Beware of spoilers for the episode in the article. Please do not continue reading if you haven’t watched the episode yet and you are not okay with being spoiled.
This week things finally started picking up as the plot moved forward in interesting and unexpected ways. The third season's underlying theme of morality ( right and wrong ) was also a big part of this episode.
Courtney :
Courtney, keeping her secret about training Cameron to use his powers came back to bite her in a big way this episode as the JSA team lost their trust in her. Considering she is also still lying to Cameron about being Stargirl Cindy telling her Cameron will come after you when he learns the truth felt like foreshadowing, Cameron is very angry as a person and the fallout from that could be catastrophic.
I understand why Courtney didn't tell the team about it because of their reaction and I also understand why they are mad at her too. I'm surprised Sylvester took Courtney’s secret that well considering he has been raging out a lot recently. Sylvester was actually likable in his scene with Courtney especially considering he should be way more mad because Icicle killed him. He actually acted like the great mentor Starman should be in that scene.
Yolanda and Rick :
For our two young JSA members their stories themselves also present new moral questions between what is right and wrong. In his first scene in the episode Rick breaks into the Crock's gym at night to train and Yolanda breaks into Cindy's house and steals the Gamblers laptop. Whilst both of them have good intentions the Priest in Yolanda’s confession was right about the slippery slope of people taking the saying that “the ends justify the means” so literally , two wrongs don’t make a right. It even goes back to Beth taking the goggles in season one without Courtney giving them to her. One thing I love about the show is that the JSA aren't perfect paragons of morality either, both young and old members because people aren't perfect and they are complex beings.
Rick tends to let his anger get the best of him and he is a bit judgemental at times as a person like Yolanda can be. In this episode Yolanda and Rick's anger let them see what they wanted to see regarding their suspicions about Cindy being the Gamblers killer so they both attacked first without asking any questions.
Yolanda may be very religious but she tends to get herself involved in morally questionable decisions but isn't quite that self aware yet to see it fully because she is young. The last time she made a decision based on her anger she killed Brainwave and ultimately spent season two regretting her decision because no matter how the team may want to spin it she still killed someone, an evil person yes but she still did it. Yolanda also enjoyed killing Brainwave in the moment when she did it so she has a dark side too.
Yolanda and Cindy need to have a conversation about the leaked pictures Cindy sent to the whole school in season one, that is really what Yolanda is really mad about and it feels like an elephant in the room both of them aren't willing to sit down and discuss yet. I also realized that subconsciously Yolanda may be projecting how judgmental her own family has been towards her towards Cindy in a very unhealthy way, which just creates a never-ending cycle. Most of the scenes with Yolanda and Cindy seem to echo how Yolanda’s own mother treats her.
Cindy :
Calling Cindy just like her father was a low blow on Yolanda's part , you could see the hurt on Cindy's face. Whilst I sympathize with Cindy ,Yolanda and Rick to be fair never witnessed what Courtney saw about Cindy’s past. I think Cindy should have been honest with the JSA or at least Courtney about that from the start too. Considering Yolanda and Rick already don't trust her or treat her well at all I also get why she didn't do it. Yolanda and Rick were really going hard on the theory Cindy killed the Gambler. Cindy feels alone and she has for the most part always had to look after herself so she reverted to that default setting of being a loner.
I originally thought Cindy got mad at Courtney for talking about telling the truth when she was also hiding stuff about Cameron , but I actually think in retrospect that it was both about her being mad but also Cindy just pushing everyone away again before they do it to her. Stealing the laptop was wrong of Cindy but she did it for a good reason to try and save herself ( and possibly prevent herself from turning into a monster who hurts people ) and on Yolanda's part her “wrong” actions in breaking into Cindy’s house and taking the laptop was because she wanted to protect the team and Courtney. So ultimately their actions are similar. There is no clear good or bad guy.
I think Cindy needs to take the “All Stars” option and just join Mike and Jakeems' team. That option would be way less stressful for her.
Ice Grandparents
Grandmother Mahkent is definitely the scariest person in the Mahkent clan, when she asked Grandfather if he had poisoned the food he had given to Pat and Barbara , my first thought was Courtney is right there in the house and you want to kill her parents. Grandfather is by far the nicest one so far ( but I wouldn’t be shocked if things reverse in the end). For now I hope nothing bad happens to Grandfather Mahkent because he seems to be the only thing keeping Grandmother from going full on Snow Queen on Blue Valley. She clearly wants revenge and she has the determination to get it.
The Big Fight ( Cindy vs Yolanda and Rick ) :
Can we call people barging into Cindy's bedroom, fighting her and throwing her out of her bedroom window a funny running gag at this point in the show. Cindy has to remodel her bedroom every few months. The fact Yolanda waited a whole day to go back with the laptop was kind of naive on her part , Cindy has been using that laptop a lot, she would notice it wasn't there after a day. Yolanda probably didn’t think that far ahead because she assumed Cindy had the laptop because she was trying to cover her tracks about killing Gambler.
Their fight reminded me so much of Courtney and Cindy's season one fight scene in the episode Shiv Part Two. The fight choreography on the show was great as usual. Yolanda was definitely wrong in that fight because she broke into Cindy's house , didn't let her explain and then proceeded to attack her first. Cindy also wasn't trying to fight her at first either and she was trying to avoid fighting Yolanda. Rick showing up and automatically taking Yolanda's side and making the fight worse didn't help either. If anything Yolanda and Rick probably pushed Cindy away even more from the JSA and with Mr Bones lurking in the shadows that may prove to be a bad idea for the JSA.
Additional Notes :
1. I hope Pat doesn't feel like he has been replaced by Sylvester , he has barely had any father daughter scenes with Courtney this season.
2. I'm glad the JSA now knows they are being watched though they have yet to discover the identity of the culprit behind the surveillance footage.
3. I completely understand Beth wanting to protect her parents but blocking them was a bit too much. If they end up in danger how will she know they need help.
4. Do you think the show would be bold enough to have Yolanda or Rick join the dark side for a while ? I can't see Yolanda doing it but Rick might turn if Mr Bones gets to him and messes with his mind ( he is clearly on a power high right now ).
Conclusion :
A great episode that finally moves the Gambler murder plot forward for the JSA. The team is weaker without Courtney and Cindy and it's only a matter of time until Mr Bones makes his move.
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