Summer School: Chapter Nine

## Episode Guide

**Summer School: Chapter Nine** is the ninth episode of the second season of *Stargirl*, and the twenty-second episode overall. This episode aired on October 5, 2021, on The CW.

## Synopsis

**JOHN WESLEY SHIPP GUEST STARS AS JAY GARRICK -** As Eclipso takes aim at the Whitmore/Dugan's, Pat is reminded of painful memories from his past involving the original JSA and their fight to take down Eclipso. Meanwhile, Mike is forced to confront the guilt he feels for his role in Icicle's death, and Barbara comes face to face with someone from her past. Finally, Courtney struggles to hold onto hope after Eclipso targets those around her.

## Plot

**Decades Ago**
At his manor, Bruce Gordon drinks and wishes he had never brought the black diamond back from the island. He says that the black diamond ruined his family and friends, and Eclipso in the diamond tells Bruce that those were his own choices. Bruce throws his glass down to shatter it on the floor and yells at Eclipso to leave him alone, and Eclipso says that if Bruce wanted the demon to leave him alone, Bruce should put the diamond down. Eclipso figures that Bruce can't let go of the power, and Bruce takes a revolver out of his drawer and contemplates it.

Eclipso tells Bruce that he's there for Bruce, and he let Mona go. He can get her back, and her husband is the only thing that stands between Bruce and Mona. Once the husband is gone, Mona will be Bruce's forever. Bruce says that he won't kill the husband, and Eclipso says that if Bruce let him take control of his power, he'll take control of Bruce's body and kill the man. Eclipso tells Bruce to drop the gun, and when he does energy shoots out of the diamond and transforms Bruce into Eclipso.

**Present Day**
At American Dream, Barbara is informed that everyone is going home because of the coming storm. Barbara looks out the window at the storm clouds.

At the Whitmore house, Pat and Mike are getting supplies before they go down to shelter in the storm. As Pat sends Mike upstairs to get sleeping bags, Courtney comes in and tells her stepfather that Rick's hearing was canceled. Pat says that they'll see what they can do for Rick once the storm clears, but Courtney says that the storm won't pass and Eclipso is responsible. The girl says that Eclipso is getting stronger, and she and Beth will go after her. Pat insists that they're not prepares, and Courtney points out that they've never been prepared enough for Pat's satisfaction.

Pat looks at a yellow rose in a vase on the counter, and remembers the past.

**Decades Ago**
Mourners gather at the funeral of Rebecca McNider, including the JSA members. Once the service is over, the JSA members discuss how to stop Eclipso, who killed Rebecca. Jay Garrick, the Flash, arrives and says that they'll stop the demon. Jay says that Eclipso comes from an island was brought back by explorer Bruce Gordon.

McNider and his wife Myra argue about how McNider wasn't there to save Rebecca from Eclipso, and she walks off. McNider goes after her and hugs her.

**Present Day**
Pat pricks his finger on the rose, and hears a child giggling. He turns and sees a coffin in the dining room, and approaches it. The lid opens and he hears a child singing that someone is a liar. The coffin disappears, but the voice continues taunting Pat as a liar.

Mike goes to the door of Courtney's room. She's on the phone with Beth, discussing how they can fight Eclipso, and doesn't see Mike. The air turns cold, and Mike goes downstairs to find Pat. There's no sign of Past, and the temperature keeps dropping. Mike puts on a jacket and looks around for Pat, who is in the basement. Pat looks through a box filled with mementos of the past, including a petal of a flower from Rebecca's funeral.

**Decades ago**
After the funeral, Sylvester tells Pat that they'll find Bruce and discover what he knows. Pat asks his friend to let him help even though he isn't on the team, and Sylvester says that they can't let another child die. Shade appears and Sylvester figures Shade isn't there for a fight, tells Pat to go back to the garage, and walks off with Shade. They disappear behind a tree, and Pat runs over and confirms that they're gone.

