After some big reveals in the last few episodes, we’re getting some background on how some of this happened. There are a few flashbacks as well as some forward progress as the sadly final season begins to enter the home stretch. As you might expect from the title, there are a few disturbing things going on in “Frenemies: Chapter Eleven: The Haunting.”

One year ago, we open with big battle between the JSA and the ISA. Once again, we see Mike plow the truck into Icicle, and the heroes celebrate a win. But this time, we see the shattered fragments of Icicle eventually start moving, sliding down into the ridiculous amount of tunnels below Blue Valley, and the big menace is reborn. Returning to the present, some of the Blue Valley gym rats are surprised to find their workout spot locked up. The camera pans away and down, where we see Icicle’s rebirth isn’t exactly flawless.

At the Dugan-Whitmore home, which really does seem to more the group’s unofficial headquarters than the Pit Stop, Courtney runs through what they know of the Gambler’s death in light of their recently discovered information about the Ultra-Humanite. Pat and Sylvester get into an amusing bickering match about making jokes, and there’s a shoutout to a classic arcade video game in the midst of it. Courtney is determined to try and build an alliance of all the different factions, overriding assorted personal objections that were more like petty dislikes. The discussion gets interrupted when a very worried Artemis shows up, asking a question no one wants to answer.

Jordan continues his welcome home tour, as he goes to the big family home and has a reunion with his parents and his son. Cameron, even as overjoyed and shocked as he clearly is, has some doubts about what’s going on. Jordan gives some vague explanations that we the viewers know to be outright lies. The odd team of Courtney, Artemis, Yolanda, and Beth try to get at least one mystery cleared up. Tracing a signal, they make a grisly discovery, one of them is overcome with grief and rage, and they realize the Ultra-Humanite can’t be behind everything.

Courtney makes some calls, and the bad news begins making the rounds. For her part, Barbara goes to work and is stunned by a different revelation, especially since she knows more about the background of this development than any of her coworkers. She has a special meeting with her suddenly returned boss, and it’s clear both that he thinks he can still control everything, and that Barbara isn’t falling for his line of bull. Starman is off on his own, getting in a reference to a classic movie, when he gets Courtney’s surprising phone call. After she brings him up to date, we see that rage Sylvester has been showing since his return.

As is frequently the case after a big development, the action shifts back to the Whitmore-Dugan home. Down in the basement, Sylvester rages as Pat tries to calm him down. Sylvester isn’t interested in planning, or explanations, or much of anything else. He just wants to go on the attack, no matter how bad an idea it is, and doesn’t much care about Courtney’s plan, which is their best shot at success. Upstairs, Cameron, clearly hesitant, comes calling on Courtney. He seems to have bought into his father’s narrative, and Courtney is doing her best to gently tell him the truth about matters. Cameron was sent to her by a very calculating mind, and the young man asks her to consider some things as he adds some confusing persuasion to his argument before leaving. Mike and Jakeem keep working on ways to try and use the genie to actually do something useful and not comic relief related, and they’re clearly trying their best. Why the assorted adults are leaving them alone with a vastly powerful and irresponsible being is another issue that is never really addressed. The two kids get a surprise visit and manage to name check another comic book team with ties to the Golden Age of heroes.

Jordan continues his welcome back tour, stopping at the mural Cameron has spent so much time working on. I can’t imagine it’s much of anything but an ego trip to spend time gazing up at a giant picture of yourself. Courtney finds him here, and Jordan continues spinning his version of events. Courtney displays the maturity she’s gained during the course of the show, as well as a steadiness and even politeness as she refutes his points. Jordan makes her an offer and walks off. While Jordan is at home, looking over his trophy collection, Artemis tries to deal with her loss and Barbara shows the compassion and understanding we’ve come to expect from her. She’s a really impressive woman, especially considering she’s a normal in the midst of super-powered chaos.

Yolanda shows a very different kind of courage as she makes a difficult phone call, which might be the start of some healing for an important relationship in her life. Sylvester and Pat have an intense discussion out on the porch, which Courtney walks into the middle of. Sylvester makes his pitch for his preferred way of handling things, while Courtney appears understandably dubious. Back at his home, Cameron tries to figure out where his father got to, while the show ends with another reveal that, while not exactly surprising, isn’t good for the heroes at all.

What I Liked: This episode was mostly about character development and emotion. Even with all the costumes and powers, these characters are, at their cores, just people. There’s grief, doubt, suspicion, rage, and determination swirling around in this episode, and it’s all handled well in my opinion. There are a lot of subplots bubbling up, and I can’t blame the assorted heroes not necessarily knowing which way to turn in the midst of all this. I really don’t like the villains here, but I will give them credit for being smart and having a great plan to keep everyone who might oppose them off balance.  

What I Didn’t: While I like that Pat is a mature hero and even a generally nice guy, I really think he needs to stand up for himself more. It can be hard to oppose an old friend, but there’s a lot on the line here. I feel really bad for the spot Cameron is in. Pat is also being masterfully played, with his own decency being used against him.

This was another really good episode of a show that I’m sorry to see go. I’ll give this a 4 out of 5. We’ll see what Blue Valley has in store for our cast of characters in their few remaining episodes.