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Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Part Two

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"Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Part Two" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of Stargirl, the final half of the two-part season finale, and the thirteenth episode overall.

This episode premiered on DC Universe on August 10, 2020, and aired on The CW the day after on August 11, 2020.

Synopsis[]

"PROJECT NEW AMERICA — As the Injustice Society of America come one step closer to accomplishing their mission, Courtney and the JSA face-off with Icicle and the villains of the ISA."

Summary[]

Three minutes ago, a teacher rushes to break up a fight between Isaac Bowin and a bully, the latter using his tuba to bash the bully's head. The teacher scolds him, demanding a reason why, and an ominous Isaac says his mom told him to. The teacher doesn't buy it, and grabs his arm to walk him back when suddenly a tremor hits the area. The football field suddenly opens up to allow the three large satellites of the synaptic transmitter emerge. The largest one positions itself horizontally, and when they power up, emit shockwaves. The terrified students notice their teachers still and unresponsive.

All across town, adults have frozen in place. Jordan Mahkent comes across a young girl pleading for her father to move. She asks him what's going on, and he assures the girl her father will be alright. She asks what's wrong with her dad, and Jordan responds he and everyone else will think differently once it's over, good things to be specific. The girl retorts her father is already a good person, but he simply chuckles and utters she will see and leaves.

Stargirl barely dodges a punch from S.T.R.I.P.E., and desperately calls to him as he continues to attack. Beth calls to Courtney and checks on Barbara, but Steve Sharpe soothingly says she'll be okay once Brainwave's reprogramming is finished in 30 minutes. During his narration, Jordan arrives back to the ISA HQ and reviews the 26-min countdown. Steve informs Beth if Barbara is one of the unlucky one-in-four who fights too hard or too long and the central nervous system collapses, just as the aforementioned teacher falls dead. Brainwave continues to control Pat as S.T.R.I.P.E. chases after Stargirl, and she tearfully tells him it's Courtney, his daughter. The robot's fist stops in mid-air, as Pat visibly begins to fight back. In an impassioned speech, she declares he's always been there for her when she needed him and she needs him now. Pat begins to tear up. Wildcat asks what's wrong with Justin, and Hourman reveals Brainwave's got him. She yells at him that he's the Silent Knight, but is corrected by Hourman as the Shining Knight. Beth, freaking out, is confused why the bad guys aren't being affected. Chuck theories they're wearing a protective earpiece to block out the frequencies, and Beth questions if they can mimic them. The AI says he will need to examine such an earpiece. Stargirl announces that Pat's fighting it, but Beth warns her Pat could die. Hourman thinks they need help, but then Beth realizes she can hear them despite having previously encountered problems communicating in the tunnels. Chuck discovers several low frequency blockers in the tunnels, which have been turned off. Beth works out that they know the JSA's in the tunnels, and thinks they can turn them on. Steve dares her to hack into his systems, and overhears as Chuck recommends hacking into something he cares about - his money. Suddenly concerned, he witnesses Chuck and Beth drain all his accounts into various charity donations. With him distracted, the blockers have been turned on, but not for long. Dragon King notices something's wrong. Pat breaks free from the control and apologizes. He comments he heard every word, and Courtney clarifies she meant every word. Elsewhere, Justin victoriously declares he's free to play the dragon. Beth congratulates her best pal Chuck, which he responds likewise to her joy. However, she still worries about Barbara.

Steve notifies Jordan the JSA's there, to his existing knowledge. He tells him to get the others, as they'll finish this once and for all. Hourman tells Wildcat that after this is over, he's going to kill Solomon Grundy. Wildcat dubiously queries if it'll make him feel better, but he's insistent that he won't let it hurt any others or make another orphan. Wildcat says killing is wrong, but he rhetorically says who, God? Wildcat stays silent as Hourman in a tirade admits God shouldn't let bad things happen, like sending his parents through a tree. He warns her against stopping him.

The three meet with Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. in Dragon King's lair, which is strangely empty. They ask where the machine is, and she points out the door when Jordan, Dragon King, Sportsmaster, and Tigress arrives, with the former announcing they will go no further. Courtney quizzes Jordan on no ice mask, and he responds he has nothing to hide, addressing her by her real name. Sportsmaster remarks his deja-vu, and Tigress adds how fun that night was. He says it's time to kill the JSA again. The two groups face off, and begin to charge.

A disgruntled Steve recommends some reinforcements, and remotely opens Solomon Grundy's door.

