DC’s Stargirl‘s first season ended this week with the Justice Society of America managing to stop Icicle and the Injustice Society of America from brainwashing millions — and killing millions in the process — saving not only Blue Valley, but the central the United States as well. But while the finale, “Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. Par 2” completes the JSA’s mission, as it were, to stop the ISA it also sets up villains for Season 2 as well as sees Stargirl herself, Courtney Whitmore go on quite a journey. From where we meet her in the series pilot as a girl less than thrilled to be moving to Nebraska and having a new stepfather and stepbrother to where we see her in the season finale as a hero finding peace with her chosen family, viewers have seen Courtney truly come into her own.
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ComicBook.com recently sat down with Stargirl actress Brec Bassinger to chat about Courtney’s journey as well as the relationships that are so central to Courtney’s life. Bassinger also breaks down a bit about that epic finale fight as well as hints at the “darkness” coming in the show’s second season now that both The Shade and Eclipso have been teased as having important roles in the show’s future. We even chat a bit about what playing Stargirl has taught Bassinger about the importance of living in the moment as well as her hopes for Season 2.
Read on for our chat with Bassinger below.
ComicBook.com: For Courtney, her whole heroic journey that she’s gone on is very extensive, even in a short amount of time, her own journey, even in season one. And it all started with her wanting justice for the man she thought was her dad. As we’re going into the finale, she now knows the truth about who her dad is, in more ways than one kind of, if you think about it. What do you think is driving Courtney in this final fight?
Brec Bassinger: Well, I think from the very beginning while maybe she vocalized that the reason she was Stargirl was because she wanted justice for this man, but the staff chose her knowing she had this heroism among her, despite who her father was. And so I think, to the core of Courtney, she wants justice for everyone. So now that she knows who her father is, it doesn’t change the person she is. She still wants justice for people. And she’s still her.
There’s that moment in, I want to say it’s “Shining Night”, where it’s verbalized that anyone can be a hero. And I think that on some level, that’s an actually really important message that the show offers through Courtney is that you’re telling people, yes, anyone can be a hero.
I agree. I mean, this is going way back, but when I first got cast to Stargirl, they’re like, “What are super powers?” I’m like, “Well, she has this cosmic stuff.” “Yeah, but what can she do without the cosmic stuff?” I’m like, “She’s a hero without it. It’s her character and her heart that truly makes her a superhero.” And I think her realizing that was really important too.
And I think that’s something that transcends the show. It transcends just the concept. Because Courtney is a normal person. I feel like a lot of people will see her and be like, “I could be a hero in my own way without a staff too.”
Well, I’m glad. I hope people take that away. That’s awesome.
And kind of speaking about the fatherhood thing, something that… She finds out that her dad’s not Starman. And she finds out that Sam Kurtis is not the greatest guy, but in a sense, she finds out who her real father is in the emotional sense as we head into this finale. How would you say that her relationship with Pat has changed over the season?
I mean, throughout the season, she’s just matured so much. And I think you’ve seen it most specifically through her relationship [with] Pat. And at the beginning, I think she definitely dealt with abandonment issues and she wanted this father figure, but she wasn’t open to anyone being that father figure. And finally, I think she has matured and realized that Pat was always that father figure that she wanted. And her real father wasn’t. And so I think just her becoming more self aware and becoming more open allowed for Pat to be that father figure that he always was, but she just never was open-minded to it.
One of the things that I personally take away from DC’s Stargirl is that it’s a lot about relationships and kind of the idea of your chosen family, in a lot of ways. But one of the relationships I feel like on this show is maybe a little underappreciated by fans is her relationship with Mike. They’re learning to be siblings, it’s kind of a whole change in dynamic. What would you say is kind of next for them?
So I don’t have any step-siblings, so I can’t speak true to that, but looking at their growth in one. When you say the words chosen family. I love that because I think in life we have our family we’re born with, and then we do have a chosen family. And I think Mike is slowly becoming that. And once again, I think it just goes back to both of them maturing and becoming more open-minded and self aware. I have two older brothers. So that relationship has a special place in my heart as a well, just Courtney and Mike. I’m really excited to… some of my favorite scenes throughout the season have been the sweet little moments because you see that it took work and I feel like all good things take work.
Another relationship I think is interesting is the one that Courtney has with Cindy Burman and Stargirl with Shiv. I know when I spoke with Meg DeLacy awhile back, one of the things that comes up in that conversation is there’s this idea that those two girls are not that dissimilar in a lot of ways. Is it possible that there’s any room for the two of them to find a common ground? Especially now that it’s very clear, Courtney has her own nemesis. What do you think about the relationship with Shiv?