**Present day**
Barbara is driving home and her engine stops while she's on a back road. The storm comes up and rain pours down. Pat goes through the JSA files and looks through the old photographs of him and Starman.

**Decades ago**
Back at the garage, Pat works on the Racer. Sylvester comes in and says that Shade called what they're facing a spiritual parasite, and somehow Bruce found it and it possessed him. It can make its victims' nightmares come true, and Shade told Sylvester how to stop it. Sylvester saw fear in Shade's eyes when he said he faced the demon before, and called it real evil. According to Shade, the only way to kill it is to kill its host. Pat is shocked at the idea of killing another human, and Sylvester explains that when the host dies, Eclipso will be forced into the diamond and lose its power.

Pat reminds Sylvester that the J.S.A.'s code and Sylvester's is that they have to save the host. Sylvester agrees and says that there's always a way.

**Present day**
A figure appears in the shadow behind Pat, but he doesn't see it.

Mike checks the thermometers and finds that it's showing the proper temperature. There's a knock at the door and Mike answers it. Cameron is there and Mike invites him in. The older teenager says that he was caught in the storm and didn't know where else to go, and asks where Courtney and Barbara are.

Barbara discovers that the car doors are jammed, and the engine still won't start. She can't get a signal on her phone, and Jordan appears in the backseat and says that they have a lot to catch up on as the area around the car ices up.

Mike starts a fire in the fireplace, and Cameron stays with Mike and talks about how he lost his parents. Cameron doesn't seem to notice the cold, and says that Barbara's loss won't be as hard on Mike as when his real mother abandoned him. Mike wonders who told him about his biological mother, and Cameron says that the same person who told him that also told him that Mike killed Jordan. When Mike wonders what's going on, Cameron says that Jordan is with Barbara and he's with Mike. With that, Cameron extinguishes the fire with his icy breath.

Barbara insists that Jordan is dead and isn't there, and figures Eclipso is responsible. Jordan says that the storm is his doing and signifies his rebirth, and he would he protected her but she hurt him so now he's going to hurt her.

Mike calls to Courtney and Pat, but gets no answer. Cameron says that no one is coming to help Mike, freezes Buddy when the dog runs at him, and tells Mike that everyone in the house is going to die. Mike swings a poker at Cameron, who grabs it and freezes it. Mike drops it in pain and runs.

Jordan tells Barbara that she could have helped him save the country from itself, and she should admit that a part of her wanted to. Barbara tells Jordan that he's insane, and he says that for the first time since his wife died, he was in love. Shade's shadow appears on the passenger seat, tells Barbara that "Jordan" isn't real, and she should start the car and there's nothing wrong with it.

Jordan vows to haunt Barbara and her family, and Shade tells Barbara to start the car. She does, and Jordan and the ice disappear. Shade tells Barbara that she should go home, and that he needs Emily.

Cameron chokes Mike with a collar of ice, and says that he's going to kill Mike's father since Mike killed his. He tells Mike that he's nothing, not wanted by the HAS like he wasn't wanted by his mother. Courtney comes in with the Staff, and shines its light on Mike. He snaps out of his hallucination and realizes that Cameron isn't there and Buddy is fine. Courtney goes to find Pat.

In the basement, Pat hears something in the shadows. He turns and looks around, then turns back to the box of mementos. He takes out Starman's costume and finds blood on his hands, and goes to clean it off in a sink, while Bruce watches him from the shadows.

Courtney tries to get to Pat in the basement, but discovers that the door is jammed.

**Decades ago**
Flash, Hourman, Wildcat, and Starman enter the garage where Pat is working and Flash says that they need an odd number of members because none of their most powerful members were able to stop Eclipso, who is threatening their families Wildcat says that they have to kill the host and take a vote. When Pat objects, Wildcat tells Pat that he's not a member of the team and Flash cuts him off. Wildcat votes to kill, and Flash votes not to. Hourman votes yes, and Flash asks for Pat's vote. Pat votes against, and figures Starman will vote against as well. Starman votes in favor of killing, and says that Eclipso threatened his family and he'll protect them. He tells Pat to get the Racer ready, but Pat refuses.