Stargirl and Icicle engage in battle, she dodging his ice daggers while trying to strike him with the Cosmic Staff. Wildcat and Tigress have a heated blow exchange, and she retracts her claws for better defense as Dragon King and Justin sword fight in the background. Stargirl flips as Icicle continues to miss at her, and throws up an ice shield before being throw off and chased after by the heroine and S.T.R.I.P.E.. Hourman is severely punched by Sportsmaster and thrown into the air, and Wildcat skids across the floor before being attacked by Tigress. Justin sends Dragon King's sword into a door, and the latter venomously tells him he came back to die. Justin agrees, saying one will die and proceeds to attack. The door opens, having let Cindy Burman accidentally out. The pair continue their struggle, but Dragon King, pins Justin and punches him, sending him into the floor. The knight struggles, as the villain steps on his sword. Dragon King raises his to deliver the final blow, but he's sliced by a blade from the back. He collapses, and a frayed Cindy notes he shouldn't have locked her up. Icicle grabs the Staff's and an ensuing blast sends her across the room as S.T.R.I.P.E. punches the floor next to him. She notices Hourman and Wildcat struggling in their fights. Determined, she pounces on Tigress and ships at her with the Staff, throwing her over to Wildcat. In a flip, she kicks her leg at Sportsmaster's neck and knocks the villain out. Icicle notices, and begins to form an ice attack but Hourman punches him into a pillar. Wildcat checks to see Tigress is unconscious, and ambushes Icicle, striking him across the face and throwing him into the center of the room. Stargirl swipes the Staff up his chin, flying him into the air and landing on the steps. The rest of his comrades defeated he looks up at the JSA. S.T.R.I.P.E. raises his fist, but he punched across the room. The teenagers look over, surprised to see Solomon Grundy, who roars at them. Stargirl and Wildcat step back but Hourman doesn't. He charges at the monster, but the zombie simply bats him away and he violently crashes into some wreckage. Pat advises Courtney and Wildcat to find the machine, as he'll take on Grundy and protect Hourman. He stands up and runs into Grundy, picking him up as a rag doll and pins him to the wall. They give several blows as they start their battle.

Wildcat and Stargirl run into the machine, and the former slashes the keypad and opens the door. However, Cindy tackles Stargirl and pins her to the floor, blades out. She yells at Wildcat to go on. However, the latter sees a horde of Dragon King's minions limping onto her. Sighing, she whips her other claws and bombards the crowd.

Brainwave tells Steve to loop his soundwaves for the next five minutes as he gets up and takes off the buttons on his temple. Steve questions him on where he's going, and he responds he's going to help kill the children. Steve calls a weakened Jordan and tells him to take care of Beth before she gets in the system.

Wildcat finishes off the second-to-last minion and faces the remaining one. However, the last one puts his hands up, begging her to stand down. He takes his mask off, revealing himself to shockingly be Henry King Jr.. Elated, Wildcat hugs him. Scared, Henry says they need to get out of here, that his dad's coming. He reveals he didn't die in the cave-in or that dad didn't kill him - he's been hiding out for days pretending to be one of them. Henry says he knows where his dad is and how they can stop him. She nods, and he confesses she's all he's been thinking about, this whole time. He asks what's the plan, and where are her friends. Her smile drops, and steps back. She darkly says they were Henry's friends too, and slashes his throat. The glamour breaks, revealing the true person to be Brainwave, who grabs his throat and falls to the floor. Wildcat says she watched Henry die, and she'll watch him die too.

The fight between Grundy and S.T.R.I.P.E. grows vicious, until the robot lands a hood throw that momentarily disorients the zombie. Pat's still struggling, which begins bigger as Grundy tears out a robotic arm. He wobbles back, and is struck by his own arm. Crashing into a wall, Grundy punches and figures out his weakness, removing the robot's legs and striking the robot's chest. He successfully rips the doors out and roars at Pat. Before he moves in for the kill, Hourman punches Grundy off, declaring it's his turn.

Stargirl fights Cindy off her. She mutters she doesn't have time for this and aims here Staff at her. She blasts her against a doorway which knocks her out. Opening the secret door, she finds Wildcat standing over Brainwave's dead body. She's shocked by the sight, as well as Wildcat's confession that she killed him. Her friend tells her the machine is ahead, and Stargirl continues with the mission at hand. Finding the machine, Stargirl flies to it as Wildcat yells what she's going to go. She blasts at it with her machine, burning the machine off its support until the satellites collapse. The crowd at the field speculate who the heroine with the magic rod is.

As the machine destabilizes and falls apart, Stargirl rejoins Wildcat and they run as one of the dishes destroys the room. The Gambler watches as everything goes offline and all around the world, people are waking up, including the little girls dad and Barbara. Icicle comes into the room, enraged. Beth alerts Stargirl, and Icicle destroys Dr. Midnite's goggles and "Chuck" by freezing them. Beth charges at Icicle, but he blasts her into a wall, knocking her unconscious, and grabs Barbara.

