Stargirl Season 3 Episode 9 Review: Frenemies – Chapter Nine: The Monsters
Picking up from their journey to the Helix Institute, Courtney and Pat have some things to contend with when they get back. Stargirl Season 3 Episode 9, “Frenemies – Chapter Nine: The Monsters,” follows both of them as they set things right.
Pat’s recovery from the Shadowlands is heartbreaking to watch but Luke Wilson gives a great performance as Pat opens up to Barbara about what he saw and shares the story about Mike’s mom. Although the adults usually have to be the responsible ones on the show, Stargirl does a great job humanizing them and making them multidimensional characters alongside the teens.
It’s also a lesson that no matter what your age it’s important to open up to other people. No one would expect Crusher to be there for emotional support, including Pat, but people can surprise you if you give them the chance.
Pat and Mike don’t get a heart-to-heart on this episode but committing to giving Mike some closure around his mom is a good next step.
Stargirl even gives Mike a pretty good storyline on this episode proving that it does care about him! His adventure with Jakeem to find Cindy makes good use of their dorky duo even if part of their motivation is because of Jakeem’s crush.
I’ll admit I also kind of forgot about Cindy so I’m glad Jakeem reminded us that she’s missing and probably in danger because of her worsening condition. If Mike can’t be a part of JSA proper, giving him these side quests is a great way to still incorporate him into the show.
The biggest set piece of the episode arrives when a misdirect about where the voyeur’s signal is coming from leads Rick to burst into the Mahkent house just as Courtney is about to reveal the truth about Jordan’s death.
Teens fighting a pair of grandparents doesn’t sound like the makings of a great action scene on paper, but when you add in the fact those grandparents have ice powers it starts to make sense.
The choreography of this fight sequence is beyond fun, especially when Beth unlocks new abilities using her suit and she goes from bumbling tech nerd to action hero. A surprise appearance from Artemis also spices things up.
You have to give credit to Kay Galvin who plays Cameron’s grandmother Lily for her simmering performance this season. Her inability to see why Jordan’s actions were so wrong and determination to avenge him make her hard to like, but her grief as a mother opens up just enough sympathy that you’re conflicted about her.
I love that the show decided to have Grandpa Sofus (Jim France) go the other way and realize that they’re sending Cameron down the same doomed path as his father and intervene. It’s still not clear whether Cameron and Courtney stand a chance at this point, but it’s nice to see the show tackling something so morally complex without wrapping it up too easily or cleanly.
I can’t decide whether to be frustrated or impressed that this string of episodes has been so good I don’t even mind that we still don’t know who the voyeur is.
This episode of Stargirl hits all of the things that make the series so great. There are heartwarming character interactions, substantive character development, and impressive fight sequences.
As a series, Stargirl manages to balance its comic-book superhero shenanigans with grounded emotion and a healthy dose of charm. Now that it’s refocused on that bigger picture and not just a murder mystery it’s hitting its stride again, which makes its imminent end all the more heartbreaking.
If the rest of the season knocks it out of the park like this episode, it will be a rewarding goodbye for fans.
What did you think of this episode of Stargirl? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Stargirl airs Wednesdays 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.
One thought on “Stargirl Season 3 Episode 9 Review: Frenemies – Chapter Nine: The Monsters”
I didn’t like episodes 7 and 8, but now that we know Stargirl wont be on The CW next year it makes sense. Geoff Johns said he was wary of cancellation and planned this season to give fans a conclusion. I guess he felt it was necessary to wrap up the Jenny, Todd and Shade stuff, and so, took us on a detour.
As for S3:E9, I believe it really got the show back on track. Almost all the main Stargirl characters (except Cindy) had good moments, whether in drama or in the big fight scene. In fact many had both. A tighter focus on the Blue Valley cast of heroes and villains was what I’ve been wanting all season and this episode really delivered.
I didn’t like Beth’s father getting information from Dr. Mid-Nite that Beth herself didn’t know. It was a crazy bad way of letting Beth finally get in on the action. The original Mid-Nite seemed to really like Beth, and I can’t believe he wouldn’t have let her know everything important about the glasses and costume.
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