Stumble Season 1 Episode 9 Review: Lights Out

StumbleSeason 1 Episode 9, “Lights Out,” has Courteney’s win from the previous episode completely and utterly backfires.

Last time on Stumble, Courteney convinces an AI company to put their data center in Heådltston in the hopes it would help the town’s economy. Unfortunately, to the surprise of no one except Courteney, the data center causes a massive blackout.

Now, with everything shut down, Courteney has to do something completely out of her comfort zone and accept that there’s nothing she can do to fix it.

Courteney and Boon’s relationship is truly at its best in this episode. With the school closed and the team scattered, Courteney is scrambling to make sure everyone is practicing, and Boon is supportive even when it’s not convenient for him.

Even when Courteney’s behavior became annoying or destructive, Boon is still sympathetic.

Additionally, it’s also refreshing that Boon doesn’t act like Courteney being type A is wrong and needs to be fixed, he just worries about her. When Boon does manage to get her to “relax,” it quickly becomes clear that she’s not at peace; she’s depressed.

Courteney’s flaw here isn’t that she’s ambitious; it’s that she struggles to accept when there’s nothing she can do. It’s a compelling trait and very relatable.

At the same time as Courteney’s extremely relatable character struggles, “Lights Out” continues to embrace the series’ fast-paced, campy sense of humor. Jeff Hiller returns as Augustus ẞlimpfh, and his role in this episode is borderline surreal.

From the start, the episode hints at “the missing six” and Courteney’s interest in true crime. The resolution of the episode involves Courteney accusing Augustus of murder and blackmailing him into driving out the AI company.

Furthermore, Augustus heavily implies that not only did kill those people, but he turned the bodies into candy buttons.

You almost forget the show is about cheerleading, but the episode foreshadows it well enough. It’s not completely out of left field.

Speaking of cheerleading, one of Boon’s other highlights is getting the team together so they could show Courteney they have been practicing. It’s a sweet moment for the couple, and it helps Courteney out of her depression.

The routine itself is a lot of fun. It’s a clever writing choice to use the power outage as an opportunity to showcase the glowstick costumes.

It also marks Krystal’s return to the team after her injury. This is a huge development for the team, and it’ll be nice to see her actually perform with them.

“Lights Out” is without a doubt one of the more absurd episodes of an already absurd show, but it manages to connect all of its plot threads together by the end.

While this episode starts by undermining Courteney’s win from the last episode, it ends on a high note with a great performance, new mats, and Krystal’s return.

The team seems to be in great shape for Daytona, but their track record can change at any moment.

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Stumble airs Fridays at 8:30/7:30c on NBC.

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