TV Review - Stargirl: Season 2

I really enjoyed the first season of this series. Geoff Johns and his team of writers really crafted an interesting, compelling and thrilling story. The characters were fun and had depth, and they were all fairly well utilized. This includes both the heroes and the villains. It was such a high bar that the follow-up would always feel lesser by comparison. A lot of television shows have a sophomore slump. Some shows don't have that kind of slump. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) didn't have that problem. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a show that I would say is a good comparison to this one, but where Buffy the Vampire Slayer soared in its second season, this one stumbles.

Brec Bassinger reprises her role of Courtney Whitmore aka Stargirl, a super-hero with acrobatic, fighting skills who wields a magical staff, a living staff that can focus the energy of the sun. It's a powerful weapon that allows her to defend against enemies. It also allows her to fly. She's a very sweet and very optimistic person. She can come off sometimes as a ditzy blonde, but she's actually very smart and very brave. She also always tries to see the good in people. She inherited the staff from Starman who supposedly died. She inherited the staff because her stepfather is Starman's sidekick.

Luke Wilson (Old School and Legally Blonde) also stars as Pat Dugan, the aforementioned stepfather and Starman's sidekick. Pat doesn't have any super-powers. The reason he was Starman's sidekick and a member of the Justice Society of America, the collection of super-heroes that included Starman, is because Pat had amazing technology. Pat built a large robot that was also a mechanical suit he could enter and operate from inside. After the Justice Society was killed off, Pat moved to the Midwest, a town called Blue Valley to settle down with his wife and his stepchildren.

However, Pat had all the memorabilia of the Justice Society, being the only surviving member. When Courtney finds that stuff, she decides to bring the Justice Society back but with new members. Those new members ended up being fellow students at her high school. Specifically, she recruited three other teenagers at her school to be in the new Justice Society with her.

Meg DeLacy (The Fosters and Zac and Mia) reprises her role of Cindy Burman, the captain of the cheerleading team at Courtney's school and one of the most popular girls at that school. She's also a mean girl, wealthy, privileged, stuck-up, arrogant and only cares about herself. It's revealed that the Justice Society was killed off by a group called the Injustice Society. It's also revealed that Cindy is the daughter of one of the members of the Injustice Society. Cindy in fact worked with her father to try to take over Blue Valley. Her nickname was Shiv because she had blades that emerged from her arms and hands, akin to Wolverine. She's basically the reverse of Courtney.

Like Courtney, Cindy is recruiting people. After Courtney and her friends defeated the Injustice Society, Cindy escaped. This season, Cindy is basically trying to rebuild the Injustice Society. She's also recruiting new members at her school, using her fellow classmates as candidates for the new Injustice Society. Unfortunately, the team building by both Cindy and Courtney isn't as interesting to watch this season as it was last season. Maybe things will come together later, but the pacing and editing of certain things has me either confused or disengaged.

For example, in the first episode of this season, Joel McHale who plays Sylvester Pemberton aka Starman is shown alive, even though he supposedly died. However, in five episodes, he's never appeared or popped up again. In the second episode, we meet Jennie-Lynn Hayden aka Jade, played by Ysa Penarejo. Jade is the daughter of Alan Scott, the Green Lantern. We see her inherit the powers of the Green Lantern, but she disappears for the next five episodes. It's odd because her powers would have been useful in the third episode where she's conveniently absent. Similarly, a character known as the Thunderbolt, which is basically akin to the genie from Aladdin (1992) but more like a wisecracking monkey's paw that lives in an ink pen, is introduced in the third episode. That character disappears for the next four episodes. Obviously, these characters will eventually come back. The season consists of 13 episodes, so the series is probably saving Jade and Thunderbolt for the climactic conclusion, but how it's been introducing these things and then abandoning them feels like it's juggling too much.

Yvette Monreal co-stars as Yolanda Montez aka Wildcat, a female, Latina version of Black Panther. She has a suit in the form of a feline that gives her super strength and senses. She's dealing with the aftermath of what she did at the end of last season. It's a mix of PTSD and guilt. The series doesn't have her really deal with it until Episode 7. Cameron Gellman also co-stars as Rick Tyler aka Hourman. He's also dealing with the aftermath of something that happened at the end of last season, but, the series doesn't devote enough time with him to get much of a sense of it. The series is being deliberately opaque with Rick, but it's indicative of how the series isn't engaging with its core characters. That changes by Episode 8, but it feels like too little, too late.

Anjelika Washington who plays Beth Chapel is the exception. She's the new Doctor Mid-Nite. She's a really smart, Black girl who has taken on high-tech goggles that are powered by an artificial intelligence. The goggles are called Chuck in honor of the previous Doctor Mid-Nite whose real name was Charles McNider. Beth considered Chuck to be her friend, despite only being a computer. When the goggles get damaged or don't respond to her, it causes her to feel lonely. It also doesn't help that her parents are getting a divorce. On balance, the series has given Beth's story line enough air and space to breathe. Yet, it's a shame the same can't be said about the other characters half-way through it.

The ultimate villain this season is a magical being called Eclipso. When he's finally introduced, Eclipso is basically a murderous monster. He proves to be stronger than Courtney and her friends at the moment, but instead of eliminating them, which he could do, he lies in wait. It's a bit lame. Eclipso does play mind games, tries to trick the new JSA, but there's no real explanation as to what he gets out of that. He might get a future episode, which delves into his backstory, but, in nine episodes, he could have had a conversation with Cindy that delved into his character a little more. The villains from the first season were given that opportunity to be explored and to have more depth. This season, Eclipso has yet to get that, which ultimately makes this season feel weaker by comparison.

Not Rated but for ages 12 and up.
Running Time: 1 hr.
Tuesdays at 8 PM on CW.