As Courtney wrestles with the enormity of what Pat has been keeping from her about the original JSA’s actions, unexpected allies are called upon to fight the threat of Eclipso.

After a quick flashback showing us the painful conversation between Pat and Starman after the JSA had put down Eclipso’s host, the episode picks up slap bang where we left off before, with the Dugan-Whitmores having a blazing row around the kitchen table about the terrible secrets Pat has been keeping from Courtney. Their relationship has always been one of the key components of the show, and having carefully built trust between the two of them over the course of the first season, here the writers have shattered it – the question is whether that means it can be built back stronger.

My guess would be yes because that flashback scene which preceded the row indicates exactly what sort of man Pat Dugan really is. Not just the man who stood up against a superhero team and his own best friend for what he believed was right. No, Pat is something more than that – a hero in the true sense of the word, quietly going about his business and saving people in a million different ways since he was a boy. Stripesy may ‘only’ have been the driver for the JSA, but here we get a glimpse of why he was so much more than that, and what he might be able to offer to a modern, less testosterone-laden team.

But before they can really get into things, an unexpected guest turns up with a suggestion for how they might be able to defeat Eclipso. Unfortunately, that guest is The Shade – someone they’re not inclined to fully trust. But then, he did save Barbara from Eclipso, and there’s a suggestion that he may not have had quite the role in Doctor Midnight’s ‘demise’ that is the accepted wisdom. Can you trust someone that selfish and that immortal? Only time will tell.

Regardless, his advice ends up sending Courtney and Pat on a road trip to grab help from another unexpected source, although first they need to find them. That road trip gives the pair of them the opportunity to have a good talk about stuff, and helps them confront some, if not all, of the painful truths they’ll need to in order to move forwards.

Back home, Mikey decides to help out in the only way he can think of, and is then lured by a random incident towards another source of potential assistance. Wonder if he can mess this one up? Rick is still locked up at the jail, but gets an unexpected visitor of his own, and Beth starts taking control of her own life while leaving her parents to sort out their own.

The Shade is definitely the most fascinating character the show has so far, and whereas his motivations seem to be cleared up here, between the way the episode ends and certain other revelations we get along the way, I reckon we might see that pendulum swing more than once again before the season ends.

Verdict: Gripping and emotional, with some beautifully nuanced scenes. 9/10

Greg D. Smith