When the guilt over Brainwave's death becomes too much to handle, Yolanda is forced to make a heartbreaking decision.
Tropes:
- Ambiguous Situation:
- It's made deliberately unclear whether the apparition of Brainwave explaining that he implanted his psionic energy into Yolanda to steal her body in a Post-Mortem Comeback is real (in which case, the Cosmic Staff seems to have gotten rid of him), if it's all an elaborate hallucination brought on by Eclipso, or if it's all just in her head.
- It's also unclear if the shadow-mist gathering near the ceiling and the black liquid dripping from it which Barbara sees really is the Shade trying to manifest to her, or more of Eclipso's doing; she later outright tells Pat and Courtney that she doesn't know what she saw.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Completely broken down over killing Brainwave, Yolanda asked Courtney why she chose her become Wildcat. While she's unable to say a word, it's likely because Courtney just wanted to help Yolanda.
- Break the Cutie: Yolanda, who was already pretty fractured from the start, completely breaks down mentally due to her overwhelming guilt, being at odds with her fellow members for breaking Thou Shalt Not Kill, and the additional torment brought on by Brainwave's apparition, all of which leads to her quitting the JSA.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Henry (or at least an illusion of him) returns in this episode.
- Yolanda's mother Maria appears in this episode after she was last seen in Season 1.
- Confess in Confidence: Yolanda believes she is doing this with the priest, but when he informs Yolanda's mother that something is wrong (though leaving out specifics), Yolanda feels betrayed.
- Confessional: Yolanda repeatedly goes into the Confessional at the church in order to confess her sins, but her massive guilt prevents her each time. When she does finally work up the nerve, it's a hallucination of Brainwave on the other side.
- The Corruption:
- Eclipso's plan, at least to start, is to corrupt the JSA. He starts out by causing Yolanda's waitress friend Maria to pour scalding hot coffee on an unruly customer. It's implied that Eclipso is at least partially responsible for Yolanda's further breakdown, parts of Eclipso's old crystal threaten to do the same to Mike, and the episode ends with him watching Beth sleeping from the front yard.
- Yolanda's ultra-Catholic mother certainly believes that her daughter has been "corrupted" by something and blames Courtney for it.
- Evil Laugh: Eclipso has a rather creepy one as he watches Beth sleeping.
- Grand Theft Me: Brainwave explains to Yolanda that he is gradually doing this to her, having transferred his psionic energy into her upon his body's death and is slowly taking over her body as a Post-Mortem Comeback. While it's largely implied that this is all an illusion brought on by Eclipso and that Brainwave really is Deader than Dead, the show leaves the possibility open that it's actually real.
- Hypocrite: Yolanda's mother decides to blame Courtney for her daughter being "corrupted". She had previously made it very clear she thought Yolanda had corrupted herself, before Courtney had even arrived in town.
- Insane Troll Logic: Yolanda's mother indulges in this when she decides Courtney is to blame for "corrupting" her daughter. Not only is/was Courtney the only positive influence in Yolanda's life (especially next to Maria Montez herself), but Courtney wasn't even in Blue Valley until months after the selfie incident that led to Yolanda's "corruption" in her eyes.
- Internal Reveal: Rick and Beth learn that Yolanda killed Brainwave. Courtney and Yolanda previously claimed he died when the satellite dish collapsed last season.
- Mythology Gag: Brainwave's apparent plan for a post-mortem Grand Theft Me is identical to Manchester Black's in Justice League Elite.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted Trope. Yolanda's mother and co-worker are both named Maria, and that's the end of any similarities the two women might share.
- Out of Focus: Pat, Beth, and Mike only have a couple scenes, and only one with Courtney.
- Personal Horror: Building on what was established in Chapter Five, this episode focuses on Yolanda's ongoing guilt over killing Brainwave and her unresolved tension with Henry Jr. before he was murdered. This time, it's implied to have been a final Mind Screw by Brainwave and results in Yolanda leaving the JSA.
- Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: At the height of her Personal Horror, Yolanda blames everything that's happened to her on Courtney for choosing her to be Wildcat and cuts away from her and the JSA. Even worse, when Courtney tries to call her, Yolanda's mother intercepts, blames her for her daughter being "corrupted" and orders her not to call anymore.
- Poor Communication Kills: Rick is somehow unable to tell Yolanda the truth: he didn't kill Solomon Grundy because he realized that Grundy was not really a threat, making the decision quite different from what Yolanda faced. His failure to explain this does a lot to help alienate Yolanda from the rest of the JSA.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Pat says "Wax on, wax off" when training Mike, and Mike thinks he's talking about literally waxing S.T.R.I.P.E.
- Rudely Hanging Up: Done twice by Yolanda's mother. First to Courtney, who she blames for "corrupting" her daughter and tells her not to call anymore, then again to Yolanda's boss when she tells her that Yolanda quit, even as she tries to say that Yolanda's welcome back to the cafe if she ever changed her mind.
- Shout-Out: Pat references The Karate Kid when trying to give Mike a pep talk.
- Thou Shall Not Kill: What ultimately drives a wedge between Yolanda and the JSA. Rick claims she did the right thing and that he would have killed Brainwave too, but Yolanda points out that he spared Grundy under similar circumstances. Beth isn't sure she did the right thing, and probably wouldn't have done it if she's in a similar situation. Courtney is supportive, but hasn't been in that situation. Yolanda believes breaking this is the only way to defeat Eclipso, and she's the only one who can do it because she already has and can't let the others cross that line.
- Wham Episode: Yolanda quits the JSA.
- You Are Not Alone: Courtney tries to convince Yolanda of this, but with the other three JSA members not willing to kill, it just serves to drive Wildcat further away.
