Blu-ray Review: DC’s STARGIRL: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON

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Feb 02, 2022 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Disclaimer: “Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray^TM I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.”

In the first season of DC’s Stargirl, teenager Courtney Whitmore’s (Brec Bassinger) life changed when she and her new blended family moved to Blue Valley, Nebraska. She discovered that her stepfather had once belonged to the Justice League of America (JSA), and she even became a superhero herself when the Cosmic Staff that once belonged to Starman bonded with her. Soon she and a group of friends formed the New JSA, and discovered that the JSA’s villainous counterparts, the Injustice Society of America (ISA) was back and plotting something evil. The season culminated in a big showdown, which left the ISA wiped out, with its members either dead, in jail, or on the run. And in the process, Courtney’s mother Barbara (Amy Smart) and stepbrother Mike (Trae Romano) finally learned the truth about the JSA and Courtney and Pat’s extracurricular activities.

As the new season opens, even though it appears that the ISA is no more, Courtney is still wary, vigilant, and obsessed with protecting the town. However, all of the time Courtney spent on saving the world with the New JSA had its consequences, and caused her grades to suffer. She’s now attending summer school, where she’s joined by friend Yolanda (Yvette Monreal). As Courtney worries about the return of the ISA, the other members of the New JSA are also dealing with some post-battle stress and and personal issues. Yolanda, aka Wildcat, feels guilty for killing Brainwave, and for just watching as Henry died as well. Beth (Anjelika Washington), aka Dr. Mid-Nite, is desperately trying to fix her goggles in order to be able to talk to Chuck again, but some upsetting family news provides a new distraction. Rick Tyler (Cameron Gellman), aka Hourman, has also been bit distracted ever since the death of his parents at the hands of Solomon Grundy, and is constantly sneaking off into the woods to feed some mysterious (and very hungry) creature. While Pat works on repairing his robot, his son Mike feels left out, desperately wanting to be a part of the New JSA, and to contribute to the crime-fighting efforts.

Speaking of new JSA members, Jennie-Lynn Hayden (Ysa Penarejo), arrives in Blue Valley, claiming to be the daughter of Alan Scott, the former Green Lantern. Courtney is still on edge, and questions whether or not Jennie is who she says she is, but Pat believes her, and agrees to help train Jennie. Meanwhile, a mysterious, magical, and dapper man named Richard Swift (Jonathan Cake) has also come to town in search of some specific antiques. However Pat instantly recognizes the man as The Shade, the last unaccounted for member of the ISA, who had murdered the original Dr. Mid-Nite. While most people wouldn’t be happy about this, Courtney is actually excited by the prospect of finally having a villain to go after. At the same time, Cindy Burman has secretly made her way back to Blue Valley, and is determined to re-form the ISA. She has brought with her the dangerous and powerful Black Diamond, which she plans to use to recruit her new team, and get her revenge. An evil entity named Eclipso is trapped inside the diamond. He is able to get into people’s heads, manipulate what they see and hear, and convince them to do bad things. Afterwards, he feeds off his victims’ negativity and darkness, and consumes their souls. It’s not long before the town finds itself facing another deadly threat—one that only the JSA can take down…that is, if they’re not too distracted by their own personal issues.

I really enjoyed this second season of Stargirl, which provides some interesting story arcs and growth for each of the main characters, as well as some exciting, action-packed showdowns. Each episode flows nicely into the next, making it really great for a binge. The season also fleshes out more of the backstory of the original JSA members, revealing the truth about some of the things that led to their final and tragic showdown with the ISA. While the season starts off lighter, with a lot of humor mixed in, the tone gradually gets a lot darker as the season progresses (though there are still some comedic moments here and there). This second season finds each of the characters dealing with their own personal demons and issues, which are only made worse due to Eclipso’s ability to get inside their heads and make them see things. He is able to manifest their deepest fears and weaknesses, and turn these against them. Our superheroes get to a point where they don’t know who or what they can trust. The season also explores the childhood traumas that drive some of the more evil characters, such as Cindy Burman and Artemis Crock (Stella Smith), and introduces some great new characters like Mr. Swift, Jennie, and the hilarious genie-like Thunderbolt (Jim Gaffigan). Thunderbolt is Blue Valley’s answer to The Monkey Paw—when wording any wish, one must be extremely careful as Thunderbolt is very unpredictable, and has his own unique way of interpreting the requests.

