Chapter Six: The Betrayal

Chapter SixThe Betrayal
Information
Season 3 » Episode 6
Episode number	32
Original airdate	October 12, 2022
Written by	Aflredo Septien & Turi Meyer
Directed by	Lea Thompson
Viewers	480,000
Episode Guide
Preceded by	"Chapter Five: The Thief"
Followed by	"Chapter Seven: Infinity Inc. Part One"

Chapter Six: The Betrayal also titled Frenemies - Chapter Six: The Betrayal is the sixth episode of the third season of Stargirl, and the thirty-second episode overall. This episode aired on October 12, 2022 on The CW.

Synopsis

CLASHING FRENEMIES — After learning that Courtney has been spending time with Cameron, Pat and Barbara go on a recon mission to see if the Mahkents pose a threat. Meanwhile, Sylvester steps in to fill the void left by Courtney, and tensions between Yolanda and Cindy reach new heights.  

Plot

Cindy looks up at the ruined ISA portrait, shaking her head. She turns back to the table where she collects her books and scrolls. She looks up and her eyes blink in gold reptilian slits.

Across town, Rick breaks into Ripped City to test his super strength using a barbell weight. He does effortless reps and curls. As his timer increases, he adds more and more weight. When the timer passes the one hour mark, he adds the last plate to the bell. He lifts it over his head three times. He sets it back down with a grin and gives a celebratory shout. He's oblivious to the camera recording him, sending a feed to a lair where a figure growls while watching. The figure presses a button that turns off the feeds, then continues his puzzle.

In the morning, church bells ring as Yolanda sits in a confessional, asking the priest to bless her for she has sinned. She broke into someone's house last night and stole something. The priest questions her stealing, though it was for a good reason. He reminds her there's no good reason for breaking God's commandments or the law. She had to expose a liar who was manipulating her best friend. She has proof of it all, running her finger along the purple laptop. Father Thomas shakes his head, as the ends don't justify the means. Someday, when it's safe, she'll tell him everything about Blue Valley. But for now, he should know there are people in this town who have secrets, terrible secrets, who have done terrible things. She begins to say especially Cindy, but stops to cover the name as "sinners", lamenting they're all sinners. He reminds her to be careful of who she judges. He doesn't want her to learn the wrong lessons about judgment from her own family. She doesn't want to talk about them, so he doesn't push. She will be forgiven for what she's done. She doesn't think he understands. She's not asking for forgiveness for what she's done, she's asking forgiveness for what she's about to do.

Mike juices fruits and veggies in the kitchen, which surprises Barbara and Pat. He remarks that Mike's making a mess and that it looks like a farmer's market, while Barbara asks where it all came from. It came from the Crocks. When Mike got up for his route, they were in the kitchen messing around. Barbara is proud of him for being healthy. The Crocks took his cereal and the doughnuts, with Pat adding how Crusher came in yesterday to throw away his light beer. Mike tells Pat to stand up for his house. Barbara knows Crusher and Paula are a bit much, but they do have good habits. It would be good if some of them rubbed off on the family. Pat's just under the impression they were trying to help them be better people. Sylvester comes up from the basement, sighing over his late night, as he found no sign of Dragon King. He feels like he's on a wild-goose chase. Mike clarifies that it isn't Dragon King, but Sylvester isn't sure, they can't rule anything out. He wants to update Courtney, but Mike mentions she already left. Pat and Barbara question where she went. Sylvester references Yolanda saying Courtney's meeting with Icicle's kid, Cameron Mahkent.

In a beautiful garden at the Mahkent Residence, Cameron takes deep breaths as the birds chirp in the background. Courtney watches from a few feet away. She reminds him that how he feels affects what he does, so if he's scared or angry, the ice will be too. But if he keeps focusing on the good, though he loves and the love she knows he has for the rest of the world, then his heart will control it. He continues to breathe with his eyes closed. He still doesn't understand how she knows all of this. She flashes back to Sylvester teaching her, smiling that her coach told her the same thing. She quickly adds it was the gymnastics team coach back in California. He warns her to keep her distance, but she's not worried. He opens his eyes which are white with ice. He lets out an ice breath as she tells him to focus. He holds out his palms and snows flurries down with gusts of cold wind. A statue forms in the center of the garden, rising to several feet above them. He smiles as he does it. She nods back at him and he gazes up at the statue, which is of his dad. She looks a bit uneasy before complimenting its beauty.

