Stargirl 1x08 “Shiv Part Two” Episode Review

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

Let me start the episode review by saying this: “Shiv Part Two” was a brilliant follow-up to “Shiv Part One”. Stargirl is an amazing superhero series that didn’t fall into any predictable or ridiculous tropes involving a superhero’s identity. Cindy (Meg DeLacy) proved to have some semblance of intelligence when she visited Courtney (Brec Bassinger) after she got out of the hospital post-amazing fight scene. Cindy visiting Courtney’s house and hanging in her bedroom had so much tension, that I could feel Courtney’s clear discomfort through the television screen. Of course, it was also my favorite scene in the entire episode.

As I was watching that scene, I felt both terrified and compelled to watch at the same time, wondering if Cindy knew the truth about Courtney or if she was going to attack her. When Cindy revealed at the end of the scene that she knew Courtney was Stargirl the whole time they were talking, my heart jumped. Then when Cindy said she’ll kill all of Courtney’s friends, my heart even jumped faster.

Meg DeLacy is proving herself to be a brilliant actress, being able to show both sides of Cindy’s personality. Cindy was desperate to prove herself to her supervillain father (Nelson Lee) while also simply wanting someone to understand her, even if it’s someone—who she sees as beneath her—like Courtney or Henry Jr. (Jake Austin Walker).

There are still mysteries unresolved about Cindy, like the details behind her mother’s death. Her father—Dr. Ito—implied Cindy was responsible for killing her, and he may be holding a grudge based on his called-out passive aggression. This episode also revealed that Dr. Ito suggested Cindy keep tabs on Henry Jr., which he found out about.

Henry Jr. officially learned he had powers in this episode too. The relentless pacing and story revelations were much needed. Henry Jr.—thanks to his telepathic powers—discovered Courtney was Stargirl too. His lack of character—aside from being that bully who shared Yolanda’s nudes—also has potential in terms of either following his father’s footsteps or becoming a hero in his own right. Next week’s episode is titled, “Brainwave”, so we’ll be getting more of a focus on his character—and his father’s—soon enough.

Let’s talk about Pat Dugen (Luke Wilson) and his heart-to-heart monologue with the Cosmic Staff next. Pat pleaded with the Cosmic Staff, wanting it to protect Courtney from danger instead of leading her toward it moving forward. A moving sentiment that the Cosmic Staff took to heart—for the lack of a better term—when it initially refused to go along with Courtney’s reckless action to confront Cindy. Luke Wilson’s heartfelt speech to an inanimate object was quite touching. I have recognized the Cosmic Staff as an actual main character.

Even Beth (Anjelika Washington) had a few moments to shine, guiding the rest of the JSA on a mission to Cindy’s house. Rick’s anger (Cameron Gellman) was starting to get annoying, but at least he was a team-player during this episode. Showing JSA as a team without Courtney was effective. A lot of rookie superhero mistakes—like inconsistent cover stories and Yolanda (Yvette Monreal) wearing her Wildcat costume in broad daylight—happened in this episode, but Beth knew when to bail out of the creepy underground tunnel when she almost stumbled into Solomon Grundy.

Overall, I enjoyed “Shiv Part Two” so much. The only issue was the lack of Justin the Janitor and his holy sword. Why didn’t we get a follow-up on that? It’s the same type-of issue I had regarding Joey’s death from episode 3 “Icicle”. Oh well, I have put enough trust in Stargirl to not let us down with Justin the Janitor’s backstory. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you all next week!