by thesunsetkid56Fresh of a hot start last week we officially get the birth and debut of Stargirl
This week’ episode begins right after Courtney’s battle with Brainwave. Wasting no time, the episode picks up with Pat landing his giant robot in front of Courtney, quickly taking her away from Brainwave. We get to see Courtney and Pat in the immediate aftermath of the fight, and this allows room for proper character building.
Courtney and the Cosmic Staff connection grows through their mutual fear of the last week’s events. It makes the bond between the two feel real and organic as it allows the audience to see Courtney, and staff, to simply react and exist. Brec Bassinger’s performance in this episode is top notch this week. She proved last week why she was the perfect choice to play Courtney and she proves it even more here, especially toward the end of the episode. In a scene just featuring Courtney and her mom, Bassinger is a talent in the making. She has about five emotions running across her face within that one scene alone, constantly shifting back and forth between them in a way that feels so real and absolutely right for Courtney in that moment.
Fresh off their appearance last episode, we really get to see Pat and his suit in action in this episode. It’s not an abundance but just enough. The S.T.R.I.P.E. suit was fantastic. It is character building for Pat in the best way possible. Almost every scene revolving around Pat and his suit in this episode is even more down to earth than last week. It allows us into Pat’s world of a reluctant return to the side kick role while also showing us that Pat is a genius engineer. This episode goes a long way in showing who Pat is beneath the suit. He is a good, kind family man. This is most evident in a conversation with Courtney late in the episode where he is trying to protect his family from harm. It’s exactly what a hero would do and his selflessness a big part of why Courtney put on the Stargirl suit.
In the episode’s biggest climax, Pat tries to take matters into his own hands but finds himself woefully unequipped to take down Brainwave. Courtney, complete with a new suit, arrives just in time. This is the big “Superhero origin moment” moment in “S.T.R.I.P.E.”
The episode ends with Courtney excited about her superhero future with her new sidekick, and the villain Brainwave defeated, “S.T.R.I.P.E” delivers a great ender for what I refer to as the one-two punch of the pilot and this episode. It has the superhero debut and sets up the future foils towards the end. Stargirl is continuing its streak of being the surprise hit the CW/DC universe needs. Let’s hope the content continues to be great.
