‘DC’s Stargirl’ Recap: Season 3, Episode 12 “Frenemies — Chapter Twelve: The Last Will and Testament of Sylvester Pemberton”

Megan
9 Min Read
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It’s the penultimate episode of DC’s Stargirl, and it ends with a shocking plot twist no one saw coming. With Sylvester wanting to destroy Icicle on his own, Courtney and the others worry about what’s going on with him, as Cindy, Mike, and Jakeem come across one of Dragon King’s labs and make a shocking discovery of their own.

Keep reading to see what happens in “Frenemies — Chapter Twelve: The Last Will and Testament of Sylvester Pemberton.”

Actress in Disguise

In LA decades ago, Dolores Winters wins an award, and at home, she is waiting for a friend to show up until a guy confesses his feelings for her. He tells her to show him who she truly is, and she kills him with the award she just won. Dr. Ito shows up, and Dolores says that the JSA have picked up her trail again; she needs a new body. Dr. Ito says he’s been making improvements of his own. Dolores shows him a comic of an albino gorilla, which would take out enemies, like the JSA, with no problem.

Too Much Power

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The hourglass is doing a number on Rick; he’s getting much more powerful and losing control. Beth has no luck locating or calling him.

Just before Courtney, Yolanda, and Beth go off to find Rick, they find him standing in the doorway, pleading for help. The four of them and Barbara sit down, and Rick just wants to get better. He thinks Sylvester can help him since he knew about the Limiter. Beth says she did some reading and tells him that his father went through the same thing once, and the JSA helped him through it. Courtney realizes that Sylvester would have known the dangers of the Limiter since Starman was there. Why would he tell Rick to remove it?

Wanting to Help

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Beth and Yolanda don’t have any leads on the Ultra-Humanite, and the two want to help Sylvester go after Icicle, but he tells them he needs to do this alone. He does want their help, but it’s more so to keep his friends’ legacies alive, someone worthy to take up the other mantles of those who didn’t have family when they died.

Lifelong Experiments

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Cindy takes Mike and Jakeem to the ISA meeting room, and she admits that her dad experimented on her her whole life. She thinks her father did something else to her, something that lay dormant until she came back from the Shadowlands. Jakeem brings up the labs that Cindy was searching through and thinks he can wish for Thunderbolt to take them to what they need. Despite Mike’s pleas, Jakeem goes through with it.

Cindy, Mike, Jakeem, and Thunderbolt walk aimlessly around tunnels, and Cindy finally recognizes a symbol that indicates they’re by one of her dad’s labs. While walking through the lab, Cindy admits that her dad is supposed to be dead, but he’s not. The three come across a sheeted body, and it’s Dragon King, but his brain is not there. The white ape shows up and calls Cindy “daughter.” Mike wonders if Dragon King put his brain in the ape, then where is the Ultra-Humanite?

Confronting her father, Cindy throws something at Dr. Ito, and she and the boys escape the lab.

Good Intentions

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Pacing his room, Cameron keeps checking his phone, and Jordan assures him that everything with Courtney will turn out fine. He just needs to prove his intentions are good. Jordan brings up how Mr. Deisinger could have fallen prey to Ultra-Humanite and wonders if he brought him in himself if that would be enough to prove his good intentions.

Superhero in Disguise

Pat tries to stop Sylvester from going off alone, but he’s getting more aggressive. Sylvester says he doesn’t want his help and tells Pat that he put a bunch of kids in harm’s way to make himself feel important. He then tells him that he was a laughingstock of the JSA, and he distracted him that night the JSA went up against the ISA. And he won’t let it happen again.

“You’re no hero. Not then and not now. You are just a sidekick.”

Sylvester goes upstairs, and Courtney is standing by the door with the Staff, having heard it all. Courtney tells him that since the day she found the Staff, he’s been her hero. But Pat has saved her countless of times and was there for her whenever she needed him. Starman isn’t her hero. Pat Dugan is her hero, and she thanks God every day that Pat is her father, not Sylvester.

Sylvester commands the Staff to come to him, and it does, not going back to Courtney. He tells her that she’s not worthy of the Staff. Sylvester leaves to take care of Icicle.

Different Person

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Courtney tells the others what happened with Sylvester and the Staff, and Pat takes S.T.R.I.P.E. to try to intercept him before he gets to Jordan. When Pat gets to Pit Stop, S.T.R.I.P.E. is in shambles, and Zeek tells him that Sylvester is responsible. The two work to get it fixed, thinking that Sylvester lied to protect him and he’s going to get himself killed.

Pat shows up at the Mahkents, walks through the unusually empty house, and finds Sylvester. Sylvester tells him this is why he was brought back from the dead, to fight another man back from the dead. This is his fight. He needs to avenge the JSA and fix his mistakes.

“I’m the reason the JSA died.”

Sylvester says this is his destiny, but Pat isn’t letting him do this alone. When the two walk around the house, Sylvester knocks Pat out with the Staff, and Jordan comes up to him, wondering what’s next. Sylvester says he’ll take care of him.

Betrayal

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Pat wakes up and is tied up in a hole big enough to be a grave. As Sylvester puts dirt in the grave and on Pat, Pat realizes he’s the Ultra-Humanite. The Cosmic Staff preserved Sylvester’s body, but his brain is “long gone.” The Ultra-Humanite is sorry it has to end like this, but then Pat reminds him that he is not Sylvester. He continues burying Pat and Pat tries to get him to stop, even trying to get through to Sylvester. He puts the shovel down, acting like he’s going to help, but he doesn’t.

Ultra-Humanite recalls being in the ape and roaming the woods until he got tired of hiding. After the operation, he did some traveling and research and talked to everyone Pat knew to plant himself in the role of Sylvester Pemberton and Starman. He also made himself a victim with the help of Dr. Ito and Jordan at Gambler’s trailer. Ultra-Humanite bonded with the JSA and the Staff, then ensured Courtney and her friends, including Mike, stayed out of his way.

It all worked out, and so did the rest of their plan. Ultra-Humanite asks Pat if he wants to hear the rest of Jordan’s plan, but he is buried under too much dirt, and Ultra-Humanite leaves.

Catch the series finale of DC’s Stargirl this Wednesday, December 7 at 8 p.m. EST on The CW. Check out the rest of our Stargirl coverage here, including episodic recaps and more.

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By Megan
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Megan has been passionate about writing since she was little and has been passionate about all things pop culture and nerdy since almost as long. Joining Nerds and Beyond in 2019, she also graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Journalism. Megan is constantly binge-watching shows and finding new things to obsess over. 9-1-1 and Marvel currently reign as the top obsessions. You can find her on Twitter @marvels911s if you ever want to discuss some certain firefighters.
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