Stargirl (TV Series) Summer School: Chapter Nine (2021) User Reviews

Summer School: Chapter Nine is overall a great episode and gives us answers through flashbacks - but it's poorly paced

[Holt344 · 8/10 · 6 October 2021]

Summer School: Chapter Nine is again directed by editor and Arrowverse veteran Andi Armaganian, the direction is great and I just like what Andi brings to the table as the director which she was in Stargirl's first season and the second season. So having a director that knows the cast, characters and universe is a great thing and it shows even more in this episode than the previous episode. As 2.09 focuses on the backstory of the original JSA in how they defeated Eclipso, having a great script and a director that can get the vision and script to screen is a must and luckily Andi Armaganian does a brilliant job as the director of the episode. The cinematography is great and the episode just looks so nice, with the sets and locations plus the costumes. All the departments did a terrific job with episode nine.

The episode follows the events of the previous episode with Eclipso still lurking in the shadows and slowly but surely getting into people's heads and his plan is slow but great. The storyline of this episode has Eclipso taking aim at the Whitmore/Dugans, Pat is reminded of painful memories from his past involving the original JSA and their fight to take down Eclipso. Meanwhile, Mike is forced to confront the guilt he feels for his role in Icicle's death, and Barbara comes face to face with someone from her past. Finally, Courtney struggles to hold onto hope after Eclipso targets those around her.

The episode focuses on a handful of characters, most are from JSA 1.0 and in the main timeline it's mostly about Whitmore/Dugan family. Jason Davis makes an appearance through a flashback as Bruce Gordon who're the archaeologist who found the diamond that Eclipso was in on Diablo Island. Through other flashback's we get to see Sylvester Pemberton / Starman, Henry Thomas and Alex Collins as Charles McNider / Doctor Mid-Nite, Rex Tyler / Hourman, Ted Grant / Wildcat and Ethan Embry as Johnny Thunder. Always nice to see more of those characters, and Jonathan Cake returns as Richard Swift / The Shade. I didn't really find any of the performances to be great, it was mostly the actors who from the flashbacks who did anything impressive. Luke Wilson's performance as Pat Dugan was terrific, simply for how different it is as it shows a much more vulnerable side which is needed as we know what he's been through but he have never expressed those emotions for anyone in his family.

In my opinion, this was overall a great episode that gave us answers of where Eclipso came from and other answers. How much I appreciated the flashbacks, I can't look the other side in how it hurts the pacing. I'm just grateful that I like the characters and find the story interesting enough to not get bored, but I get it if you do. Like the two previous episodes, the ninth episode is all about Eclipso executing his plan. The pacing is slow but there's lots of character development and tension. John Wesley Shipp finally makes his anticipated appearance as Jay Garrick / The Flash in the earth Stargirl is based in, having played the character in the television show The Flash. Though it was shorter than I expected, it was still nice to see him there which makes it easy to bring him back.

Great episode!

[pauli_gomez · 9/10 · 9 October 2021]

We have answers (we finally found was Pat was hiding from Courtney), we have flashbacks to the original JSA, we learnt a lot! We also had more psychological horror with Eclipso making everyone see different things. It was really well done.

My only complain was that Courtney reaction was too over the top. She did not even try to empathize with Pat, even seeing how much trauma he is carrying. That not only makes her (again) difficult to tolerate but it is out of character. Courtney is normally a sweet person, who understood why Yolanda did what she did, for instance. So it makes no sense that she is so angry with Pat. I see that as a writing flaw, that is why the chapter got not a 10 from me.

I'm Honestly Not Sure How to Feel After This One... But Not For the Reason the Writers Intended

[demigodshmurda · 8/10 · 9 October 2021]

This episode was actually pretty good. I mean, the main story is still going slower than molasses, but this was actually a good episode despite that. Well... With one exception near the end. If these last two episodes are any indication, this show is getting CW'd soooooo much sooner than we all thought. If they'd cut the last... Say... Two minutes or so, this probably would've been the second best episode of the season.

Does this episode fit into the season's overall narrative better than the previous two? Yes. Yes it does. Is it great getting to see these characters confront their fears? Yes. Yes it is. Does this feel like we're four episodes away from the season finale? F' no. However, if I take that out of the equation, and I did try to during my viewing of the episode, it was actually pretty good.

I was so excited to see Icicle again, especially since I missed seeing his name in the opening credits. Though, I will admit, when it's the third episode in a row that we start seeing dead or MIA characters from season 1, it feels like the writers realize how slow the season is, and is trying to distract us by showing us characters we know and care about. First Brainwave, then Solomon Grundy, now Icicle. I'm half expecting to see Dragon King or Janitor Justin next week.

...

Know what? I'd actually love to see Janitor Justin again lol. Just please don't turn him into this show's Reverse Flash where he just shows up and hangs out for an episode every season just to leave again for the next year. That would be great. Thank you. Much appreciated.

