Animation
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
An elf mage contemplates on connection and regret as she watches her human friends grow old and pass away.
Courtney Whitmore is just your average high school girl. That is until she finds a mysterious staff in her stepdad’s house and somehow activates its cosmic powers.
Turns out, the staff once belonged to Starman, leader of the former Justice Society of America. And her stepdad, Pat, was Starman’s sidekick, Stripesy, donning a robotic suit that could fly.
But the staff isn’t the only mystical object Courtney finds.
Pat’s been keeping all the superpowered gear of the JSA safe, waiting for the next generation to rise up and claim them.
Pretty soon, Courtney (who takes on the codename Stargirl) is joined by her classmates, Yolanda, Beth and Rick (who, after donning the former JSA’s gear, become the new Wildcat, Dr. Mid-Nite and Hourman, respectively).
Together, under the tutelage of Pat (with a new robotic suit and new name, S.T.R.I.P.E. which stands for Special Tactics Robotic Integrated Power Enhancer), they reform the JSA and start fighting the evil that resides in their hometown of Blue Valley.
Fighting against the Justice Society of America is the Injustice Society of America (though they’ve rebranded as “Injustice Unlimited”).
These super-powered baddies are responsible for the deaths of most of the original JSA. And the evildoers’ kids were raised to follow in their footsteps.
But those evil lessons haven’t apparently taken root as well as the villains might’ve hoped. As Season 2 closes, many of these villains actually help the JSA save their town from an evil entity called “Eclipso.”
Now, the former members of the ISA are trying to reform their old ways and fight injustice instead of cause it.
Stargirl’s on board with this change of heart. But not everyone is as optimistic. Namely Starman.
Somehow, some way, Stargirl’s use of the Cosmic Staff brought its former wielder back from the grave. And while he claims he’s not looking to take the staff back from Courtney, he’s also not confident she’s the right leader of the JSA.
The CW’s Stargirl is just another cog in the wheel of DC’s Arrowverse—even if it technically takes place in a different universe than Arrow (which ended its run in 2020) or The Flash. And its content is about what you would expect.
Heroes fight villains in typical super-powered action sequences. Sometimes they kill villains. Sometimes the villains do the killing. And sometimes cosmically powerful “gods” try to destroy both. (It should also be noted that several characters are brought back to life by mystical powers.)
Since we’re dealing mostly with teenagers, there isn’t as much sexual content as some shows. That said, Stargirl’s costume bares most of her midriff. Yolanda faces backlash from her classmates in Season 1 after sending a topless photo to her boyfriend. (And her religious parents call her a disgrace when they find out.) Entertainment Weekly also reports that the CW has cast a gay character who will make his debut appearance in Season 3.
Language can occasionally be an issue—as can gambling, bullying and underage drinking. And child-parent relationships often come into play considering most of the adults in Stargirl are mentoring and training their kids to be super-somethings.
So, is it lighter fare than the rest of the Arrowverse? Sure. But there’s still plenty of content for parents to consider.
As former supervillains attempt to reform, one gets caught at the scene of a murder with a gun in her hands.
Characters use a variety of superpowers throughout the show. One reformed villain uses her abilities to beat up five robbers. A man is found dead outside his trailer, which is ripped apart. A girl standing over him holds his gun but claims she didn’t hurt him.
A boy tries to bring his friend back to life by burying his body in mystical locations. A man describes his own experience being brought back to life.
We see some girls’ exposed midriffs. Someone says Pat doesn’t have enough testosterone. We hear about a child born out of wedlock.
Two men drink beer. When a teen girl seems to offer wine to her friends, one boy says they can’t since they don’t drink on the job and another girl says they can’t since they’re not 21.
Some kids get bullied. A girl says she’ll get into serious trouble if her parents catch her sneaking out again (even though it’s to do hero work).
We hear a couple misuses of God’s name, as well as “darn it” and “h—.”
We see reformed villains performing Good Samaritan acts, such as helping an old woman cross the street and picking up litter. And Courtney tries to convince her friends and parents to trust these people. When a man discovers he has a daughter, he tries to turn his life around to be the sort of man she’ll want to have a relationship with. Two heroes save a jumbo jet from crashing.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
An elf mage contemplates on connection and regret as she watches her human friends grow old and pass away.
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