After Courtney gets herself into trouble following an unexpected confrontation, Pat decides they need to come clean to Barbara; Cindy takes heat from her father after a plan to take matters into her own hands goes awry.
Tropes:
- Accomplice by Inaction: Icicle kills Mr. Reily for not blowing the whistle on Bannerman's illegal dumping, even though he otherwise never profited from or directly participated in it.
- Acting Unnatural: Pat and Beth can barely keep their story about being father and daughter straight since Pat gets caught up in the plan while trying to stop Beth, but Bobbie is so starved for positive human interaction that she doesn't question it.
- Ambiguously Human: There's no record of Bobbie Burman and Chuck can't identify her. Combined with Ito's comments the previous episode, it's left up in the air what she is.
- And Your Little Dog, Too!: When Cindy reveals to Courtney she knows she's Stargirl, she promises that, before she kills her, she'll be sure to kill all her friends first.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Henry Jr. lets out a HUGE ONE when Courtney and Cindy's constant thoughts push him to finally unleash his powers. The wave of energy he releases is so powerful that it sends them both flying across the street.
- Chekhov's Gun: The picture of Ito in Cindy's room finally comes into play when Beth discovers it and shows it to Pat, who's well aware of the doctor and his sordid history.
- Closet Shuffle: Subverted. When Cindy comes home, Beth panics and tries to hide in Cindy's closet, only to find there's not enough room for her get inside and shut the doors. Yolanda has to get in the Wildcat costume and retrieve her through the window.
- Continuity Nod: The goggles show the last image they saw of Pat, that being him on the ground reaching out as Dr. Mid-Nite was dragged into the shadows.
- Failed a Spot Check: Cindy walks right past Pat while he's in her home, evidently thinking he was just a repairman (as he was fixing their sink).
- Give Me a Sign: As Pat is trying to talk to the Cosmic Staff to convince it to be more careful with Courtney, he asks it to show some sign it has heard him. Nothing happens and he complains that he's trying to talk to a stick, but it lights up after he leaves.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: The cabinets in Cindy's home are mostly empty, save one with 18 wine bottles.
- Internal Reveal:
- Henry Jr. discovers his father's secret closet, containing the Brainwave costume and a letter from Dragon King that reveals Cindy was sent to monitor him.
- He subsequently intervenes in their battle, learning about Courtney's identity from her thoughts.
- Dragon King discovers that Henry Jr. has powers because he was monitoring the entire fight outside his house.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Beth ventures into the tunnels beneath the town, but thinks better of proceeding further when she hears Solomon Grundy roar."Nope!"
- Literally Shattered Lives: How Mr. Reily dies, thanks to Icicle freezing him as he attempts to flee.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: A good guy example. Pat fakes a story about letting Courtney drive his car from the game and her crashing it into a pole. In order to sell it, he deliberately crashes his beloved Buick, which also earns him some bruises and helps sell the lie.
- Mind over Matter: Henry Jr. learns he can move objects when he instinctively lifts a pill while suffering a severe migraine.
- Mythology Gag:
- Cindy calls Stargirl a "star-spangled bitch", an obvious nod to her comic counterpart's run as the Star-Spangled Kid.
- After another fight with Courtney, Cindy is suddenly grabbed by her father's goons and taken back to his hideout via the sewer. This is lifted straight from Issue #7 of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E..
- The access code from the Burman house into the ISA's Tunnel Network is 1999, the year Geoff Johns created Stargirl.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Courtney impulsively attacks Cindy, thinking she's done something to her friends when Yolanda fails to text back. This only serves to expose her identity to Henry Jr. and reveal the fact that he has powers to Dragon King, meaning Project New America is no longer stalled.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Due to blowing Cindy off, and then later having his drones drag her away, Dragon King unknowingly killed the ISA's chance to learn Stargirl's identity.
- Not Now, Kiddo: Dragon King dismisses Cindy before she can reveal Courtney's identity, because he's upset at her failure to kill Stargirl after she breached the tunnels. She decides to keep it to herself so she can take out the rest of the new JSA.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The Cosmic Staff actually tries to prevent Courtney from going into action, showing that Pat's plea really got to it. It only relents when she says the others are in trouble.
- Pizza Boy Special Delivery: Cindy's stepmom Bobbie starts to hit on Pat while he's fixing her garbage disposal unit, clearly intent on making this trope a reality. Pat awkwardly gets up, mentions her husband, and rushes out the door.
- Potty Emergency: Beth claims this as an excuse to get away from Bobbie and search the house for clues.
- The Reveal: Dragon King's full name and backstory is revealed; he's Dr Shiro Ito, a WW2 Imperial Japanese war criminal who was supposedly executed for his crimes.
- Secret-Keeper: Cindy knows Courtney is Stargirl, and infers she's figured out that her friends are the new JSA. However, she decides to keep that to herself, both to toy with Courtney and to use it to her advantage to secure a seat at the ISA's table.
- Skewed Priorities: Courtney feels that one good thing that came out her fight with Shiv is learning about the ISA's Tunnel Network beneath the town. Pat states that that knowledge isn't worth her getting hurt like she did.
- The Villain Knows Where You Live: Cindy drops by to visit Courtney after their fight, to see how she's dealing after her "accident". It appears to be a subversion when Cindy claims she just wants a friend, and appears to be unaware that Courtney is Stargirl...until she's about to leave and casually reveals she was fucking with her.
- Villain Over for Dinner: After the previous bloody battle that nearly killed Courtney, Cindy drops by with candies, balloons, and a cheery attitude, apologising for "what she did yesterday", which puts Courtney on edge until she makes it sound that what she's apologising for is blowing up at her. Courtney humours her despite her unease, but thinks Cindy is really genuine...until Cindy calls her Stargirl and calmly reveals she knows exactly who she is and is planning to take full advantage of that. After, of course, killing her friends.
- Wham Episode: Cindy reveals she knows who Courtney is, but after their rematch she's dragged off by her father's drones. Henry discovers his father's true identity, that Cindy is a dangerous killer metahuman, their relationship was arranged by their fathers to keep watch over him, and, subsequently, that Courtney is Stargirl (and probably that she's the one who blew up his car). His powers are now fully developed and this is all observed by Ito.
- Worth It: Courtney feels that her getting hurt fighting Shiv was worth learning about the ISA's Tunnel Network. Pat disagrees.