**Present day**
Bruce speaks up and tells Pat that the blood will never come off, and his children's blood is next. He shoots at Pat, who dodges and falls to the floor. Starman, the original Hourman and Wildcat emerge from the shadow, and Bruce tells Pat that he had a choice and made it, and they have irrevocably damned them very being in doing so.

Courtney arrives and uses the Staff's light to free Pat from Eclipso's hallucination. That night, Mike holds Buddy and promises the dog that no one is going to hurt it. In the basement, Pat says that he's okay thanks to Courtney. Courtney asks what he saw, and Pat says that he saw Bruce. She wonders what he hasn't told her, and he says that he never told her how the JSA really stopped Eclipso.

**Decades ago**
Pat drives the Racer to Bruce's manor, and braces himself to go in. Starman gets into the Racer with Pat, and tells Pat that Pat was right and the JSA should never take a life... but it's too late. Pat sees the blood on Pat's costume, and Starman briefly looks at the black diamond in its case and then tells Pat to drive back to JSA HQ.

**Present day**
Pat says that all of the JSA members drifted away after that, and no one came back until the ISA reformed. Even then, they were broken and that's why the ISA won in the end. When the JSA killed Bruce, it wound up killing them. Courtney is hurt that Pat has been lying to her while Eclipso has been hurting and destroying her friends, and wonders what Barbara is going to say when she finds out. Pat tells Courtney that Barbara knows, and Courtney runs upstairs without a word.

Barbara returns home and Courtney confronts her and Pat, asking why they lied to her. Eclipso watches through the outside window, giggling at the further dissension he has brought on the newer, younger generation of the JSA.

## Cast

### Starring

* Brec Bassinger as Courtney Whitmore
* Anjelika Washington as Beth Chapel (Voice)
* Trae Romano as Mike Dugan
* Hunter Sansone as Cameron Mahkent (Hallucination)
* Nick Tarabay as Eclipso
* Amy Smart as Barbara Whitmore
* Luke Wilson as Pat Dugan

### Special Guest Star

* John Wesley Shipp as Jay Garrick/The Flash (Flashback)
* Neil Jackson as Jordan Mahkent (Hallucination)

### Guest Starring

* Joel McHale as Sylvester Pemberton/Starman (Flashback)
* Jonathan Cake as Richard Swift/The Shade
* Milo Stein as Eclipso/Young Bruce Gordon
* Lou Ferrigno Jr. as Rex Tyler/Hourman (Flashback)
* Ethan Embry as Johnny Thunder (Flashback)
* Alex Collins as Charles McNider/Dr. Mid-Nite (Flashback)
* Brian Stapf as Ted Grant/Wildcat (Flashback)
* Jason Davis as Bruce Gordon (Flashback)

### Co-Starring

* Gilbert Glenn Brown as James Chapel
* Emily Dunlop as Myra McNider (Flashback)
* Michael Burgess as Father Craemer (Flashback)

