Stargirl season 2, episode 10 review: Summer School: Chapter Ten

“Family isn’t born. It’s chosen.” Spoilers for Stargirl season 2, episode 10 follow.

As The Shade gives new advice on how to defeat Eclipso, Stargirl and Pat head out to find Jenny, aka Green Lantern.

Meanwhile, Beth, Mike, and Rick begin to deal with the recent changes in their lives and circumstances as best as they can.

Here’s everything that went down in Stargirl season 2, episode 10 “Summer School: Chapter Ten”.

Murder and lies

This episode starts off with an amazing follow-up to the flashbacks of the previous episode as we get just one more flashback to a conversation that Starman and Pat had after the JSA killed Eclipso. This is not only one of the best monologues that the show has ever had, but potentially Joel McHale’s best performance in anything. It’s just an incredibly heartfelt monologue that gets at the heart of the themes of both seasons of the show. It also allows us to see why Pat loved Starman instead of questioning why he was such a jerk.

This then perfectly segues into Courtney confronting Pat about his lies, which then leads into a wonderful scene in their car as they head off to find Jenny. These two really haven’t had as many scenes shared together as they did last season, so to see them have a wonderful scene together, even if it is heartbreaking, is something great to experience. The pair have had such a complicated journey with one another and it continues to be so, making for some fantastic television.

Once they find Jenny though, that’s when everything really begins to come together. Even when they’re at odds with each other, they still, through and through, want to help people. Seeing them both comfort Jenny as she has what basically amounts to a mental breakdown over her brother, it’s genuinely emotional. Even when they’re at their lows, they still want to lift others up and seeing them do so is a perfect encapsulation of both Courtney and Pat. Even when the dark seems impenetrable, heroes light up the path forward, which is exactly who Courtney and Pat are: Heroes.

Shadows

The Shade makes a rather dramatic entrance in this episode though, as he crashes through the Whitmore-Dugans’ household’s already-destroyed kitchen. He has continuously been one of the best parts of this season and that continues through this episode.

Most of why he works here, though, is that it seems that he is, once again, helping the JSA in their mission to stop Eclipso. However, true to his comic counterpart, he is using them to help himself. We had yet to truly see the morally ambiguous character that exists in comics like Starman, so it’s absolutely fantastic to see him come out to play in this episode.

We also learn more about The Shade and how his powers are connected to Eclipso and the Black Diamond as well. It’s not the most well-executed expositional scene, but it serves its purpose and sets up the fact that he has been, and always will be, a con man, which is how the episode ends up playing out.

The best part of The Shade’s appearance in this episode though has to do with his confession to Barbara, whom he seems to believe is his sister at the moment. It’s another wonderful monologue that, like Starman’s, allows us to see who this person truly is at their core. The Shade is not a bad person per se, he’s just incredibly selfish, which makes a certain sort of sense for a seeming immortal.

Assertation in Stargirl season 2

There are also some great scenes with Beth in this episode as we get to see the aftermath of her battle with Eclipso. Unlike everyone else’s battle, she has come out even stronger than before. She’s beginning to understand her value as a person and asserting herself more with her parents, as well. She’s still the same kind, caring Beth as ever, but she’s much more confident in herself than she once was.

There’s also a nice scene of Rick lying down in his jail cell. It starts out incredibly brutal as he just stares at the ceiling and continuously hears his fists hitting his uncle’s face, but then it takes a turn as Grundy tosses a few apples through the window of the cell. It’s a touching scene that continues to build their friendship, as well as the fact that Grundy is not a monster like he at first seemed.

Stargirl season 2 returns to The CW next Tuesday, October 19, at 8:00 p.m. ET.

What did you think of Stargirl season 2, episode 10? Have you been enjoying Stargirl season 2 so far? Let us know in the comments below!