Stargirl Season 2 Review

Overview

Stargirl again smashes it. Simple as that. Season 1 shocked me, and I won’t lie, when we found out Stargirl would be heading to The CW after its first season on the DC Universe, I was skeptical. The CW always tends to go one way or the other, they either do incredibly well (Superman and Lois) or do awful (Supergirl). With the way that Stargirl is as a show, I half expected The CW to go down the more awful route. I was wrong. Ohhh I was wrong.

Season 2 continued surprising me throughout. I even got to episode 6 and continued to be surprised. I should have just gotten used to the fact that Stargirl is an exceptional show, but I couldn’t help it. By the time season 2’s finale ended I was shocked that it was just as good as the first season. They introduced a few new faces into the show which you can read more about below, despite the show feeling more stacked, it feels like it’s needed which isn’t the same for a lot of shows.

Continuing its usual 13 episode run which feels like the perfect length for most seasons. This one never swayed away too much from the initial story and threat from Eclipso. I always have admired that from Stargirl, the fact it can develop backstories and introduce new characters without straying much away from the overall story. Yes, the season had its filler episodes but they were needed in my opinion.

Despite the season being amazing, it did have some negatives to go with it. Characters which you can read below but certain aspects of the show which we’ve come to love and know were missing. The S.T.R.I.P.E was missing for the vast majority of the season. We got a glimpse at the beginning and a return in the finale, but in the overall landscape, the robot was barely seen. I understand it was being repaired but I feel like in a fictional universe this should have been done a lot sooner. I won’t lie, it did worry me a bit when it came to the budget for the episode which is why we didn’t see it too much.

In this season we learned a lot more about the ISA. Including scenes with The Flash, Starman, Dr. Mid-nite, and the original Wildcat. We get to see them from a more defeated angle including why they fell apart in the first place. We know they got battered all over in the final fight against the ISA, but this backstory showcased why they fell apart in that particular fight. They had to kill the original Eclipso host, meaning killing a normal civilian who managed to find the Eclipso diamond. This put them on the backfoot, filled with guilt, it’s no wonder they ended up losing the final battle. All of this was absolutely needed so we can learn where the newly-found JSA comes from, and also what they stand for.

In a nutshell, Stargirl deserves to be talked about more. For me right now, it’s the powerhouse of The CW right behind Superman and Lois. I’ve come to find myself enjoying Stargirl a lot more than I do The Flash, considering The Flash is one of my favorite shows of all time, it’s just fallen off in my opinion. Stargirl has taken that spot now.

The showrunners and directors have done a great job as always, putting together a very well-crafted season together ensuring it flows properly. Honestly, if you haven’t watched Stargirl either at all or just this season, then I definitely recommend that you get on a binge-watch as soon as possible. I really don’t think you will be disappointed.

Characters

I usually discuss the positives first before going into the negatives, but I want to discuss the negatives here because I feel like the aspect of the characters lets the season down a lot more than it should have. I’d like to discuss the first one which is Beth. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do really like the actress and the character but she was nearly useless this season. She had aspects with Dr. Mid-nite and was the one that managed to realize he was trapped in the Shadowlands but besides that, she brought nothing great to the season. Whenever there was a fight she just cowered away, bested constantly and I believe they need to add something else to make her more useful in battle.

Next up on the negatives is Jenny. When I saw the initial trailers for season 2, I got super excited that we would finally be getting a Green Lantern in live-action, the first since the Ryan Reynolds movie in 2011, 10 years ago. To put it bluntly, she did nothing. After her first initial encounter with Courtney and realizing she’s one of the good ones, nothing else happened. She disappeared for a large portion of the season, barely told you who she was and where she came from, barely used the ring or understood it, and didn’t have a suit which we know the ring tends to pop the suit on? (I could be wrong on the suit part) She was poorly done. She deserves a lot more next season.

Finally, I will double up on both Rick and Yolanda. Again, a couple more characters that did next to nothing this season. Yolanda went missing for a few episodes and Rick was just caught up on Solomon. Rick did have a much better run this season than Yolanda but smashing the hourglass was a no-go, even worse that he couldn’t repair it in time for the finale. Yolanda had a great start, her fight against the newly-formed ISA was fantastic then fell off. I don’t know if the actress had stuff going on personally which is fine, but she should have been written out better than she was.

