Yolanda Gets A Brainwave In A Preview Of Next Week’s ‘Stargirl’
by Erik Amaya
Yolanda’s (Yvette Monreal) headaches are forming into visions of Brainwave (Christopher James Baker). And, now, the headaches seem to be affecting Courtney (Brec Bassinger), too. Is Eclipso (Nick Tarabay) behind it or is Brainwave, somehow, living in Yolanda’s mind rent free? Will she be strong enough to deal with the villain if he is really living on inside of her?
The possibility of Brainwave surviving is something the show has been teasing since the Season 2 premiere. Considering his powers, it is possible — although we always liked it being a manifestation of her guilt. That said, we’re equally ready to take the preview as evidence of Eclipso making things tough for the JSAers.
After this week’s episode, it is clear he’s not some easy foe. The program’s efforts to make The Shade (Jonathan Cake) formidable paid off not just in his standoff against Cindy (Meg DeLacy) and the Black Diamond, but in illustrating Eclipso’s own powers once he broke free of the diamond. Declaring his world the source of Shade’s powers and quickly dispatching him set a precedent. And coupled with the way he took out Isaac (Max Frantz) and Cindy, he becomes a truly awesome opponent for the team. So, if he is the reason Yolanda is seeing Brainwave, we’ll believe it.
Also, we have to give the series credit for the pace of this year’s story. While last week was an oddly slow episode, Cindy’s attempt to build a new ISA, and her eventual choice to attack, moved at the exact right speed. Also, the pivot from Cindy to Eclipso came at the exact right time, six episodes in. That pace, combined with the appearances of Jade and Jakeem Thunder, suggest to us an eventual expansion of JSA membership with people who use forms of light as their powerset. It’ll be fun to see how they work together to stop Eclipso.
In the meantime, though, we expect his corruption to manifest in fears like Brainwave for at least the next four episodes.
Stargirl airs Tuesdays on The CW.
