Stargirl - Summer School: Chapter Two - Review

While last week's episode's concentration was on setting the new status quo for Courtney and the gang (while giving us a few plot teases here and there), this week's episode focused on introducing a brand new hero. It also made time to lay some groundwork for the season's villains and how they're going to fit into the overarching narrative, which is a plus. I know it's early in the season, but based on these early episodes I already feel it has the potential to be better than the first (which was already awesome on its own). 

The introduction of Jenny (a.k.a. Jade) was well-done, and it makes me hopeful that we'll finally get to see the Green Lantern lore done properly in live-action. So far, we know that she spent a good portion of her life in an orphanage and is now in search of her brother Todd (a.k.a. Obsidian) after being sent the Green Lantern ring (either by Todd, her father, mother, or someone else unknown). So far, I think her character is great and her goal/mission has the potential to be a solid plotline that I hope will connect to the overarching narrative in some way, shape, or form. I'm also glad she wasn't turned into some sort of villain, which seems to be a common trope these days. The only complaint I have about her debut is that she became full-on Green Lantern too early, which just makes me worried that her training might be over already. It's not the end of the world, but it always nags me a bit when a superheroes' training is rushed. 

(Side Note: It's inevitable we'll see him at some point but it would be really awesome to see Todd/Obsidian show up by season's end!)

While the JSA and most of the Dugan/Whitemore household welcomed Jenny with open arms, not everybody was happy about her arrival. To quote Pat, Courtney continued "searching for villains everywhere", and was extremely skeptical of Jenny. Honestly, I found it hard to disagree with her, at least initially. If somebody broke into your house in the middle night and stole something of importance, would you not be at least somewhat suspicious of them and their intentions? Of course, we find out later that jealousy was more of the reason that Courtney continued to dislike Jenny, but it's still something her teammates should've at least considered. Fortunately, though, everybody is on good terms by the end, thanks in large part to Pat's wisdom yet again. 

On the villainous side, both the Shade and Shiv/Eclipso were given a bit more development here. Richard Swift/The Shade properly introduces himself to the town of Blue Valley and meets both Barbara and Pat. At the moment his plan isn't entirely clear, but he mentions wanting to buy William Zarick's (a.k.a. The Wizard) collection of "magical" items. Who knows what he wants to use them for, but it'll certainly not be good. As far as Shiv is concerned, she attempted to enslave her mother again but is thwarted, surprisingly, by Eclipso. Temporarily taking over Shiv, he absolutely destroys her mom, claiming she was going to kill Shiv (something that Eclipso actually edged the mother to do himself earlier). While he claims he'll let Shiv have control over him and her own self from here on, the way he said it left me (and I'm sure many others) believing otherwise. He definitely has bigger plans on the horizon.

The big question that the episode left us to ponder was, where did Jenny go? Presumably, after absorbing the full power of the Green Lantern, she is now off to find her brother on her own again. Something tells me that it's not gonna go well, however, and she'll be back soon enough to request the JSA's help.

(Side Note: Rick is definitely wanting to befriend Solomon Grundy. Who knows why, but it's definitely a surprising turn for his story to take.)

Though there wasn't much high-octane action or massive twists, overall this was a solid episode. What did you think of the episode?