Stargirl has a very unique look and feel, which I really enjoy. While things take place in modern times, Blue Valley has this throwback aesthetic that blends elements of the 60s and 80s. Plus the show has some great 80s pop needle drops. While this series doesn’t generally crossover with the other Arrowverse shows, there is a fun cameo during one of the season’s many flashback sequences. Like the first season of the show, this second season tells a complete story arc that is ultimately resolved by the end of the season. However, it also sets up some interesting things for the third season, and even gives a short post-credits like scene that gives viewers a glimpse at where the series is headed next.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds amazing. The picture is pretty immaculate, with rich colors and details, even in the fast-paced action sequences or nighttime scenes. The series is presented in a cinematic widescreen scope, which helps to give the show a more epic feeling. The audio track provides clear dialogue and makes excellent use of the stereo and surround channels to put the viewer in the middle of the action, providing an extremely immersive and exciting viewing experience. Once the action and fighting begins, the viewer is surrounded by all the chaos. The episodes are spread across 3 discs, which are packed in a standard multi-disc HD keepcase placed inside a cardboard slipcover. The contents of each disc are detailed on the inside cover of the keepcase, and an insert provides a code to redeem a digital copy of the episodes via Vudu. While the first season’s Blu-ray release didn’t include any bonus material, this second season release is slightly better. The discs include a 5-minute promo for filming in Georgia, a 3-minute gag reel, and the shared 20-minute featurette about DC TV sidekicks that has appeared on all of last season’s DC TV releases.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (8:56:46)

All 13 episodes of the second season:
Disc 1: “Summer School: Chapter One”-“Summer School: Chapter Four”
Disc 2: “Summer School: Chapter Five”-“Summer School: Chapter Nine”
Disc 3: “Summer School: Chapter Ten”-“Summer School: Chapter Thirteen”
1080p / Widescreen 2.20:1
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH

Digital: (Expires 3/31/2023)

Digital HD copy of the episodes redeemable via Vudu.

Extras:

Thank You, Georgia: Stargirl (5:02)
The filmmakers talk about the benefits of filming in Georgia, including the financial advantages, variety of locations, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with co-executive producer Sheelin Choksey, co-producer Christina Northrup, second assistant director Danielle King, assistant costume designer Lauren Oppelt, director photography Joshua Stern, assistant location manager Kadesha McCastle, production designer Eddie Matazzoni, and set decorator John France.
Never Alone: Heroes and Allies (20:48)
The cast and producers discuss the history and changing role of the sidekick in the DC Comics universe, how the sidekicks are heroes in their own right, and some of the sidekicks that appear in the various Arrowverse TV shows. Includes clips, comics footage, and interviews with Stargirl executive producer/creator Geoff Johns, Batwoman executive producer Caroline Dries, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow executive producer Phil Klemmer, Superman & Lois executive producer Todd Helbing, The Flash executive producer/showrunner Eric Wallace, and actors Danielle Panabaker (“Caitlin Snow/Frost”), Camrus Johnson (“Luke Fox”) & Javicia Leslie (“Ryan Wilder/Batwoman”). This featurette has been included on all of last seasons CW DC TV disc releases.
Gag Reel (2:41)
Watch the cast flub their lines, laugh, deal with misbehaving props, dance, and just have fun on set. (Exclusive to the Blu-ray and DVD releases.)

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Episodes:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

The second season of DC’s Stargirl is just as fun and exciting as the first. It introduces some great new characters, explores the backstory of some of the existing characters, provides some nice dramatic arcs for the characters, and tells a complete story in 13 episodes while also setting up some twists for the next season. The Blu-ray presentation looks and sounds fantatsic—this may be the most cinematic looking and sounding series of the CW DC TV lineup. The release also includes a digital copy and a small selection of bonus material. This is an easy recommendation for any fan of the superhero genre.