Stargirl's Summer School Chapter 8 Recap
9/28/2021 6:00 pm
Yolanda is off the team. At least for now. Was it Brainwave that synced his brain with hers that took her out of the game? Was it Eclipso pulling the strings? Could it have just been the stress and crisis of faith that Yolanda is going through? Questions remain unanswered as we go into tonight's all new episode of Stargirl! We left Eclipso last week standing outside of Beth's bedroom. If his plans are to take out the JSA members one by one, Beth looks to be his next target. But in a season where everything is increasingly being asked what is true and what is manipulation, it could be Rick that is the next to fall. His protection and feeding of Solomon Grundy may have been a kindness, but if Grundy did kill under Rick's protection, that could end up crushing him! More questions and answers below, here's what stood out to us:
- Visitor to the Tyler Home: Rick's teacher drives all the way out to Rick's place. She wanted to apologize again for thinking he cheated and she wanted to offer financial aid programs and college brochures for Rick. His uncle chases the teacher off the property and throws the college applications into the wind. Rick wanders out to the woods to feed Grundy when he breaks and screams into the woods at just how tired he is of constantly giving and never getting anything back. It's then that Grundy finally shows himself to Rick! Courtney wants to speak with Yolanda but before she can, Yolanda drops off the Wildcat costume and disappears. Beth continues to work on the goggles when she speaks with Dr. McNider. The goggles seemed to have synced to each other. As long as it isn't Eclipso, the doctor is in the shadowland. We do see Eclipso flash across the screen though. Rick sits with Grundy, while he eats Rick shares a story about his uncle's dog and when Rick thinks that Grundy doesn't understand, Grundy pats him on the back and offers him an apple.
- Wildcat Returned: Courtney takes the Wildcat gear down to the basement to keep it safe. She checks on the staff and it's looking very de-powered. Beth's parents finally sit down with her during lunch to discuss the divorce. Her parents claim that they are getting divorced because of Beth. Beth then sees grubs in her sandwich and it looks to be clearly Eclipso's influence. Another "bear" siting has brought the hunter's association to the woods where Grundy is to kill a bear. Rick runs into the woods to assist. When Courtney arrives at the Pit Stop, Pat has made a lot of progress on STRIPE. She want's to help Cosmo (her new name for the staff) but Pat advises caution. Rick calls Pat and asks for help to save Grundy!
- Pat, Courtney, Rick and Grundy: The Staff only has a few blasts left right now so Courtney needs to be deadly accurate. Pat and Courtney enter the woods to assist Rick. Beth heads to Courtney's house to try and get assistance with her Eclipso episode. No one seems to be in the house until young Bruce Gordon appears on the stairs. Bruce calls Beth a thief and if you remember in season one, she did kind of take the goggles. Bruce runs to hide and dares Beth to find him and take the goggles back. Beth figures out that Bruce is Eclipso and calls him out on it. He baits her with his racism. When he can't get Beth to be the aggressor he forces her into the closet. Rick runs into some hunters who have run into something other than a bear. They tell him it isn't safe but Rick runs off to find Grundy.
- Beth's Visions: Beth gets out of the closet and meets the original JSA. Bruce is trying to manipulate Beth again noting the original JSA didn't have women or people of color. Beth doesn't give up though and continues the chase to get her goggles back. Out in the woods, Rick finds Grundy and asks if he killed a woman. Grundy runs off and it isn't certain if he killed her or not. Rick believes it's so but Pat and Courtney investigate. It turns out the woman was a girl and it was actually Eclipso's manipulation. Rick jumping to conclusions about Grundy is the same that has been done to him. Grundy has not killed in the forest.
- Rick vs Grundy 2.0: Rick begins to fight Grundy under the fireworks of the fourth of July. Beth continues to chase Bruce. Eclipso is still trying to manipulate but Beth is standing her ground. When she asks Eclipso what it is he fears, he appears to Beth in his flesh. We cut back to Rick vs Grundy and find out he wasn't fighting Grundy, he was fighting his Uncle. Eclipso has manipulated him to beating his uncle nearly to death. Rick, terrified of what he did smashes the hourglass and it would appear Eclipso has taken out another JSA member. Beth, however looks to be beating Eclipso. Standing up to him and not allowing his manipulations made it so his power couldn't touch her. She wakes with the googles back on and she never left her house. It was all a vision.
