Stargirl Review: Summer School: Chapter Three (Season 2 Episode 3)
Pat should’ve known Mike wouldn’t give up that easily on joining the JSA. Now, Mike’s wish has come true on Stargirl Season 2 Episode 3, “Summer School: Chapter Three.”
Stargirl benefits from a deep bench, so it’s smart to not make Courtney the focus of every story. After spending a lot of Season 1 sidelined by his dad, it only makes sense that Mike’s feelings of loneliness reach a boiling point now, leading to his own breakthrough.
Fortunately, this is not your typical teen angst story. Stargirl uses Mike’s emotional journey as a chance to introduce the zany JSA hero Thunderbolt (voiced by Jim Gaffigan).
We finally learn what the JSA’s mysterious Pink Pen is when Mike accidentally grabs it out of a jar full of more benign pens.
The pen contains Thunderbolt, a genie-like superpowered being who identifies Mike as his new partner since he only chooses really lonely people (ouch).
As we see in a flashback to the night the original JSA is killed, Thunderbolt’s powers aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. His wish-granting comes with a lot of strings attached and like any good wish-fulfillment story has the caveat of requiring the recipient to be careful what they wish for.
Thunderbolt wreaks havoc with his wry sense of humor when fulfilling wishes. After teasing so much darkness with the new villains, Thunderbolt is much-needed comic relief for the show.
Watching Mike’s bullies get trapped by stop signs falling from the sky is straight-up absurd and amusing. This new power leads to plenty of entertaining hijinks as Mike tries to convince his dad to let him join the JSA and help take on The Shade.
Pat: He’s not exactly a living monkey’s paw, but he’s close.
The team working at a whiteboard, trying to craft the perfect wish to find The Shade that won’t backfire, is funny and a great example of how well the team works together now.
This is still a story about teenagers though so of course, Mike disobeys Pat’s order to stay home when the JSA goes to confront The Shade. Like his step-sister, Mike has to make mistakes so he can learn from them.
The Shade, who is politely menacing when the team finds him, attacks when Mike bursts in and tries to play the hero.
The shock of his attack brings Mike back down to earth and gives him a better understanding of what Pat tried to tell him about the dangers of superhero life.
Trae Romano usually plays the comedic relief role as Mike. Here he gets to show off his dramatic chops a little more as Mike grapples with feeling like an outsider and then faces the consequences of what happens after he tries to be a superhero.
Courtney and Pat had their struggles, and now it’s time for Mike and Pat to work on their relationship that’s been upended by the “family business.”
Luke Wilson is still one of the best TV dads on the air right now, and seeing Pat come to terms with what’s happening to Mike is very moving.
Mike’s journey to becoming a hero doesn’t seem over but his time with Thunderbolt ends when he accidentally wishes him away after the attack. Much like with Jennie, I have a feeling we’ll eventually see more of Jakeem (Alkoya Brunson), Thunderbolt’s new partner.
Stargirl continues to lay the groundwork for the JSA to eventually expand its membership, an exciting prospect for viewers.
Stargirl gets progressively scarier with each episode in this season, and the fact that The Shade is looking for Eclipso promises even more horror to come.
Each villain on their own is powerful enough to threaten Blue Valley, but the idea of them somehow working together is terrifying.
What would that partnership look like? Does The Shade think he can control Eclipso better than Cindy can, or would he just become another victim? I shudder to think.
The focus on Mike on “Summer School: Chapter Three,” does come at the expense of other JSA members. Beth and Rick share a nice scene where he gives her advice about her parents and they bond but they don’t get much more development than that.
Given Rick’s quest to find Grundy and Beth’s desire to avenge Dr. Mid-Nite, I can only assume there’s more to come for both of these characters.
We still don’t know what’s going on with Yolanda’s weird headaches and whether it’s just the PTSD or something even more sinister.
Your heart breaks for her when she realizes Mike only accidentally killed Icicle, meaning there is still no one else who understands her guilt over killing Brainwave. I hope she eventually finds someone to help her process her guilt and grief.
Hopefully, the rest of the JSA gets their own dedicated episodes as Mike did. To set up all these potential stories and then keep the characters sidelined would be a waste.
Stargirl does a great job setting up some big arcs with new villains and new heroes. Now it’s time to see them through.
Additional Thoughts:
- This show will always have an excuse to revisit Christmas time thanks to the old JSA massacre… so cheery!
- The JSA flashback is great but I would love to see even more scenes with them.
- Those teens bullied a Girl Scout selling cookies? Straight to jail!
- Mike doesn’t know what a Monkey’s Paw is, maybe he should also attend summer school.
- I love that Barbara feels like she’s a part of the team.
- Cindy is MIA so we don’t get any ISA recruiting updates.
- You can tell Stargirl is not skimping with the special effects budget, and I appreciate it.
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Stargirl airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
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Breeze Riley
Breeze Riley is a pop culture enthusiast who decided to turn her love of watching too much TV into a hobby writing about it. Although she's a convention-going sci-fi and fantasy nerd, she's just as likely to be watching an off-beat comedy or period drama. She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic.