TV Review: Stargirl Season 1 Episode 6

Stargirl Season 1 Episode 6 “The Justice Society”

Director: Christopher Manley

Starring: Brec Bassinger, Yvette Monreal, Anjelika Washington, Cameron Gellman, Trae Romano, Amy Smart, Luke Wilson, Neil Jackson, Neil Hopkins, Joy Osmanski

Rating: TV-PG

Runtime: 45 minutes

After two weeks of tedious team-building, Stargirl picks itself back up by returning its focus to its most compelling storylines.  We’re just a little less than halfway through the first season but “The Justice Society” is the first clear example of the show that Stargirl clearly wants to be.  The JSA kids (and to lesser extents their ISA counterparts) provide ample opportunities for both superhero storylines and different points of view on the show’s key themes but it’s the Whitmore/Dugan family that gives the show its heart and it’s a relief to see the show get back to focusing on them, while also delivering some truly excellent superhero action.

The episode also brings two more ISA members into sharper focus, with very entertaining results.  Larry “Crusher” Crock and his wife Paula Brooks are revealed to also be the villainous duo Sportsmaster and Tigress and, while they go on to share an epic battle with the fledgling JSA at the end of the episode early on we get to see how their unstable personalities affect their personal lives and the Blue Valley community.  Parenting has, unsurprisingly, emerged as one of Stargirl‘s core themes but “The Justice Society” is the first episode since “S.T.R.I.P.E.” to really explore it in a comprehensive, coherent manner and Crusher and Paula are a big part of how it does so.  The sports-obsessed couple (Paula is the high school gym teacher, while Crusher, as we’ve seen, owns the local gym) have passed their manic devotion to athletics on to their daughter, with Artemis seemingly being as obsessed and dangerously aggressive in her enthusiasm as her parents are.  Crusher and Paula are essentially heightened versions of the kind of obnoxious tiger parents anyone who has ever been involved with school sports knows and have been annoyed by.  But rather than frighten Artemis into behaving as they want her to (as one of the show’s other supervillain parents, Brainwave, did) they enable her, and when the current football coach follows up not giving Artemis the amount of playing time she hopes for with punishing her for punching a teammate he becomes the third coach in two years Artemis’ parents quietly murder.

Contrasted with Crusher and Paula is Pat, who handles his own headstrong daughter in a much healthier, more responsible manner.  Picking up right where the last one ended, the episode opens with Courtney happily sneaking into her room after recruiting Rick, only to be surprised when Pat is waiting for her.  He confronts her about going behind his back to form the new JSA and reiterates the tremendous risk she’s taking with her newfound friends’ safety (not to mention, her own).  He orders her to take the Wildcat and Doctor Mid-Nite gear back from Yolanda and Beth and resolves to do the same with Rick’s hourglass.  This predictably doesn’t go well as the fledgling crime fighters have quickly become enamored with their new alter egos.  It’s a bit strange to see how devoted the kids have become to their superhero identities after such a short time (Beth’s “friendship” with the Chuck AI, in particular, is really eerie) but it mostly makes sense, given how much they all needed outlets (or in Rick’s case, more a sense of focus).  They refuse to give back what they now see as rightfully theirs and plan a mission to apprehend the Gambler, with or without Courtney.  Courtney does go but to her credit, she is at least hesitant to do so and as the only one with any actual superhero experience things probably would have gone even worse than they do if she hadn’t come (she directly saves Rick’s life at least once, among other things).  But Sportsmaster and Tigress, who are tasked with guarding Gambler by Icicle, prove to be too much for the new heroes, who make it out solely because Pat arrives in Stripe, which is enough to intimidate the villains (who also accomplished what they needed to anyway).  Back at the garage, the recruits stand in awe of Stripe while Courtney and Pat decide how to proceed.  In a humorous scene, Pat listens to and even encourages, Courtney’s lamenting of how reckless her new teammates are until she admits she sees what he was doing, acknowledging the connection to his feelings regarding her behavior.  Pat agrees to train the new team because he can tell that they, like Courtney, will continue operating with or without him.  It’s a nice, quiet scene that reaffirms the Courtney/Pat partnership as the center of the show, even as it expands in scope.

Pat isn’t a perfect parent, however, and the episode also explores this with the show’s first truly compelling Mike sub-plot.  The youngest member of the Whitmore/Dugan family is feeling increasingly left out because of all the time Pat and Courtney are spending together, and while he hides it well his disappointment at Pat missing his science fair is quite sad.  Fortunately, Barbara comes to the rescue, gleefully attending the fair and chowing down on Mike’s candy volcano with him afterward.  These scenes are simple and far from creative but they’re effective nonetheless, and Amy Smart and Trae Romano imbue them with a lot of warmth.

It’s not all explorations of family dynamics, though, and as strong as everything else is the standout sequence of “The Justice Society” is, rightfully, the big fight.  The young heroes themselves might not accomplish what they set out to do but Stargirl the show very much does, offering a tantalizing example of the kind of spectacle it can dish out now that it’s brought the team together and is ready to set them against the ISA.  Their respective fights with Sportsmaster and Tigress give the JSA recruits, or at least Hourman and Wildcat, the exciting spotlights missing from their introductory episodes (she does get Yolanda out of a pinch but Beth still really shouldn’t be in the field at this point).  The choreography and stunt work is excellent throughout this scene, highlighting the power and agility of the fighters, as well as their individual skills and weaknesses (Rick has a lot of raw strength but pretty much no technique, Yolanda is at her best when she can get up close and use her boxing, etc.)  Stargirl herself is also still a treat to watch thanks to her and the Staff’s acrobatic fighting style (her graceful evasion of both villains simultaneously is awesome).  But a lot of the coolest beats throughout belong to the villains.  The Young Justice animated series has been praised for transforming Sportsmaster from a goofy, Z-list villain, into a genuinely intimidating threat and while it takes a different approach to his characterization, Stargirl‘s version is just as dangerous.  Rather than shy away from the gimmick of using sports supplies as weapons, the show embraces it, with Crusher delivering a lot of complicated, devastating hits against the heroes that make the viewer wince.  His offensive use of baseballs was particularly striking and reminded me of the Daredevil Netflix series’ depiction of Bullseye which is one of the highest compliments that can be given to a villain.  Tigress’ is essentially a more experienced version of Yolanda and the stunts used to depict her airborne, off-the-wall attacks are incredible.

“The Justice Society” is, overall simply an excellent episode that comes at the perfect point in the season.  I had grown concerned with how the show would balance the extensive cast and expansive web of storylines it has set up but this gave me hope that the creators know what they’re doing.

Notes:

•  The shot of the whole JSA lined up with Stripe in the back was the brief glimpse Crisis on Infinite Earths gave of Stargirl.
•  The fight it allows to is great but it seems odd that a regular baseball bat isn’t shattered by the Cosmic Staff.
•  During Pat’s scene with Rick he explains that Rex gave the hourglass the hour time limit to limit the possibility of getting addicted to the powers (meaning the show is likely going to go without an addiction storyline for Rick), and gives Rick his father’s journal.
•  During a scene in which Icicle celebrates his wife’s birthday with Cameron the latter’s breath takes on the icy appearance of his father’s briefly.