I’m honestly kind of shocked at how good this show is.
COVID-19 is still rampaging across the United States, so there haven’t been that many options for commentaries lately apart from the insanity of politics, some new streaming shows, and the back catalog. Thankfully, The CW managed to produce a full season of its latest addition to the Arrowverse, Stargirl. I’m not all that used to teen dramas, but the combination of a lack of other options and my continuing interest in the Arrowverse (for better and for worse) compelled me give this one a shot.
I’m so glad that I did, but I’m also baffled by the fact that Stargirl actually made it to air. This may be the first anti-SJW superhero show, and it’s an utterly refreshing surprise.
I can’t actually rave about this show without getting into spoilers, so go watch it and come back after you’re done if you care about that. Otherwise, let’s get to it!
What About The Cast?
Why isn’t this show called The Justice Society?
I honestly think that Stargirl has a good-to-great cast, which is rather out of the ordinary for a show on The CW.
Of course, the show would fall apart without a good protagonist, and Brec Bassinger does a good job of embodying the title character. Sure, some parts of her performance may seem a little odd at first glance, but I don’t actually think that it’s bad because Courtney Whitmore is supposed to be in the middle of high school. With that in mind, Brec should be applauded for playing a convincing character that isn’t an annoying mess or a Rey.
The rest of the cast of heroes and heroines do a good job of portraying quite a bit moral complexity. Most notably, I like the arcs of Yolanda Montez (Yvette Monreal), Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson), and Henry King Jr. (Jake Austin Walker). Over the course of the first season, viewers can almost certainly feel the weight of their moral decisions, and these three cast members carry the burdens of their characters quite well.
And of course, heroes are only as great as their greatest villains, and the Injustice Society is an interesting piece of the puzzle. At first glance, one might think that they adopted that name because comic book villains are known for their EEEEEEEEEEVIL, but there is WAY more to it than that. The standouts of the bunch are Icicle (Neil Jackson), Brainwave (Christopher James Baker), and the Dragon King (Nelson Lee). They’re a ton of fun to watch!
There Are Engaging Themes?!
Do the ends justify the means?
I’m a proponent of the idea that a writer can make a good piece of entertainment out of virtually anything that isn’t woke, which is why Stargirl comes across as a hurricane-force blast of fresh air.
Why do I say that?
On a surface level, Stargirl has interesting characters that could’ve formed the basis of some weekly character drama, but that wouldn’t have worked. Instead, the show plays around with a serialized superhero allegory that essentially pits liberals against SJWs/Antifa/Black Lives Matter in a battle for the fate of America. To demonstrate what I mean, we have to get into the details of the ISA’s master plan, Project New America.
At the start of the story, Barbara Whitmore (Amy Smart) sees the ISA’s cover pitch as a way to save the town of Blue Valley and build it up to be better than it was. However, Courtney and the JSA quickly discover that Icicle and Brainwave are actually masterminding a plan to completely control the minds of millions upon millions of adults, but their ultimate goals are what set them apart from other antagonists. The ISA wants to force America to adopt universal healthcare, end discrimination, and combat climate change… at the cost of millions upon millions of lives. It’s such an effective idea that Courtney and the JSA stop for a moment and wonder if they’re on the right side, which is a stroke of utter genius!
After all, it’s not like young people can be easily seduced by the thought of a totalitarian “utopia,” right?
Right?
…But Are There Flaws?
The effects probably won’t win awards, but they’re comic bookish enough.
Like most pieces of entertainment out there, Stargirl has a few flaws here and there, but they don’t amount to much in the face of the relative quality of the show.
For instance, why is Pat Dugan featured in black-and-white photographs when the Justice Society only fell apart around 10 years ago? I know that it might just be a stylistic choice, but some people might think that it’s odd. On the other hand, the writers could get around this minor issue with some worldbuilding, so it’s not that big of a deal.
On a similar note, what is the point of setting this show on a new Earth-2? I know that Stargirl appeared in the Arrowverse before, but the setting could lead to a little bit of confusion in the future. Crisis on Infinite Earths simplified the storytelling by dragging all of the characters into a single universe, so why introduce another Earth if the crossover episodes are going to happen anyway?
Much of the rest of the show’s little flaws can be chalked up to comic tropes, which come standard with every show. Thankfully, the show negates most of the obvious ones with visual and spoken cues, such as how no one apparently noticed the tunnels underneath Blue Valley. That particular oddity can be explained by the ISA’s efforts to stay in the shadows and contain everything, so it isn’t that hard to imagine that previous investigators who dug too deeply wound up under Brainwave’s thrall.
Conclusion.
Family may be the most important part of this show.
Stargirl may have started out as a live-action tribute to a long-lost sister, but I think that it’s so much more than that. Somehow, the cast, writers, and creative team managed to turn what could have been a painfully average comic book show into something that’s charming, surprisingly coherent, and frighteningly relevant. Whether you’re a writer or just a person who might be in the mood for some fun, you should be able to get quite a bit of value out of this show.
I know I did!
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