## Notes and Trivia

* This episode is a pivotal flashback episode featuring the original Justice Society of America members which include, but are not limited too, Rex Tyler and Jay Garrick.
* In an interview with Stargirl Aftershow, Trae Romano heavily praised Hunter Sansone's performance in this episode, calling it beautiful and amazing. He later add that Luke Wilson and Anjelika Washington had huge moment in this episode.
	+ The host of the podcast and Stargirl graphic designer Shawn McBee, added that he thinks this episode is going to be a standout in the season.
	+ Director Andi Armaganian also asked Shawn to pass on her praises to Trae for his performance in this episode and Chapter Eight.
* This episode features the first-out-of-costume appearances of Charles McNider, Johnny Thunder, and Ted Grant as well as the first on screen appearance of Jay Garrick in the series.
* Mike's biological mother allegedly abandoned him, as Eclipso used Mike's subconscious thoughts.
* This episode marks the first time Cameron is seen using his powers, however, it is in a hallucination conjured up to play with Mike's guilty conscience.
* Jordan Mahkent is seen for the first time since his death in "*Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Part Two*" as a hallucination to Barbara.
* This episode explains the reason why the Golden Age JSA separated. It also explains why the original JSA were defeated in the pilot episode; the team had disbanded after Eclipso's defeat and therefore, were not working as a team.
* This episode reveals that the Spectre was once a part of the JSA, however, it is unknown what happened to him. It is also implied that Doctor Fate was killed by Eclipso.
* There are multiple references to the original JSA's families in this episode, including Ted Grant's son. Sylvester also mentions his own family, alluding to Merri King.
* This episode appears to present a plot hole regarding Cameron's age. In "*Icicle*", the actor who played young Cameron is credited at the age of five. However, Eclipso, while in the form of Cameron, states that Cameron was eight when his mother died. However, Shawn McBee clarified on Twitter when asked about it that its better to trust dialogue then on-screen credits. This means for Cameron to be sixteen he would have to have no birthday since Season 1.
* This episode marks the first time Courtney tells Pat she loves him on-screen.
* This episode seems to confirm that the Whitmore-Dugan family's dog's name is Buddy rather than Max. Shawn McBee mentions the dog's name as being Buddy during the *Stargirl Aftershow* episode for Chapter Nine. Hunter also refers to the dog as Buddy in an Instagram photo.
	+ The character was previously advertised and called Max in Season 1.
* This is the first episode of the season in which Anjelika Washington does not appear. Instead, Beth is mentioned during a phone with Courtney. Her voice is briefly heard during the call.
	+ Director Andi Armaganian mentioned on the Aftershow podcast earlier in the season that Anjelika was in the episode. However, it appears her scenes didn't make the final cut. Though, she is credited.
* This is the first episode of the season in which Cameron Gellman does not appear. Rick is still in jail for the assault on his uncle, with his hearing having been canceled due to the intense storms.
* Neil Jackson's appearance was kept as under wraps as possible. His name was not included in the opening credits, only the end credits, similar to Joel McHale's surprise appearance in the Season 1 finale.
* The book that Bruce is working on in the first flashback is the same book that Beth read earlier in the season, "Lost Cities by Bruce Gordon".
* The photo of Mona is Andi Armaganian's mother as young woman. She was looking through old photos to see if anything could fit what she had in mind, and saw the photo of her mother which was perfect. She the secured the rights to the image to use it in the show.
* This episode confirms the existence of Spectre in this iteration of the JSA.
* Former JSA members Green Lantern, The Hawks, and Doctor Fate, are mentioned by Ted Grant when discussing former JSA members that were unable to stop Eclipso.
	+ Green Lantern is killed in the Season 1 episode "*Stargirl*", making him the only aforementioned member present at the ISA fight in 2010.
* Ted Grant mentions having a son. In the comics, Ted Grant does have a son, though he mutates into an actual cat instead of having a suit. He is present in the Courtney Whitmore generational JSA.

## Gallery

### Screenshots

All Screenshots are courtesy of Screencapped.net. For a complete image set, see their gallery.

## Soundtrack

 Run to You
 No Matter What

## References

1. ↑ https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/dcs-stargirl-season-two-ratings
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://ew.com/tv/john-wesley-shipp-the-flash-stargirl-season-2/
3. ↑ https://comicbook.com/dc/news/john-wesley-shipp-teases-jay-garrick-stargirl-appearance/
4. ↑ https://stargirl.fandom.com/wiki/Summer\_School:\_Chapter\_Three?useskin=oasis#cite\_ref-stargirlaftershow\_3-3
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 https://www.spreaker.com/user/fandom-limb-media/stargirl-209\_1