In a season that I've found very refreshing, I guess I should've expected this. This episode may not have had a pointless character death, but it did have a different trope that I'm not a huge fan of. Can you guess which trope that is? It's "You lied to me! I can never trust you again!" And again, I guess I should've seen this coming eventually.
With the exception of the argument over Brainwave Jr. In season 1 (which was resolved by the end of that episode with his death), the JSA has worked like a well-oiled machine. There is no drama between them, because there is no reason for there to be. That's one of the things I've found *very* refreshing about this show. Seriously, what reason is there for the team to argue? So Courtney's teaching Cameron how to use his powers. Big whoop. Here's something for Yolanda and Rick to consider: If Henry King Jr., Isaac Bowin or Artemis Crock had had someone to teach them how to control their powers, maybe they wouldn't have ended up dead (or in Artemis' case, wouldn't have ended up a criminal that broke her parents out of prison.) The same can be applied to Cindy. If she didn't have Dragon King for a dad, maybe she wouldn't have ended up being the... Not villain, but at least the B-word that IMDb won't let me say, that she really is. Courtney training Cameron to use his powers is *only* a good thing as far as I see it. But hey, I'm not her majesty Yolanda so what do I know, right?
In fact, Yolanda's been acting very high-and-mighty and out of character all season, especially when it comes to giving people a chance. With the exception of Beth, Courtney gave every member of the JSA a chance to better than they were in some way. First Yolanda when Courtney gave her a chance to live her life again; then Rick when she gave him the hourglass (though admittedly it took a while for Rick to be a team player); then Henry when she tried to help him save his dad (and Henry apologized to Yolanda and she forgave him, so that's another point in favor of Yolanda acting out of character); then Jenny when all of you included her in JSA stuff without even consulting Courtney (yeah, I bet Yolanda's conveniently forgotten about that one); and you all *collectively* stood up to Pat and told him to give Mike a chance when he had the Thunderbolt. And the entire point of Cindy's story is that she can be a semi-good person too, hence Courtney giving her multiple chances, and the two of them still being pseudo-friends despite their differences.
Why is Cameron any different? It can't be because he's a supervillain's son since we've already covered that base with Henry. So why is it? The only answer that makes sense to me is that Yolanda's butthurt that her best friend's spending more time focusing on herself than the team. And honestly, why *shouldn't* Courtney get some time to herself? Her and Cameron have had crushes on each other since season 1, and considering the stakes of the other seasons this is the least pressure any of you have ever been put under. Give the girl a small break and let her spend time with the boy she likes! And if she wants him to join the team eventually, who cares? At least he'll know how to use his powers and what he's getting into, unlike the rest of you when you were recruited. Wouldn't you want the next generation to have things better than you did?
Also, Yolanda grandstands to Courtney that Sylvester's been doing a better job than her as team leader, but it was *Courtney* that put Sylvester in charge. Yolanda forgot that little fact on complete accident, I'm sure.
I have never gone off on Yolanda before, and that's because she's typically one of the best characters on the show. I think she's beaten out by Courtney (specifically her season 1 arc), Cindy and the Crocks, but I'd put her in the top 5. I praised her episode left and right last season! So truthfully, this is a first for this character.
But outside of that, Cindy dropping the secret because she was getting ganged up on and couldn't get a word in (and Yolanda straight-up calling her a monster, wow that was unwarranted), and the reveal at the end of the episode being exactly what we all thought (and it being a lot less clever than the writers thought it was), I have no complaints about the rest of the episode. Well, I guess the stuff with Cameron's grandparents went on a *wee bit* too long, but I have no more complaints starting now!
