Stargirl Frenemies Chapter 13: The Reckoning review S3 E13
Oddly, waiting and waiting to finally review the Stargirl series finale did not lead to some surprising news of its revival on HBO Max Max. As arguably the most consistent show of the Arrowverse from its first episode right through its finale, Stargirl has been a fantastic example of how to write a superhero show with teen issues that never insulted its audience or fall too heavy into melodrama.
Not surprisingly, the series finale (booo) delivered a pitch perfect ending that wonderfully wrapped up the adventures of Courtney and her pals while leaving a little sadness that the TV superhero space is the poorer in Stargirl’s absence.
We get a flashback with Dragon King resurrecting Starman while Icicle explains their master plan with Ultra Humanite strapped to the table next to him. For all the jerk aspects of Starman we’ve seen through the season, his final cohesive thoughts were about his best pal/sidekick Pat.
Pacing has never been an issue for Stargirl yet there was a definite all hands on deck, no time to waste feel for this big confrontation with Jordan/Icicle’s crew and the JSA.
Courtney, Yolanda, Beth and Rick slowly pieced together that Starman was trying to undermine them and shatter their confidence. Jordan, meanwhile, has Cameron lie to Courtney to setup a meeting at a junkyard. Have to appreciate this isolated location that’s perfect for an all out brawl with no threat of harming innocent bystanders.
Starman/Ultra Humanite lies to Courtney and the JSA about Pat, but the JSA is now hip to UH’s tricks and don’t believe him. To solidify their belief, Pat arrives in S.T.R.I.P.E. after successfully digging out of the grave. Dong. (Cue Undertaker theme).
Stargirl hasn’t lacked for massive, explosive battle scenes and this one was pretty spectacular. The fight choreography has always been laid out extremely well with layered elements as one combatant battled another as the action shifts to another fight. Starman/UH battled S.T.R.I.P.E. in a terrific movie quality-level battle while Stargirl fought Icicle, Wildcat and Dr. Mid-Nite battled Jordan’s parents and Hourman paired off with a reluctant Cameron.
Sofus really didn’t want to fight Beth and they quickly call a cease fire. Lily’s had it with her husband’s kindler nature and goes to kill them both when Yolanda disrupts her ice storm just enough for Lily to snap a chain suspending a car over her head. I half expected her feet and legs to crawl up under the car a la The Wicked Witch for some sweet WB synergy.
Barb enters the fray to distract Jordan using the crossbow training she received from Paula. This was a bit of a fake out as it seemed the perfect moment for Artemis to arrive and get payback on the dude who killed her folks.
Cameron picks a side and helps Courtney fight off his father, who seems to explode in a mist. Given his previous escape from death, that doesn’t seem very final for him.
With Jordan dealt with, Stargirl helps Pat with Starman/Ultra Humanite. Now fully confident in herself and all that wavering doubt faded, Stargirl calls her staff back leaving Starman/UH powerless. And now it’s a fair fight with Pat, who gets the final shot in ending this battle.
While the main fight was playing out, Mike, Jakeem and Cindy are on the run from Dragon King in Ultra Humanite’s body. Jakeem finally realizes he does have the power to make Thunderbolt listen to his commands without room for misinterpretation and has him turn Dragon King/UH into a stuffed animal. For a second, I thought we were going to get a Beebo-take to make DK/UH a cutesy joke, but this was better.
In the big battle aftermath, Cameron wants to make sure Sofus is OK and disappears presumably never to return again.
Thankfully the CW gave the Stargirl writers enough head’s up this was the finale allowing them time to do a satisfying conclusion to all of the various subplots.
Courtney and Pat have a nice moment talking about the real Starman. They’ve had a number of quality moments and this final one on one scene with Courtney and Pat felt especially well earned and touching.
Ultra Humanite is brain dead in Sylvester’s body, but Dr. McNider doesn’t have a ton of answers in terms of the possibilities of reviving Starman. Pat suggests keeping him on life support…just in case. Cut to a mountain base where Sylvester’s brain is being preserved.
Pat and Barb sit in the car while Mike has an overdue conversation with his birth mother. He returns feeling good about the talk, but noticing Barb is fighting her emotions, thanks Pat and calls her “mom.” That was a really nice scene and big moment for a character who early on was trending to being that annoying sibling character through the duration of the series.
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Courtney goes to Gambler’s daughter, Becky, with the letter he wrote for her to wrap that subplot. Rick apologizes to Beth’s parents while Beth says she wants them more involved with her superheroics. They’ve already got nicknames chosen — Nite-Lite and Hooty — a nice nod to the owl sidekicks of the comic Dr. Midnights.
Rick visits Grundy’s gravesite bummed that his pal didn’t get a second lease on life like Dragon King, Ultra Humanite and Icicle. Not so fast there, Rick. Grundy’s hand emerges from the grave. Maybe today was a Monday?
Yolanda calls her mother hopeful to restore their relationship as well.
Cameron asks Courtney if she can really help him and the two have a satisfying hug and kiss. It’s wild how Stargirl’s complete refusal to play into the typical CW romantic tropes made its few romantic subplots come off as far more meaningful.
Fast forward to three months later in Denmark. Jordan is walking along a deserted alley when he gets stuck in a substance on the ground. It was set by Artemis, who finally tracked him down and trapped him in a water-proof flammable substance. Guess Icicle’s second lease at life wasn’t too long for this world.
This is a pretty dark action from a character who wanted to be a hero. That actually tracks with the show’s moral code and explains why the writers didn’t just have her join the JSA mid-season. Artemis needed the freedom to be able to avenge her parents without going against the JSA code.
We get another flashback. This one is a decade from now. Shade is showing off the JSA meeting table to a tour group while going over the team history. The JSA roster expanded past the original five to include Jade & Obsidian, Sand (!), Damage, Dragon Queen, Jakeem Thunder, Artemis and STRIPE 2.0, who I assume is Mike and not Pat.
Also, Rick and Beth are getting married, which feels like a nice payoff for those two and ties to her being the first to recognize something was off with him earlier this season. The JSA also managed to find and rescue the Seven Soldiers of Victory, aiding their season 1 ally The Shining Knight. And as a bonus, they even managed to revive Sylvester.
Uggggggh, great now I’m even more upset the series is over. Even just a two-part episode of the future JSA sounds amazing. Gotham did a time jump for its finale and it was very cool. The main cast deserved to take their final bow in the last episode, but maybe Future JSA could have swapped in for the Jade/Obsidian arc?
Jay Garrick zooms during the tour to recruit Shade for the next mission as Courtney asked him to gather the troops. Geesh, if I assemble enough bots and flood Twitter is there any chance of getting at least a Future JSA movie?
Stargirl was the best of the CW superhero shows. It didn’t last as long as Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, etc. but it had stronger consistency and didn’t wear out its welcome. If nothing else it’s early cancellation will lead to fond memories instead of dismay over how a once enjoyable series fell so far. Rewatching the series will be a welcome return to a series that might not have shined the longest, but definitely the brightest.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Photo Credit: The CW