DC’s Stargirl: Nick Tarabay Explains Eclipso’s Timing

This season on DC’s Stargirl, the young heroes of the Justice Society of America may have defeated their first foes when they took down the Injustice Society, but a new and more terrifying threat has been waiting in the shadows and no, we don’t mean Richard Swift/The Shade (Jonathan Cake). Cindy Burman (Meg DeLacy) tapped the entity known as Eclipso to help her settle the score with Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl (Brec Bassinger). However, it soon became clear that even Cindy might just be in over her head and this week, Eclipso makes his big move. Now, the actor behind the nightmarish Eclipso explains how the slow burn of the story pays off in a very rewarding way.

Warning: spoilers for this week’s episode of DC’s Stargirl, “Summer School: Chapter Six”, below.

In this week’s episode, Cindy sets up a showdown between her new ISA and the JSA, planning to destroy everyone Courtney cares about before defeating her and letting Eclipso devour her soul. It doesn’t exactly go as planned and not only does Cindy end up seemingly destroyed, but Eclipso is now free of the Black Diamond and loose in the world. It’s a twist that has taken some time to reach, but according to Tarabay, that build-up is something that he compared to the pacing of the film Apocalypse Now in that it leads to a much more satisfying element for fans.

“To be honest with you, that’s a better question for the writers, not for me, actually,” Tarabay told ComicBook.com when asked about Eclipso’s timing. “They decided that this is the best time for Eclipso to show up and based on what I’ve… Obviously, I’ve read all the scripts leading up to episode six. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the movie Apocalypse Now? The whole movie they talked about Marlon Brando’s character, and the whole mission is to go find this General, right?”

He continued, “And then anticipation, and the journey, all this stuff, made the appearance of Marlon Brando’s character at that time, just more delicious. And I also truly believe… This is my interpretation, obviously, but again, the directors would probably tell you probably a better reason. But, I do believe nowadays, in the new era of film and television, everything is a quick fix, you get everything right away. There’s no anticipation in a way, there’s no cooking. Everybody wants out of the fast food, so it was actually refreshing to have this flip a little. And for a character like Eclipso, who has never been on… Ever since the comic books, ever been live-action before. I did not mind this at all, actually. The more you wait for him, the more you’re going to be rewarded, in a way.”

While viewers may be rewarded with getting to see Tarabay’s Eclipso run free in Blue Valley now that things have come to a head, they may also be rewarded with some real scares. Series star Bassinger previously suggested that fans might want to sleep with a nightly once Eclipso arrives.

“Sleep with a nightlight,” Bassinger, who plays Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl, told ComicBook.com previously. “That’s the joke answer, but then also I would say, ‘Get ready.’ I guess it is kind of in the same route, but get ready for Eclipso because he’s a villain like we’ve never seen before.”

DC’s Stargirl airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.