Now moving on to some positives. Let’s discuss the star of the show that really did steal the show again. Brec Bassinger has proved yet again that she was born for the role of Stargirl. She was incredible this season again, her agility and acrobatic styles are a joy to watch, her attitude and wanting to do good and help as many people as possible is also admirable.

Richard Swift (The Shade) was a phenomenal introduction. A huge well done is in order to whoever wrote him into the season. He plays a former ISA member with more of an agenda than the ISA and actually is more of a good guy than bad. He was the one that actually saved Dr. Mid-nite in the JSA vs. ISA fight. His entire demeanor was great. At the end of the season, he mentioned he wanted to stick around and I really hope he does.

The rest of the cast did a great job including Mike who is finding his way within the JSA, also finding himself more useful. Pat had a shaky start but continued improving throughout. As did the rest of our heroes. Cindy deserves a special mention because I actually enjoyed her character a hell of a lot more this season than I did in the last one. She goes from wanting to destroy the JSA to working with them towards the end, a good redemption story, she needs more time to truly reflect that and I think they’ll serve the character justice.

Finally, Eclipso. What a villain! Nick Tarabay played the “adult” version of Eclipso perfectly. You may recognize him as the same man who played Captain Boomerang in the Arrowverse. An excellent casting, one I was unsure of in the beginning. Now though, let me discuss the child who played Eclipso. I’m telling you now that Milo Stein has a VERY bright future ahead of him. What a terrifying kid, he can act that’s for sure. I was more afraid of him than I was of the fully formed Eclipso. It is safe to assume Eclipso will be remembered for some time as he made such an impact.

It’s worth noting Starman finally returned, as did the original Dr. Mid-nite, we also got scenes with John Wesley Shipp returning as Jay Garrick (The Flash).

Standout Character

Eclipso. 100%. You’ve just read my thoughts on Eclipso as a villain. It cannot be overstated as much just how perfect the villain was for this season. It’s always more impactful when a villain doesn’t just go in to hurt a team or hero, when they go in to mentally damage them before hurting them is incredibly sinister. Eclipso does just that. One by one, he makes the team fall apart until they fight through it in the end. Both the fully formed Eclipso and the child version were outstanding and deserve all the praise in the world.

Favourite Episode

It has to be the finale for me. Easily this episode was perhaps the best episode of Stargirl yet. It featured everything from exceptional action, thriller scenes, returns, and teases for the next season. If you haven’t watched the finale yet then please catch up and watch it as soon as you possibly can, what an episode.

Worst Episode

Episode 10’s Chapter 10 was easily the worst episode of the season. It showcases even further that it was the lowest-rated of the season. It was one of the only episodes that I didn’t enjoy all that much but still, nothing can be taken away from the overall perspective of the show.

Episodes & Their Ratings

Episode 1: Summer School: Chapter One – 7.5/10
Episode 2: Summer School: Chapter Two – 9.5/10
Episode 3: Summer School: Chapter Three – 7.5/10
Episode 4: Summer School: Chapter Four – 8.5/10
Episode 5: Summer School: Chapter Five – 8.3/10
Episode 6: Summer School: Chapter Six – 10/10
Episode 7: Summer School: Chapter Seven – 8.5/10
Episode 8: Summer School: Chapter Eight – 10/10
Episode 9: Summer School: Chapter Nine – 9.8/10
Episode 10: Summer School: Chapter Ten – 5.8/10
Episode: 11: Summer School: Chapter Eleven – 10/10
Episode: 12: Summer School: Chapter Twelve – 7.3/10
Episode: 13: Summer School: Chapter Thirteen – 10/10

Average rating – 8.7/10

Our Overall Rating 8.9/10

As you can see from our average and overall ratings, they’re very similar. For me, what let Stargirl down so much this season was the characters section. You can see our ratings below if you’re on mobile (not AMP). Characters received a 6/10. This was simply down to the fact of the number of characters wasted.

Does It Deserve Another Season?

Season 3 was seemingly announced at the end of the season 2 finale named Frenemies which does tell us that it will be following the same formula of episode names across season 3. However, does it deserve it? If our glowing review didn’t make it clear enough then absolutely. Stargirl deserves one of the highest budgets The CW has to offer along with possible spin-offs, but that’s an article for another day.