DC’s Stargirl Recap: Here’s Everything You Missed in the Season 2 Premiere

DC’s Stargirl returns for its second season tonight and it finds the new Justice Society of America in a very different place. At the end of The CW series’ first season, the young heroes faced off with the Injustice Society and defeated them, saving Blue Valley, Nebraska, and the rest of the United States from Project New America but that victory came at a cost. They witnessed the death of Henry King Jr. (Jake Austin Walker), something that ended up leading Yolanda Montez/Wildcat (Yvette Monreal) to kill his father, Brainwave (Christopher James Baker). The A.I. inside of Beth Chapel’s Doctor Mid-Nite goggles, which she named Chuck, was also destroyed in the final battle while Rick Tyler/Hourman (Cameron Gellman) had to face down Solomon Grundy, the ISA beast who killed his parents.

Dealing with those things is where we find the JSA when Season 2 starts, but it won’t be long until the heroes have a lot more on their plates. Season 2 brings new villains and new threats with the arrival of Richard Swift/The Shade (Jonathan Cake), a former member of the ISA who has returned now that Project New America has been thwarted, and Eclipso (Nick Tarabay), a terrifying entity that will bring genuine darkness to Blue Valley and may be the most frightening villain the young heroes could possibly face.

Ready to find out what happened in the Season 2 premiere of DC’s Stargirl, “Summer School: “Chapter One”? Read on for our full recap below but just so you know there are full spoilers beyond this point.

A dark beginning

The episode opens decades ago in Melody Hills, Indiana where a little girl named Rebecca wants to go to a party in the neighborhood but her mother says no because Rebecca misbehaved at the store. As Rebecca sits sadly on the porch, a little boy comes into the yard. He introduces himself as Bruce and asks her to come to the party with him, convincing her to defy her mother. Rebecca crosses the street and stands outside the party, pausing to admire all the gifts stacked outside and Bruce encourages her to steal one as no one would even know. Egged on by Bruce, Rebecca does so, but when she opens it, the doll inside is sinister and evil-looking. It’s then that Bruce’s true nature is revealed as he turns dark, holding up a black diamond and admonishing her for being a bad girl who steals. Later, Rebecca’s mother goes looking for her and while we don’t see exactly what she finds across the street, we hear her horrified screams. The little girl turns out to be Rebecca McNider.

Back in Blue Valley

Since the defeat of the Injustice Society, things have been quiet. Stargirl takes the JSA out on patrol, but all they find is just a raccoon rummaging in the trash. Stargirl refuses to stop patrol, though the rest of the team is ready to call it a night. At home, Courtney goes over the old JSA files determined to be ready for any threat, and stays up all night doing so. Pat finds her and tells her that her responsibility is to focus on her normal, non-Stargirl life. Courtney insists that Stargirl is her destiny. The next morning, Pat plans a trip to Yellowstone for the family. Mike wants to be taught JSA things so he can be part of the time, but Pat brushes him off.

Last day of school blues

Beth struggles to fix her goggles and bring back Chuck, but fails to do so. She also discovers that her parents are filing for divorce, which devastates her. While driving, Rick hears news reports about a “bear” breaking into local restaurants and realizes it’s not a bear but Grundy so he goes to the woods and discovers evidence of the stolen food. Yolanda stops at church before school, but can’t make a confession about Brainwave’s death. She just cries, haunted by the memory. She and Courtney meet up to walk to school and Yolanda suggests that maybe they need a break from the JSA. They notice that Cameron Mahkent is back. Elsewhere, Pat asks a local man named Zeke to watch his garage while he’s gone.

Hello, summer school

As the last day of school winds down, Rick aces his final but a teacher accuses him of cheating and fails him when rick refuses to take a new test to prove it. At lunch, a hypervigilant Courtney attacks Artemis Crock, mistaking the other girl’s actions for an attack. The principal ends up calling Barbara and Pat and it turns out that Courtney has to take summer school because she failed two classes. This ruins the planned vacation and Pat grounds her from Stargirl for two weeks. Away from school, Rick brings food to where he believes Grundy is staying and Beth tries to set up a romantic dinner for her parents, but they never show. She also gets Chuck to reboot briefly, but he doesn’t recognize her and shuts down.

Green Lantern

Despite being grounded, Courtney is fixated on JSA business, and late at night, her Staff lights up when she hears someone in the house. Courtney goes to investigate and finds a young woman and the two fight, trashing the kitchen in the process. The young woman has a Lantern ring and identifies herself as the daughter of Green Lantern Alan Scott. 

Cindy

At the school after hours, Cindy strolls in and accesses the secret Injustice Society lair after retrieving a file from a locker that is labeled “Injustice Unlimited”. In the lair, she sits at the table and looks at the files which include the children of the ISA. She tears up Henry Jr.’s photo and then adds a new photo to her files — Mike Dugan. She then pulls out the black diamond of Eclipso and declares that it’s time to do some recruiting.

Odds and Ends

Zeke, the man that Pat brings on to watch the garage while they’re on vacation, finds S.T.R.I.P.E. and has some suggested enhancements, volunteering himself to add them — specifically a flamethrower.

In Nevada, the man claiming to be Sylvester Pemberton (Joel McHale) stops at a restaurant where he tells Maggie the waitress that he’s specifically looking for her ex-husband, the one who likes stripes. He’s looking for Pat Dugan.

Cameron Mahkent decides to paint a new mural downtown and he and Courtney tentatively reconnect. His grandparents look on disapprovingly, though they debate on how to handle the situation as it’s the first time they’ve seen Cameron happy in a while.