’s (Brec Bassinger) family in “Summer School: Chapter Nine.” Pat (Luke Wilson), Barbara (Amy Smart), and Mike (Trae Romano) are all targeted with Eclipso’s visions, and the family finds themselves at odds as the secret involving the Justice Society of America’s (JSA) previous run-in with Eclipso is revealed.

Unfortunately, Yolanda (Yvette Monreal), Rick (Cameron Gellman), and Beth (Anjelika Washington) do not appear in this episode. While their absences make sense narratively, the teamwork and the friendship of the four young JSA members are sorely missed. While Rick’s absence after his arrest in “Summer School: Chapter Eight” is understandable, it would have been great to get a glimpse of how both he and Yolanda are doing. Courtney and Beth have a brief phone conversation in the episode as they plan their attack on Eclipso, and it’s satisfying to see the two working together now that Beth has fully embraced her role at Dr. Mid-Nite.  

Much of the episode contains flashbacks to the original JSA as they attend the funeral for Charles McNider’s (Alex Collins) daughter. With the help of Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp) and The Shade (Jonathan Cake), they learn more about Eclipso. The flashbacks continue to show that everyone in the JSA was rude to Pat and looked down on him. While Jay Garrick is the only one that remains friendly to Pat, it raises questions regarding how decent the JSA members were if they looked down on their sidekicks. With actor Joel McHale (Starman) being upgraded to series regular for DC’s Stargirl season three, there will be much more revealed about Pat and the JSA going forward.

In the present, Mike is haunted by a vision of Cameron (Hunter Sansone) who attacks him and the family dog with his ice powers to get revenge for the death of his father. While Mike has been seemingly feeling less guilty over his role in killing Icicle (Neil Jackson) than Yolanda has in killing Brainwave, there clearly is more to the story. While Courtney is able to bring Mike out of the vision with the help of Cosmo the staff, it remains to be seen how Mike will deal with his own guilt with what happened. While this Cameron was a vision of Eclipso, it will be interesting to see how the real Cameron reacts to the truth about his father and his own burgeoning abilities.

As Barbara attempts to drive home during the storm, a vision of Icicle appears in her backseat and haunts her. While Barbara smartly recognizes the vision of Eclipso at first, The Shade’s appearance as a shadowy cloud in her front seat helps her snap fully out of the vision.

While much about The Shade is mysterious, his growing connection to Barbara is surprisingly intriguing. In addition, his willingness to help Starman and the JSA in the flashbacks also helps establish him as an interesting anti-hero.

Pat’s visions manifest as blood on his hands that he is unable to wash off. More flashbacks reveal that the JSA was able to stop Eclipso by making the decision to kill Eclipso’s host, an explorer named Bruce Gordon (Jason Davis). Starman, Wildcat (Brian Stapf), Hourman (Lou Ferrigno, Jr.), and Jay Garrick’s Flash decide to use Pat as a tiebreaking vote, and Pat is vehemently against killing an innocent man. Wildcat immediately tells Pat that his vote doesn’t matter, which is odd since they had already included him as the tie-breaking vote. In the end, the JSA votes 3-2 to kill Bruce but Starman admits that it was a mistake soon after. While it’s hard not to fault anyone for the way that they voted, the modern-day JSA is going to have to find a new way to destroy Eclipso due to his current lack of a host.

After Courtney pulls Pat out of his vision with Cosmo, Pat tells her the truth about how they stopped Eclipso. Courtney is furious with Pat for keeping it from her and becomes even angrier upon finding out that Barbara knows as well. Pat’s decision to keep such a crucial piece of information secretly predictably backfired, as keeping the secret not only put the entire JSA in even more danger from Eclipso but the revelation could have helped Yolanda deal with her own guilt over taking Brainwave’s life.

The latest episode ends with Courtney and the rest of the family arguing as Eclipso’s child form (Milo Stein) gleefully watches from the window. Things are getting bleaker as Eclipso gains power, but hopefully, the light will triumphantly return to the JSA and Blue Valley soon.

Author: Jessica Wolff

Jessica Wolff is a graduate of Drexel University with a BS in Film/Video. She has a passion for entertainment and representation in entertainment. She currently resides outside of Washington, DC.

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