Henry Jr. learns more about his powers and his father's past, while Courtney tries to talk him into becoming an ally.
Tropes:
- Accidental Murder:
- Back when he first got his powers, Brainwave was confronted by a mugger who intended to kill him. He inadvertently used his new powers to kill him.
- Henry Jr. accidentally kills Mr. Green, his father's lawyer, when he realizes the man is trying to steal his father's money.
- Ambiguous Situation: Courtney lampshades this regarding Cameron; she believes his dad is Icicle (which we know is true), but she doesn't know if Cameron knows and is aware/a part of their villainous plot like Cindy was. Given what we've seen in previous episodes, Cameron having witnessed his dad's power as a child, his own ice-powers demonstrated when blowing out a candle, and some ambiguous moments between the two, it's entirely possible Cameron is somewhat part of this in the same way Cindy was. But, Cameron's Nice Guy appearance, claims from Cindy that nobody else among the ISA kids know about their parents, and the non-explicitness of the above make it still unclear for sure.
- Apocalyptic Log: The videos of Henry Sr. detailing his experiment starts with him ecstatic over his new powers, but then it starts to show him falling deeper and deeper into madness as he hears the petty thoughts of everyone around him.
- Bait-and-Switch: Just before leaving the Dugan home, Jordan stops Courtney by the door with the seemingly-innocuous question, "You know why I'm really here, don't you?" His tone of voice, the lighting, and the sinister framing of the shot all make it seem he has figured out her secret identity and is about to nastily gloat at her, and Courtney herself clearly thinks as much. But instead...he just attests to his desire to meet the girl his son raved about so much, because he really still doesn't know, and his Revealing Skill with the hot dish was genuine and not a set-up to test her.
- Beneath Notice: Courtney doesn't seem to notice that the knight in Pat's photo of the Seven Soldiers of Victory seems to bear quite the resemblance to her school's janitor...
- Beyond Redemption: Yolanda tells Henry his soul isn't worth saving.
- Call-Back: Previously, Brainwave had threatened Courtney's family with a Cruel and Unusual Death, and when Courtney relayed that information to Pat, he agreed Brainwave wasn't kidding around and had the power to back that up. Here, we finally see that nightmarish power in action.
- Central Theme: Are people fundamentally evil or do they have the capacity to do good? Can people change?
- Clark Kenting: Unlike Cindy, Jordan doesn't appear to recognise Courtney as Stargirl when he sees her, despite the fact he saw Stargirl in broad daylight instead of at night and in the dark. Justified though in that he only saw Stargirl briefly, several weeks ago, and has likely forgotten what she looked like exactly, whereas Cindy had several weeks of regular contact with Courtney before seeing Stargirl and so was more likely to recognise her. Cindy also had the benefit of Pat calling out Courtney's name.
- Dramatic Irony: Jordan approves of Cameron liking Courtney, unaware that she is the one working to upset his and the ISA's plans.
- The Dreaded: Pat is genuinely scared of what the ISA is planning now that he knows Dragon King is involved.
- Evil Feels Good: Part of what contributed to Brainwave's villainy is that the negative thoughts of others cause him physical pain in the form of migraines, and killing people to silence those thoughts relieves the pain. Henry Jr. runs the same risk.
- Gone Horribly Right: Henry Sr's experiment to give himself Psychic Powers succeeded alright. Unfortunately, hearing the petty thoughts of humanity drove him to villainy.
- Hero of Another Story: Pat explains that the Seven Soldiers of Victory were saving the world well before the formation of the JSA, but never achieved the same level of notoriety and sometimes never even got credit for it. This is why the goggles don't recognize Dr. Ito as Dragon King, because the JSA never fought him while the Seven Soldiers did.
- Hiding Behind the Language Barrier: The Mahkents (sans Cameron) use Norwegian to hide some dialog that would be at best weird for a formal dinner.
- Humans Are Bastards: Brainwave came to believe this after reading a lot of different minds. Henry Jr. comes to agree after a brief stint with his powers. Courtney tries to persuade him otherwise.
- I'll Kill You!:
- Cindy threatens to kill her father if he doesn't release her. Dragon King just shuts the slot on the door and has her gassed to shut her up.
- Yolanda threatens Henry Jr. if he comes anywhere near her friends. She lets him read her mind so he knows that she's serious about it.
- Internal Reveal: Several.
- Courtney learns that Jordan is Icicle, or at least now strongly suspects it.
