When Stargirl picks up for Season 2, the school year has come to a close, but an all-new adventure awaits Courtney Whitmore and her fellow Justice Society of America members. With their defeat of the Injustice Society in their rear view mirror, Courtney remains enthusiastically vigilant in her quest to stop crime in Blue Valley and grows impatient with her sleepy, small town life — but she might want to be careful what she wishes for. After all, Eclipso and The Shade are just around the corner, and they’re about to unleash terror anylike anything the JSA has ever faced before.
Speaking to CBR, Stargirl star Brec Bassinger broke down how both Courtney and Blue Valley have changed since the Season 1 finale. She explained what distinguishes Eclipso from the villains the JSA fought last year, as well as what separates a “bad” villain from a truly “evil” villain. She teased the arrival of Green Lantern’s daughter Jade and Jakeem Thunder and what these new heroes mean for Courtney. She also previewed a big, transitional fight sequence, laid out the Whitmore-Dugan family dynamic this season and more.
CBR: Welcome back! What was it like to return for Season 2, not just in regards to COVID but in coming back to this character and this cast?
Brec Bassinger: Yeah, the very first thing I thought was, “Well, very different because we couldn’t recognize anyone with their masks on!” But no, it was great. It’s so funny. The very first day we were filming, the very first scene, it was me, Luke [Wilson] and Amy [Smart], and we said it simultaneously felt like we had been gone for three years and three hours. By the end of the day, we were back into our flow, and you know, we were just back with our families.
What does post-ISA Blue Valley look like for Courtney and Stargirl?
Yeah, well, it’s coming back six months later, and it’s pretty calm. They beat the big supervillain group, and Courtney is not ready to give up being Stargirl. She loves it. It’s her destiny. So she is just looking for evil everywhere. She turns, looking for something bad or trouble, and it’s just not there. So Pat has to tell her to calm down.
And throughout that, when putting Stargirl first, she kind of left everything else slip through the cracks, and aka she fails school and ends up in summer school, hence the name of the season. But Blue Valley is not all that it seems. It is not all good. Within the beginnings of the season, we find out about some trouble in Blue Valley and The Shade, the last standing number of the ISA.
In Season 1, Courtney really grappled with finding her identity. Now that she’s started to find herself in her Stargirl persona, how does that continue in Season 2?
She’s so much more confident in being Stargirl, but it’s almost like she’s a very impulsive human being, a very passionate human being. So she’s almost too Stargirl, where she really can’t focus on other things, and it gets her into trouble. The decisions she makes are very impulsive.
Without going too deep into detail, one of the themes this season seems to be about keeping secrets, whether it’s Courtney keeping something from someone she loves or it’s people keeping secrets from Courtney to protect her. How does that factor into her Season 2 journey?
Yeah, well, our main villain of the season is Eclipso. He is not bad; he is pure evil. He feeds on the darkness of humanity. He sees people’s vulnerabilities, finds our deepest, darkest insecurities. So all of these things put insecurities in Courtney’s head, which, if that’s what Eclipso feeds on, he’s gonna find them and bring them out. So it’s a villain that Courtney has never faced. It’s issues that she’s never had to face. So it’s going to be a different type of battle.
You just picked up on one of my favorite themes this season, which is this idea of bad vs. evil. How would you define those terms in your own words?
I think all of us can be bad sometimes. We can make selfish decisions. We’re human; we’re going to be bad sometimes. But evil, on the other hand, I feel like the main difference is the intentions. A lot of times you can make bad decisions that have good intentions, but when you’re evil, you enjoy the pain and the emotional turmoil that your decisions cost.
If you could warn viewers about Eclipso, what would you tell them about him?
Oh my gosh. Stay far away! Leave Blue Valley! Run! [laughs] But I would say, honestly, try to find the peace in yourself. Good luck, though, because he can pull up any insecurity.
Courtney also gets this wonderful, push-and-pull dynamic with The Shade. For those who haven’t had a chance to see the show just yet, what would you like to share about their dynamic?
Like I said, Courtney is so gung ho on finding something bad and evil going on in Blue Valley. The slightest bit of trouble, and she’s gonna jump on it. But there’s also this side of Courtney that likes to see the good in people, and so even though she knows The Shade was part of the ISA, there’s something different about him, and she’s not going to just instantly give up on him.
So they have a very — specifically Jonathan Cake, the guy who plays him, I feel like he does such a good job finding this balance of, “Is he evil?” You’re not sure! You know he’s not a good guy, but you’re trying to figure out what his intentions are and what he’s doing in Blue Valley, and you get to go on that journey with Courtney as well.
On the flipside, we also meet a few new heroes this season, with the introduction of Jade and Jakeem. What can you preview about her relationship with these new characters?
