Stargirl 1x13 : Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E Part Two review

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

Stargirls season finale has come and gone and with it we got the final showdown between the JSA & the ISA but also a look at future foes to come next season. The episode takes off mere moments before. In Blue Valleys football field we see The Fiddlers son beating on another guy with a trombone. One of the teachers soon rushes into the scene and breaks the fight up. The fight isn't the only thing that gets broken up however as within seconds the football field opens up and from it a giant satellite rises up. In an instant all adults are stopped right in their tracks as we see Jordan walking along the street of Blue Valley. He sees a young girl who was upset over her father becoming motionless. He assures her that everything will be fine, that when everyone wakes up including her father they will be a better person. 

At the end of last weeks episode we saw Pat who was inside of S.T.R.I.P.E clench his fist before punching it at the screen as it went black. Well things quickly pick up from there as Courtney is faced with the ongoing situation. She attempts to get through to Pat who is actually trying to fight back against Brainwaves power inside of S.T.R.I.P.E. With Pat still out for the count we see Beth back at the American Dream office where she takes on the Gambler along with Dr Mid-Nite in a hacking contest of sorts. Beth learns that below in the tunnels there are frequency blockers that can help the JSA get deeper and deeper as Stargirl and the others attempt to shut off Brainwaves machine. Speaking of Brainwave he soon leaves his position inside of the machine leaving it on loop as the countdown gets closer and closer to 00:00:00. He leaves to aid his ISA companions who are struggling with the JSA who really step up their game. Jordan leaves in the middle of the fight to go to the American Dream to stop Beth from completely destroying Project : New America. With Jordan gone for now the rest of the JSA & ISA go to war inside of the main room in the ISA HQ. Solomon Grundy gets unleashed and for the first time we see him in all his comic book accurate glory. He and Hourman are soon pitted against one another as S.T.R.I.P.E also joins in. This leaves Justin fighting Dragon King, The former Shining Knight says he is going to slay the dragon. But it is not him who does so rather it is the Dragon Kings own daughter in Cindy (Shiv) who ends her very own father. This leads to a rematch between Stargirl and Shiv which ends when Stargirl and Wildcat not only brush of Shiv but Yolanda ends up killing Brainwave in cold blood. Using his son Henry as a sort of disguise he fools Yolanda up until he mentions something out of ordinary and something that Henry wouldn't say. Stargirl finds Wildcat standing over Brainwaves body as the two finally arrive at the satellite. Stargirl ends up flying above the satellite and destroying it with the Cosmic Staff. This ends up saving all the adults in Blue Valley including Pat and Barbara.

The episode draws to a close as Jordan arrived at the American Dream office. He takes Barbara hostage and goes atop a building in Blue Valley where he speaks of his actions. He comes across as seriously delusional to Barbara who says that his wife would not be proud of what he had become and what he wanted to do to people all around the world not just Blue Valley. Pat soon arrives and says he is there to protect his wife while Stargirl and Icicle finally collide one on one. A battle atop the building ensues leading to both falling off but Stargirl gets saved by Wildcat. What follows is the demise of Icicle and I honestly don't know how to feel about it. As he is about to get up from the pavement Icicle's entire body turns into Ice. He's just about to impale Stargirl it looks like but he soon comes to a shattering end as Mike Dugan of all people drives through him in a car breaking the ISA villain into small tiny pieces. A good ending or a cheesey one for Icicle? I'm torn on it all. The episode doesn't end there however as although Blue Valley is safe once again further threats are lurking in the background as season 1 ends and season 2 approaches. News of an earthquake in Nebraska is the reason given for all the destruction and commotion in Blue Valley. We see someone watching the TV. This person mentions how folly it was of Jordan to think that his plan would actually succeed. This person is in fact the villain Shade another member of the ISA who has the ability to fixate in and out of places. The other villain?? well that's a lot more interesting however. We see Cindy almost raiding the ISA memorabilia room. She's going through boxes and boxes of stuff before ultimately she finds what she was looking for. That is the jewel belonging to a villain called Eclipso. A strong and powerful foe. Could Cindy really unleash such a threat?? we'll just have to wait and see. But the episode doesn't even end there as 6 weeks pass and it's Chirstmas. The entire Whitmore / Dugan family are seen celebrating at home. Courtney ends up taking the Cosmic Staff for a ride in a scene that was as visually pleasing as it was refreshing to behold. S.T.R.I.P.E soon joins her atop Blue Valleys water tower. Would you believe it when I said that the episode doesn't even end there?? well it doesn't. As there is one more surprise in store and it's a big one. We're shown a man getting out of a car in California. The man walks up to an apartment and knocks on the door looking for Pat. The person inside mentions that Pat has moved and asks who this person is. This person turns out to be none other than Starman himself as the episode finally fades to black. How could Starman be alive?? didn't he die?? if not then how did he survive?? all questions lead into season 2 which I'm sure will be another home run given the quality of this season. And that is the episode and season. What a season and what an episode to finish on. Simply put this was absolutely brilliant from start to finish and that's all I'm going to say about it.

So that was Stargirl season 1. 13 episodes of intense, emotion filled action that was capped of by a truly brilliant season finale. The only way is up for this show now and with the villains teased how can it fail?? With the show now joining the CW for season 2 it will be alongside others like The Flash and Supergirl and the others. Here's hoping we get to see those team up at some point in the future. Stargirl was an a giant success in my eyes and easily one of the best shows DC have ever produced. See you in season 2 Courtney!

   Episode ★★★★

Season overall ★★★★