Regardless of that though, it was pretty good seeing Icicle again, and I like that the Shade's kinda drawn to Barbara like Icicle was. It could get old if it happens again with another villain next season, but Shade looking out for Barbara in the same way Icicle (albeit less creepily and stalkerish) actually connects Shade and Icicle in a unique way. Shade left the ISA because of a difference in opinion, but it's almost like the writers are implying it was something more than that that drove a wedge between these two, and they're implying it through both of them looking out for Barbara. It's actually kinda fascinating how we continue to learn about some of our old favorites from season 1 despite them being dead, but it's not in a way that disrespects them or disgraces their memory.

On the topic of Icicle, we finally got to see Cameron Mahkent become Icicle Jr. In this episode. Well... Sort of. We only got to see it as part of Mike's Eclipso vision, but Hunter Sansone sold it really well for me. He has this air of intensity to him that makes the intensity of the moment believable. It was so believable in fact that I didn't actually figure out that it was Eclipso until he killed the dog, Buddy (which finally got a name this episode after almost 2 seasons of not having a name), and even after that his performance was amazing! Props to Hunter Sansone this week. Dude was a big highlight.

And then we get to Pat's nightmare sequence, which mostly consists of flashbacks to the original JSA stopping Eclipso.

First off, they completely wasted John Wesley Shipp here. Why even advertise that it would be John Wesley Shipp playing Jay Garrick, when literally any other existing JSA member could've taken his place as the voice of reason in the episode? It felt like a colossal waste of something fans were actually excited for. Have Johnny Thunder (who was actually in the episode, but only in one scene) take his place, and you have the same outcome when it comes to Jay Garrick's most impactful scene of the episode. Pat and Johnny even got along as shown by the flashback at the beginning of "Summer School: Chapter Three", so Jay was completely wasted here. Let's not beat around the bush about it. John Wesley Shipp was in this episode to give the show a ratings boost and that's it! He didn't even do any running during the episode! Are you seriously telling me that the CW drained this show's cgi budget so dry that we can't even see The Flash RUN??

Next up, this episode was originally marketed as taking place entirely in a flashback, or at least that's how I interpreted it. Unfortunately, that's not what we got here. But believe it or not, I think that worked in the show's favor. It's false advertising, don't get me wrong, but it makes the episode fit better narratively.

But with my thoughts on the false advertising of the episode aside, were the flashbacks in the episode actually any good? Well... I'm gonna have to say yes. Should we have gotten an action scene? Absolutely, yes. CW, give these writers a bigger budget, please! But the narrative of the JSA deciding whether or not to take an innocent life to stop Eclipso is surprisingly compelling, even though it was pretty obvious what the outcome of the flashbacks was going to be. Seeing blood on the white stars of the Starman suit though... That was almost chilling. It gave me vibes of Falcon/Winter Soldier weirdly enough, when we saw blood on the Captain America shield at the end of "The Whole World Is Watching". That show sucked butt, but the moment in this episode is weirdly reminiscent of one of the most positively chilling aspects of it.

And then we see Pat's nightmare come to life as Adult Bruce Gordon starts shooting at him in the basement. There's another really chilling scene of the three JSA members that voted to kill Bruce Gordon standing behind him as Pat stares down the barrel of Bruce's gun. It's another really chilling sequence that this show's done pretty well with this season. There's a line that Bruce Gordon says though that I don't really understand. He says "You had a choice. You made it. You damned yourselves." and I'm not really sure who that's referring to. Is it referring to Jay Garrick since he and Pat were the only ones against killing Bruce Gordon? Is it referring to the JSA as a whole since they all made the choice to kill Bruce Gordon? It just didn't make a lot of sense to me.

And as we get to the final shots of the episode where Pat tells Courtney that the JSA had to take an innocent life to stop Eclipso... And Courtney takes it personally and holds it against him. Look, maybe I put Courtney on a bit of a pedestal, but I only do that because of how she developed in season 1. But come on? Are we really going full CW with this right now? Courtney should not be taking this as a personal attack! She should be understanding about why Pat kept it from her, accept it and move on! It's called being human! There's no reason to do this, writers! Courtney and Pat are finally in a good place, so why are you trying to take that away! Courtney and Pat having a good relationship is actually an *original concept* for the CW! You were going against the grain by showing that a teenager can actually have a *healthy* relationship with their parents, and you threw it all away for cheap CW drama! It's honestly frustrating!

So yeah, if we'd just cut the episode off after Pat tells Courtney the secret, easy 9 / 10. Unfortunately, that's not what we got. Throw that on top of the episode's complete waste of Jay Garrick and lack of an action scene with the original JSA, plus the plot still moving along slower than a crawl, and you've got yourself "Summer School: Chapter Nine" in a nutshell. There was a lot of good here, like with the flashbacks themselves and Hunter Sansone killing it this week, as well as the revelations that can be drawn from Icicle and Shade, but there was just some flaws here that I can't ignore. That's why I'm conflicted about this week's episode. Somebody please kick the CW out of this show's writers' room!

