Stargirl Season 1 Episode 3 Recap: Icicle

In the third episode of DC Universe’s Stargirl, Pat warns Courtney to back down from her attempts to go after the Injustice Society of America after a dangerous run-in with them. Meanwhile, Barbara impresses her new boss, Jordan.

Zarick the Great

The episode begins with a flashback to eight years ago to Jordan Mahkent (aka Icicle) and his young son, Cameron. Along with Jordan’s parents, Cameron says goodbye to his mother who is on her deathbed. Moments before his wife dies, Jordan promises to make the world pay, but she tells him to stick to his mission to “fix this country” and to destroy anyone who tries to stop him.

Back in the present day, Courtney tells Pat she wants to continue searching for the Injustice Society instead of going to school. He convinces her to go to class while he tries to find out if other members of the ISA are in town. At the hospital, Dr. King (Brainwave) is still in a coma as his son sits at his bedside. Jordan stands outside the window but doesn’t stick around.

At the school, Courtney meets Joey Zarick, the son of Councilman William Zarick, who is practicing magic as Zarick the Great. Courtney helps Joey with a card trick (lying that he guessed her card correctly). Over at the hospital, Pat learns after speaking with Dr. Chapel that Dr. King’s unconscious body was dropped outside of the emergency room in his lab coat, not in his Brainwave outfit. This confirms to Pat that Brainwave isn’t in town alone.

Project: New America

William (The Wizard) arrives home to find Jordan waiting for him. Jordan questions why he didn’t call him and that it was Dr. King who had to tell him what was going on. Jordan accuses William of not being ambitious enough, saying he thinks too small. Jordan tells him that true power isn’t about being seen, relaying that he has spent his time killing everyone to blame for Christine’s death, everyone who “exposed her to the toxin that led her to get sick.” Jordan then says that Project: New America is his destiny to make the world safe for his son. William says he understands because his son is the most important thing to him.

At the shop, Pat is making repairs on STRIPE. He gets a phone call about his son, Mike, who was caught playing games in class. To Mike’s horror, Pat is going to make him get a paper route as punishment. At The American Dream, Jordan introduces himself to new employees, including Barbara. Barbara makes an impression on Jordan when she pitches a community theater idea as part of their expansion, and he agrees to have that built instead of using 308 Main Street as a retail space.

At school, Courtney steps in when Cindy starts bullying Yolanda Montez (Yvette Monreal), calling her a slut for dating Henry. Later in class, Courtney notices the boy in front of her, Cameron, is an artist and is the one who painted over the word “SLUT” Cindy put on Yolanda’s locker to cover it up. At The American Dream, Jordan tells Barbara that he has assembled a task group to focus solely on her community theater project idea and invites her to join their first meeting. Barbara wants to but her family is having dinner together. Jordan says he understands and tells her great work.

The Crash

While walking home through the park, Courtney finds an ice-shaped star in the field. She convinces Pat to suit up to go check it out. By the time they get there, the ice has melted. Suddenly, STRIPE’s leg is hit with ice, locking up the controls. Courtney, in her Stargirl costume, chases after Icicle. Back at home, Barbara asks Mike where Courtney and Pat are but he says he doesn’t know.

Back at the park, Courtney faces off with Icicle. Icicle is about to take her out when Pat shoots one of STRIPE’s hands at him. Nearby, a bus carrying students, including Beth and Joey, is driving over a bridge. Icicle, who was waiting for the bus all along, ices the road to make the bus crash. Pat is able to fly over fast enough to prevent the bus from plummeting into the water below. He flies back to Courtney after putting the bus safely back on the bridge, though unbeknownst to them Icicle is taking advantage of a truck coming across the bridge and he intentionally causes Joey to be hit by the vehicle, killing William’s son.

After the councilman gets word at home that Joey is dead and tells his anguished wife, he grabs his wand and runs out of the house. At home, Courtney and Pat talk after witnessing what happened to Joey. Pat listens as a crying Courtney talks about how sweet Joey was, that he was the first kid who was nice to her at school. She vows that they will find Icicle.

JSA Headquarters

Pat decides to take Courtney to the Justice Society of America’s headquarters and shows her around, talking about his deceased friends that were like a family. Courtney notices an owl in the room and Pat explains the owl is special and used to belong to Dr. Mid-Nite. Pat then tells Courtney that the two of them alone don’t stand a chance against the Injustice Society. Courtney suggests getting help by recruiting new heroes to join her and Pat in the JSA. Pat says that it’s too dangerous, reminding her that the old JSA was wiped out even with years of experience.

Councilman Zarick arrives at Jordan’s home with his wand lit up and ready to go, demanding to know if Jordan intentionally killed his son. Jordan quickly grabs the wand and freezes William to death, telling him what he did was for William’s son. Jordan’s parents come into the room and tell him they’ll clean up the mess. As far as the rest of the town knows, the councilman died of a heart attack. Later, Cameron comes home after Joey’s memorial, saying that Joey was a good kid, unaware his father was responsible for his death. Jordan’s parents reassure him that Project: New America will keep Cameron safe.

At the end of the episode, Courtney heads back to headquarters and grabs items belonging to each of the late JSA members. She and the Cosmic Staff are ready to do some recruiting.

What did you think of the second episode of Stargirl? Let us know in the comment section below!