Jakeem and Mike stand outside Cindy's house with chocolate and flowers. If she doesn't eat sugar they'll give the flowers, and if she doesn't like flowers, they'll have to bribe her with something else. The boys talk on the front porch. Cindy has to join them, especially if everyone else thinks she's working with Dragon King. Cindy Burman might be guilty of many things, but killing The Gambler is not one of them. That's beneath her, as she's got class and information. She has access to all the files on the ISA, stuff the others don't even know about. So while Courtney's slacking off, they can figure out the puzzle. Jakeem reminds him the point of everything his sister wanted was for them to all work together. Mike wants to win, and nobody wins if they do that. Jakeem shrugs as he's just saying. Courtney wants everyone to trust each other, but then this murder happens, and no one trusts anyone. They should be transparent. Mike scoffs that he's as transparent as a window. He rings the doorbell and Cindy answers. He greets her, grinning that the Young All-Stars bring her offerings. She smirks and gives a simple no, slamming the door shut on them.

At The Pit Stop, Yolanda tells Sylvester, Rick, and Beth that she found The Gambler's laptop hidden in Cindy's room. Sylvester surmises she did it, but asks why. He needs to know what's on this laptop right now, telling Beth to do it. She's hesitant as there are probably the usual encryptions and firewalls, but she should be able to get through them with an assist from the goggles. He instructs her to download everything, and then Yolanda will put the laptop back where she found it. This confuses Yolanda, so Sylvester explains that if Cindy knows the laptop is gone, she'll know she's busted and might run. There's still a chance Dragon King's a part of this, or maybe someone else.

Pat carries a basket with fruits and vegetables to the Mahkent residence. He reminds Barbara she didn't have to come, but she thinks it will be less suspicious if both of them come. He thought he was worrying too much and that she was fine with Courtney having a crush. She is fine with that, but it's Cameron Mahkent. It's the grandparents she's concerned about. He agrees they definitely knew something about the mind machine Jordan was building. Barbara worries they know about Courtney, Mike, Pat, and all of them. Pat notes it could get real complicated, but she corrects it could get really dangerous. He knows Courtney's got great instincts, but she reminds him that love can cloud someone's judgment. Her eyes might not be as wide open as they think. She just wants her to be safe. They ring the doorbell. He wonders if they should keep some of the fruit, but it's for them. He urges her to put a couple of the bananas in her purse, but the Mahkent's answer before he can finish. Lily greets them followed by Sofus. He loves smoothies and the families convene in a larger room.

Barbara compliments the room. Lily mentions it was her son's office and her daughter-in-law's studio. Barbara knows Cameron is quite the artist too. Lily invites them to sit as Sofus comes in with plates. They don't entertain much, but would like to offer them a Norwegian specialty: lutefisk. In Norwegian, Lily asks if he poisoned it, with Sofus scoffing that of course not. She asks why he's serving it then, earning a side look from him. Barbara really came by to share how delighted they are that Courtney and Cameron are spending a lot of time together. Because they're here, Lily assumes they have concerns. Pat brushes it off as just wanting to tell them that Cameron's such a nice young man. Lily starts to speak about Courtney, but Sofus interrupts. They think Courtney's very special too. Barbara asks how they think she's special, earning inquisitive looks. Pat fixes it by saying he thinks Barb means to say thanks. A moment of silence passes and Barbara expresses that she never had a chance to tell them personally how sorry she is about what happened to Jordan. He was a great man. Lily repeats the sentiment and asks if Barbara knows how it feels to lose a child. She starts to raise her hand when Sofus takes it. Courtney calls out to her mom and Pat, asking what they're doing here. She and Cameron enter the room, their family watching them.

