Season 3 of Marvel’s Runaways picks up where season two left off. In “Smoke and Mirrors”, the Runaways assess their situation and try to avoid being too emotional about it.
Alex (Rhenzy Feliz), Nico (Lyrica Okano), and Molly (Allegra Acosta) return to the mansion where Xavin (Clarissa Thibeaux) and Leslie (Annie Wersching) are waiting. They realized that Chase (Gregg Sulkin), Gert (Ariela Barer) and Karolina (Virginia Gardner) have been captured.
Chase, Karolina and Janet Stein (Ever Carradine) are being held in sleeping tubes at the Stein house. Dale (Kevin Weisman) took Gert and Old Lace to an old family cabin. The Wilders, Catherine (Angel Parker) and Geoffrey (Ryan Sands), who are currently in jail. And Robert Minoru (James Yaegashi) is in the hospital after the Pride headquarters was destroyed by Nico.
Xavin fills in the group about the Magistrate and his dangerous family. The Magistrate Jonah, now Victor (James Marsters) and his family jumped into the bodies of the parents. His wife occupies the body of Stacey (Brigid Brannagh) and his daughter appears as Tina (Brittany Ishibashi). They have yet to find the Magistrate’s son, the most dangerous of them all. The original hosts are still in there, but if the Gibborim stay too long, they will die.
Gert tells Dale that his idea to kidnap her and Old Lace was stupid. Too much has changed and she’s not a little girl anymore. Her perception of him has changed since she learned he was a killer. Dale realizes he can’t get back what they once had, but he can give her something to protect her. Dale lets her go, but teaches Gert how to control Old Lace with her mind before they leave.
In sleeping tubes, connected to the algorithm, Chase is dreaming about being a hero to Gert. Janet dreams of being recognized for her brilliant mind. And Karolina dreams about marrying Nico. The algorithm lets them see what their greatest desires are.
Nico starts having strange dreams where she meets Morgan le Fey (Elizabeth Hurley), although Morgan never actually introduces herself. The place is actually the dark realm and Morgan is obviously after something. She tries to help Nico by telling her that Karolina is alive and trapped somewhere. Xavin doesn’t consider that valuable information because it came from a dream.
After watching a press conference about the explosion at Pride headquarters, the Runaways decide to split up to find their friends. Xavin warns them that the royal family is ruthless. They have to be able to kill the Gibborim if they need to. Molly has a problem with that because Stacey is her mom. Alex is ready to leave Molly behind if she can’t bring herself to kill a Gibborim. Molly reluctantly agrees.
Catherine and Geoffrey are trying to fight the charges against them. The gun the police found in Geoffrey’s car was used in a robbery and could possibly be a murder weapon. Catherine is concerned about any connection to Darrius Davis (DeVaughn Nixon), so she confesses to killing him. Geoffrey isn’t happy about it, but Catherine says she confessed to save him.
In the algorithm, Janet realizes where she is. She also knows that the way out can only be accessed on the outside. Janet finds a door and tries to break through. She finds Chase instead.
Molly is sad about where her family ended up. The Runaways are separated and she feels like they lost their connection. Xavin consoles her, saying Molly is on her way to becoming a warrior without losing herself. Molly also finds a kitty barrett that her mother gave to her. She’s really sentimental.
Stacey becomes suspicious of Victor. She and Tina can see that his host’s body is deteriorating, but he won’t feed. They have three capable specimens in their possession, but he refuses to hurt any one of them.
Stacey enters Karolina’s pod to ask what her connection to Victor is. She gets angry when she finds out that Kaorlina is the Magistrate’s daughter. Stacey makes everyone in Karolina’s dream wedding to Nico disappear. Tina catches her and is fascinated that she has a sister now.
In the real world, Nico and Alex go to the Stein house and use the X-ray goggles to see inside. They find Karolina, Chase and Janet, but they think it’s Gert. Victor set up a new biometric security system on the house. Nico is ready to run in and save Karolina, but Alex stops her, saying they need more firepower.
Alex hacks in to the Stein security system. He downloads all of Victor’s files and finds something that the Gibborim are building. Xavin thinks it’s a weapon. Whatever it is, they still have to get inside the house to save their friends. Alex assigns his thumbprint into the biometric system so they can waltz into the house. He also pulls up security footage from Pride HQ. They see footage of Nico blasting her parents and destroying the offices. The scary thing is that Nico doesn’t remember any of it.
Victor and Stacey receive a call from Gert, claiming to be their son. She says she got caught up in something and asks them to pick her up. The family immediately leaves, giving Alex and Nico an opportunity to get to the house. When they find the tubes, they see that it’s Janet, not Gert being held prisoner with Karolina and Chase. Nico enters Karolina’s tube while Alex enters Janet’s.
Janet is happy to see Alex. He informs her that Karolina is in the algorithm with them. The system was only built for one person, so having three people in the algorithm at the same time is straining the system. Janet tells Alex to find Jonah’s abstract and the program to translate it. He will figure out how to open the door for them to escape. As Alex leaves, he sees a break in the algorithm and sees Chase.
Nico finds Karolina all alone in her dream. Nico likes that she is dreaming about their wedding. Karolina says it’s all she’s ever wanted. Alex interrupts them, saying he knows how to save them, but they have to go now. Nico promises to return for Karolina.
The Gibborim find Gert and immediately realize that it’s not their son because he apologized for not contacting them sooner. Gert reveals she is actually Xavin and starts running. Stacey knows it’s a trap, but Victor and Tina run after Xavin anyway.
Molly is hiding nearby and reaches out to Stacey, trying to bring out the real Stacey. The Gibborim Stacey raises her hand to kill Molly, but Molly blocks her blast with a car hood. Gibborim Stacey tries again, so Molly pulls out the kitty barrett. She pleads with Stacey to remember who she is…she’s her mom. The real Stacey emerges, hugging Molly tightly. Molly asks about Gert, but Stacey thought she was with Molly. She says she has to go and Molly wants to go with her, but it’s too dangerous.
Xavin ran to a parking garage, making Victor and Tina split up to cut her off. Victor gets to the top level and finds Tina. Tina points him in the direction that Xavin ran and he continues the pursuit. Tina walks away and shape shifts back to Xavin. Xavin escapes before Tina actually reaches the top level.
Alex and Nico are looking for the abstract when the Gibborim return home. Nico finds it but they have to hide. Stacey isn’t with them, they assume she made it back already. Victor senses that something is wrong as he looks at Karolina’s tube.
Leslie starts having contractions, but she’s all alone in the house. She finds a way to the emergency room. When the nurse looks at her ultrasound, she immediately leaves the room. Leslie can see the nurse talking to a man outside in the hall. Lesle grabs the ultrasound wand and looks at her baby. The baby appears to be asleep, but then turns toward the wand and looks at it with glowing eyes. At the same time, Leslie’s belly starts glowing.
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