Back in Ito's lair, Hourman continues to fight Grundy and checks on an injured Pat, who notes Barbara is in trouble. Hourman says he heard and tells Pat to go save his wife before turning all of his attention to Grundy. The Gambler deletes everything and leaves the room, knowing the plan failed. Courtney and Wildcat arrive to find Beth mourning Chuck. Courtney asks Beth where her mom is.

Icicle takes Barbara to the roof and explains to her that he just wants to help people. Barbara asks him to say that to Joey Zarick, and his parents, and Henry King. Icicle tells Barbara that half a million of American's die of cancer every year. He asks what if he told her that he could take a half a million people and cure cancer forever, then what would she do. Barbara says no one was going to die because the way people think. Icicle disagrees and said his wife died because of greed and politics, but he can fix that. Icicle says it isn't too late and he can still save America with Barbara and Courtney's help, saying he can protect her from the other ISA members, and they can go somewhere and start over.

Barbara says he is out of his mind, and asks what his wife would think. Icicle rages that Barbara didn't know his wife before pulling her into a hug, and telling her he will succeed and kill Courtney as he goes to throw her off the roof. Pat arrives and tells Icicle that if he wants to kill him well here he is. Icicle asks Pat what he is doing on the roof and notes he doesn't have any powers. Pat says he is here to protect his wife, and Icicle asks with what. Pat responds with their daughter as Stargirl kicks Icicle from behind.

Back in Ito's lair, Hourman beats Grundy to the point where he stops fighting and cowers. Hourman yells at him to fight back and lifts a giant chunk of concrete to throw on Grundy. He relents when he sees how frightened Grundy is, so he throws it away and yells at a terrified Grundy to leave and never come back. After Grundy leaves, Justin is surprised at Hourman sparing Grundy, but Hourman says his hour was up in anyways.

Back on the roof, Stargirl and Icicle clash, and she tells him he can never save America since he is full of too much hate. The staff blasts them both off the room, and the shockwave causes Barbara to fall off, but Pat catches her while Wildcat saves Stargirl. Icicle crashes into the ground and starts to get up as he yells in anger. Icicle is about to attack again when a car runs into him and smashes him to bits. The car is driven by Mike, who asks if this means he gets to be in the JSA. Pat and Barbara embrace and kiss as Stargirl watched with joy and hugs her friends and Mike.

In the aftermath, Pat, Barbara, and the kids are at the school as Justin is packing up to leave. Beth is still upset about losing Chuck, but Courtney and Rick promise to fix the goggles. Yolanda is still affected by what happened during the battle. Justin is upset because he came to slay the dragon and failed. Pat cheers Justin up by saying he helped them figure out what the ISA was up to. Justin says he will search for the other Seven Soldiers of Victoria, and Pat asks to let him know when he does since he would like to see them. Justin says he will and says Starman would he so proud of Pat. He tells Courtney until the next battle, which Courtney echoes as he leaves.

The Shade arrives at the ISA headquarters watching a news report and laments how he told Icicle that it was folly. Cindy tears apart the Wizard's storage locker and finds a small black diamond. Cindy holds it up says she sees Eclipso in there, which causes the being to laugh as Cindy smiles. Six weeks later, the family and Courtney's friends are getting ready for Christmas as Courtney gives Pat the mug she was saving to give to her real father, who she considers as Pat. Pat is touched by the gesture. Stargirl and Pat in S.T.R.I.P.E.S fly around together and then sit on a water tower. Elsewhere, man pays a visit to Pat's old residence and landlord says he moved. The man asks where he can find him, and the landlord asks who he is. The man is revealed to be Sylvester Pemberton, and says he is an old friend.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Special Guest Star[]

Guest Starring[]

Special Appearance By[]

Co-Starring[]

Trivia[]