Zeek enjoys a burger at Richie Rock's Diner when Mike and Jakeem enter. They have a little bit of a problem, a girl problem, and need his help. With his interest piqued, Zeek sets down his burger and faces the boys. The fellas have come to the right place. Mike explains there's this girl they both like, but she won't even pay attention to them. In fact, she'll barely talk to them and they wonder how they can get her to give them a chance. Zeek muses over the young romance, competing for a lover's heart. Mike and Jakeem quickly protest that, but Zeek presses on over them. He's taken a turn on love's cosmic merry-go-round. He's danced under the moonlight on the beaches of Monaco with the duchess of Liechtenstein, and has his heart broken by a poor chimney sweep's less interesting daughter. Jakeem is stunned over him dancing with a duchess. Zeek smiles that he did then some. She showed him every swift move of the Viennese waltz, and he taught her the funky chicken. They were quite the pair, but anyhoo, he found there are two universal truths in life. One, you can't un-strip a screw, and two, not to give up on love. Jakeem asks if he misses any of them, but he doesn't long for lost love. There's only been one girl in all the world that he thinks has tamed his wild heart. He turns around to wave to Maria, who returns the gesture with a smile. If it's meant to be, it'll be. The boys nod and leave the diner. Mike sighs that it was a waste of time, but Jakeem thought it was interesting.

Courtney questions why her parents didn't call her. Barbara reminds Courtney that she was ignoring everyone. Cameron reveals that Courtney was helping him on a new sculpture, which unnerves Lily, though Sofus is sure it's fine. Courtney presses there was no reason for her parents to come all the way out here. Pat shrugs it off, as if he hadn't come then he never would have gotten to try lutefisk, which now enters the pantheon of great fish. It's right up there with catfish, grouper, and tilapia. His humor lands hollow, prompting Pat to think they should get going. They don't want to overstay their welcome, as they've all been so hospitable. Like he said, they just wanted to come by, say hello, and wish the teens good luck. Sofus looks to Cameron - as long as their children are both happy, that's all that matters. He looks to Lily and urges her that Cameron and Courtney being happy is all that's important now. She gives a brisk nod, glaring at Courtney. Cameron and Courtney hold hands.

The Whitmore-Dugan's leave the house. Courtney remarks that it was humiliating, asking what they were doing there. Barbara was worried about her. They're the one always telling Courtney that she can't just be Stargirl. Pat was just concerned for her, that's all. Courtney exasperatedly asks how many times she has to tell people that Cameron's not his father. They understand, but his grandparents knew Jordan was up to something. They're worried they have the same abilities that Icicle did. Courtney nervously reveals they probably do, according to Cindy, anyway. She thinks she saw his grandmother have the same type of powers Jordan did. But even if she does, if they both do, if they wanted to hurt them they would have done it already. Pat's not sure why they would wait. He loves old people, but they scare the hell out of him. Lily watches them from the window, unaware that a camera watches the entire front gate. In a lair, the black-gloved figure growls as they put another puzzle piece in place.

Beth works on decrypting Gambler's laptop when her parents come into her room. They've been trying to call her all day, but couldn't seem to get through. They came home when they couldn't reach her. Bridget asks if Beth really blocked them. Beth's guilty look is confirmation. She told them before, it's too dangerous for them to be involved in this. Mr. Pemberton, Starman, his sister was killed because she was involved. Bridget wonders who will be protecting Beth if she's trying to protect them. Beth affirms that it'll be her friends, her team. James insists they're on her team. Beth shakes her head - there's a killer out there. She's asking them to please, don't make her push them away anymore she already has. James and Bridget solemnly leave the room. When they're gone, a rustling from the window catches Beth's attention. Wildcat emerges from the window, asking if Beth is okay. She says she is and hands back the laptop. Everything's downloaded but it's going to take a while for her to decrypt it. Wildcat puts it in her bag and plans to get it back to Cindy before she realizes it's gone. She smiles, praising Beth for doing a great job. She asks if Beth is sure she's okay. Beth thinks she better get the laptop back. Wildcat starts to leave again until Beth stops her, asking if she's screwing this up with her parents. She asks if Yolanda would let her parents in on this side of her life. Yolanda scoffs a hell now, ready to go. She hesitates to look back at Beth, adding that her parents suck. She jumps out the window and disappears.