8 / 10

But hey, glass half full. They played the season 1 villain resurrection card with Icicle again this week, and I was able to recall something similar being said by Brainwave in "Summer School: Chapter Seven" a while ago, and that soothed by soul a little bit! Yolanda's not being taken over by Brainwave! It *is* just PTSD after all! I've expressed my thoughts on the PTSD vs Brainwave argument in my review of that episode, but I'm just happy that the Stargirl writers at least kept that aspect of the season satisfying to follow! Thank you! Thank you so much! I'm gonna go up my rating of that episode to a 10 / 10 real quick since the implication that Brainwave can really come back through Yolanda's body isn't there anymore! Thanks guys!

The Devil's due

[GomezAddams666 · 10/10 · 7 October 2021]

I can honestly say they really brought the big gun to season two with Eclipso, he has to be one terrifying villain in the DC mythos, and for a TV series which first season could be considered light family home, this second chapter of the story has been one laced with horror.

That can be said of this episode as well, because the Dugan-Whitmore family are in for one demonic and terrifying treat when the "spiritual parasite" Eclipso sets its eyes upon them to bring their darkest fears to life.

We also finally get to see the OG JSA, but they are not the picturesque crime fighting team we all imagined they were, for starters Sylvester Pemberton and the rest of the JSA were extremely condescending to Pat, they treated him like a servant and kept putting him down, and later on we can see that when the chips are down the OG JSA decided to go for the darkest of paths to stop Eclipso, which in a way destroyed them way before the ISA took them out for good.

This particular episode was extremely dark, which is why I have to give it a perfect rate. I am truly enjoying this season, and the darkest of vibes that Eclipso has brought upon Blue Valley.

Painful Memories.

[wetmars · 8/10 · 13 October 2021]

Decades ago. Eclipso has been recently bothering Bruce Gordon who stole him from the island where he has been killing his colleagues. Lately, Courtney and Pat have been "arguing" about taking down Eclipso. So yes, this is a flashback episode. The JSA attend a funeral, and holy sssshhhh- Jay! Back to the present day, Pat sees a coffin in his living room revealed to contain the 10-year-old girl. Courtney and Beth have been talking about taking down Eclipso as Mike overhears the convo, he eventually comes downstairs. Sylvester sees the Shade standing near a tree, and comes to talk to him. Pat is suspicious of what's going on, running near the tree to see the two have disappeared. Maybe in Shadowland. The storm is getting real bad where it's very cold, pouring down rain, and 40+ MPH winds. In another flashback, we see Pat fixing up a red classic car. Sylvester enters the room, and informs that Eclipso is a spiritual parasite, describing the horrors it can do, but, the Shade told him that there is a way to stop it which is to kill the host as in killing another human. When the host dies, Eclipso is forced back into the diamond, powerless.

"72 degrees? Yeah, right." That made me chuckle. Mike lets Courtney's love interest. Mike as 15-years-old? No way, he looks 12. Crazy. The love interest is informed about Icicle. Sadly, the dog gets frozen by the loverboy. Courtney comes, informing that there's no one there. I had some suspicions that weren't real. Back to once again, another flashback. The JSA takes a vote on whether they kill the host. Surprisingly, Starman votes yes for his family. Courtney saves her dad against the illusions. Pat waits in his car. Starman enters the vehicle and says that the JSA should have never take a life. Everyone in the team drifted away after they took down Eclipso. In the end, Courtney violently argues with his mother as Eclipso smiles through the window.

Thoughts?

Again with the poor pacing! It's like watching an 80s horror slasher movie with unnecessary slow scenes that go on for five minutes. I am disappointed that we didn't see any action in the flashback scenes, but whatever. Still, it's a good episode that explains almost everything. Pat doesn't want to repeat the JSA to kill a soul, filled with regret, and broken. Great horror here.

7-8/10.

Too much exposition

[ldamena · 6/10 · 6 October 2021]

I know it's important for the characters to talk about what happened in the past esp when it's revealed how to defeat the villain in those flashbacks. But, when I'm bored thru more than half of the episode that's not a good thing either. I will say I do like how the use of scary imagery is used to tell the Eclipso's story and how he manipulates his victims. I just wish the episodes were fast paced like they were last season & the first few eps of this season. I miss the wham! Part of the show. It was good to see Jay Garrick though.

A painting on a desert stand

[cjonesas · 6/10 · 22 February 2022]

Chapter 9: A slow-burn, almost snoozefest of an episode with quite good development, but not belonging to a chapter 9 episode, more like a chapter 4 or 5 one.

It is full of remorse, depressed and semi-angry acting, adding almost nothing to the info of how to actually defeat Eclipso, besides theorizing.

It's like a painting put on a desert stand, with nobody there to watch and fully appreciate it.

Boring

[patrick-lafont · 5/10 · 8 October 2021]

It's good to have a little bit of storytelling but this is way too much. There should have been something happening in this episode.

This show is not scary

[AshBoshog · 1/10 · 6 October 2021]

This is not a scary episode I was just waiting for something new the entire episode and all we get is the like the last 3 minutes. Another waste of time episode.