History Recap / Stargirl2020S2E09SummerSchoolChapterNine

* DealWithADevil: It's implied that Eclipso gave Bruce Gordon all the fame and fortune he ever wanted, but in returned, he ended up destroying the lives of everyone Bruce cared about.

* PyrrhicVictory: The original [=JSA=] was able to stop Eclipso's reign of terror, but the fact that they resorted to murder to do it and that not all of them were morally onboard with this option caused a serious drop in their morale that the Injustice Society took full advantage of, leading to the [=JSA=]'s defeat.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: The main ethical debate this episode is whether they need to kill Eclipso's host to save the day or exorcise the malevolent spirit and save the host. While Pat is firmly on the side of not killing, the other side does have a good point. Eclipso is a purely evil being, and being allowed to run around unchecked will result in the deaths of many, many more people, such as Dr. Mid-Nite's daughter. As [[Franchise/StarTrek Spock]] famously said, "TheNeedsOfTheMany outweigh the needs of the few." It's also mentioned that Doctor Fate and Green Lantern, the magic users, were unable to stop him, so presumably exorcism wasn't a feasible option anyway.

* HeroicBSOD: Pat explains that, after crossing the ThouShallNotKill line, the original [=JSA=]'s morale took a heavy hit, allowing the reformed Injustice Society to strike and ultimately take them all out.

* ThouShallNotKill: The original [=JSA=] fell out over this since they ultimately did kill Eclipso's human host to defeat him as a measure of last resort, and the Flash and Pat had been adamant that there had to be another way. Pat explains to Courtney that the team was never the same afterward and their subsequent drop in morale allowed the Injustice Society to reform and defeat them.

* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: In his civvies, Dr. [=McNider=] wears sunglasses that seem to work like a stripped down version of his goggles.

** Spectre, Eclipso's arch-enemy in the comics, is mentioned.

* AdaptationalWimp: In the comics, [[ComicBook/TheSpectre Spectre]] is one of the few characters capable of keeping Eclipso in check as long as Eclipso isn't at full power and actually replaced him as the embodiment of God's wrath at one point. Here, it's mentioned that he, along with Hawk and Doctor Fate, was unable to neutralize Eclipso while the demon was still bound to the Heart of Darkness diamond, necessitating the [=JSA=] to take drastic action.

* AdaptationalWimp: In the comics, Spectre is one of the few characters capable of keeping Eclipso in check as long as Eclipso isn't at full power and actually replaced him as the embodiment of God's wrath at one point. Here, it's mentioned that he, along with Hawk and Doctor Fate, was unable to neutralize Eclipso while the demon was still bound to the Heart of Darkness diamond, necessitating the [=JSA=] to take drastic action.

* CallBack: Yolanda was the first one to theorize that killing Eclipso might be the only way to defeat him back in Chapter 7 and here it's confirmed that killing Eclipso's host body is one, if not the sole, method of defeating him. Unfortunately, as Eclipso no longer needs a human conduit, it might be too late to try this method.

-->'''Courtney''': What's my mom going to say when she finds out?
-->'''Pat''': She already knows.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: The main ethical debate this episode, especially in the JSA flashbacks, is whether they need to kill Eclipso's host to save the day or exorcise the malevolent spirit and save the host. While Pat and Courtney are firmly on the side of not killing, the other side does have a good point. Eclipso is a purely evil being, and being allowed to run around unchecked will result in the deaths of many, many more people, such as Dr. Mid-Nite's daughter. As [[Franchise/StarTrek Spock]] famously said, "TheNeedsOfTheMany outweigh the needs of the few."
** It's also mentioned that Doctor Fate and Green Lantern, the magic users, were unable to stop him, so presumably exorcism wasn't a feasible option anyway.

* MythologyGag: Just like in the comics, Eclipso's original discoverer and host is Bruce Gordon.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Played with. Pat's decision to not tell the current [=JSA=] that Eclipso could be defeated by killing his human host deprived them of at least one solution to the demon directly threatening them, resulting in Yolanda leaving the team and Rick being incarcerated. That being said, it's unlikely that any of them would have been willing to murder Cindy in cold blood.