Courtney sits on her bed when Barbara knocks on the door. She brings in a vase of beautiful flowers that Cameron just dropped off. Courtney is surprised by the gesture. She grins happily and takes the card from the bouquet, which now sits on her end table. Barbara pauses at the door, smiling happily. Courtney looks up and gives her mom a slow look, so Barbara leaves. Courtney opens the note and reads, "Thanks for giving me hope". She smiles and holds it to her chest, grinning down at it as she sets it on the bed spread.

Wildcat sneaks into Cindy's room to return the laptop. Beth continues working on the decryption when her computer picks up on an unidentifiable feed. Yolanda is caught by Cindy, who greets her as Kitty Cat and walks over to her. She knew it was her as she scratched the window coming in the first time. Defiant, Wildcat then sneers that she'll do more than that right now and sank into a fighting stance with her gloved hands closed into fists. Cindy defensively tries to stop her to explain, as she did not kill The Gambler. Wildcat doesn't care, as she had The Gambler's laptop and didn't tell them. Cindy had her reasons and would have explained. She still can, but Wildcat unsheaths her claws - it's too late. She swings at her, slashing the bedpost in half as Cindy dodges onslaughts of attacks. Wildcat kicks her backwards into the window. Cindy does a flip and kicks Wildcat into the wall, commencing a brutal fight. She dodges another attack and Wildcat pins herself on the wall as Cindy grabs the bedpost as a weapon. Wildcat throws herself off the wall and, using the force held in her suit to scale forward from the horizontal ceiling, land on the floor, and reprise her razor-clawed assault. She lands a scratch on Cindy, who holds her face until it heals shut. She drops a lock of white hair and Wildcat beams. Cindy shakes her head "no", for Wildcat just did a very foul move. They continue to fight until Wildcat throws her out of a window, jumping out behind her. Her suit absorbs the impact as Cindy struggles to get up.

Beth opens the video feeds and sees Wildcat fighting Cindy on the front lawn of the Burman residence. She quickly puts on her goggles and calls Courtney, begging her to pick up.

Wildcat and Cindy continue their fight, with the heroine managing to grab and restrain the latter from behind, snarling that Cindy's always been a bitch. Cindy returns the sentiment and kicks her aside. A metallic creaking catches her attention, and she sees a car flying towards her. Cindy jumps out of the way just as Hourman leaps into the fight, surpassing the house in his grand leap. He lands on the bus as he knew she wasn't good. The trio begins to fight and Wildcat restrains her long enough for Hourman to kick her away. Cindy stands back up, preparing to fight more, though her sleeve rips to show the green scales emerging. Rick asks what the hell that is, so Cindy quickly covers it up. Wildcat snears that Cindy's just like her dad. Cindy unsheaths her shiv for the first time.

Beth watches the fight from her bed, unable to do anything.

Wildcat and Hourman gang up on Cindy, slamming her into the ground. From above, a bright light emerges as Stargirl performs the shooting star into the center of the fight, blasting everyone away from each other. She looks up, her eyes glowing brightly from the power of the staff. Wildcat and Hourman run behind Stargirl, ready to continue the fight. She turns to Cindy, asking what she's doing, though Cindy points out Yolanda started this. Wildcat reveals Cindy stole The Gambler's laptop, but Cindy swears she didn't kill him. Wildcat thinks she's just like her father, telling Courtney to just look at her scales. Stargirl realizes the DNA at the crime scene wasn't Dragon King's DNA, but Cindy's. She asks what's happening to her. Cindy wants her to stop acting like she cares. Stargirl does care, asking her to please talk to them. Fighting back emotions, Cindy explains she started changing when they got back from The Shadowlands. She doesn't know if it triggered this or if it was always going to happen. She doesn't know what her dad did to her. She was just trying to figure it out. She stole The Gambler's laptop so she could go through his files, locate labs, find a cure, but she didn't kill anyone. The JSA stares at her and Cindy emotionally exclaims for them to stop looking at her like she's a monster. Her eyes flash reptilian and she covers them up, squelching and groaning. Stargirl wants to help her, though Cindy only throws the offer back at her. She's so tired of all of this. Stargirl defends that if she was just honest with them in the first place like they asked her to be, but Cindy cuts her off. She asks if she should be honest like her. She urges Stargirl to tell the JSA about her little secret she's been keeping about Cameron. Wildcat already knows she's dating Cameron. Cindy shakes her head at the definition, taunting a "like father, like son". Courtney's teaching that little psycho how to conjure up icicles, just like Daddy. This news shocks Hourman and Wildcat. Cindy presses that Cameron has powers like the rest of his family, turning to Courtney. When Cameron finds out what she did to his dad, which he will, he'll come for her. She hopes that he wins. Cindy storms off, leaving Hourman and Wildcat to glare at their leader with disdain.

