Stargirl – Frenemies: Chapter Two – The Suspects review S3 E2
Don’t look now, but we’ve got ourselves a solid little mystery playing out in Stargirl’s third season.
The death of The Gambler probably shouldn’t rock Blue Valley as much as it did. He was a card-carrying member of the Injustice Society of America, after all. But his death is causing a big impact and ripple effect throughout the town.
Lost is among my favorite TV shows of all-time, but occasionally it would lean on the crutch of kicking off an episode with an innocuous song playing while the characters went about some seemingly mundane task. It was clever for the first couple of seasons, but eventually became tiresome. Stargirl has already reached that point with the opening sequence of a flashback 12 hours before Gambler gets killed.
He had a few visitors at his trailer park — but he was only aware of one. The first, was Crusher Crock, who didn’t seem all that pleased that his old teammate was back in town. He grabbed his bat as if to suggest he was about to get in a little batting practice, but the urge to do right compelled him to just drive away. At this point, we probably need to check to see if Zatanna and the Justice League visited Blue Valley in the last few months…
The second visitor, The Shade, actually came in to apologize for blowing Gambler off. It’s funny how Gambler has become so much more of an important character now that he’s dead.
Back to the present, the JSA arrives to find Shiv/Cindy standing over The Gambler’s body, holding his gun in her hand. That seems pretty naive for Cindy, who’s normally far more calculating. Thankfully, the rest of the JSA, including Sylvester, isn’t so sure if they buy Cindy’s “I didn’t do it” alibi. This also puts Courtney in a rough spot as she wants to believe Cindy has fully reformed.
This theory gets tested as later on Cindy is trying out a formula she whipped up with presumably something she got from Gambler’s trailer. I like the idea of Courtney being so optimistic and hopeful arguably almost against Cindy’s track record. For that matter, she also is hoping for the best with The Gambler and that he really was trying to contact his daughter.
In the odd pairing I didn’t know I needed, Paula reaches out to Barbara again seeking more guidance on how to get along with the other parents. Barbara suggests contributing to the bake sale leading to both of them failing miserably at baking a cake. I mean, the directions are right there, ladies.
This pairing has been surprisingly fun. One of the early positives about this season is everyone has something to do outside of being a hero/being a parent to a hero. Also, Paula assures Barb that she and Crusher did not kill Gambler. They wouldn’t have been so sloppy. Good to know…
This probably doesn’t hurt the budget to have characters just chatting it up instead of having major set piece fight scenes, but it works in the context of this show. You know what would be an impossible, but fun crossover? Stargirl and Ms. Marvel. Those shows feature two immensely likable teen girls trying to find their place as a hero. It could never happen, but maybe on one of the Infinite Earths in the Multiverse DC and Marvel characters can co-mingle with no issue.
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The Shade’s tea challenge continues. I feel like Stargirl missed out on a viral phenomenon here. Maria finally got it right this time just as Pat and Sylvester arrive to question his whereabouts. Shade doesn’t have much use for Sylvester, who’s still trying to figure out the new dynamic with Pat, who’s not willing to happily step back into a sidekick role now that he’s back. These little tense moments have been encouraging as it’s playing out in a realistic manner instead of everyone co-existing perfectly.
They’re not the only duo trying to learn The Gambler’s killer. Mike and Jakeem are conducting their own investigation and wisely map out a loophole free manner of getting the Thunderbolt to tell the murderer’s identity. It was a good idea in theory as The Thunderbolt simply writes on the bathroom wall that the killer has many names. Well, thanks for nothing.
Stargirl’s biggest challenge is balancing everyone’s screen time. Cameron is back this episode although he doesn’t get much development beyond sharing that trying to draw hurts him. His creepy grandparents insist he’s got a greater destiny than art. How is that even possible? Have you seen Dan Mora or Nicola Scott’s artwork?
Sylvester decides to train Courtney in the middle of the day. There’s something a little off with Sly, but he’s not acting so over the top that he’s clearly suspicious. This is solid work from Joel McHale, who’s hit the ideal mark of coming off a little shady and possibly just being on edge. Sylvester does teach Courtney a new skillset that she should be able to incorporate in action.
Still, old beefs are hard to squash and Sylvester wants to confront Shade with Courtney this time. While he might be a little pompous, Courtney’s trust in Shade hasn’t backfired. And he’s got a steel plated alibi as he was teaching the secret to his tea with Maria at the diner. Although he’s leaving Blue Valley, Shade did apologize for not being able to help Rick bring Grundy back. That seemed like an odd thing to warrant apologizing.
To further complicate things, Cindy has The Gambler’s laptop making her the prime suspect. Unless of course, twist(!), Cindy is actually The Gambler’s daughter and all of her shady actions are actually legit?
And why stop at just one suspect? Crusher and Paula take a break from working out as he ponders it’s only a matter of time before they find out? Find out what? That Paula actually makes a mean pound cake? So many questions here.
Stargirl is ideally suited to handle a murder mystery. So long as the writers don’t go on a needless killing spree, this has the potential to be a third excellent season for this series.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Photo Credit: The CW
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