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'Stargirl' Episode 9 Review: Henry Jr's turn to villainy is proof that some are just meant to be the bad guys

Henry King Jr uncovers the true legacy of his father even as Courtney tries to recruit him to the JSA
PUBLISHED JUL 15, 2020
(DC Universe)
(DC Universe)

Spoilers for 'Stargirl' Season 1 Episode 9 'Brainwave'

Things are getting decidedly darker in Blue Valley as the season of origin stories seems to have shifted away from heroes towards the next generation of villainy. As Henry King Sr (Christopher James Baker) noted all those decades ago, people are monsters underneath it all. And while that may not be the case with everyone, it's certainly proving to be true for the Injustice Society and their children so far.

Henry King Jr (Jake Austin Walker) is slowly learning about the origins of his father's powers as Henry Sr lies in a coma that Stargirl (Courtney Whitmore) put him in. It's a good start to a supervillain origin in itself, but 'Stargirl' takes things one step forward. It turns out the nature of Brainwave's powers is that the only way to stop the headaches they cause is by killing someone whose brain he's been reading. It's another moment of darkness in what ought to be a lighter show — the most glaring flaw that the series has is that it can't seem to decide how dark or light it wants to get.

This episode is firmly in the grimmer category, building off of the tone set by the 'Shiv' story arc. Not even Courtney's insistence that there is enough good in Henry Jr to recruit him for the JSA is enough to redeem the character. Like his father, Henry Jr sees nothing but the worst of humanity with his telepathy. While he's oscillated all season between being a bad guy and a misunderstood one, this episode firmly puts him into the latter character, cementing it with a murder at the end of the episode. That makes two killer children who are aware of Stargirl's secret identity — things are not looking good for her.

Hers isn't the only identity exposed, however, as the Mahkents have come to dinner, invited by Barbara Whitmore (Amy Smart). It's a surreal dinner, considering how many lies and secret identities are being kept at the table, and the friendliness between families that appears to be genuine until Courtney figures out who Icicle is. Doubtless, both Henry King Jr and Sr would scoff at the hypocrisy at the dinner table. Courtney's enemies are closer to home than ever, and her mother finding out that she's Stargirl has been a move that's long overdue at this point.

With the past few episodes' focus on the villains of the series, 'Stargirl' has lost a lot of the charm that made it unique among superhero shows. The villains have a shade of nuance, but there is no ambiguity as to what side of the good/evil line they lie on. The show's return to old fashioned superheroics seems to be leading to an old fashioned approach to evil — the bad guys are the bad guys, and there's little room for them to walk back from that.

The show's actual heroes are pushed to the background in favor of fleshing out the villains a little more and the show could benefit a little from more time with the superhero team it went through all the trouble of setting up. 

The next episode of 'Stargirl' airs on July 20 on DC Universe and July 21 on The CW. 

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