Stargirl “Summer School: Chapter Eight” Review

Season 2 Episode 8 – With his world crashing down around him, Rick focuses his attention on protecting Solomon Grundy after learning hunters are after a bear in the woods; Beth becomes the target of Eclipso’s latest plan.

What I Liked

1. I really loved that first scene. It wasn’t to do with superheroes or villains or anything crazy going on in the city, just a guy, not knowing what the future brings. I loved the realism of the scene and how much viewers at home can probably on some level relate. Rick clearly messed up at some point down the line, yet there’s still someone routing for him.

2. After Rick breaks down in the woods, admitting he is defeated and tired, Solomon Grundy appears before him. This has been hinted at throughout the season and I’m so glad it’s finally here! I love the fact Rick wants to understand him and give him a chance, rather than treat him like a monster. The scene between the two was very touching as they shared the bag of apples.

3. Thinking back to season one and how brutal the members of the ISA were, I think back now compared to Eclipso and they’ve just got nothing on him. Eclipso is literally being played by a little boy and yet is absolutely terrifying. Clearly, he’s targeting one member of the team at a time and this week it’s Beth’s turn. Well played to all the actors involved in these scenes because they were absolutely horrifying.

4. After chasing down Grundy, Rick turns his hourglass, ready to take down Grundy as he believes he has just killed a ten-year-old girl. After quite the beat down, Courtney and Pat scream towards Rick, telling him that is not Grundy. As Rick turns back to Grundy, he sees the person he has just attacked was his uncle, and within moments Rick is arrested.

5. Beth had a great scene with Eclipso, as she didn’t give in to her own fears and instead faced them. A line that sat really well for me was when she said “I don’t need anyone to choose me, I chose myself”. Very well done to Anjelika Washington for the acting throughout this scene. I really felt like this was the first time Beth has accepted herself as the new Doctor Midnight.

What I Disliked

Nothing to report this week.

Favourite Moment

I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to put into words how harrowing this scene was, as the search for Solomon Grundy continues from the public, it’s announced a ten-year-old girl has gone missing. As Rick runs closer to the river to find Grundy, he sees him standing over the body of a ten-year-old girl. As Pat and Courtney chase after Rick, Pat pulls the little girl from the river. Her body is blue and seemingly she is dead, however as we see her eyes open and a grin on her face, her body disappears and it seems this was in fact the work of Eclipso. I can’t believe how dark they have gone for this episode but they’ve pulled it off, it’s brilliant.

Standout Character

Rick is definitely taking the standout this week. Every single scene he was in was so impactful to the story and not to mention so dark and harrowing. For just one episode his character went through so much just from the beginning to the end. We see him looking at college brochures at the beginning, from forgiving Solomon Grundy, to almost killing his own uncle and being arrested. An absolutely incredible episode for him this week.

Verdict

This episode was absolutely incredible and harrowing all at the same time. This is probably the darkest episode as of yet, the imitation of a 10-year-old girl is dead, Rick beating his own uncle to the point of being in critical condition. Everything about this episode was very dark, well played to all the actors as I can imagine this being a difficult episode to do, never mind to do it so perfectly.

Rating 10/10

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