Courtney nervously paces at The Pit Stop, rubbing her hand. She criticizes them as they should have had a plan. Rick bluntly tells her they did have a plan, she just wasn't involved. Yolanda adds it's because she hasn't been around. She's been too busy training the new Icicle. Courtney's not training anyone, she is just trying to help him, just like they should be trying to help Cindy. Yolanda snaps that this isn't about Cindy anymore - it's about her lying to them. Courtney didn't mean to. Yolanda thinks that after everything that happened with Pat and her mom that she would realize how damaging this is to them. Courtney insists it was Cameron's secret and wasn't hers to tell. Rick asks if Cameron mattered more than them, which isn't true. She promised not to tell anyone. Rick angrily shouts that he's a threat. Courtney snaps back that he's not. Rick thinks he is, but she made that decision by herself when all of them who are a team are at risk. Yolanda calmly adds she turned her back on them for him. Courtney, emotional, looks at Beth who shakes her head. She's been on her side this whole time, trusting everyone because she thinks they should. But Rick and Yolanda are right, she should have told them. Courtney nods, crying, as Yolanda talks Courtney wanting them to trust each other. Turns out, the person she's closest to is the one that can't be trusted. Courtney apologizes again, she's really sorry. She looks away taking a shaky breath. She thinks until they get this sorted out, that Sylvester should lead the JSA. Yolanda glares that he already has been. Courtney nods, her face scrunching in pain as she cries.

She goes to her room and takes the polaroid of her and Yolanda off the wall to stare at it. A knock on the door makes Courtney sigh, as she assumes it's Pat and doesn't want to talk. Sylvester opens the door to ask if she's okay. Beth told him what happened. Courtney thinks she kicked herself off the team. He assures her she's not kicked off anything, but she worries they don't want her anymore. He reminds her that the JSA isn't about what they want. She's sorry for not telling him about Cameron. He insists she doesn't need to apologize to him, as he's been there. He's guessing she thought she could handle it, fix it all, straighten out Cameron, and then present it to everybody all wrapped up in a neat little bow. She tearfully nods, and he continues on that they think alike. They're a lot alike, actually. Barbara and Pat keep telling both of them to find balance, but it's not so easy for people like them. They love it too much, they live for it. Pat walks up to the door and stops to listen. Sylvester knows the line between Courtney Whitmore and Stargirl is blurry at best. They bleed into each other. It can make living a normal life on any level almost impossible. She has to give herself a break. His sister Mary, who Courtney knows about, always saw the good in people. She thought, given a chance, bad people could change, just like Courtney does. Merry thought even Brainwave could change. Brainwave was different from The Shade or the Crocks or Cindy. He was too far gone. No matter what he told Mary about him, she was in love for some reason. Sylvester blamed his powers. Thought he had tricked her into loving him or planted the idea in her brain, but he doesn't know. They married, had a son, Henry. She kind of proved Sylvester wrong for a while. But in the end, Icicle convinced Brainwave to turn on Sylvester's sister and his nephew. Courtney nods as Henry died protecting them. Sylvester, emotional, admits he was the only family he had left, but he never even met him. He doesn't know Cameron Mahkent, but he does know her. He trusts her gut more than anything. So if she says he's a good kid who just needs some guidance, he's on board. She smiles nodding tearfully. He smirks, quoting a wise man named Stripesy, which makes her chuckle. She can't try to do everything herself, because she can't. She thanks him and he tells her not to worry about the others, as he'll talk to them. They're going to get through this, together. Pat sighs from the hallway and walks away.