If there's been one standout this season, it's been Starman! Holy crap do I love this character! He's flawed but not horrible, he's emotional but not irrational, he's rash but not above apologizing or recognizing that he did something wrong. He is, without question, the best new character this show's introduced since season 1! And that *shocks* me! With the way superhero shows work now, it would've been *so* easy for the writers to just make him into some washed-up has-been that only exists to make Courtney look better by comparison. And every single episode that I think the writers are going to do the easy thing, they go even further in the exact opposite direction! He's a straight white guy on the CW, and he isn't being treated like sandpaper! He's an actual character with actual feelings, emotions and baggage he has to overcome! He may not be the best mentor or the perfect guy to look up to, but he's absolutely the *right* one because of how much he can and does relate to whatever the team might be facing! Ladies and gentlemen, Sylvester Pemberton is an *actual character!* And I'm just astonished by that fact!
Although, I'm sure that by calling attention to it that I've unintentionally doomed him and he's going to be worth less than used toilet paper by next episode. But I just couldn't not gush about how well written Starman is on this show!
I also really love the blossoming relationship between Courtney and Cameron, due in no small part to how frickin' cute Brec Bassinger's smile is. (I can say that without getting cancelled, right?) Seriously, this relationship would be hard to watch if Brec wasn't so engaging. Flash writers, take notes for your Chester/Allegra romance nobody cares about! Don't get me wrong, this is all going to come crashing down when the grandparents eventually spill the beans about how Icicle died, but I'm going to enjoy this while it lasts.
And the last thing I want to make mention of is just the sheer amount of attention that the crew pays to small details! For example, Yolanda cuts off part of Cindy's hair during their fight this episode, and that detail is consistent throughout the rest of the episode! And that's noteworthy because it's one of Cindy's gray streaks, part of what makes her look distinctive (kinda like Jen's hair in Black Lightning's first three seasons, and why it was so odd for her to have basically shaved her head in season 4). I'd typically expect CW shows to just have something like that happen and then completely disregard it one take later, but that is not what happens on this show!
Okay but that's just a one-off detail, right? Wrong. Mike says the Crocks dropped off a basket of fruit at the top of the episode. So when Pat and Barbara go visit the Mahkents later in the episode, they bring that *same* fruit basket as a "gift". Not to mention that the fruit processor is a great example of how to use Chekhov's Gun.
Certainly that's all, right? Wrong again. I didn't spot them at all in this episode, but any time Pat and Barbara are drinking, do you know what they're drinking out of? The mugs Courtney made as a kid. Specifically I notice every single time Pat takes a sip from his "World's Greatest Dad" mug since Courtney's father was such a big deal in season 1.
Big whoop. What does it matter? It matters a lot, actually. The crew and the writers paying attention to small details like that show that they actually care about what they're making, and I cannot tell you how much that matters to me as a fan! It's something you grow to miss after seeing as much mediocre television as I have. I miss the Flash doing that! Sure they talk about old machines sometimes nowadays, but it's only so they can Frankenstein them into whatever the plot needs them to be for that episode. It has been *so long* since I've seen a show that I feel has people working on it that *actually care* about what they're doing! When was the last non-Stargirl season that I felt that with? Black Lightning season 1? THE FLASH SEASON 1?? Whatever season it was (probably Legends of Tomorrow season 7 actually, and I'm still mad they got cancelled, but I'm overexaggerating for dramatic effect), it's been too darn long! And it is for this reason (and the mostly phenomenal character work) that I will always proclaim that Stargirl is one of the greatest superhero shows ever made! Maybe even one of the greatest *tv* shows ever made!
Who would've thought that all it would take for a show to be good is if it has people that actually care about it make it? You'd think Marvel would've learned that by now with some of their shows. The only Marvel Disney+ show I can say that I loved was Hawkeye, but the rest have ranged from "Exciting but flawed" to "Okay" to "Straight up garbage in every sense of the word", and that's without me having even seen She-Hulk.
Stargirl season 3 continues to be more enjoyable than season 2, but still hasn't quite hit the highs of season 1 in a scene that wasn't a fight scene. At least, not with a character that isn't Starman. This episode, while not perfect, was enjoyable, and continues to contribute to a good season. Typically the sixth episode where the season kicks into high gear, and this episode did not do that. Looks like next episode will though, so I'm not too worried. Ah crap, I said I wouldn't complain anymore. I'm sorry, I can't help it. Complaining is fun.
7 / 10.
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