Summer School: Chapter Eight is directed by editor and Arrowverse veteran Andi Armaganian, the direction is great and I just like what Andi brings to the table as the director which she was in Stargirl's first season. So having a director that knows the cast, characters and universe is a great thing and it shows in this episode. Writing and cinematography is great in this episode, the episode doesn't make the same mistakes that the previous one did.
The episode follows the events of the previous episodes with Eclipso being out of the Black Diamond and is lurking in the shadows. Meanwhile, Rick tries to befriend Grundy, but discovers that the monster has killed a little girl and seeks vengeance. While Courtney and Pat try to stop him, Beth renews contact with Charles McNider in the Shadowlands, and faces more of Eclipso's mind games. Whilst the previous episode was a lot of filler, focusing solely on Yolanda I appreciate that Chapter Eight is back on track with moving the plot forward and giving the other heroes and characters time to shine.
The episode focuses on a handful of characters which is when this show is at its strongest. Rick Tyler / Hourman II gets some much needed screen time and continues the character arc that started in the first episode with him caring for Solomon Grundy which he spared in the season 1 finale. The other characters have meaningful arcs that are continued and the character interactions is back to being great, much thanks to the director of this episode. The visual effects for Solomon Grundy have improved a lot, he looks more human and there's a reason for that in how he's trying to redeem himself. Cameron Gellman's performance as Rick Tyler was the highlight of this episode, there's a lot of things he did right in this episode and being able to act alongside a CGI character takes talent. Overall, a terrific job. Anjelika Washington surprised me in this week's episode as Beth Chapel, I have always seen her as the weakest actor of the bunch but that have now changed, she is talented and will continue to grow as an actor and I hope she continues to get good writing for her character, Beth Chapel aka Doctor Mid-Nite II have grown a lot in these two seasons and the direction they're taking her in is the right one.
In my opinion, this was a great episode but it has its share of problems, poorly paced is one of them and that's about how Eclipso is continuing to get into the heroes heads, the previous episode was all about him turning Yolanda against them and now he's out for Rick and Beth. I get the way they're telling the story in this second half of the season, for a weekly release window I can see how people find the pacing to be quite flawed and I agree. This is perfect for binge watching, but for us who tune in every week, it's almost too slow. But if you find the characters interesting and the story, you'll still enjoy the slower character driven episodes. This season isn't a regular superhero show with light-hearted and cheesy villains, as the darker tone and Eclipso especially makes each encounter full of tension and suspension, it was the right villain for the show and I hope the pacing improves as it seems like season 2 of Stargirl is building up to something quite amazing, a memorable finale.