‘Stargirl’ S01 E08 “Shiv Part Two” Spoiler Review

The series hits the ground running this week with very many emotional and intense and a great fight sequence. Courtney and Cindy’s rivalry deepens after their intense battle after last episode. Pat and the rest of the JSA investigate the Burman household. Henry begins to discover more about his powers. There is a lot to unpack from this episode in just being the shortest one of the series so far at 40 minutes. 

Courtney V Cindy Continues:

Meg DeLacy somehow manages to capture the perfect “bad girl” while also seemingly so genuinely kind in her scenes. I’m so glad this show didn’t waste anytime for Courtney and Cindy to finally confront each other. Even though from the promos I knew Cindy was going to come visit Courtney that scene was still very intense nonetheless. Watching that scene I was on the edge of my seat as we would all might expect Cindy to not have known Courtney was Stargirl? I was somehow genuinely shocked that Cindy figured out Courtney was Stargirl. Unlike other DC series(in particular other Arrowverse shows) these the reveal Cindy knew would probably not even happen for another like 5 more episodes at the very most. I commend the writers for not having viewers wait as it really amped up the tension of the show with having one of our main antagonists know the JSA’s real identities.

The JSA Investigate the Burmans: 

It was so great to actually see the new JSA working together even without the help of Courtney. Taking Courtney out of the equation I feel really helped show how expand that team dynamic as the team didn’t know what to do without their leader. They reacted the exact way I thought they would honestly with Rick wanting immediate revenge while Beth and Yolanda both agreed it would be best to investigate her first before taking any daring action. Of course though Pat had to intervene as he didn’t think they should have investigated them without him which leads to a hilarious moment with Pat pretending he was Beth’s step-father as to not alert Bobbie Burman. 

This whole story line I felt was actually the weakest of the 3 plots going on in the episode. Even though i did enjoy seeing them all work together I couldn’t help, but feel like their half-assed plan woulda been better off had they actually spent more time figuring out what to do. I couldn’t help but feel kinda frustrated that Beth kept going on throughout the house when she well knew that Cindy was just about to catch her inside. Despite that though I am glad the team is starting to actually come together more being able to work together and are looking forward to future missions with the team all together once again. 

Rise of Brainwave Jr:

This episode was a really big development episode for Henry that felt truly earned for his big moment at the end of the episode. Just like Meg DeLacy, Jake Austin Walker does an amazing job portraying someone who may seem like a jerk on the outside  but in reality they have a soft side to them and they aren’t truly a bad person. All of Henry’s small moments from the past episodes all came together when he finally discovered his father is Brainwave. I felt so bad for Henry when he realized his whole relationship with Cindy was based off her being forced to keep an eye out for his potential powers. After he lashed out at both Courtney and Cindy(even if by accident) I couldn’t help but feel like that was the final release of all the tension Henry has been building up. I am glad he now knows everything we the viewers know and am looking forward to a lot more him in the next two episodes. 

Final Thoughts: 

The central theme of this episode is about being there for the ones you love which this episode executed perfectly. I was so happy Mike ended up apologizing and explaining himself to Courtney for lashing out at her last episode. Although I would have liked to see more scenes of the two together to really feel that brotherly-sisterly bond more I think it was still pretty well executed at least after last episode’s moment with the two. While Jordan’s scene with him confronting that man from Firebrand Chemicals(nice Easter egg to the Superhero Firebrand) was very intense and cool(pun intended) it didn’t feel that necessary for the episode if I’m being honest. One last thing of note is I was really hoping Pat would tell Barbara about everything with the JSA and was kinda disappointed it didn’t happen this episode. I assume we won’t have to wait too long though so guess we have to just wait and see when this happens. Hopefully when it does they also tell Mike the truth as well. While not as great as it’s previous episodes I would say this is still an enjoyable episode that gets the ball rolling for the last 5 episodes. 

Score:9/10