Summer School Part 4 – Director: Lea Thompson/Writer: Taylor Streitz
This one starts with Artemis Crock visiting her parents in prison. They try to get her to forget about their problems and concentrate on her upcoming football game, since a big college scout will be there. But Artemis is having a hard time dealing with everything, especially since an asshole guard keeps taunting her.
At the Chapel house, Beth is attempting to learn more about Eclipso after the McNider AI warned her about him last episode. But she gets distracted by her mom and tries to hint that her parents should go on a romantic date, still reluctant to come right out and ask about the divorce papers she found.
When her mom leaves, Beth tries the goggles again and finds a file about Eclipso in the JSA database, but it’s marked Confidential so she can’t access it. At home, Pat has told Barbara something bad about Eclipso and the JSA and they’re debating whether or not to tell Courtney. She comes in to ask about Eclipso and why his file is confidential. Pat tells her Eclipso can get inside people’s heads and make them see things that aren’t there, causing them to act out of character. Courtney wonders what Shade wants with the Eclipso diamond and assures Barbara as he won’t do anything stupid trying to find out. Meanwhile, Cindy is feeling guilty about her stepmother’s death, but Eclipso gives her a vision 
of her real mom, who Cindy apparently killed (accidentally, I think) when she was younger. Cindy is shaken by the vision and threatens to toss the diamond into a volcano if Eclipso keeps screwing with her head. Artemis is having trouble with her foster mother (who’s kind of an asshole) and is anxious about the bug game, although judging by her throwing ability she has nothing to worry about. Mike picks up his paper deliveries and reads about how Sportsmaster and Tigress broke out of prison, something he learns firsthand when they show up and grab him.
At school, Courtney offers Artemis an apple (since the cafeteria is short on fresh fruit), but when she tries to commiserate over Artemis’s parents, it just pisses her off. Rick’s teacher corrects his algebra test and realizes he
hasn’t been cheating and has actually studied. She apologizes but he knows she assumed the worst about him because that’s what everyone does. Cindy shows up at school to recruit Isaac Bowin for the Society, although she doesn’t give him any details yet. Mike leaves Pat a message to come to the garage, where he finds Crusher and Paula waiting. They tell him they broke out of prison to see Artemis’s football game and need to hide out as his place until then. He doesn’t have 
much choice, so he agrees. Naturally, Barbara’s not happy about having two people who almost killed them hanging around her house, but Pat convinces her it’s best to play along. He tries to get info about Shade from Crusher, but Crusher has nothing but contempt for Shade. Barbara and Paula don’t have much to say to each other at first, but end up bonding over having headstrong daughters.
Yolanda has a new job at the diner, where the JSA have gathered to discuss what they’ve found out about Eclipso. We get an origin for Eclipso that’s
pretty close to the comic book version: two warring tribes on Diablo Island trapped Eclipso’s spirit in the diamond and an explorer named Bruce Gordon brought it back to the United States. But there’s no info on Bruce Gordon or Eclipso in the library, so Courtney decides to check out the used book store. Cindy shows Isaac the Injustice Society’s underground lair and gives him the violin his 
mother used to charm people. At the used book store (which is called House of Secrets after a long-running DC mystery/horror comic) Courtney runs into Shade, who tells her he doesn’t want to use the Eclipso diamond, he wants to destroy it. He also tells her about Eclipso killing Dr. Mid-Nite’s daughter, hinting that there are plenty of things Pat’s been keeping from her.
Pat takes Crusher and Paula to the football game, warning them to keep quiet. But they can’t help cheering Artemis on, which actually does help her focus and play really well. Cindy shows up at the game to check Artemis out
and when she sees Courtney arrive, she decides to have a little fun. She uses the Eclipso gem to make Artemis see Courtney as a SWAT cop trying to shoot Paula and Crusher, so she jumps Courtney and tries to strangle her. Artemis isn’t happy to learn her parents weren’t railroaded and are going back to prison, and she also finds out the college doesn’t want her because of her temper. That makes her ripe for Cindy to recruit her for the new Injustice Society. Courtney mentions Rebecca McNider’s death to Pat and asks if there’s anything else she needs 
to know. He says no and Barbara later agrees he did the right thing lying to her. But Courtney knows Pat was holding something back and heads out to see shade, hoping he’ll be more forthcoming. Beth keeps trying to activate the McNider AI and finally gets it working, but she gets a shock when the “AI” claims to be the real Charles McNider. Beth realizes he’s still alive, trapped in some kind of shadow dimension by Shade.
This is a pretty good episode, that gives us a closer look at Artemis Crock and her parents. It’s interesting to see Crusher and Paula breaking out of prison (and voluntarily going back) just to see their daughter’s football
game. They may be horrible human beings, but actually do seem to be good parents. I also loved how Paula and Barbara bonded over their wayward daughters. It was cool to see Cindy recruiting members for the new Injustice Society, kind of a dark mirror of Courtney’s similar efforts in the first season. Courtney seems to be putting a lot of trust in Shade, who’s morally ambiguous at best. That might push her to clash with Beth, who will certainly want Shade to release McNider from his shadowy purgatory.
Favourite Quotes:
- “Because this is a high school cafeteria not a farmer’s market.” The cafeteria lady telling Artemis why there’s no acai berries or wheat grass on the menu.
- “Horribly.” Cindy telling Isaac how her parents died.
- “We’re remodelling.” Barbara’s response when Paula expresses disdain for her combat-scarred kitchen.