DC’s Stargirl – Brainwave

By starrymag | July 21, 2020

By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell

 

 

The episode opens decades ago with a younger Henry King Sr. (Christopher James Baker) before he became Brainwave. He’s working in a lab with a lot of mice and is frantically searching for pills. On his way to his car he drops the pills and hears the thoughts of a man approaching. The man (Sean Michael Gloria) plans to mug him deciding he’s an easy mark. Hearing that the mugger plans to kill him Brainwave kills him with his telepathy. Later, he makes a video which years later we see Henry Jr. (Jake Austin Walker) watching.

 

In the video Henry’s father explains that he wanted to do a research project on the possibility of expanding cerebral capacity. But he was shot down because his superiors found his methods too radical. He opted to experiment on himself instead. Like his son, he was struggling with hearing all the thoughts because there are so many terrible people in the world, but when he killed the man he was relieved and the pain receded.

 

Elsewhere, Courtney (Brec Bassinger)  and Pat (Luke Wilson) are discussing Henry. She recalls their encounter when she fought Cindy (Meg DeLacy). She tells Pat she could hear Henry’s thoughts and he was sad and scared. Courtney says she knows that what he did to Yolanda (Yvette Monreal) was awful, but he could be an asset. Pat has other concerns as he thought that the ISA was in Blue Valley to hide. But if Dr. Ito (Nelson Lee) is Cindy’s father then the ISA isn’t hiding – they’re planning something.

 

But wait! Courtney points out that Beth’s (Anjelika Washington) goggles said Dr. Ito was executed for war crimes in the 1940s. Pat says Dr. Ito experimented on himself until he evolved into something not human, a traditional execution might not have gotten the job done. Additionally, he’s spent his life designing weapons meant to kill thousands of people. Pat knows things the original Dr. Mid-Nite doesn’t because before they were a part of the JSA he and Sylvester were a part of a different team. They called themselves the Seven Soldiers of Victory and they went up against Dr. Ito and won, but they just weren’t as high profile as the JSA. Pat tells Courtney they need all the help they can get. Courtney says they need Henry.

 

We cut away to the janitor (Mark Ashworth) who quotes the classics and seems to know Pat. He stares intently at his mop and it turns into the staff. That could be important later.

 

Beth is conducting surveillance Cindy’s house. The goggles (Henry Thomas) tell Beth that officially Cindy has withdrawn from school and is overseas to study with her mother. Beth isn’t buying the story though. Of course ,she’s right. After Beth rides away we see that Cindy’s father has her underground and locked in a cell. She pleads with her father to let her out. He’s unmoved. Then, she tries threatening him. He uses sleeping gas to knock her out. Reminder that Dr. Ito knows about Henry and the ISA is making plans to recruit him.

 

Speaking of Henry, he’s watching his father’s video journals. Brainwave’s powers aren’t just mindreading and inflicting seizures. He can move things, too. It seems that Henry can as well.

 

At school Courtney is pitching her idea to have Henry join them. It doesn’t go well. Yolanda is furious that Courtney would even consider it after what Henry did to her. Rick (Cameron Gellman) says people don’t change, but maybe on the surface yet not on the inside. Beth disagrees. She thinks they’ve all changed since joining so Henry could, too. Yolanda says he didn’t think twice about sharing the sexts that ruined her life. Rick agrees with Yolanda and worries it’s a trap. Yolanda says they’re not on any team that includes him and storms off.

 

More video diaries from Brainwave where we learn his father was abusive. Henry watches him recall a story of a time he shoplifted a toy as a child and got caught. His father wanted him to return the toy, but he dropped it down the well. Brainwave’s father dangled him over the well and threatened to drop him if he ever disobeyed him again. The feeling of powerlessness stayed with him until he developed his powers. He continues killing bad people. He feels better, but there are always minds full of vile thoughts. The truth about humanity, Brainwave says it is that at their core people are monsters.

 

The King family’s housekeeper (CC Castillo) comes in to check on Henry. She tells him that a lawyer called and wants to discuss his father. Henry hears her thinking that she worries about him. He’s touched, up until he hears her thinking that he’d probably be better off if his father dies. Henry gets another headache and then storms away.

 

It’s another meeting of the ISA. Dr. Ito enters and has news. He knows they’ve had their conflicts, but they no longer need to wait for Brainwave to wake up because his son is a telepath. We get some insight on Project New America. The plan is to hijack every developed mind in the neighboring six states with a machine called the amplifier and Henry’s abilities. This will create a new America, their America.