  • The episode's title, Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E., is a reference to the series of DC comic book series which featured the second Star-Spangled Kid and her stepfather, the original version's sidekick Stripesy.
  • The episode featured a special dedication title to Courtney Elizabeth Johns.
  • Greg Beeman previously directed "S.T.R.I.P.E.", the second episode of the first season of Stargirl. He is the only director to have two credits in Stargirl Season 1.
  • On Courtney's bulletin board is a picture of her with a brunette. The brunette in the picture is Courtney Johns, the inspiration behind Stargirl. When talking about the photo, Brec said, "seeing this photo on set every day was a constant reminder of the real reason we were there.".
  • There is a sword-fighting sequence that Nelson Lee attempted to do without a stunt double but failed due to the heat of his costume and the day.
  • Brec Bassinger teased a major fight against Solomon Grundy that will cause a lot of chaos.[2]
  • The audience received extra content in the forms of bonus scenes before the final fade-out. It has also been reported that there is a surprise twist around the midpoint of the episode and at least two post-credit sequences.[3]
  • The final scene of the season was originally planned for the Pilot episode.[4]
    • Brec Bassinger described that as, "a scene that was originally written in the pilot. But it didn't make sense yet. It's in this, it's the very, very last scene of the season. It's so beautiful."
    • The final scene in question included the shocking return of Sylvester Pemberton.
  • There was an epic group battle between the entire Injustice Society of America and the entire Justice Society of America. Brec Bassinger described it as, "It just starts off where it's the full ISA against the full JSA in this iconic, epic battle, and everyone knows who everyone is. There are no secrets among this fight, and there's a lot of payoffs. You see Solomon Grundy again, you see Shiv again, you get to see lots of people."
  • The Shade makes his first physical appearance. He was previously mentioned and seen throughout the season in the ISA portrait.
    • Additionally, his appearance was uncredited in both the opening credits and end credits.
  • Eclipso is teased, with Cindy finding a blue diamond that has his life essence inside. The essence laughs sinisterly.
    • In the comics, Eclipso is the spirit of God's wrath who fell to become an agent of chaos. He possesses others to carry out his nefarious deeds.
  • Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Part Two features the most deaths of the season, with Mr. Levine, Henry King Sr., Jordan Mahkent, Shiro Ito, and Charles McNider all perishing in some form. However, Dr. Ito's demise is questionable due to his longevity abilities.
  • Solomon Grundy's full form is seen in the present day for the first time. He was previously seen in a hologram in "Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite".
  • This is the first episode to feature a glamour, or any form, of a previously deceased character.
  • Yolanda Montez mistakenly called Justin "Silent Knight." In the comics, Silent Knight's real identity was Brian Kent, one of Hawkman's reincarnations from the 6th century and one of the Knights of the Round Table.
  • The present Courtney has kept since Christmas Eve, 2010, to give to her father, is finally seen when she gifts it to Pat. The present was a "World's Best Dad" mug that matches the one her mother has.
    • This is also the first episode in which Courtney refers to herself as Pat's daughter. Likewise, Pat refers to Courtney as his and Barbara's daughter for the first time.
  • The little girl shown throughout the episode with her hypnotized father is portrayed by Lexi Rabe. Lexi previously portrayed a young Morgan Stark in the Marvel universe in the film Avengers: Endgame. Her role in Stargirl, however, is credited as "LeeAnne".
  • For an exclusive interview with Geoff Johns and a breakdown of the episode, along with some incredible Easter eggs and behind the scenes information, click here.
  • The episode was dedicated in the memory of Geoff Johns' younger sister Courtney, who died in the explosion of TWA Flight 800 in 1996 and co-created Whitmore after his Courtney.
  • The death of Jordan Mahkent at Mike's hand is ironic, given how Joey Zarick died in the 'Icicle' episode earlier in the season. If anything, Jordan's death is karma for what happened to Joey.

Gallery[]

Promotional[]

Screenshots[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Soundtrack[]

Title Artist Scene Description
Fighter Jung Youth and Sam Tinnesz Opening scene on the football field with Isaac and Mr. Levine.
Jingle Bell Rock Bobby Helms Christmas celebration with the Whitmore-Dugans alongside Rick, Yolanda, and Beth.
Grateful Better Than Ezra Stargirl flies over Blue Valley and is joined by S.T.R.I.P.E. at the water tower.
MMMBop Hanson Sylvestor Pemberton searches for his old friend, Pat Dugan.

References[]

  1. ↑ https://deadline.com/2020/08/americas-got-talent-kelly-clarkson-tv-ratings-dc-stargirl-finale-1203011282/
  2. ↑ https://collider.com/stargirl-season-2-brec-bassinger-interview-the-cw/?utm_campaign=collidersocial&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter
  3. ↑ https://www.cbr.com/stargirls-season-finale-features-multiple-post-credits-sequences/
  4. ↑ https://www.cbr.com/stargirl-season-1-final-scene-originally-pilot/

Navigational[]

Season 1 Episodes
"Stargirl" • "S.T.R.I.P.E." • "Icicle" • "Wildcat" • "Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite" • "The Justice Society" • "Shiv Part One" • "Shiv Part Two" • "Brainwave" • "Brainwave Jr." • "Shining Knight" • "Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Part One" • "Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Part Two"
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