With Jade, it’s a very interesting dynamic because Jade is Green Lantern’s daughter, actually. Obviously, that’s one of Courtney’s insecurities, is she thought she was Starman’s daughter, but she’s not. That being said, she’s very confident in her destiny as Stargirl, but it’s still something she’s self-conscious about. So Jade being around brings that out of her. But also it’s very exciting too, because, there’s a new JSA legacy that could potentially join the group. So there’s a lot of exciting things about it, too.
And as to the Thunderbolt, I feel like that is such a big payoff. We saw the pink pen early Season 1, and we had just been waiting and waiting. But he’s a funny character with a lot of things to figure out too, because a lot of things can go wrong when using the Thunderbolt, so it’s fun getting to see them navigate that.
The Thunderbolt, played by Jim Gaffigan, is a completely CGI creation. What did filming those scenes with him look like for you?
So when we were filming, we had gotten to see one probably two-second video that our visual effects team had put together. So we kind of knew what he was going to look like, but other than that, we haven’t seen anything. I still, to this day, am not completely sure what the Thunderbolt is gonna look like on camera. I’ve seen rough cuts of it, but nothing finished.
So, you know, a lot of talking to air. A lot of the visual effects people coming over and being like, “You’re making him too tall! You’re making him too short!” So just kind of visualize, no pun intended. I guess use your imagination.
The events of Season 1 really brought the Whitmore-Dugan family close together. What does that family dynamic look like as we head into Season 2?
Yes, the Dugmores — that’s what we call them on set. At the end of Season 1, Barbara and Mike find out about Stargirl and STRIPE. So coming into Season 2, the family dynamic — while they’re still bonded and they have that heart and togetherness — it’s different. Specifically with Mike, he is so pumped! His dad built this giant robot, but he wants to be part of it.
I love Barbara’s take on it, because she says she is part of it, and it’s really cool to see her navigate being a superhero’s mom, because it’s one thing trying to deal with your teenage daughter, but then also her going and fighting villains. Obviously, that brings more conflicts and, “Be careful!” but Courtney doesn’t know what the word “careful” means.
In the Season 1 finale, we got a glimpse of what appears to be Sylvester Pemberton looking for Pat. What can you tease about that collision course?
Yeah. You definitely get to see more of him throughout the season. Yeah, you get to see Starman is alive. [laughs]
Which JSA member would you say has the most interesting relationship with Courtney this season and why?
I would say Wildcat just because they are best friends. I love their relationship. I love Yvette [Monreal]. She’s one of my best friends in real life too. So I’m partial to our scenes together because we have so much fun that half the time we’re getting in trouble because we’re laughing too much. They’re like, “Guys, focus!” I’m like, “I’m sorry! I’m just having fun!”
But it’s interesting, because Wildcat is dealing with a lot of guilt from when she killed Brainwave. She continually goes to Courtney to try to get validation, but Courtney can only give her so much. So Wildcat is going through this emotional journey and getting to be that friend for her was really fun.
What was something you perhaps couldn’t do in Season 1, that you were particularly excited to get to tackle in Season 2?
Okay, well, this is a bit of “not everyone knows this,” but Jakeem and the Thunderbolt were originally scripted in the first season, like a big part of the first season. Clearly, the story went in other directions and they had to make changes. So even from when I read the pilot and was auditioning for Stargirl, they were auditioning for Jakeem. So it’s been a really big payoff for me, as Brec, finally getting to see that come to life.
Tell me more about Jakeem, specifically. How does he fit into the JSA, when he does eventually come around?
He’s now the holder of the Thunderbolt, so that kind of makes him part of the JSA, technically speaking… Like I said, Mike, he knows about the JSA, he knows about STRIPE and he wants to be involved, because who wouldn’t want to be part of a superhero group? I love that his friend, by default, gets to be a part of it as well. It brings Mike more into it too, because they’re friends. They’re buddies.
Courtney and Mike are good buddies this year, as well. I love that relationship between them.
I do too! I have two older brothers and so that part comes really naturally to me, because you just get that banter with your brother where you pick on him. I think Trae [Romano], who plays Mike, I kind of do it in real life too, and I’m like, “Okay, Brec, he’s not actually your brother. You can’t pick on him!”
What is one moment or scene you just can’t wait for fans to see?
Episode 6. This is pretty vague! Just the fight scene. The fight scene in Episode 6. It’s such a big transitional point for the whole season, and it’s a big one.
What would be your dream story arc for Courtney, if you could pick any direction for her?
Oh, see, this is hard, though, because I’ve heard like all of Geoff [Johns]’s ideas, which would be complete spoilers and I can never say because we’re talking Season 6 ideas! So something that I’m just gonna think of right here now on this spot…
You know what I’m gonna say, because this is the classic “I love teen-y romance stuff,” is her and Cameron finally figuring whatever out that they have figured out, because that’s what I love to watch. So I would like to do it too.
DC’s Stargirl Season 2 premieres Tuesday, Aug. 10 on The CW.
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