The Marvel hit Runaways returns to Hulu for the second season later this week. The story of a group of teenagers who find out their parents aren’t the amazing do-gooders that they appear to be. Season one introduces the families, giving us an inside look at their lives before things fell apart. So before you start season two, let’s recap what happened in season one.
The parents are members of a philanthropic group named PRIDE. The group provides food and shelter for runaway teens. Behind closed doors, PRIDE is more like a cult, even making sacrifices to a being named Jonah (Julian McMahon). In exchange for their offering, Jonah rewards the couples with power and wealth in the community.
RELATED: Read all of the Recaps from RUNAWAYS Season One Here!
Family
Meet the kids and their parents: Alex Wilder (Rhenzy Feliz), son of Catherine (Angel Parker) and Geoffrey Wilder (Ryan Sands), the business savvy family. Nico Minoru (Lycria Okano), daughter of Tina (Brittany Ishibashi) and Robert Minoru (James Yaegashi), the tech geniuses. Chase Stein (Gregg Sulkin), son of Janet (Ever Carradine) and Victor Stein (James Marsters), innovative scientists. Gert Yorkes (Ariela Baker), Stacy (Brigid Brannagh) and Dale Yorkes (Kevin Weisman), the biomedical engineers and the softies of the group. Karolina Dean (Virginia Gardner), daughter of Leslie (Annie Wershing) and Frank Dean (Kip Pardue), the religious gurus with unlimited and rare resources. And Molly Hernandez (Allegra Acosta), whose parents died in a lab explosion.
There was a seventh child, Amy Minoru (Amanda Suk), Tina and Robert’s eldest daughter who died prior to our story. Her death was ruled a suicide, but an investigation by Alex and Nico revealed that Amy was killed. Amy’s death is the reason the kids stopped hanging out together.
Each of the families specializes in different industries that Jonah finds beneficial. The Wilders procured a dig site in the middle of the city. Jonah uses the Steins and the Minorus’ technological knowledge to sustain his life, but he must consume a youth every now and then to appear human. That’s where the Deans and Yorkes come in. the Dean’s church helps to find teens with no family for the sacrifice. While the Yorkes use science to help Jonah keep his youthful glow.
Secrets
The trouble starts when the kids find a secret passage to the sacrificial room. They witness their parents put a young girl in a box. When the girl’s body washes up on the shore, the kids are forced to face the fact that their parents are murderers. But they discover more about themselves. Some of the kids have supernatural abilities. Karolina glows and floats when she takes off a special bracelet. Nico has the ability to control the Staff of One that can cast any spell. Gert is telepathically linked to a dinosaur named Old Lace. And Molly has super strength. Chase has power gloves (fisticons) that he built by hand. And Alex is the brains of the operation.
In the midst of their newly found dilemma and powers, the teens still have to deal with regular teenage things like school, sex, finding out your dad is psychotic, or maybe he’s not really your dad. Chase has some familial problems at home with his abusive father and later find out his mom is having an affair with Nico’s dad. Victor Stein is livid and goes crazy when he finds out. He attacks Chase, which prompts Janet to shoot Victor to save her son. Jonah needs Victor, so he puts Victor into a chamber that will sustain his life until they can save him.
Power
After Karolina discovers her powers, she begins to question her parentage. And she’s is right to question them because Frank is not her father. Jonah is. And he is not from this world. Jonah is the being of light, the subject of their religion. Leslie is in love with Jonah and admits that he is Karolina’s father. Frank aligns himself with Jonah for more power and prestige that Leslie has been holding back from him. And Karolina discovers she can’t trust any of them.
Molly is sent to live with a relative, Graciela, who gives her a key left by Molly’s parents. The key unlocks a locker at the bus station where Molly finds a VHS tape. Molly’s parents were Geoscientists. They helped to dig at Jonah’s site. There is something buried underneath LA that could cause an earthquake, destroying the city. The Hernandezes were killed by members of PRIDE before they could expose Jonah’s plan.
Confrontation
The group of teens decide to stop Jonah by shutting down the dig site. Alex gets help from his dad’s former associates who want to destroy his business. Jonah meets the group and renders Chase’s fisticons useless. Molly starts throwing things and Jonah blasts her with his power to stop her. Karolina uses her power against Jonah, but her alien father is much stronger than she is. The group, minus Karolina escape, but they won’t leave without the glowing girl.
The damage is done and many truths are revealed. The parents no longer trust Jonah or each other for that matter. They know that Jonah wants something buried deep in the Earth that is alive. The kids destroyed the crane though, setting back Jonah’s progress at the site. Leslie is the one who killed the Hernandezes by setting their lab on fire, not knowing that Molly was in the lab. Molly was exposed to something from the dig site and that’s where she got her super-strength. And Jonah killed Amy. He was afraid that she would expose him after the girl was able to hack into his servers.
The season ends as the kids are able to break Karolina out of the church’s jail. They are at the bus station when they see a news report blaming them for the death of the young girl who washed ashore and the disappearance of Molly Hernandez. That’s when they officially run away.
RELATED: Hulu’s RUNAWAYS New Season 2 Trailer and Poster
Season 2
Season two starts Friday, December 21. I’m hoping to get more answers about Amy, Jonah, and to see if Alex has any special ability other than being smart. And will the kids actually sit down and ask their parents about what’s really going on? Would the parents really tell them the truth? Probably not. Stay tuned to Geek Girl Authority for news and recaps of Hulu’s Runaways season 2.
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
