Stargirl 1x5 : Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite review

Be warned there will be *SPOILERS* involved in this review. With that being said let's get into it. 

This week's episode of Stargirl begins 9 years in the past. It's basically a set up / slight origin of Rex Tyler, his son and ultimately what happened to Hourman. It begins as we see Rex and his wife saying goodbye to their son as it has become too dangerous for them to keep on living where they are. They are all set to go as Rex's brother Matt arrives. Matt is given the not so easy task of raising Rex's son Rick as his own as not long after Rex and his wife leave they are unfortunately killed by a rampaging Solomon Grundy who ends up causing their car to crash right into a tree. A tree which while growing up Rick goes to visit frequently. Speaking of growing up it wasn't an easy life for Rick who had taken to a life of trying to get his dad's treasured 66 Mustang up and running. His uncle has other ideas however and ends up selling all kinds of things belonging to Rick to make money for food, electricity and other stuff. To say that Rick and Matt's relationship was intense and hate fueled would be an understatement. We're back in present day and it's Halloween. Courtney is still in bed but is soon awaken by her mom who enters her room. The Stargirl outfit is clearly visible in her closet especially so when the family's dog tries to get at it. Courtney rushes her mom out of the room saying that she will clean it all up herself before she gets ready for school. And get ready for school she does as she packs literally all the JSA items she has much to her own annoyance later as they won't fit anywhere where she places them. She tries her school but it's to no avail. Speaking of school it is here where both Courtney and Yolanda are listened in on by Beth Chapel who last week we saw ID Yolanda outside Blue Valley's hospital. 

This leads to Beth turning up at Courtney's house soon after even though both her and Pat are out. Speaking of Pat and Courtney while they are out Pat's car breaks down in the middle of the road. He goes to fix it just as he is about to begin Rick Tyler shows up. As soon as he does Courtney's Hourglass that she has belonging to Hourman begins to act extremely odd almost as if it is pulling itself towards Rick Tyler. This of course makes sense given that he is Rex Tyler the original Hourman's son. Soon enough Rick leaves but Courtney makes up and excuse and is not far behind him. She soon catches up by him who is once again next to the tree where his parents were killed. When Courtney shows him the Hourglass he immediately brushes her off stating that she should get back on her meds. Courtney is determined however to get through to him. Back at Courtney's house and Beth who is now inside after telling Barbara that she is a friend of her daughters manages to get upstairs as she follows the family dog who just so happened to be chewing on Dr. Mid-Nites goggles. She retrieves the goggles and once she is inside of Courtney's bedroom she is stunned to find out that they house not only a variety of different powers and the like but also the AI presence of the original Dr. Mid-Nite Dr Charles McNider. He is able to tell her about her family, her friends and more. Courtney soon arrives and tells Beth to stop immediately but she doesn't rather she states that she will be keeping the goggles on. Superhero rule 101 always keep one's identity a secret. 

The episode draws to a close as Courtney now with Yolanda (Wildcat) and Beth Chapel who is a very chatty (Dr. Mid-Nite) all set out on Halloween night and end up going to Cindy's party. Inside Courtney uses a Gremlins face mask to disguise herself from Cindy who is seen with Henry Jr. Speaking of Henry Jr. we see that he is slowly developing some sort of powers similar to his dad's as he begins to hear voices. He even ends up leaving Cindy's party much to her dismay. As for Courtney her night is going not so great but things do begin to look better as she finally gives the Hourglass to Rick who upon using it is granted Super Strength for 1 hour. Just like his father Rex he is granted the power of Super Strength for 1 hour of 24 hours in a day. Beth learns thanks Dr Charles McNider that Rex Tyler was actually a pretty great Chemist and he created the Hourglass. Rick takes the Hourglass and goes off on his own but again Courtney is determined to get through to him. We soon see Rick's new strength in action as he completely totals his uncle's truck as he seems him harassing a waiter in a diner.  Soon enters Beth who learns that Rex Tyler and his wife's death was no accident. They were intentionally killed by Solomon Grundy and once Rick Tyler learns of this he finally agrees to join Courtney, Yolanda and Beth. The episode draws to a close as Pat back at the house finds the remaining JSA items that Courtney had taken from the JSA HQ. Not all that interesting of an ending but all in all this episode again was just fantastic. The difference between Rick Tyler not wanting to be a hero at first before ultimately agreeing to fight for the greater good all the way to Beth's joy and some time annoyance was fun and adorable. Check off another 2 members for the new JSA as Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite have now joined the team. This show gets better by the week as both it's characters and world are constantly developing. 

★★★★