REVIEW: ‘Stargirl,’ Season 1, Episode 3 – Icicle

The newest episode of DC’s Stargirl, titled “Icicle,” premiered this week. Last week’s episode opened with a lengthy conversation between Courtney (Brec Bassinger) and Pat (Luke Wilson) about Brainwave (Christopher James Baker) and what happened on the night of the big battle. Courtney, still believing that Starman was her father, is determined to bring down the Injustice Society. She goes behind Pat’s back and creates her own costume to become Stargirl. However, she quickly finds out that being the newest holder of the cosmic staff isn’t as easy as she thought after a confrontation with Brainwave. Meanwhile, Brainwave pays a visit to another member of the Injustice Society to get support on dealing with Stargirl.

In “Icicle,” Courtney is set on finding the rest of the Injustice Society members and bring them to justice. She puts her focus on Icicle (Neil Jackson), the villain who killed Starman. Pat strongly advises that neither one of them is strong enough to take on someone so dangerous. Courtney tries to make the best of the situation and goes about her life as a high school student. It isn’t until Icicle makes a move on Courtney that she decides to face him. However, things take a turn for the worse, and Courtney is forced to deal with major consequences. Meanwhile, Icicle confronts The Wizard (Joe Knezevich) about how to deal with Stargirl.

I quite enjoyed seeing that the episode opened with Icicle’s backstory. It would be simple to just assume that he’s evil without any real cause. The backstory humanizes his character and shows just how far he’s willing to go to make sure that his master plan takes effect. A villain with no boundaries poses an even greater threat, which is something he shows off in “Icicle.” With Courtney only just recently becoming Stargirl, this kind of threat will surely be difficult to deal with. Icicle is definitely one of the more menacing villains that have been introduced into the Arrowverse as of late, which elevates just how incredible this show is. I’m excited to see just how villainous Icicle can truly be.

After watching the entire episode, it’s clear that the conversation between Courtney and Pat at the beginning of the episode was necessary. His experience in the world of superheroes is something that Courtney will need. However, it’s easy to understand Courtney’s position on wanting to go out and beat the Injustice League. The rash thinking on Courtney’s part may be taken as her being too eager, but I take it as her wanting to get justice for Starman. Yes, it hasn’t officially been confirmed if Starman is Courtney’s father, but this continues to be an interesting storyline for her character. Whether it is her father or not, it’ll be interesting to see how she looks back on all of this when she finds out the truth.

One particular scene in “Icicle” made me wonder about any underlying tension between members of the Injustice Society. When Icicle confronts The Wizard about handling the arrival of a new wielder of the cosmic staff, it’s difficult not to notice just how tense the situation is. This goes beyond Icicle being the leader of their group and feeling like The Wizard ignored a direct order. Icicle clearly wants to put his plan into action but doesn’t want anyone to get in his way. This once again reinforces how menacing he is but also that he doesn’t fully believe in the notion of a team. I wonder if any of the other Injustice members will ever notice this interaction or if they’ll ever care to say anything.

Overall, I really enjoyed watching “Icicle.” Icicle’s backstory was quite fascinating and it puts into perspective why he’s become a villain. While motives rooted in familial ties could be seen as overdone, the trope never fails to bring up heavy emotions. Pat and Courtney’s partnership continues to be developed while also facing certain challenges. There’s also tension amongst the Injustice Society that I hope gets developed more as the series progresses. The level of seriousness that this one episode brought was a nice change of pace. I’m looking forward to seeing how Courtney plans to deal with the dangers that lie ahead.

New episodes of Stargirl premiere Mondays on the DC Universe streaming service and every Tuesday at 8 P.M. EST/5 P.M. PST on the CW Network.