‘Stargirl’ S01 E10 “Brainwave Jr.” Spoiler Review

With only four episodes remaining Stargirl(including this episode) wastes no time with so many emotional and plot driven scenes. Henry is faced with a decision on joining his father to the dark side or become a hero. Barbara questions her relationship with Pat, but ends up helping the JSA in a big surprisingly unexpected way. There is so much to unpack this episode so let’s get right to it. 

Henry’s Big Decision:

I loved Jake Austin Walker’s performance throughout this episode as his story has been one of the greatest throughout the season. Something I love about the character of Henry is that he isn’t a hero or a villain necessarily as he just “joined the JSA” to save his father. His interaction with his father after he awoken from his coma was such a great contrast to what we saw in the first episode. Having Brainwave initially losing 10 years worth of memories just goes to show how his father was just like him. Throughout the episode I was really unclear if Henry would be able to turn Brainwave back to the side of good. This unpredictability for the show really is a great part of it as I was shocked at the outcome of their storyline.

We are all in agreement right that we were not expecting Henry to (supposedly) die this episode right? I freaking loved both Christopher Baker and Jake Austin Walker’s performance as I thought this scene was a very nice conclusion to their arc this season. The two have such a great on-screen chemistry it’s a shame in the end Brainwave chose to kill Henry. While I am sad to see Henry go I do think his story in a sense is over. It would have been so cool to see him in that classic costume from the comics, but for now I guess that will have to wait. Henry may be gone but don’t forget this is a comic book show so anything could happen for him to come back!

Pat and Barbara Try To Work Things Out:

I’m very happy Barbara didn’t just willingly accept the fact both Courtney and Pat have lied to her for the duration of the show and years before it. As any normal person would do Barbara would begin to question everything she knows about Pat and even her former husband Sam Kurtis. I feel like Amy Smart played it so well seemingly both rational and irrational in response to learning the big secret. Again just like with Henry’s story the story really had a well done payoff after being set-up for so long. I am very surprised though at how calm both Barbara and Pat managed to be when Icicle entered her office. She was very resourceful knowing to record the parents’ conversation which ended up being very helpful for Pat and the rest of the JSA. I hope Barbara continues to have more of an active role being a “superhero” helping out the JSA as she has shown she has a lot more going on for her then just being Courtney’s mom. 

The JSA Raid Dragon King’s Lair:

Oh my god I loved all the scenes going on in this raid of the lair to get the staff back and free Brainwave. Seeing Courtney, Yolanda, and Henry teaming up to stop all of Dragon King’s minions was so incredible to watch. The use of how they combined their different skills to help each other out made me so giddy as I was wanting more of that in the show. This show has had so many amazing action sequences this was no different than those others. I loved the Hournite scenes with Beth trying to get Rick to calm down and killing Grundy. I couldn’t tell the whole time if Beth was going to be able to convince him to leave. I would have been rightfully conflicted too if I was Rick if I should stay and take on Grundy or escape knowing I was so close to my parent’s killers. 

Final Thoughts: 

I can’t believe this season is almost over cause this show has been such a joy to watch week by week. This episode had everything from amazing character beats and incredible action. While I am very sad to see Henry gone from the show(for now?) I am looking forward to how everything turns out from here. Next week’s episode looks especially exciting as we get to meet Courtney’s (real?) father as well as see more of Shining Knight!

Score:10/10