The CW has released a preview for “Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. Part One”, the penultimate episode of DC’s Stargirl‘s first season. This week’s “Shining Knight” saw Courtney have a bit of a crisis, dealing with the death of Henry King, Jr. as well as the hard truth that she is not Starman’s daughter after all. Courtney’s loss of faith saw her briefly not be able to use the Cosmic Staff, but by episode’s end, she had come into her full power, realizing that heroes can come from anywhere.
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And from the looks of things in the preview, it’s good that Courtney’s the most powerful she’s ever been. The preview reveals that Icicle is sending Tigress and Sportsmaster to take out the young hero and her family all in an effort to keep them from stopping the Injustice Society’s plan to brainwash half of the country in furtherance with their Project New America. You can check it out for yourself above.
The episode is the first of what appears to be a two-part season finale and will see the new Justice Society of America preparing for a showdown with the Injustice Society. While a showdown between the two groups is something that the show has been building toward since Courtney (Brec Bassinger) first picked up the Cosmic Staff in the series pilot, this upcoming confrontation is one that seems like it will have much higher stakes. In the episode “Brainwave”, the reality of what the ISA’s Project New America was revealed to viewers: the mind control of everyone in a six-state radius using an amplifier and Brainwave’s powers, thus forcing people into the ISA’s perfect version of America.
But the team might have a bit of a boost when it comes to dealing with the ISA from more than just Courtney’s renewed confidence. The synopsis indicates that Rick/Hourman (Cameron Gellman) makes a breakthrough of sorts. Since discovering the truth about his father, Rick has been trying to decode his dad’s journal. It’s possible that his big break will be related to that journal. If that’s the case, it will be interesting to see how that breakthrough impacts not only Rick, but the team. Rick has notably been a bit of a loose cannon on the team thus far as a result of his own pain and anger over his parents’ death, though series creator Johns told ComicBook.com previously that he now has the opportunity to embrace his father’s legacy, albeit it won’t be as bright and shiny as the way Courtney has embraced her role as Stargirl.
“And now he gets a chance to not only discover the truth behind his parents and embrace the legacy of his father and as he says to Courtney, ‘I want revenge.’ He knows the difference between justice and revenge and there’s a look that Courtney gives Yolanda and Beth at the end of that when Rick says it and they both, it basically is telling you, ‘Uh oh, what’d we just do?’ and this is not going to be as clean and simple as Courtney thinks,” Johns said.
You can check out the synopsis for “Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. Part One” below.
AND SO IT BEGINS — With the ISA on their trail, Courtney (Brec Bassinger), Pat (Luke Wilson) and the team regroup to figure out their next steps. Meanwhile, Rick (Cameron Gellman) makes a breakthrough, and the team prepares for a showdown with the ISA. Amy Smart, Yvette Monreal, Anjelika Washington, Trae Romano, Meg DeLacy, Neil Jackson and Christopher James Baker also star. Toa Fraser directed the episode written by Melissa Carter.
DC’s Stargirl airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW. New episodes of the series debut Mondays on DC Universe. “Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. Part One” debuts Monday, August 3rd on DC Universe and Tuesday, August 4th on The CW.
