In Review: Stargirl: Frenemies (S3 – EP3) Chapter Three: The Blackmail

Synopsis: In The Blackmail Courtney and the JSA receive an anonymous tip that could help in their murder investigation. Meanwhile, after being told to find balance, Sylvester looks into potential jobs in Blue Valley, while also trying to figure out who he is without his Starman identity.

The Story

Picking the story up from last week. The JSA is still somewhat bamboozled by who could have had a motive for the murder of The Gambler. However, when a mysterious tip finds its way to Beth via the Dr. Midnite Goggles. We learn that The Gambler was blackmailing The Crocks. Armed with this new information Courtney suggests they sit on it until they find further proof, but Cindy Burman decides to go off script and tell Sylvester Pemberton about the new information because she knows that he will go after them. 

Also, Cameron Mahkent’s powers are coming into focus and he is beginning to act like a full-on jerk by pushing people away when they are trying to help him. Added this. Cameron’s grandparents also seem to be up to no good. 

The Acting

Joel McHale puts in a solid performance this week as we see Sylvester Pemberton try to find some balance and try to figure out who he is when he is not Starman. This personal quest leads him to have a few interesting conversations. One of which, with Yolanda (Yvette Monreal) sees Sylvester remembering the original wildcat. While the second conversation with Pat (Luke Wilson) goes into the bonds of friendship between the two original JSA team members.

All of this is foreshadowing what is to come. As we see Sylvester lash out at the Crocks when he finds out about the Gambler’s blackmail, but it also leads to a scene where Sylvester tries to investigate without the staff to help him when he gets into trouble.

Overall

The Blackmail is another episode where the story is kind of treading water. We don’t really get too much about who is behind the murder of The Gambler and the one clue that this episode is based around doesn’t really lead anywhere. However, there are other interesting developments. For example, why is Cindy so determined to hack into her late father’s computer? Does she suspect that her dad might still be alive? Also, what are Cameron’s grandparents up to?

Overall a few ongoing mysteries, which will no doubt lead to a shocking reveal by the close of the series.