In the final wrap up moments of the episode, the police are called to assist Rick's uncle but the evidence is that he did this and he is put in the back of a cop car. The real Grundy watches from the shadows and calls Rick a friend. Beth makes a connection to Dr. McNider and we learn that the goggles can cut through Eclipso's visions. She was able to defeat him. As long as she wears the goggles, Beth can see the truth of the world. Turns out Beth never even talked with her parents that afternoon. When Beth's parents do show up they offer her good advice. When they ask about the goggles she says she's going to join the swim team. Barbara and Mike share their concerns over what's happened to Rick. Mike calls Barbara "mom" and while the pair hug, the window begins to ice over.
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Stargirl's Summer School Chapter 10 Gallery
9/28/2021 12:10 pm
We've been waiting for the episode nine gallery for what feels like forever and if we know The CW like we think we do, there will be more photos after the episode airs! That said, in a surprise additional dump of photos, The CW shared five new images from the episode after the flashback episode! There are some things that stand out to us and some things that are absent that also stand out. The first is that we don't see images of Yolanda or Rick in this gallery. Did Eclipso take them out of The JSA? We do see Beth, which is great and she is wearing her goggles so she must not have left the team or fallen to Eclipso's manipulations. Finally, as we know from the synopsis, Jade is back and with dwindling team numbers, they are going to need her help!
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Stargirl's Summer School Chapter 9 Gallery
9/28/2021 11:30 am
Stargirl's Summer School Chapter 6 brought the current JSA into focus and we all got to see the team work together in action! Even Mike Dugan got in with his flawless toaster attack. It's not been since the first episode that we've seen the original JSA work like Courtney's JSA does. That's not going to be the case after this episode. The highly anticipated flashback episode is nearly upon us and it welcomes Arrowverse alum, John Wesley Shipp and his version of Earth 2's Flash, aka Jay Garrick to the JSA. In the episode synopsis for Summer School Chapter 9, "Pat is reminded of painful memories from his past involving the original JSA and their fight to take down Eclipso." Check out the episode photos below:
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Stargirl's Summer School Chapter 10 Synopsis
9/23/2021 4:53 pm
After the big flashback heavy episode, Summer School Chapter 9, it's time to get down to business with The JSA. Courtney will learn the secret that Barbara and Pat have been keeping from her in regards to Eclipso and possibly how the original JSA was able to take him down. The rift that will form between Pat and Courtney will have to be put aside because Green Lantern's powers might be the key to bringing down Eclipso and that means Courtney and Pat have to hunt down Jennie and bring her into the team! Beth also is up to her sleuthing and discovers more information about The Shade! Episode 10's full synopsis is below:
CHOSEN FAMILY — Courtney (Brec Bassinger) is left devastated after discovering a dark secret that Pat (Luke Wilson) has kept hidden from her. However, when they learn that Jennie (guest star Ysa Penarejo) may be able to help in their plan to stop Eclipso (Nick Tarabay), they’re forced to put their issues aside as they set out on a road trip to find her. Meanwhile, Beth (Anjelika Washington) makes a shocking discovery about The Shade (guest star Jonathan Cake). Amy Smart, Trae Romano and Cameron Gellman also star. Sheelin Choksey directed the episode written by Taylor Steitz (#210). Original airdate 10/12/2021.
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Exclusive: Yvette Monreal Breaks Down Summer School Ch. 7
9/21/2021 6:11 pm
Tonight's episode of Stargirl was a big one following the ISA vs JSA battle. Courtney's new JSA lost their first member as Yolanda made the choice to never put on the Wildcat costume again. She struggled throughout the episode to find a way to be forgiven for killing Brainwave and for what she felt was the only solution to Eclipso, killing him as well! Finally, when the dust was all settled, Yolanda couldn't find a path forward as she even killed Brainwave again in her vision. What was real, what was just in her mind, was any of it Eclipso? We spoke with Yvette Monreal herself to get the answers and highlight the Easter Eggs you might have missed!
Stargirl.tv: At the end of episode 206, Yolanda makes the declaration that “Eclipso must be killed”, but at the end of 207, Yolanda quits the team. That’s quite a big shift, tell us about the struggle Yolanda has gone through this episode.
It was really hard for Yolanda to see Cindy and Issac get eaten alive. I think she feels for them, of course, and she sees Eclipso as an [evil] villain and there needs to be some justification to kill him. She goes to the priest to try and make sense of how some people deserve to not be here anymore. [For example] Brainwave, if it wasn't Brainwave, it would have been her team. Yolanda is trying to make sense of this moral issue and she going back and forth with her feeling that she doesn't think that Eclipso should be here. Eclipso is trying to get rid of everyone and if it's not him it's everyone else.
She is trying to get the priest to recognize that this is [Yolanda] helping god. She'll be sacrificing this villain to save the rest of the world. There needs to be some kind of forgiveness. She's really trying to make sense of the whole situation because, in her mind, she's really trying to help, but, she cannot kill, in the Bible it's the biggest sin, so it's really hard for her, she's having a hard time.
