Stargirl season 3, episode 7 review: Infinity Inc. – Part One

“I understand what it means to be different. But different can be good.” Spoilers for Stargirl season 3, episode 7 follow.

Now that they’ve discovered that they’re being spied on, Stargirl and the JSA immediately go about a plan to get rid of all of the cameras.

While doing so though, Jenny continues to search for her brother…who she finds.

Stargirl season 3 episode 7 recap: Familial connections

This episode starts off bright, (Yeah, I know. Send me to writer’s jail for the terrible pun.) by reintroducing us to Jenny and, finally, introducing us to her brother, Todd. It’s actually really nice to see Jenny’s backstory scene once again, albeit edited together with new footage of Todd.

Obviously, Jenny and Todd are connected through their dad’s Lantern ring and when Jenny got her powers of light, Todd got his powers of darkness, but the opening scene of the episode is great as it does a fantastic job of showing how tied together Todd and Jenny are, the emotional longing that both share, and why Todd has been so hard to find. There’s no long-winded exposition. There’s no big revelation. There’s just basic storytelling by revisiting something we’ve seen already and then providing even more context to the scene.

But in Jenny’s search for her brother, she came across an unlikely, sort-of ally in the form of The Shade. It’s genuinely so funny seeing how worked up Jenny makes him, despite the fact that they’re working together to find Todd, or at least find something that can separate the two from one another.

The two of them are all too similar and the fact that they haven’t killed each other yet is a testament to the pair’s character. But once the snark between the two is gone, we get to see the seriousness of the situation. Jenny and The Shade are being pulled together because of the fallout of Eclipso and the Green Lantern ring’s corruption by remnants of Eclipso’s essence. And well, maybe Todd can help separate the two, which is exactly what The Shade needs to hear to help.

It’s also great to just have The Shade’s pompous, selfish snark back. It hasn’t necessarily been missed, but it’s always welcome. Jonathan Cake makes these often humorous statements feel right at home within serious scenes with no jarring effects, which is so hard to pull off.

Stargirl season 3 episode 7 recap: Teasing

Back in Blue Valley though, and after finding all the different cameras, the JSA tries to act like everything’s normal in various spots around Blue Valley in order to covertly destroy the cameras. This creates a surprisingly tense, yet often humorous situation for the team to be in with absolutely none of them acting naturally. From the Whitmore-Dugan’s very uncasual reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance as a prayer at the dinner table to Yolanda having to deal with her mother calling her at work, it’s a scene with several varying tones and it’s balanced incredibly well.

While finding the cameras though, we get to see the seams that have been loosening the entire season begin to unravel. Courtney’s worries about whether or not she even still has a place on the JSA begin to come to the forefront. But right when her worries are voiced, The Shade makes a reappearance in order to get Courtney to come with him. Not Stargirl, but Courtney. Which, honestly, is exactly what she needed to hear. No matter whether she’s wearing the mask or not, she’s a hero and can help people.

Meanwhile, Rick’s addiction to the hourglass is already becoming apparent and Beth immediately becomes worried about him. Even as the episode goes on, his anger and callousness to the damage he causes, and braggadocio too, gets more and more pronounced with Beth continuously taken aback by it. So, this is going to become a huge plot point more than likely in a few episodes.

While the rest of the JSA is dealing with their own issues and the cameras, Yolanda comes home and is given an ultimatum by her mother, which is a plot point three seasons in the making at this point. And well, Yolanda shows up at the Whitmore-Dugan doorsteps and, while Courtney obviously isn’t there, Barbara pulls her into the house without hesitation in a scene that, even though it’s short, will genuinely hurt your heart.

Stargirl begins this two-part episode on a stellar note with a fantastic set-up, build-up from previous plot points, and excellent character interactions.

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

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