Spoilers below for Stargirl Episode 10, so be sure to watch before reading on.
Throughout Season 1, Stargirl's creative team has proven it's not afraid to suddenly kill off characters that viewers probably weren't expecting. While the episode "Brainwave Jr." seemed like it was setting up Jake Austin Walker's emotionally torn Henry King Jr. to join either Courtney in the new JSA or Henry Sr. in the ISA, the teen was inevitably killed by his own father in the shock-filled third act. But is the character truly gone forever? I have a few doubts.
Considering Henry Jr. was killed so brutally in the underground tunnels utilized by the Dragon King and other ISA members, it seems very likely that Brainwave will provide the public with a very different story about exactly how his son died. With that in mind, I asked departing Stargirl actor Jake Austin Walker if he knew how or if Henry Jr.'s body's was discovered, and here's how he put it:
How is Henry found? I have no idea. I guess it's left to the writers. I have no idea. I mean, you’re picking up a lot of pieces of Henry after lifting up all that rock and gravel. He might just be down there, you know? That's how I always accept it is that he's like [stuck there] and they just don't go to that part of the tunnel anymore. It's just broken and I'm under there. You know what I mean?
So since it's theoretically possible that Henry Jr.'s body won't be removed from the site by officials, and because Brainwave is currently in cahoots with a co-villain who seems to have a use for dead bodies, it's worth considering that Dragon King might find a use for what's left of Henry Jr. And by "find a use for," I basically mean "resurrect as a minion or as a Solomon Grundy-esque being."
Sure, that turn of events might not be the most likely. However, if Dragon King has presumably been taking possession of most of the dead bodies that ISA leader Icicle leaves in his vengeful and low-temperature wake, it wouldn't be wild to think that Ito might have a plan to continue using Henry Jr. (or at least his mangled visage) as a morbid motivator for Henry Sr. to continue down the Brainwave path.
Stargirl wouldn't even need to introduce this particular reveal right away, since there are already lots of other story threads to weave together. It could easily be held to become an arc in Season 2, which would be why Jake Austin Walker wouldn't necessarily be aware of the storyline's existence at this point. For context, Walker wasn't cagey in the slightest about the character's future, and spoke as if Brainwave Jr. is no more. In fact, the actor got a little more gruesome when offering his thoughts on his character's current whereabouts.
I know it's really dark, but that's how I look at it. He'll just eventually be some bones and maggots. [Laughs.] I don't think anyone from Blue Valley is coming down to get him.
Of course, Stargirl could very well reveal in Episode 11 that Henry Sr. called 911 and advised rescue services on where to dig his son's body up. But it's always easy to stay suspicious when it comes to deaths in comic book TV shows, where characters have a knack for returning. I mean, just look at Dragon King himself. Let us know what you think in the poll below.
With three episodes left to go in Season 1, Stargirl streams Mondays on DC Universe starting at 9:00 a.m. ET, and airs on The CW on Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more Stargirl coverage and more from our interview with Jake Austin Walker, and be sure to check out our Fall 2020 TV premiere schedule to see what shows are hitting the small screen in the coming months.
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