I don’t disagree that they’re not all different. They just went about it very differently, but their circumstances have a lot of reflection of each other. I think one of Courtney’s best and worst characteristics is she’s almost like the devil’s advocate. She always sees the best in people, almost sometimes where it gets her into trouble. So I think if Shiv was willing, their relationship, they could find that common ground. But that being said, I don’t know if Shiv will ever be willing to do that, but I definitely think the ball would be in Shiv’s court. Not Courtney’s, no pun intended.
That big battle is insane. In the absolute best possible way. What was it like filming that? It’s an epic scene. It’s got so many echoes back to the season premiere where you see the ISA and the JSA, the old version fighting, except for the tables are turned a little bit. What was it like filming that scene?
It’s so funny because this is probably not going to be the answer that you want, but it’s a bit anti-climactic because it’s all filmed in different orders. There’s a million little pieces, all pieced together to make that big epic fight. And so I’ll do one little, two second thing here and then a four second thing here. So I don’t really feel like I’m in this big battle. I feel like I’m definitely just doing like all these little pieces of small battles.
But that being said, getting to see what it comes out to is the most rewarding thing. Where on the day you feel… I don’t know, it’s just so many pieces, but then just seeing how it all comes together. That’s where I just give like so many props to Geoff and Walter, our stunt coordinator, because they see the big picture while we’re just in here looking at the tiny little shots.
That’s got to be so crazy to see it come together, when it’s actually finished and everything.
It is. It’s by far one of my favorite parts about being on this type of show. But I have to add on to that. It still was epic because just that set alone, Dragon King’s lair, it was giant. And not only that, but the roof is just this giant green screen because they’re going to CGI. It’s just everything is so big, it still has a really great energy filming those types of scenes. Even though it takes a long time and can be tedious, it still has this epic-ness about it.
So as people get to the end of the season finale and they see how the JSA handles things and the JSA is in a pretty good place. I mean, they’ve won. But viewers then find out that The Shade is coming. Do you think Stargirl’s ready for that?
I don’t know, because I’ve read up a little bit on the Shade. And you see Shiv come out with the stone, so Eclipso. They’re very dark. Don’t get me wrong. The ISA is evil. But The Shade and Eclipso, they have this darkness among them that I think is very different than the ISA. It’s a different type of evil that Courtney hasn’t experienced yet. So I’m really excited to get to dive into that, but it’s definitely going to be different for her.
I think you’re right. Those characters do have a very different type of darkness, but one of the things I personally appreciate and I think a lot of viewers do as well is that DC’s Stargirl never really shies away from consequences. And that’s very different than most superhero shows. Even within the greater Arrowverse, we don’t always see those real consequences. Has that been particularly important for you that the show actually shows the consequences to Courtney’s actions?
Yeah, I think it grounds it so much. And I hate saying this, but it makes it more realistic. Yes, it’s a superhero show, but you still want those relatable moments throughout it, just to ground it, that keep it relatable. But it was so funny, seeing people tweet, “Courtney is getting her butt whooped.” Or, “She’s so naive. Why is she making that decision?” And I’m like, “She’s new to this.” And if superheroes were real, I think this is more how it would go. I wouldn’t just put on the suit and be the best superhero ever. I’d probably get my butt whooped a couple of times. I just think it keeps it realistic .
Now you’ve had a full season now of being a superhero under your belt. And I know a lot of times when I talk to people who play different superheroes, they always take something away from it. Be it if it’s just for a season or for a movie or for an ongoing type of situation. What has playing Stargirl taught you about yourself so far? Or about life in general? I mean, superheroes at their core have lessons for all of us.
Yeah, it’s definitely taught me that for me, I need to live more in the moment. I’m so about planning for the future. And I’m an over-thinker, but Courtney specifically, she doesn’t overthink anything. She goes for things. And just being on set in general with Stargirl, I really tried to stay present and just bask in the moment. Because it was so wonderful and beautiful. I’ve tried to kind of take that away into other parts of my life as well.
I know that everybody in the DC’s Stargirl fandom, myself included, we have all these crazy hopes for season two. But what are your hopes for DC’s Stargirl season two?
More fun stuff. The answer changes every time I get asked it, but I’m so excited about so many different things. It’s just depends on what comes to my brain at that point. But towards the end of the season, I was getting really confident with my staff and I just really hope I can keep that going in season two and just get more confident with it and kick butt.
Well, that Staff is cool.
It’s so cool.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
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