2020 has been a wild year for us all and much like you, I have turned to entertainment for places of comfort. And what better place to turn to than superhero project. DC has truly knocked it out of the park with their summer television offerings from the DC Universe to the CW to HBO Max.
Harley Quinn is truly the bee’s knees of animation that has come out in 2020. A delightfully deranged show in season 1, Harley Quinn has morphed into something slightly more mature but still incredibly wacky as it’s tackled Harley and Ivy’s growing feelings for each other. Speaking of wackiness, Doom Patrol is back! What I describe as Legends of Tomorrow on hard drugs, the first three episodes of the show dropped on HBO Max and I am so happy. The show definitely takes its time in building towards something and these episodes are incredibly character focused, allowing all the actors to do some brilliant work.
But Stargirl is the star of this summer and I’m delighted to say that as it is a show that one episode in, I was entirely unsure about. I love a good, headstrong, foolish hero and Courtney is definitely all three. And much like its hero, the show was throwing itself into conflicts and battles I was not sure it was altogether ready for. Maybe it’s just the timing of a character being so foolhardy in the face of an elder with their best interest at heart (the great Luke Wilson), but Stargirl was driving me crazy. She was like Asta, always ready to get into a fight and defeat a villain with no plan other than the knowledge that a villain needs to be defeated. I spent week’s yelling at the TV that I wanted her to be more calculated in her plans. We can’t just chase after the evil villains without a solid plan sis! Especially not when those villains are as diabolical as Icicle (Neil Jackson) or as trained in take down teamwork as the delightful Tigress (Joy Osmanski) and Sportsmaster (Neil Hopkins). [The episode 6 fight with Tigress and Sportsmaster is one of my favorite fights on a TV series.]
However, over the six episodes that have aired so far, they have allowed Stargirl the room to grow and most importantly, fail. The death of a classmate in episode three is the kind of shocking event you expect much later in a season’s run but allowing this moment to both humble and truly galvanize Courtney into her purpose was brilliant. I love that though she was shook in that moment, she gained an understanding and resolve needed to recruit new people to her team. Stargirl is a show that’s perfectly cast and all of the actors playing the young heroes fully dive into their characters. Watching the new Wildcat (Yvette Monreal), Hourman (Cameron Gellman), and Dr. Mid-nite (Anjelika Washington) gain their powers and struggle with what it means to have them given where they are in their lives has kept me coming back week after week. I am now fully invested in whether these kids can really be the heroes they want to see in the world.
What shows have you been digging this year?