Consistently, Stargirl has been one of the strongest shows on television this Summer. It’s wonderfully optimistic, bright, fun, and doesn’t have a problem showing superheroes in costumes doing superhero things which is, strangely, something that other superhero shows spend a lot of time not doing.
With its finale, yeah… it’s fun, bright, and full of that same optimism, but at the same time, it’s a Helter Skelter scattershot of gigantic fights, mediocre CGI, and more endings than Lord of the Rings.
But, honestly, I think the thing that has let me down (slightly) is that it brings about a sense of closure that, frankly, the show hasn’t earned yet.
We’ve seen next to no training with Courtney and the JSA and, if the show has had one message over all, it’s that they aren’t ready and that they are in way over their heads. They’ve lost every fight against the ISA they’ve fought and yet, seeminly because this his a season finale and only because this is a season finale, the team of Hourman, Wildcat, Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., and (I guess) Doctor Midnight all manage to win a knock down drag out.
I’m sorry, but this isn’t earned… it’s just convenient. We’ve seen little progress, little training, little advancement of the JSA as a viable team. As terrible as I sound saying this, there should have been no way that they should have won. It was completely unbelievable.
Fight me.
Even Rick choosing mercy over revenge seemed tacked on because it was convenient for his character arch and not because of it. Rick hasn’t learned any lessons this season, he hasn’t learned humility, he hasn’t learned teamwork, and he sure as heck hasn’t learned humility. Where did this come from!?
I felt that Yolanda’s straight up act of murder was far more true to the story and her character. I could see her having PTSD next season, trouble dealing with what she’s done… but, I mean… come on… we all know what’s going to happen next season, don’t we? It couldn’t have been more obvious.
I’m not trashing the episode, he said as he finished trashing the episode. Stargirl‘s tone lends it to such flights of fancy and frivolous fun and, while I think that the show traded character for convenience, the finale was still a big stupid load of fun akin to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The only major problem I had with the finale (aside from the character stuff I simply couldn’t stop complaining about) is the ending or, should I say, endings. The denouement at the football field, the tease of next season’s bad guy (very excited, by the way), the Christmas scene, the water tower scene, the unexpected return scene… so many endings, it just seemed like the episode was just trying to kill time at the end.
Still, as I said earlier, Stargirl has been the most consistent, most bright, and most fun shows I’ve seen in awhile. It had its moments of silliness, its moments of heaviness, and with all superhero television series, I hope that this strong season isn’t just a fluke and that more consistency and fun is on the way next year.
Jason Gaston 