Warning: SPOILERS for DC's Stargirl Season 2, Episode 4 - "Summer School: Chapter Four".
The Shade's (Jonathan Cake) arrival in DC's Stargirl continued the show's best trick: the supervillains are often right even while they're committing evil deeds. The Shade is just one of Stargirl season 2's Big Bads, however, and the greater threat is the demonic Eclipso (Nick Tarabay) imprisoned in the Black Diamond, which Cindy Burman (Meg Delacy) currently possesses. But The Shade claims he's in Blue Valley to stop Eclipso, which is a noble pursuit that harkens back to the Injustice Society of America's master plan in Stargirl season 1.
Under the leadership of Icicle (Neil Jackson), the Injustice Society infiltrated Blue Valley and turned the Nebraska town into their home base in Stargirl season 1. Icicle's scheme was to literally create a New America by amplifying the psychic powers of Brainwave (Christopher James Baker) to mind control the population of multiple states. Although over a million people would be killed, the survivors of New America would then implement Icicle and the Injustice Society's agenda to create a "better country." Amazingly, the ISA's vision for a New America included sweeping reforms for racial equality and universal healthcare. When Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) and the teenage heroes of the Justice Society of America heard the ISA's objectives, they were confused because those sound like good things that would benefit the country. Unfortunately, the ISA resorted to mass murder to achieve their lofty goals, which is why the supervillains had to be stopped.
The fact that Stargirl's villains commit evil but still have relatable, and sometimes even admirable, motivations behind their crimes is the genius of The CW series. This tradition is continued with The Shade, a voluntary Justice Society outcast who arrived in Blue Valley to secure the Black Diamond. Given his former membership in the ISA and the Justice Society's belief that The Shade killed Dr. Mid-Nite (Henry Thomas), naturally, Courtney and her friends suspected The Shade is looking to team up with Eclipso and attack Blue Valley. Plus The Shade is skulking around town in a nefarious fashion. But The Shade claims that he's really looking to stop Eclipso and save the world from the demon's black evil. The Shade told Courtney that he plans to throw the Black Diamond in the deepest part of the ocean. But is The Shade telling the truth and does he deserve the benefit of the doubt?
Other members of the Injustice Society of America also skirt the line between evil and understandable motivations. In Stargirl season 2, episode 4, Sportsmaster (Neil Hopkins) and Tigress (Joy Osmanski) broke out of prison but all the homicidal couple wanted was to be able to cheer their daughter Artemis (Stella Smith) at her football practice because they want her to become the first female college football quarterback. Remarkably, Sportsmaster and Tigress made good on their promise and they returned to prison after they watched Artemis play.
As The Shade explained to Courtney, "There's a difference between bad and evil," and Eclipso definitely falls into the latter category, along with Dragon King (Nelson Lee) and Brainwave. But, as Rick Tyler (Cameron Gellman) learned, there's also the case of Solomon Grundy, a mindless brute the ISA used as a weapon and who Hourman now compassionately cares for in the woods. As for Cindy Burman, Shiv is recruiting her own teenage villain team, Injustice Unlimited, to get revenge on Stargirl and the JSA. But Cindy is in over her head as Eclipso stealthily manipulates and controls her actions. Yet, as Stargirl has consistently proven, sometimes even the villains are in over their heads and Cindy may not be beyond redemption.
Icicle was a fascinating villain in Stargirl season 1 because Jordan Mahkent's villainy was driven by his mourning for his dead wife and Jordan's misplaced desire to make America a better place. The Shade is proving to be just as compelling since he rejected Icicle's scheme and he also dreads Eclipso, yet, as an immortal villain, The Shade looks down on the Justice Society of America for what they are, children playing dress-up in a dangerous world they don't fully understand. One of the smartest and most satisfying aspects of Stargirl is that listening to the villains explain their agenda could lead the audience to agree with their motives (at least partly) even if their actions are, indeed, evil.
DC's Stargirl airs Tuesdays @ 8pm on The CW.