Beth sits on her bed with the goggles on. She finds a feed of the Whitmore-Dugan house. The goggles scan for surveillance devices in her room but there isn't one. She grabs the laptop and hurries out of the room.

Courtney joins Pat in the kitchen, expecting him to say something. He thinks she's been piled on enough by everyone today. He can't say anything better than Sylvester already did. She remarks he's pretty great, which he knows. She doesn't know what she'd be doing without him. A knock at the door reveals Beth, which makes Courtney smile hopefully. She asks what's going on, as Beth looks worried. Beth tries to brush it off, nervously saying "nah" and grinning widely. Pat knows her and asks what she's worried about. She asks what's with all the worried talk. She's not worried, they're not worried. No one's worried. She grabs a glass offering juice, as she'd love one. She starts feeding the juicer. Pat warns her to be careful of her fingers. Beth hurries over to them with her laptop, talking through a smile for them to just act super normal. The machine whirrs in the background as Beth explains she hacked into The Gambler's files and found something she thinks he found. She shows them a feed of Cindy's house, but that's not all. She flicks through to show The American Dream, The Pit Stop, the exterior of the Whitmore-Dugan House, and the very kitchen they're standing in. They all look up for the camera but don't find it. Whispering, Courtney asks Pat what they do now. He remarks they don't say another word, closing the laptop.

Through a monitor, the gloved figure growls and breathes as they watch the feeds. The puzzle on the desk is nearly completed; half is of a man's face while the rest is a skull.

Cast

Starring

• Brec Bassinger as Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl
• Yvette Monreal as Yolanda Montez/Wildcat
• Anjelika Washington as Beth Chapel
• Cameron Gellman as Rick Tyler/Hourman
• Trae Romano as Mike Dugan
• Hunter Sansone as Cameron Mahkent
• Meg DeLacy as Cindy Burman
• Alkoya Brunson as Jakeem Williams
• Amy Smart as Barbara Whitmore
• Luke Wilson as Pat Dugan

Special Appearance By

• Joel McHale as Ultra-Humanite

Guest Starring

• King Orba as Zeek

Co-Starring

• Kron Moore as Dr. Bridget Chapel
• Gilbert Glenn Brown as James Chapel
• Kay Galvin as Lily Mahkent
• Jim France as Sofus Mahkent
• Maria Seger as Maria Carmen Saravia
• Kenny Alfonso as Father Thomas

Notes and Trivia

• This episode confirms an implication that was made last season regarding Sofus and Lily's opinions on what Cameron should and shouldn't know. Sofus doesn't want their grandson to know about Courtney's involvement in Jordan's death while Lily does. Lily has also changed her stance on Barbara, now despising her.
• Sylvester reveals that while he knew about Henry Jr, he didn't get to meet or know him.
• There are technically three betrayals in the episode:
  • The first is Cindy telling the team about what Courtney has been doing with Cameron.
  • The second is the JSA turning on Courtney for not telling them about Cameron's burgeoning powers.
    • Courtney withholding that information can be considered a betrayal as well.
• For a deep-dive podcast with lots of behind the scenes info and easter eggs that you won’t find anywhere else, click here.
  • In the script for the episode, Zeek had more examples of his various escapades that he lists, though it had to be shortened during filming.
  • Directors are encouraged to let the cast adlib.

Gallery

Photos

Videos

The Betrayal - DC’s Stargirl Season 3 Episode 6 Promo - The CW

Courtney Teaches Cameron To Use Powers For Good - DC’s Stargirl Season 3 Episode 6 - The CW

Yvette Monreal on Her Favorite Scenes from Claws Out - DC’s Stargirl Season 3 - The CW

Screenshots

All Screenshots are courtesy of Screencapped.net. For a complete image set, see their gallery.

Behind the Scenes