Stargirl.tv: Yolanda’s visions seem to ramp up in intensity after she gives young Bruce Gordon a lollipop, is that coincidence?
From what I've learned from the writers, they always place little Easter Eggs on purpose, so I wouldn't completely dismiss that. It's definitely something that you'll see a little bit more going into the [future] episodes. It's probably an Easter egg.
Stargirl.tv: In true Eclipso fashion we are left wondering what is real, did Brainwave sync his mind with Yolanda? Will that be revisited?
Yes, Yolanda has this episode where she sees Henry, she sees Brainwave. It's all becoming a lot for her. She feels like its God's punishment and this is all happening because of her beliefs. Later on, the reason for why this happened does get revealed but for right now this is her wrong doing, this is because of the choices she made. She is coping with it and she really needs validation. She goes to Courtney for that and she doesn't really get [validation].
Stargirl.tv: The fight with Brainwave in the church has Yolanda held in the air and floated back towards Brainwave, is this the first time you been on wires?
That was so fun! I've been on wires in the first season when I was in Henry's father's hospital room. That's really fun when we get to do a little bit of action it's my favorite thing, I hope one day I can do all my stunts. But I have a stunt double and she does all the hard stuff. Like the throwing across the room, that looks so intense and it looks like it really hurts so I commend her for her ability to maneuver in a way so she doesn't get hurt. But, yes, it's really fun!
Stargirl.tv: Is it bittersweet to have Jake Austin Walker and Christopher Baker back for just one episode?
Oh my gosh, it was the best thing and honestly it was so hard to keep this from you guys because we are always posting these [behind the scenes] and all of these pictures have Jake, [he's] in so many of them and we have to be careful not post anything that he's in. We were told 'hey don't post anything not even that he's in Atlanta' because we didn't want to ruin any of that for our viewers. It was the best, we have so much fun on screen and off screen. It was the best to have him back.
Stargirl.tv: It's clear that you guys are so close off screen, does that closeness, that chemistry come through on screen in your opinion?
We all love the time we spend together. I can see disconnections when I watch certain movies, you can really tell. I definitely think it really helps our performance. We all lift each other up too, that scene where [Yolanda] tells her truth about Brainwave to the whole JSA, they are all so supportive, [they say things like] 'that speech you killed it, oh my god that was the one!'. They're so uplifting, it helps make our performance better if we are all pumping each other up, it does have an affect on you. People talking crap behind your back, that's going to have an affect on you, so I appreciate the relationship we all have with each other for sure. We all love each other so much!
Stargirl.tv: What’s your favorite or funniest memory filming season 2?
I really did enjoy filming the fighting sequences for episode 206. Our stunt coordinator actually directed it so he had us there during all hours and there was a lot of behind the scenes [work] that we didn't really get to see in season one with our director but [this time] we were able to be put in the room with our stunt people and we really got to see the work they put in. There's a whole new level of appreciation for them, I appreciated them in season one but this changed everything, I couldn't say more nice things about them, they are the fricking best!
Stargirl.tv: That whole episode was game-changing.
Wasn't it awesome?
Stargirl.tv: From what we've seen on social media, everyone agrees it just changed the show!
Yes! Honestly, it was the longest episode to shoot, but we knew it was going to look incredible.
Stargirl.tv: It really showed, it was 20 minutes almost of live-action superhero fighting on broadcast television, something almost never seen on other shows.
I know! I actually read the comments and they all say how the fighting is the best on our network [The CW], which we really appreciate it because our showrunner [Geoff Johns] is adamant about doing the fight sequence right, doing it of quality, so those comments mean everything to us, so we love that you guys love it.
Stargirl.tv: You guys are back for season three, with filming set to begin Oct 4th, are you heading back to Atlanta soon?
Yeah so today we actually just shipped our cars. I just met up with Cameron [Gellman] who plays Hourman, Meg [DeLacy] who plays Shiv, and Joy [Osmanski] who plays Tigress. We're all in LA but we're going to leave soon, October fourth is our first start date.
Stargirl.tv: @Retronormous asks: If you had to describe Wildcat with three foods, which would they be?
Ahh, let me think on this. Obviously the first thing that comes to mind is tacos because that's just a staple in my household. The next would be spaghetti, honestly these are just so random but they're relatable so it might not make sense to you. So spaghetti and meatballs, tacos, let's add something fiery. Hot Cheetos!
Our sincerest thanks to Yvette Monreal for taking time out of her very busy day to talk about Stargirl and Yolanda Montez. Be sure to follow her on twitter and instagram for all those great behind the scenes photos!
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