Stargirl 1x12 : Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E Part One review

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

The penultimate episode of Stargirls first season has come and gone and with it the finale was set up in a big, big way. The episode begins where last week's ended as Courtney along with Barbara, Pat and Mike prepare to leave Blue Valley. Little do they know however that Brainwave with Jordans orders has sent Tigress and Sportsmaster to their home in an attempt to kill them all. Sportsmaster or Crusher makes his entrance in the garage. Pat is there talking to Mike. He shows his son S.T.R.I.P.E. and Mike is honestly blown away by what his dad had built. As Mike leaves Crusher and Pat begin to duke it out with Crusher getting the majority of blows in. As this is happening in the garage upstairs another fight is taking place mainly between Stargirl and Tigress but Barbara also who finally sees her daughter in action for the first time. Her reaction once Tigress is defeated for the time being?? ''That was awesome'' what's not awesome is the beating Crusher is putting on Pat. With Pat barely hanging on and bruised all over Mike arrives from the background and uses a drill which he digs right into Crushers lower back. This leaves an escape route for the entire family as they all head to a cabin in the middle of nowhere with everyone else there too including the JSA members and Justin (Shining Knight)

At the end of last weeks episode we saw the countdown to Project New America's beginning. Well this week it's mere hours away which leads to Brainwave doing a sort of first trial before he really gets to work. He along with Dragon King enter a giant room that really does look like Professor X's Cerebro chamber. Brainwave is put to work and with his powers now enhanced he is able to fully operate the machine much to the delight of Dragon King. Time further ticks away and back at the cabin we learn that Rick Tyler's notebook that belonged to his father holds all the answers. He's been told by Pat to decipher it by midnight and he is seriously struggling at first. Pat who had just talked to Barbara about their relationship and how he wanted a normal life with her enters the room and manages to help solve the riddle in the notebook which is the number of Rex Tyler's 1966 Mustang. Rick cracks his dad's notebook which leads to a giant help for the JSA as inside the notebook behind the code is a map detailing the entire underground network of the ISA.

The episode draws to a close as the group puts it's plan of action into place. Pat gathers everyone in the main room as Beth uses her goggles and Doctor Mid-Nite to showcase the newly found map in a giant 3-D holograph. The team discuss entering the tunnels at different places. Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E will enter from the river, Wildcat, Hourman and Justin will enter from Cindys house and Barbara goes with Beth as she prepares to hack into the ISA mainframe from inside the American Dream building. Beth achieves this but is soon caught by The Gambler who hacks the hacker. With 30 minutes remaining on the countdown timer everyone thinks they have 30 minutes before Brainwave begins the process of interfering with over 100 million peoples minds but they are sorely mistaken as The Gambler laughs. There is 30 minutes and less before Brainwave finishes the process. A process that renders all adult into a zombie minion like state for the duration. This is seen happening immediately as Barbara, Justin and even Pat stop in their tracks with a blue light flickering in their eyes. Stargirl who is with Pat who is inside of S.T.R.I.P.E soon realizes that they're all in big trouble. The episode closes as S.T.R.I.P.E forms a fist and punches right at the screen as it fades to the credits. And that is how things will surely pick up in next week's finale. This was once more a great episode. Not as good as the previous 2 weeks but still highly entertaining throughout. It featured a lot more in terms of action and leaned a bit on comedy also. Can Stargirl and the rest of the JSA stop the ISA's plan?? we'll find out next week in what is sure to be an explosive finale.

★★★★