#Stargirl Season 2 Episode 5 Review: Summer School: Chapter Five

So what exactly does a guy have to do to get kissed around here?

A question similar to that had to be at the forefront of Cameron’s mind on Stargirl Season 2 Episode 5 as Courtney continued to play her crush hot and cold.

One minute they’re all cutesy and couple-adjacent, and the next, Courtney’s bailing for the umpteenth time. We get what’s so important that she has to leave this great guy hanging, but Cameron, who’s not privy to all things JSA, is just left reeling.

It’s a shame Cameron continues to be kept in the dark because if this installment taught us anything, it’s that he’s more than capable of holding his own.

Over the past season and a half, we haven’t gotten to know Jordan Mahkent’s son all that well — sans his obvious artistic talents and attraction to Courtney — but from the little we’ve gleaned, he’s a solid guy.

He’s certainly not the type to go over to the dark side, at least not without a good reason, such as finding out the girl he likes was complicit in his father’s death and covering it up.

Cameron had the “chance” to join Cindy’s newly-minted ISA but didn’t even wait until the sales pitch before shutting her down. He saw straight through her phony sympathy and wasn’t even willing to give the time of day.

Granted, he may feel differently if he knew the whole truth, but he knew enough not to let the likes of Cindy manipulate him, which can only help Courtney and the JSA’s case when Cameron learns of their involvement in Icicle’s death.

He also wasn’t going to let Courtney keep stringing him along, calling her out on constantly blowing him off or never even showing up in the first place.

Cameron knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to ask for it, and if something doesn’t give with Courtney, something tells me he wouldn’t be waiting around for much longer.

Of course, there’s always the possibility that he’ll find out the truth, and that will derail a future romance for Cameron and Courtney.

And since the cat’s out of the bag for Isaac and Artemis about their parents’ supervillain alter egos, the possibility of Cameron learning about his late father’s extracurricular activities gets more and more likely every episode.

There’s not exactly a good way for Cameron to learn the truth about Icicle’s evil plans for Blue Valley and the circumstances surrounding his demise — also known as Mike hilariously hitting him with a car –, but the bearer of bad news could decide Cameron’s reaction.

If his grandparents or Cindy fill Cameron in on the events of the past year, he’s more likely to align with the new ISA and seek revenge on Courtney and co., but if Courtney or Pat clues Cameron in, his reaction may be more subdued.

That’s not to say he won’t be angry or upset, but he may be willing to at least listen to the JSA’s side of things before flash freezing everything and everyone in the area.

Besides some much-needed development of Cameron, not that much happened. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a filler episode, but the show’s momentum, which had been ramping up since the start of the season, slowed.

The Shade continued to be vague about his reasons for wanting to destroy Eclipso, and Cindy’s efforts to assemble a new ISA barely progressed after her failed attempt to recruit Cameron.

What did happen, though, was the JSA got their first look at Eclipso, and boy, was it a doozy.

Eclipso managed to completely undo Yolanda, Rick, and Beth by whispering in their ears about their worst nightmares and showing them their greatest fears. Had it none been for Courtney and the Cosmic Staff, the JSA could have gone the same way as summer school/art teacher Paul Deisinger: committed in a mental institution.

If Eclipso ever manages to break free from the Black Diamond — which seems more likely as the season progresses — the JSA is in trouble because what they faced wasn’t even Eclipso at its full strength, just a portion of the demonic entity possessing/working through Paul.

Pat was right in that Eclipso is getting stronger, as this time, Eclipso was able to leave its host and manifest a somewhat solid form, so who knows how much longer the demonic entity can be contained in the Black Diamond.

When that happens, the JSA and the Shade will need to team up to have a chance to defeat Eclipso. The Shade could face a corporeal Eclipso without any problem, but if the JSA finds itself in Eclipso’s crosshairs, they’ll need some backup.

It’s probably too much to hope that Cindy would also answer the call after realizing Eclipso has double-crossed her. No, she’s so deadset on revenge that she can’t see anything else right now.

Taking down the JSA remains her primary objective, and she’s not going to let anything get in her way. It’s a shame she’s become this person, so consumed by vengeance, especially after learning via flashbacks she never wanted to be part of this life, at least not as a young girl.

She was terrified of ending up like her father, so much so that her biological mother took Cindy away and tried to hide them both. However, the efforts were for naught, as Dragon King eventually found them and experimented on Cindy, as initially planned.

And while it may be too late for Cindy to change, it still shows that she wasn’t always destined to be this person. Had she not been raised by Dragon King’s influence and her biological mother had lived, Cindy Burham could have been a very different person. 

It’s too bad we’ll probably never get to see what could have been, but that’s the way it goes most times.

Some stray thoughts:

• Beth’s parents continue to be the worst. They claim them getting divorced doesn’t mean they won’t love their daughter any less, and they’re right since they hardly seem to love her at all. Beth deserves better. She always has.

• Thank goodness Pat is finally giving Mike some attention. Pat may resist allowing Mike to join the JSA, but keeping his son on the outside doesn’t do anyone any good. Mike is part of the action, whether Pat likes it or not, so it’s about time Pat stops ignoring his son.

• Did we know that Jordan’s mother/Cameron’s grandmother had cryokinesis, or did I just forget about this? 

So what did you think, Stargirl Fanatics?

When Cameron finds out the truth, how will things shake out?

Will Eclipso escape from the Black Diamond?

Is it too late for Cindy to change?

Hit the comments below to let me know your thoughts. If you missed the latest episode, remember you can watch Stargirl online at TV Fanatic.

Jessica Lerner is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.