Question: After promotion, Captain Torrey (O-6) is offered his "lucky stars" (O-7) by 4-star Admiral Fonda. In subsequent shots Admiral Torrey is wearing 2 stars (O-8, of an upper half Rear Admiral) - jumping the lower half (1 star, O-7) admirals. When does this ever happen?
Answer: After WWII, the one star was discontinued until recent years when the rear admiral lower half was formalized with one star.
Answer: One Star rank wasn't formalized until 1943. Rear Admiral lower and upper wore the same 2-stars.