Things are spinning out of control on many fronts in Blue Valley. There’s still no real progress on finding out who killed the Gambler, Cindy seems to have dropped out of sight, the JSA still isn’t working like a team, and Pat is recovering from his recent trip to the Shadowlands. Add in the Mahkent grandparents really sliding to the dark side, and there’s a lot to chose from for the title “Frenemies: Chapter Nine: The Monsters.”

The episode starts off with Lilly Mahkent wandering their ridiculously large home. She’s clearly never recovered from her son’s death, and is just fine with him having been a supervillain. She finds Sofus and they talk about Cameron. Sofus doesn’t seem as hardcore about the family business and such ideals but Lilly isn’t going to hear anything about indulging Cameron’s artistic talent. In a much more welcoming home, Pat and Courtney return from their two-part Infinity, Inc. adventure, and Barbara is happy to see them both. As Courtney goes upstairs to see Yolanda, Barbara is obviously worried about Pat, and what he saw during his trip. Yolanda, not knowing where to go after being kicked out of her home, came to the Whitmore’s last episode, and now she and Courtney make up.

Later in the kitchen, Pat is in a hurry to get to the Pit Stop and team up with Starman, while Barbara is trying to convince him to slow down and process everything he’s just been through. Pat gets introspective, and we learn a bit about Mike’s never-mentioned mother. Barbara, as usual, is supportive and gives good advice. Yolanda and Courtney talk about recent developments in both their lives, and Courtney has a new plan, but she wants to get everyone onboard before she starts on it.

At the diner, Mike and Jakeem are debating their day. Mike wants to use the genie to look for Cindy, but Jakeem is less enthralled by the superhero life and wants to just go deliver their papers. Back at the Mahkent house, the long-suffering art teacher Mr. Deisinger comes to check up on Cameron and talk to the grandparents. He makes an impassioned plea for Cameron continuing his studies, but, as I said before, Lilly doesn’t want to hear it. She ends the argument very decisively.

Pat has gotten down to the Pit Stop and begun searching for Mike’s mother. Crusher shows up to just sort of generally check in. He’s still very abrasive, but he’s clearly making an effort to be a good friend, and is being persistent without being pushy, or at least not as pushy as he could have been. The JSA is having another of their lunchtime meetings at the high school, which I still question the wisdom of. Courtney brings up her new plan, backed by Yolanda. Rick is sullen and not happy about the idea, but says he’ll go along with it. Rick has never exactly been a happy guy, but he’s been much worse since making the alterations to his father’s hourglass.

Paula and Barbara hit the gym, and Paula is trying to teach Barbara to be able to take care of herself. It’s not as funny as their scenes usually are, but it’s kind of touching, and sheds some light on how Paula might have gone down the path of supervillainy. Back at the school, JJ and Mike are sneaking around, and use another D&D rules lawyer style wish to break into Cindy’s locker, which the genie has some qualms about. They get another lead, and decide to keep trying to find her. Courtney goes to see Cam, and we see a grim reminder of an earlier visit.

The town theater continues the tradition of obscure DC character references, this time a little-known PI character called Nathaniel Dusk. Rick, Beth, and Yolanda pass this as they walk down the street, debating what do about their mystery voyeur. Beth’s goggles finally manage to trace the signal, and it’s going to cause a lot of problems. There’s a weird time jump as it suddenly becomes night, while Courtney hangs out with Cam and avoids why she actually came there in the first place. Things start picking up steam when Courtney finally brings up what brought her by. In rapid succession she brings up Cam’s father, Lilly gets ready to attack, and the front door explodes inward as the always-subtle Hourman bursts in. Bet Courtney wishes she had gotten to the point earlier now.

What follows is a massive fight, with Cameron, Lilly, and Sofus on one side, Wildcat, Hourman, and Dr. Midnight on the other. It doesn’t go well for anyone, even with the sudden appearance of some unexpected reinforcements for one side. Dr. Midnight gets an ill-timed call from her mother, but she learns some important things about McNider’s assorted gadgets. It’s an interesting addition to Dr. Midnight’s capabilities, especially as most of them come from the third Dr. Midnight in the comics who hasn’t been referenced at all. There are several unexpected developments through the fight, and some really slick moves on both sides, accompanied with some good special effects.

While the director indulges in one of many oddly styled long, pull- back shots that are scattered throughout the episode, we see what Mike and Jakeem are up to. The middle of the night is a great time to check out an abandoned, creepy farm, right? And seriously, where are their parents? The kids, backed up with the questionable help of the Thunderbolt, search the place, and don’t find much, at least at first. After a Back to the Future joke, they make a major discovery and things get much more serious to end the episode.

What I Liked: The big fight was well executed, and the effects were great. I’m glad Yolanda felt she could still turn to Courtney, even after their recent disagreements. I also thought it was a nice touch that Pat wasn’t just shrugging off what he went through in the Shadowlands. Crock and Paula are an amusing ongoing presence, and I’m surprised to find I’d actually like to see more of them. I was really surprised by the big reveal at the end.

What I Didn’t: I really don’t like this version of the Thunderbolt as a bumbling, Monkey’s Paw-style wish granter. Mike and Jakeem both have parents, or at least a mother in Jakeem’s case, which makes me wonder how they’re spending so much time wandering around on their own. I really didn’t like what happened to poor Mr. Diesinger.

I liked most of what they did here, and was impressed by the continuation of so many subplots. The aftermath from this episode is going to be messy, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out. I’ll give this a high 3.5 out of 5.