Though the CW has been the unofficial home for DC comic book characters on television, the Arrowverse, so named because it launched with the Stephen Amell fronted Arrow, has been hit with a lot of endings and cancelations in the last few years as the network goes through an ownership change. In addition to the flagship series coming to an end, Supergirl and Black Lightning also aired their final seasons, The Flash will in 2023, and Batwoman, Legends Of Tomorrow, and Stargirl all found themselves on the CW’s proverbial chopping block. The only DC inspired show left standing is Superman & Lois, and the new Gotham Knights is on the way.
While a lot of those cancelations were unexpected for fans, the team behind Stargirl did learn of the show’s fate while Season 3 was in production, allowing them to close out the show with a more proper ending rather than leaving it on a cliffhanger. That’s a luxury shows like Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow didn’t receive. As a result, episode 13, titled, “Frenemies: Chapter Twelve: The Reckoning” had the chance to provide a lot of closure for fans and give the series an almost perfect send-off.
Season 3 Ties Up The Loose Ends Of The Murder Mystery
Season 3 kicked off with a very different format than the first two seasons. It didn’t have to establish the new characters for the Justice Society of America, and it revisited so many old villains that the characters didn’t need much of an introduction to them either. Instead of the usual known villain that the hero had to prevent from enacting a dastardly plan, a Stargirl murder mystery sparked at the start of the season.
The finale didn’t just confirm that the Ultra Humanite, introduced only a handful of episodes earlier, was the culprit, but also that two characters thought dead were working with him, and it provided a twist to those identities as well. The finale did a great job at tying up those loose ends, surprising the audience, and providing a concise close to the mystery.
Beyond that, the episode also went back to the first episode of the season to remind the audience that the man who was murdered, the Gambler, really was trying to change his ways, and introduced the daughter he wanted to change for. It’s a nice full circle moment for the show since Courtney spent so long hoping for a father who wanted to be better for her as well.
Stargirl’s Closure For Supporting Characters
One theme that’s come up in Stargirl a lot is just how inadequate some of the characters might feel in the wake of Courtney’s role as the main character. Mike lives in his new sister’s shadow. Yolanda finds herself mistrusted while Courtney is lauded for her actions. Beth thinks she’s not as great of a fighter. Cindy thinks no one understands her despite Courtney’s attempts to.
All of these little things plague the Justice Society of America, not just in Season 3, but also in earlier seasons as well. They all get paid off in the final episode of the series, which is a lot of characters to service in such a short amount of time. It might feel a bit rushed for some audience members, but it means that everyone gets their due.
Yolanda finally gets to talk to her mother, though it doesn’t all happen on screen. Mike gets to talk with his birth mother - but he also recognizes that he doesn’t need to feel inadequate in his own family and calls Barbara “Mom” for the first time. Cindy is finally accepted thanks to the help of Jakeem and Mike, and gets to fight back against her father. Beth understands that she might need help once in a while, and she’s brave enough to seek it out instead of hiding from the fight. All of that makes its way into the final episode in addition to defeating the villains of the season and solving some of the interpersonal conflicts between the characters.
Stargirl Provides A Few Happy Endings
One thing Stargirl didn’t spend a lot of time focusing on in its three seasons, despite the primary cast of characters being teenagers, was romance. That’s unusual for the superhero stories that play out on television in the modern day. Most of the Arrowverse shows have at least one major romantic focus. It served the show well to slowly build to different relationships, like the one between Cameron and Courtney, and the one between Rick and Beth, because it allowed the storyline to focus on the friendships forming between the characters first and the growth of the group as heroes.
When Courtney finally started to date Cameron, it created major conflict in the third season, paid off from him eventually learning the truth about his father and even standing up to him alongside the JSA. Despite him leaving town after the big fight, the series still allows Courtney her happy ending with the boy she’s had a crush on, even naming him as a member of the JSA in the flashforward at the end.
Likewise, though Beth and Rick are canonically a couple in the comics, their friendship is only just beginning to build by the time the show ends. They’re shown with Rick driving Beth around, or with Beth being the one to reach out to him for JSA meetings, but it’s the final episode that reveals to fans they would have had the same future as their comic book counterparts as he’s the one who goes to her parents with her when she needs help, and their impending marriage is discussed by the Shade in the flashforward as well.
The flashforward for the series really does a good job at teasing the potential storylines the audience could have seen play out as a whole, and it would be interesting to see if the stories live on in another form. After all, Arrow has seen comics and games set within the universe of the show.
Vengeance For Artemis
Of all the characters that end up in the JSA in the show, it’s Artemis who really gets the short end of the stick. Not much of her character is explored beyond her being as strong and agile as both of her parents. Artemis, however, has been through a lot. She’s the only child of villains in the show who truly had a loving and supportive home. And she had that taken from her - twice.
Just when Artemis was getting used to her parents being returned to her from their stint in prison, and accepting that her skills could land her in the JSA as well, her parents were robbed from her all over again. That’s why it’s gratifying that the series finale didn’t just leave Artemis to wallow in her grief and anger, but allowed her to do something about it and get justice for her family.
Sure, Artemis seeking out Icicle in another country and using a substance she knew would burn him alive is a dark way for her character to go, but it’s just as cathartic for her as it is for the audience to know that the series begins with a scheme from Icicle and ends with his death at the hands of one of his victims. Artemis, in the flashforward, is also name-checked as a future member of the JSA, so she likely didn’t stay in that dark place once getting vengeance.
The writers and producers for Stargirl really did the best they could with the time they were allotted to make sure the series finale hit all of the right story beats and gave the audience a satisfying conclusion.
Stargirl is available to stream on HBO Max and the CW app.