Stargirl season 3, episode 4 review: The Evidence

“I’m man enough to admit, when the wife and I pulled a job, the last ones we wanted to see was Starman.” Spoilers for Stargirl season 3, episode 4 follow.

As Starman recovers from being ambushed, Stargirl and the JSA continue to piece together clues as to who this new villain is.

Meanwhile, Cameron continues to try, and struggle, to get used to his new powers.

Here’s everything that went down in Stargirl season 3, episode 4 “Frenemies – Chapter Four: The Evidence”.

Stargirl season 3, episode 4 review

The Iceman Cometh

It’s been a while since it was originally revealed that Cameron had powers like his dad. It’s only recently, though, that we have really seen him begin to get a hold on his powers – much to the happiness of his villainous grandparents. But well, he doesn’t do much in the way of mastering them because when Courtney confronts him, he loses his temper and shows them, unwillingly, to her.

Once Cameron’s secret is out though, it’s very interesting to see his and Courtney’s interaction. Hearing how he describes his family, his powers, and his father, shows us just how deeply he’s been lied to by his grandparents. It’s kind of heartbreaking because we, as the audience, know that Cameron has a good heart, so the fact that he’s being propagandized to by his grandparents is so incredibly sad to see and it will probably become even sadder as the season goes on.

It’s also interesting to see how Courtney reacts to this new revelation about Cameron given her own knowledge about his father, her own secrets, and the truth about what happened to Jordan. Brec Bassinger plays the cautiousness that Courtney is feeling as confused naivete incredibly well and it drastically adds to the tension of the scene.

Comas

Other than initially seeing Cameron begin to control his powers, this episode starts off with a bang as the Cosmic staff drags Courtney out in the middle of the night to find the unconscious Starman, adding more to the mystery of who killed The Gambler, while also leaving Sylvester in the hospital. But who else would this ordeal bring back to Blue Valley other than Doctor Midnite as he’s the most qualified to help Sylvester. And with him here, we get to learn how Sylvester came back to life, which is that the Cosmic staff has changed his physiology and has basically given him a healing factor, so it’s also assumed that Courtney will eventually develop one too. However, Midnite appearing in this episode isn’t just for the medical aspects, it’s for the two to have a great conversation about legacy and happiness.

Sylvester’s struggles with coming to terms with who he is, that’s something that we all feel in someway or another. When you first move to a new place, get a new job, start a new relationship, the struggle of understanding who you are and who you’re supposed to be is real and palpable. It’s almost like realizing that the world doesn’t revolve around you and that creates a massive existential crisis for anyone who grows through, which it’s why it’s so interesting to see Starman going through this thing that so many have gone through, including this writer. It makes Sylvester feel all the more human and not the almost mythical figure that Courtney, and by proxy, the show, has built Starman up to be. He’s just human, like the rest of us and, really, seeing our heroes as human is why this show has continually been so easy to invest in. These are simply people who have put on colorful costumes to fight those who would hurt others. The costume comes second to the person underneath. So, to see Midnite have this conversation with Sylvester, and be the counterpoint to his unhappiness, it emotionally hits like a freight train.

And what’s nice too is that Sylvester seems to already be growing as, while he still distrusts Crusher, he tries to at least extend his hand, metaphorically that is, after Crusher extends his. This also adds a nice bit of comedy to the episode when Pat invites Crusher to watch The Outlaw Josey Wales with himself and Sylvester.

Secrets

On the smaller side of things that will hopefully have more relevance as the season continues, we get to see a bit more of Yolanda’s home life as she continues to keep her secret identity as Wildcat from her family, but also keeps the secret that her family is struggling from everyone else. This is just another added layer to what is a terrible home life for Yolanda and really, this just feels like a tease for more as the season continues

Cindy continues to keep her secrets as well, but probably not as many as the others think she’s carrying. Not only is her body failing, which is probably due to her father’s torturous experiments, but it seems like Dragon King is back thanks to both of the Doctor Midnites working together to look over some newly found evidence. Now, obviously, we as the audience know that if Cindy really was working with her father, she wouldn’t be trying to make the formula to keep herself together by herself. However, this obviously isn’t going to be apparent to the rest of the JSA and will be the main crux of conflict for at least the next episode.

While not doing much of anything in the way of action, the latest of episode of Stargirl does what it does best, make its characters all the more human.

Stargirl season 3 airs on The CW on Wednesdays at 8/7c.

If you’re a fan of Stargirl or The CW, listen to The CW Spiral podcast for all of the latest news and updates regarding the network. Subscribe to their YouTube channel here. 

What did you think of DC’s Stargirl season 3, episode 4? Let us know in the comments below!