Stargirl Review: Summer School: Chapter One (Season 2 Episode 1)

A little summer school can’t stop Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) from fulfilling her destiny to be a hero. At least, that’s the challenge she faces on Stargirl Season 2 Episode 1, “Summer School: Chapter One.”

Failed classes are an unusual villain compared to the diabolical ISA, but kicking off this way allows Stargirl to cleverly explore the reality of living life as a teen superhero.

Being heroes doesn’t insulate Courtney a.k.a Stargirl and the JSA from life’s problems, even if they did save Blue Valley from destruction. Courtney struggles to come down to earth, searching for a new villain around every corner and coming up short.

Her stubbornness has paid off before, but now we get to see the personal toll it takes on her. You get a kick out of Courtney acting like she’s Bruce Wayne pouring over old JSA files looking for clues. But you also sympathize with her parents, who just want her to enjoy being a kid.

This conflict creates a nice balance of keeping Stargirl humorous and light while grounding it in some realism.

Courtney’s not the only one struggling. Rick (Cameron Gellman), Beth (Anjelika Washington), and Yolanda (Yvette Monreal) all deal with balancing their work in the JSA with their real lives.

Rick resents his poor treatment after secretly saving Blue Valley and worries about the apparent return of Solomon Grundy. Beth’s home life with her parent’s pending divorce is heartbreaking, but the loss of her emotional support AI Chuck just drags her down further.

Yolanda’s story is particularly compelling as she suffers from PTSD after Brainwave’s death. Courtney tries to support her the best she can but can’t relate to Yolanda’s burden. Monreal does an excellent job portraying how lost and scared Yolanda feels as the guilt consumes her.

“Summer School: Chapter One” devotes the bulk of its time to Courtney, but hopefully Stargirl continues to give time to other JSA members. There’s a lot left to explore with these characters.

Approaching the story this way before fully introducing the new big bad is smart. It allows the show to remain light and fun while still setting up the characters to mature more as they face even darker times to come.

Making it a family affair now that Courtney’s secret is out replaces the family tension with new obstacles. Mike (Trae Romano) pushes Pat (Luke Wilson) to include him in the “family business,” and Barbara (Amy Smart) worries over Courtney’s work-life balance.

Despite these new issues, the show still packs in plenty of heartwarming family moments like when Pat and Barbara excitedly reveal the family vacation they planned. Pat proves he’s the ultimate dad by nerding out over all the things he’ll grill for the family at the lake house. Could they be any cuter?

Ensuring these warm moments don’t take a backseat to the action is what makes this show stand out from its peers on The CW. If the rest of the season is anything like the premiere, Stargirl will continue to charm audiences.

The biggest surprise of this installment, spoiled slightly by the trailers, is the arrival of Green Lantern’s daughter Jennie (Ysa Penarejo).

Jennie immediately establishes herself as one to watch by engaging in an epic fight with Courtney when she tries to take back her dad’s lantern.

Watching the yellow glow of Courtney’s staff combined with the green lights of the lantern and ring swirl around in the dark during their combat creates an exhilarating, visually impressive action sequence.

Courtney craves adventure, but a new hero isn’t what she had in mind. Only time will tell if Jennie fits in with the new JSA or causes more trouble for Courtney and her pals. Either way, she’s an exciting new addition to the mix.

The weakest part of the premiere is the time spent on Sylvester Pemberton a.k.a. Starman (Joel McHale), who is looking for his old sidekick. It seems like Stargirl wants to tease out this subplot as long as possible, but it feels unnecessary right now on top of everything else.

The show does take some darker turns on this episode, leaning into the horror elements introduced by having a villain like Eclipso (Nick Taraby). The opening scene with the creepy ghost child tricking an unsuspecting little girl into giving him her soul is terrifying.

It sets the tone for how dark Stargirl is willing to go. It will be fascinating to see what connection Rebecca McNider has to the former Dr. Mid-Nite Charles McNider.

Stargirl’s first season has plenty of serious moments. However, it seems like Season 2 is planning to challenge Courtney’s ability to overcome the darkness with her bright optimism more than ever.

In the final moments of the episode, Meg DeLacy steals the show as Cindy with an electrifying scene of her strutting through the empty high school to Charli XCX’s banger “Break the Rules.” Blue Valley’s most dangerous mean girl is back with a vengeance and a new ally in Eclipso.

Should we root for the bad girl? Probably not, but she’s so much fun to watch. It’s the perfect note to end the episode on, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Additional Thoughts:

• The joke about alternative timelines can’t be a throwaway, can it?
• I still ship Courtney and Cameron so I hope his creepy grandparents don’t get in the way.
• I don’t know where this subplot with Zeke is going but if it includes giving S.T.R.I.P.E. flamethrowers then count me in.
• As someone who loves the evil parent trope, I’ll kind of miss the original ISA. At least their kids will finally get decent screentime.
• How do you fail that many classes without the school calling in your parents earlier?
• Mike having a paper route is one of the most unrealistic things about the show. We know The CW loves to pretend it’s totally normal for small towns to still have a newspaper (cough, cough Superman & Lois).

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Stargirl airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

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