History Recap / Stargirl2020S1E11ShiningKnight

* FromZeroToHero: Despite his lowly origins as a page, Justin was deemed worthy to inherit Excalibur by King Arthur himself, eventually becoming the great hero Shining Knight. This parallels Courtney's plot in the episode, as she realizes that while she wasn't born special like she thought, she's still the one that was chosen by the Staff and she can still be a great hero despite her humble origins.

* {{Applicability}}: Poor Justin's difficulties in remembering things, being a capable and functioning person, and handling his now-fragile emotional state (thanks to the MindWipe/conditioning of Dr. Ito) can resonate greatly with any viewer who has mental health issues--especially since he and his problems are never dismissed or ignored, and are in fact handled with gentleness and compassion throughout the episode.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Brainwave offers to do this to Barbara for Icicle since he has a thing for her, thereby getting around the issue of killing her daughter, but Icicle refuses because she'd be a fundamentally different person without those memories.

* CrocodileTears: Henry Sr feigns sadness at his son's memorial, despite the fact that he was secretly the one who murdered him (as Courtney and her friends, and the audience know) and [[TheUnfettered feels zero remorse for it]].

* WhamLine: Project New America no longer involves brainwashing just six states. Thanks to Brainwave's rise in power, it now involves brainwashing ''half the country.''

* AnAesop: Anyone can be a hero, regardless of who they are or where they came from.

* FromZeroToHero: Despite his lowly origins as a page, Justin was deemed worthy to inhert Excalibur by King Arthur himself, eventually becoming the great hero Shining Knight. This parallels Courtney's plot in the episode, as she realizes that while she wasn't born special like she thought, she's still the one that was chosen by the Staff and she can still be a great hero despite her humble origins.
* HeroicBSOD: Courtney slips into one of these upon coming to the realization that not only was her birth father ''not'' Starman, but he's an absolute sleaze ball willing to con his daughter out of a locket she's held onto for years so he can make a quick buck. It's not helped by the Cosmic Staff no longer working for her seemingly because it knows Courtney and Sylvester Pemberton aren't father and daughter and Courtney rationalizing that [[ItsAllMyFault Joey Zarrick and Henry Jr. would never have lost their lives if she had never found the staff and made up the Stargirl moniker in the first place]]. Fortunately, her teammates, Pat, and Barbara manage to snap her out of this so that she can get the staff to work for her again.

* LackOfEmpathy: Brainwave has absolutely zero remorse for murdering his wife and son.

** By killing his son, Brainwave has become even more powerful, boasting that he'll be able to brainwash half the country instead of just six states.

* WhamLine: Project New America no longer involves brainwashing six states. Thanks to Brainwave's rise in power, it now involves brainwashing ''half the country.''

* CallBack: When Pat shows Beth and Rick the photo of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, Beth comments on how there are ''eight'' of them. Courtney made the same observation. Pat just brushes it off, not wanting to debate the point again.

* CallBack: When Pat showed Beth and Rick the photo of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, they commented on how there was ''eight'' of them, much like how Courtney did a few episodes back. Pat tells them he'd explain later.

-->'''Justin:''' Aye, our queen has risen.

-->'''Justin:''' Aye, the queen has risen.

* {{Jerkass}}: Sam, Courtney's real father. At first, it seems like he wants to rebuild a relationship with his daughter, but it turns out to be a ploy to con her out of the locket he had given her ten years ago.

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: When Shining Knight was captured by Dragon King and the ISA, they settled for just giving him a MindWipe and even letting him keep Excalibur. This is strangely merciful for a group that has no qualms with even killing family members when necessary.

* KickEmWhenTheyreDown: The above mentioned KickTheDog moment came while Courtney was already experiencing a HeroicBSOD.

* KickThemWhenTheyreDown: The above mentioned KickTheDog moment came while Courtney was already experiencing a HeroicBSOD.

** Pat discovers intricate details about Project New America.