TV Review: Stargirl (Season 3)

**This review contains minor SPOILERS**

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The third and final season of “Stargirl” presents a murder mystery that is basically nothing but red herrings leading to an underwhelming reveal that is brushed aside to focus on the final episodes’ big twists…which come too out of nowhere to earn the payoff.

The premise for the season is fine: The Gambler is murdered and the JSA works to find the killer. However, the show throws suspicion at so many characters it immediately becomes clear that none of them will be the murderer. And when this narrative finally reaches its conclusion, it becomes an afterthought as the series shifts gears with a couple of big twists that nail the shock value but don’t really feel like the season was building towards any of this. (Not to mention we never do find out what the bad guys’ end goal is.) The other big idea for this season is in the subtitle, “Frenemies.” as the heroes are thrown together with some of their former enemies who now are trying to redeem themselves. While this doesn’t work initially, by the end of the season the writers are able to bring these unlikely groups together as actual friends.

Outside of this, most of the character arcs are pretty flimsy. Stargirl’s love life is never all that interesting, Hourman’s attempts to bring back Grundy go nowhere, Doctor Mid-Nite really doesn’t get much of anything to do, Wildcat just gets a rehash of family drama, Mike and Jakeem’s adventures feel like an afterthought to give them something to do and Shiv’s story is just used to make her look guilty and has no real payoff.

After a noticeable decline going from the first season to the second, the effects are relatively solid this time around. However, the fight scenes just don’t live up to expectations and seem to feature wire-work sequences that look fake and don’t even make logical sense for the fight.

Ultimately, “Stargirl” leaves off with an intriguing murder mystery that is ditched right as it’s solved in order to setup the “shocking” reveals. While the frenemies concept actually works pretty well, the rest of the character arcs fall flat. And there’s a few detours meant to set up more JSA characters down the road that take away from the main story and because the show was canceled after they were filmed, there won’t be a real payoff.

** out of *****

TV Review: Andor (Season 1)

**This review may contain minor SPOILERS**

Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube

Entering the already crowded Star Wars television landscape with mostly lesser-known and new characters, “Andor” had its work cut out for it and the bar set quite low. But thanks to fantastic writing, a lived-in world full of fleshed-out characters, and a story structure that consistently pays off slow-burning story arcs, the dark horse series excels to some highest levels for any Star Wars media.

One of the smartest decisions is how the series is structured. Essentially four “blocks” of story that build slowly, introducing new characters, environments and challenges for Andor until the pressure reaches a boiling point and it explodes into some thrilling and well-earned action sequences. It’s impossible not to get invested in the journey of a character we’ve only met once before.

Diega Luna is solid here, making Andor likable when he should be unlikable. It makes his arc work that much better. While Stellan Skarsgard and Genevieve O’Reilly also crush it in the acting department, and their stories are gripping in their own right, they struggle at times to feel relevant at times compared to the life-and-death crises that Andor is facing. (Although that’s nothing compared Syril Karn’s story that often feels out of place and has a weak payoff.)

The show looks great, with massive sets and practical effects used whenever possible. The series keeps the Star Wars tradition of a gritty, lived-in world. However, instead of no-name background characters and faceless Stormtroopers, “Andor” gives heroes, villains and supporting characters rich, naturalistic dialog. Making them feel like actual people and not just target practice for the big shootouts. (In fact, it’s quite a few episodes in before we even see a Stormtrooper.)

“Andor” combines great scripts, strong acting and fleshed-out characters to tell one of the most compelling Star Wars stories. The pacing is slow at times and doesn’t always pay off some of the side stories, but each arc builds on the last to come to more and more thrilling conclusions.

****1/2 out of *****