* PapaWolf: After Eclipso killed his daughter, Dr. Mid-Nite was willing to ''anything'' to stop him.

* ThouShallNotKill: The original [=JSA=] fell out over this since they would have to, and ultimately did, kill Eclipso's human host to defeat him, and the Flash and Pat had been adamant that there had to be another way. Pat explains to Courtney that the team was never the same afterward and their subsequent drop in morale allowed the Injustice Society to reform and defeat them.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Pat's decision to not tell the current [=JSA=] that Eclipso could be defeated by killing his human host deprived them of at least one solution to the demon directly threatening them, resulting in Yolanda leaving the team and Rick being incarcerated.
** That being said, it's unclear if the trope is really in play, since it's unlikely any of them would have been willing to murder Cindy in cold blood.

* CallBack: Yolanda was the first one to theorize that killing Eclipso might be the only way to defeat him back in Chapter 7. Here, it's confirmed.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Courtney calls out both Pat and Barbara for keeping the fact that the only proven way to defeat Eclipso is to kill his human host from her and the team while Eclipso was picking them off one by one.

* AdaptationalWimp: In the comics, Spectre is one of the few characters capable of keeping Eclipso in check and actually replaced him as the embodiment of God's wrath at one point. Here, it's mentioned that he, along with Hawk and Doctor Fate, was unable to neutralize Eclipso, necessitating the [=JSA=] to take drastic action.

* KillTheHostBody: This is how the original JSA defeated Eclipso, having gotten desperate after he threatened their families and killed [=McNider's=] daughter. Obviously, this isn't an option in the present.

* SealedEvilInACan: By killing Bruce Gordon, the original JSA managed to re-seal Eclipso back into the Black Diamond (though presumably William Zarick would get his hands on it some point later on).

* WhatTheHellHero: Courtney delivers one to Pat when she learns that he kept the information about defeating Eclipso by killing his human host a secret from her and the team, pointing out that he continued to do this even ''after'' Eclipso was freed from the diamond and began targeting them.

* GodzillaThreshold: Breaking the [=JSA=]'s no-kill policy and murdering Eclipso's human host was how the original [=JSA=] defeated him. They tried to find another way, but when he crossed the line and threatened [[ItsPersonal their families]] directly, they (or at least Starman, Wildcat, and Dr. Mid-Nite) got desperate.

* KillTheHostBody: This is how the original JSA defeated Eclipso, having gotten desperate after he threatened their families and killed [=McNider's=] daughter.

* ContinuityNod: Rebecca [=McNider's=] death at Eclipso's hands from ''[[Recap/Stargirl2020S2E01SummerSchoolChapterOne Summer School: Chapter One]]'' is remembered, with Pat and the original [=JSA=] attending her funeral in a flashback.
* GodzillaThreshold: Breaking the [=JSA=]'s no-kill policy and murdering Eclipso's human host was how the original [=JSA=] defeated him. They tried to find another way but he crossed the line and threatened [[ItsPersonal their families]] directly, they (or at least Starman, Wildcat, and Dr. Mid-Nite) got desperate.

* ItsPersonal: Eclipso murdering Dr. Mid-Nite's daughter and threatening the other [=JSA=] members' families is what pushed them to break ThouShallNotKill to defeat him.

* SealedEvilInACan: By killing Bruce Gordon the original JSA manages to re-seal Eclipso back into the Black Diamond (though presumably William Zarick would get his hands on it some point later on).

* PapaWolf: After Eclipso killed his daughter, Dr. Md-Nite was willing to ''anything'' to stop him.

* SealedEvilInACan: By killing Bruce Gordon the original ISA manages to re-seal Eclipso back into the Black Diamond (though presumably William Zarick would get his hands on it some point later on).

* BackFromTheDead: Jordan Mackhent seemingly returns to take his revenge on Barbara, but thanks to the Shade's intervention it's revealed to be yet another Eclipso illusion.

* TheBusCameBack: Jordan Makhent and the Shade return in this episode, with the latter revealing the former to be another of Eclipso's [[MindScrew mind games]].