 

Jordan (Neil Jackson) is in his office looking over pictures only to be interrupted by Barbara (Amy Smart). She wants to apologize for cutting the business trip short, but Jordan says it’s fine. Barbara wonders if he’s okay. Jordan, without the supervillian details, says that he just finished a project that he’s been working on for years. It took him all over the world, but it also cost him a lot of time with his son Cameron (Hunter Sansone). He thought he’d feel satisfied when it was finished. Unfortunately, he doesn’t and adds that his wife would’ve made him a big dinner during a time like this. Barbara invites him to dinner.

 

In the hospital Henry is swimming in a lot of ugly thoughts. There are people in pain, people who are afraid and people hoping for death for ulterior motives. Henry goes to his father’s room, as he was convinced his father called out to him. He tries to ask his father if he can help but doesn’t get a response.  Henry hears the thoughts of a nurse (Wes Jetton) who never liked Dr. King and determines that his father was right about people being monsters.

 

Beth and Rick go to see Pat. The JSA is still a divided house with Yolanda still furious at the thought of Henry on the team. Rick takes her side, but Pat points out that a lot of people would’ve thought Rick was hopeless but Courtney gave him a chance. Rick shoots back that he never shared naked photos of girls. Pat has a theory that there’s an underground network of tunnels they can use to track down Dr. Ito. He wants Beth and Rick to do some research to see if he’s right. Pat leaves but only Beth is into the project. Rick feels his time is better spent cracking his father’s journal.

 

Courtney goes to see Henry. In under a minute Courtney’s thoughts reveal that she’s the one who put Henry’s father in a coma. He’s furious, but Courtney tries to explain that Brainwave threatened her family and tried to kill her. Courtney asks for his help, but Henry isn’t convinced that the people the ISA killed didn’t deserve to die. Courtney wonders if he really believes Joey deserved what happened to him. She also wants to know why Henry is so cruel. He calls hearing thoughts a hell on earth and if she thinks he’s bad everyone else is so much worse. Henry says if his father hurt anyone he had a reason to because people are monsters. Courtney tells him that life isn’t that black and white. But, she says, that people are complicated and maybe he should look deeper and find something better. Henry doubts it, but Courtney says behind all the pain and fear people want love. Deep down she tells him he wants to do the right thing and to come to her when he’s ready.

 

Barbara is making family dinner and reveals to Pat that they’re going to have company. They share a moment, but Pat wants to tell her about the JSA. Courtney interrupts and throws her off with a story about a history test. Barbara is so busy she doesn’t dig deeper. When she leaves the room Courtney and Pat disagree about the secret. Then, the doorbell rings revealing the Mahkent family, grandparents Sofus (Jim France) and Lily (Kay Galvin) included.

 

Henry is at the hospital and gearing up for more pills when he’s snatched by Yolanda dressed as Wildcat. She’s got some things to get off her chest. Yolanda tells Henry that Courtney might think his soul is worth saving, but she knows better. Yolanda threatens to slash him if he doesn’t stay away from her and her friends. She also lets him read her thoughts, the gist is she’s still feeling pretty betrayed.

 

Beth and Rick, mostly Beth, have a breakthrough on the research front. In 1876 Blue Valley was settled by a group of Freemasons who called themselves “The Other Founding Fathers.” They wanted a nation free of outside influences, hence the tunnels. Beth reasons the tunnels were the draw for the ISA. They can do whatever they want in secret.

 

Dinner is going okay at first. Right up until it’s time for a second serving of chicken dumplings. Courtney volunteers to get the food from the oven and burns herself. She offers the plate to Jordan who has no reaction. She ushers Pat to the kitchen feigning needing his help and tells him she thinks Jordan is Icicle. She couldn’t touch the plate without gloves, but he touched it with his bare hands. Pat isn’t sure, but Courtney worries that Cameron could be a villain in training like Cindy. Pat replies that he doesn’t know.

 

Cameron says it’s great to see Courtney and wants to hang out soon. That could get awkward. Once Cameron’s out of sight Jordan corners Courtney and tells her that Cameron talks about her non-stop and that he approves of her. That could change soon. With the guests gone, Courtney races to the basement to get her staff. She thinks that maybe it could sniff out Icicle, but Pat says they need to tell Barbara the truth first. Speak of the devil, Barbara comes down and sees Courtney with the glowing staff in hand.

 

Henry is still holding vigil beside his father. That is until he’s interrupted by the lawyer his housekeeper mentioned. His name is Mr. Green (John Crow) and he tells Henry his father said if he was ever incapacitated at this point in time he’d want to terminate life support. But his thoughts don’t match what he’s saying. He just wants the King family’s money. This pushes Henry over the edge and he gives Mr. Green a fatal seizure. As Mr. Green is bleeding on the floor Brainwave finally wakes up. Confused, he asks Henry what’s going on.