Stargirl: Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. Part One

August 4, 2020 6:39 PM - Season 1, Episode 12

With the ISA on their trail, Courtney, Pat and the team regroup to figure out their next steps.

TV Line Recap: Season Finale, Part 1 — Who'll Stop the Brain

Den of Geek - The final battle begins in a decent episode of Stargirl that spends most of its time setting things up for next week's season finale.

TV Fanatic recap

posted by oh yeah! (7 comments total)

Guys, guys, you've got to eat the chicken while it's still warm. Don't leave it in the bucket in a plastic bag.

So Pat and Barbara think it's a good thing to gather the teen JSA members in a cabin in the wood to protect them, but they don't give any consideration to their parents or families? Okay, Yolanda and Rick have issues with their families, but Beth loves her parents. How will she feel when something bad happens to them?

Poor Mike is going to be facing years of therapy trying to work out his issues of rejection and inadequacy.

I know this is a show about the kids, but I really want Justin to get his memories and personality back.
posted by sardonyx at 8:46 PM on August 5, 2020

This was the third or fourth week in a row where I screamed "Nooo!" at the end because I was so immersed in the episode. Plus, that cabin was amazing.

Love that the ISA can't keep from murdering their own members. It makes sense as it clears the way for a more teen vs. teen plot next season.

Speaking of next season I wonder what will become of Mike. With two years between filming Trae Romano is likely to be a lot taller than Brec Bassinger.
posted by plastic_animals at 7:22 AM on August 6, 2020

Only Pat and Courtney's secret identities have been compromised. As long as the rest of the Junior JSA are outside of telepath range, their families are not at risk by staying in town.

I'm glad they showed that Pat is not hopeless as a hand-to-hand combatant, given all the snark about his physical condition. Losing an unaided fistfight against a villain whose primary skillset is martial arts (even wonky sport themed martial arts) is fine. Not being to handle himself at all would make you wonder why any superteam would let him tag along anywhere within miles of a fight.

I don't think Mike has a comic super counterpart, so I don't know where to fit him in. If he'd been an older brother, I'd almost suggest bringing him in as the new Stripesey, freeing Pat up to focus on running the Mech. It seems like there's room for someone who can drive and do basic support, which seems to have been Pat's job in the previous JSA. I suppose even if he does not get a hand-me-down power there's room for "they're looking for high school kids - a middle school kid can slip right by them" as a sidekick role. Technically as Courtney jumped straight to Stargirl (as opposed to Sylverster being Star Spangled Kid, then Starman), "Star Spangled Kid" is open as a codename and the cosmic converter belt has not turned up yet as a suitable piece of legacy equipment.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:20 AM on August 7, 2020

Finally caught up on all the episodes via the CW's app on Roku, have generally enjoyed them, and am looking forward to the finale.

Maybe Mike will end up being the wielder of the pen that (presumably) contains Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt? No training or special abilities required for that, really.

And the pen is just one of several loose threads that are dangling - I doubt if we'll be seeing the Green Lantern get used by anyone this season, but if Solomon Grundy is not involved in the finale, I'll be disappointed.

Seconding the wish for Justin to regain his memories & abilities so he can be the Shining Knight again.

Presumably, he and the other adults will not stay brainwashed for too long, because without STRIPE and the Knight, the new JSA seems overmatched. Especially since Doctor Mid-Nite (is that how they're styling it in this version?) seems to have no fighting skills or offensive-type powers at all. At least maybe Beth will discover the formula for Chuck's blackout bomb and deploy a couple of those bad boys at a key point?
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 10:27 PM on August 7, 2020

I just hope nobody on team Stargirl dies. I'm thinking of Justin here.
posted by amtho at 3:54 AM on August 8, 2020

Justin does seem positioned as the most expendable of the good guys, but I too am hoping he and the rest of them all make it through the finale alive.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 6:53 PM on August 8, 2020

Justin will get his memory back so his sacrifice will be all the more heartbreaking.
posted by numaner at 8:07 PM on August 10, 2020