After a successful and impactful first season, the CW’s Stargirl had nowhere to go but up. Its leads are captivating, the villains are creatively brought to life, and there's enough to satisfy comic book fans and casual viewers alike.
The second season premiere, the first in a “Summer School” arc, sees Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) obsessed with maintaining peace in Stargirl, even after the defeat of the Injustice Society of America. Courtney’s friends, though, are slightly burnt out after numerous night patrols and useless defending from an enemy that isn’t even there. I feel like this is a common trope in superhero shows and movies — the protagonist is obsessed with being a hero, and needs time off. Courtney’s “time off” comes in the form of summer school, which she is being forced to attend because of a sharp drop in academic quality.Before all that, though, the episode starts off with a creepy, slightly anachronistic cold open set sometime in the mid-20th century. Aside from an easily missable name reference, the contents of the intro have no application in the episode, so I’m interested to see how (and when) it gets incorporated into the actual story.
