IN REVIEW: STARGIRL (S2 – EP11) SUMMER SCHOOL: CHAPTER Eleven

Synopsis: In Chapter Eleven. After a frightening encounter leaves Courtney’s life hanging in the balance, the team band together to determine their next steps.

The Story

Chapter Eleven Picks up the story from last week after having seen Courtney get pulled into the shadowlands by Eclipso. Pat and Jennifer return home with heavy hearts as they break the news to Barbara. With very little time for grief, the three hit on a plan to find The Shade. Who may be able to help them get Courtney back.

Meanwhile, in The Shadowlands, which was Eclipso’s home before he was released from the Black Diamond. Courtney comes face to face with some of her darkest thought as they are projected to her. However, she is soon snapped out of it when Cindy Burman finds her and tries to kill her, but when Cindy realizes that it is the real Courtney Burman that she is trying to kill. She stops fighting her and eventually explains how the Shadowland works, but just when Courtney is about to try it out she gets picked up by Doctor Mid-Nite who has been stuck in the Shadowlands for several decades.

Eventually, Pat and Barbara with help from The Shade manage to reach out to Courtney and Dr. Mid-Nite and bring them back along with Cindy Burman.

The Acting

Brec Bassinger wears her confused face really well for the first part of this episode as her character of Courtney gets to grips with The Shadowland, which takes the form of the creepiest black and white movie you’ll have seen. The first people Courtney meets are the Zarick family who we last saw in the first season when Courtney lied to Joey Zarick about his card trick. Of course, this is significant because Joey’s father William Zarick (Joe Knezevich) was a member of the ISA known as The Wizard. We also get a very creepy performance from young Milo Stein as young Bruce who is a manifestation of Eclipso. The scenes in which the child is taunting Courtney are brilliantly performed.

Amy Smart also puts in a compelling performance as Courtney’s mother who has a standout scene in which she calls The Shades bluff when he threatens to kill her. This ultimately leads to The Shade managing to redeem himself by helping Barbara get her daughter back.

Overall

Chapter Eleven delivers a satisfying story in which the balance begins to tip back in the favor of our heroes. It will be really interesting to see how things play out over the next couple of weeks as this story comes to its conclusion. Especially given the insight that Courtney will have gotten from her experience in the Shadowlands. Furthermore, Courtney is now joined by Doctor Mid-Nite and Cindy Burman. So, it will be interesting to see how those characters will get used in bringing the JSA back together. Obviously, Cindy Burman is only in it to do away with Eclipso. But still it will be interesting to see how this all concludes over the next two weeks.