- Barbara learns about the Cosmic Staff (and by extension, is now about to learn all the secrets Courtney and Pat have been keeping), and promptly screams in shock at seeing it.
- Henry Jr. learns that Yolanda is Wildcat, and firmly learns about his father and their connection to the Injustice Society.
- Lamarck Was Right: Henry acquired his psychic abilities through self-experimentation, powers passed on to his son who was born after.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Pat remarks that that Seven Soldiers of Victory never got the recognition that the Justice Society did.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Courtney again; after seeing evidence that suggests Jordan is Icicle (he touched a hot plate without reacting), she pretty much immediately goes to get the Cosmic Staff to go figure out a way to prove it. She has no plan or solid idea if there's a way to do so, but that doesn't stop her. Fortunately, Pat has wised up and stops her before she even leaves the basement.
- Mind-Control Device: Dragon King's machine is a large-scale mind-control device which will enslave every adult mind within six states of Blue Valley.
- A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read:
- Brainwave came to the conclusion that people are monsters from constantly hearing their awful thoughts. Henry Jr. comes to a similar conclusion, though Courtney at least helps him see that there are good thoughts beneath the bad.
- True to his father's words, Henry Jr. is exposed to the terrible thoughts of several people at the hospital. He hears a man think about his ailing mother dying so that he could finally get her house and car, and the nurse taking care of Henry Sr. expresses his disdain for the guy, and comments that they should just cut his life support already.
- Non-Indicative Name: The Seven Soldiers of Victory had eight members. Pat notes that they argued a lot over the name.
- Power Incontinence: Henry Jr. has gained greater control over his powers, but he still can't help but hear the surface-level thoughts of everyone around him. It's implied the same is or at least was true of Brainwave, which helped drive him to villainy.
- Prayer of Malice: The Mahkent family prayer has them giving thanks for the food so they'll have the strength to destroy their enemies. It's in Norwegian, so no one else at the table but them gets it (Cameron says he doesn't know the language).
- Professor Guinea Pig: Brainwave tested his cerebral augmentation method on himself when he couldn't get approval to test it legally.
- The Reveal: Project: New America is revealed. Dr. Ito plans to build a satellite dish, amplified by Brainwave's (or Henry Jr's) powers to brainwash everyone within a six-state radius of Blue Valley, carving out their New America.
- Revealing Skill: Jordan casually grabs a hot bowl that Courtney burned her fingers trying to pick up, leading her to believe he's Icicle.
- Shipper on Deck: Jordan agreed to dinner with Barbara so he could meet Courtney, because of Cameron's crush on her. He wholeheartedly approves, ironically. Similarly, Jordan's dad expresses a similar sentiment regarding Barbara and Jordan, despite the former being married to Pat, though Jordan's mother doesn't approve of Courtney.
- Speak of the Devil: After dinner, Pat tells Courtney that they have to let Barbara in on their secret. Cue Barbara shouting because she's come down to the basement and can see the Cosmic Staff glowing.
- Start of Darkness: This episode reveals Henry King Sr.'s via flashbacks and video tapes.
- Town with a Dark Secret: Beth discovers that the vast Tunnel Network underneath Blue Valley was built by an isolationist group called the "Other Founding Fathers", who specifically wanted a town free of outside interference. Beth realizes this is why the ISA chose Blue Valley to enact their plans, because the town is predisposed to keeping secrets and would make the ideal headquarters.
- Vengeance Feels Empty: While he doesn't put it in those exact words to her, Jordan reveals to Barbara that his recently completed Roaring Rampage of Revenge hasn't left him feeling a sense of accomplishment, and even the potential realization of Project New America isn't as satisfying as he hoped it would be.
- Villain Over for Dinner: Jordan and his family are invited over for dinner by Barbara. It actually starts off as a perfectly normal evening until Courtney discovers that they're dining with Icicle himself.
- Villain Team-Up: It's made clear here that while Dragon King is working with the ISA, he's not actually a member.
- Wham Line: After Henry Jr. murders Mr. Green, he suddenly hears the voice of his father call out "Junior?" This is followed by a Wham Shot of a confused Henry Sr, who has finally awakened from his coma.
- What the Hell, Hero?: For obvious reasons, Yolanda isn't sold on Courtney's plan to recruit Henry.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Not just you, but everyone. Courtney tries to use this to appeal to the good inside Henry because having had his thoughts in her head, she empathises with him.
