DISCLAIMER: This Runaways recap contains more spoilers than the number of times Pride has met for “the last time.” Perhaps, eventually, they’ll decide to disband…but then we wouldn’t have a show, would we? You’ve been warned. Enter at your own peril.
Welcome back, fellow runaways! Marvel’s Runaways blessed us with quite the penultimate episode this week. Overall, this series has been a slow burn. However, we’re finally beginning to see the pay off of said slow burn. All of the puzzle pieces are falling into place. We learned the truth surrounding the death of Molly’s parents. Leslie, you’ve got some explaining to do. Jonah’s objective was finally revealed, and the potential results spell worldwide catastrophe. The episode ended with our protagonists facing off against Pride itself, with a slew of shocking secrets spilling forth. Molly’s got super powers! Karolina glows! Nico can wield a staff like no one’s business!
Alright, ready to delve into “Doomsday?” Just be sure to attend one last school dance before the world ends. It’s what all the cool kids do.
We open with a flashback: a decade prior to the events of Runaways. Gene (Vladimir Caamano) and Alice Hernandez (Carmen Serano) have made a geological discovery – they’ve found an alien rock that glows. As we sci-fi fans know all too well, rocks that emit light are typically bad. They decide to video chat with Dale (Kevin Weisman) and Stacey (Brigid Brannagh) regarding their discovery. Little Molly (Evelyn Angelos) is studying the foreign rock as only children can…by touching it. Alice and Gene think something nefarious is afoot, especially with Jonah and Pride. Suddenly, Gene discovers the door to the lab is inexplicably locked. We see a bomb on the floor. Alice cries out for Molly and races toward her, but she’s too late. Said bomb detonates in a fiery explosion.
Then, we see Leslie (Annie Wersching) call Tina (Brittany Ishibashi) to inform her that the deed is done. Alice and Gene are no longer part of the problem. Pride can continue its shady dealings without interference. Inside the burning lab, we see Molly huddled under a table clutching the alien rock. Miraculously, she’s unharmed save for soot from the fire. Her eyes glow yellow, as they do when she uses her powers. A mutant is born! Side note: I need to purchase some alien rock immediately.
Flash forward to present day: Nico (Lyrica Okano) is in Amy’s room and on the prowl for the latter’s phone. Robert (James Yaegashi) barges in unannounced. Apparently, Tina allowed him to move back in, although he’s still a couch surfer. Robert decides to have his morning coffee in Amy’s room, so Nico’s mission is derailed for the time being. Dad=1, Nico=0.
Meanwhile, Karolina (Virginia Gardner) is spilling the beans to Frank (Kip Pardue) on all things Pride. He’s now privy to everything Karolina and our runaways have been up to. Frank urges Karolina to drop the mission and allow the adults to take over. Papa Dean has a few tricks up his sleeve, i.e. his newly acquired Gibborim super powers. Praise be to Gibborim!
Next, we see Janet (Ever Carradine) is giving a televised speech regarding Victor’s “retiring from public life” as he seeks treatment for his tumor. Well, he’s dead, but not decomposing so I guess that’s something? Chase (Gregg Sulkin) is watching his mother give said speech. Janet enters his room. She pleads with him to not pry into Jonah’s past or Pride’s doings. The last thing Janet wants is to lose Chase. Of course, teenage boys are usually encouraged to do the opposite of what you tell them.
Later, Chase arrives at Atlas Academy to a swarm of apologies and affirmations regarding his father. Alex (Rhenzy Feliz), Gert (Ariela Barer), Karolina and Nico observe the spectacle from afar. Chase approaches the gang and issues another apology to Alex for smashing his laptop, thereby destroying the only evidence they had against their parents. Alex is still furious with Chase. Nico is still furious with Alex. Uh oh. Hopefully this doesn’t spell the end for our gang.
Next, our protagonists discover a school dance is occurring that very evening. Well, their mission failed miserably. Time to party? Why not have a little adolescent fun?
Meanwhile, Tina and Robert are in their car, discussing their future. Robert is grateful that they can focus on their marriage. Tina, while ready to take that bull by the horns, reminds him of the things they’ve permanently lost. Amy, for instance. Next, we flash back to fifteen years ago. Tina is laying a baby Nico in her crib. She waltzes into another room to check on Amy, only to find Jonah (Julian McMahon) is keeping tabs on the former. Jonah issues his usual thinly veiled threats, all the while cradling a toddler Amy in his arms. Tina snatches her daughter away, clearly spooked.
Now, we’re back in the present. All members of Pride have gathered together at Geoffrey Wilder’s (Ryan Sands) construction site. Jonah arrives to commence the meeting. He informs them that Geoffrey’s workers have been let go and replaced with members of the Church of Gibborim. Geoffrey is, naturally, irate. We see a giant drill, the fruits of Pride’s long, enduring labor. Jonah plans to drill into the earth under the pretense of extracting a mineral that could positively impact the environment. Well, at least that’s what Pride believes. We know that his true objective is most likely more nefarious than that. Our parents are just grateful that all of this messy business can finally be put behind them.
Then, a security guard once under Geoffrey’s employ exits the site and clambers into Darius’ (DeVaughn Nixon) car. Apparently, he hasn’t given up in his quest to bring down Geoffrey, especially after seeing our runaways in action with their various gifts. Even after losing his spy to Jonah, Darius will continue his mission to end Geoffrey once and for all.
Next, Molly (Allegra Acosta) surprises our gang at school while brandishing a VHS tape. Of course, they marvel at the ancient device. Molly informs them that her parents left it for her. They find a VCR and pop in said tape. Alice and Gene appear on the screen. They reveal that if Molly is watching this tape, chances are they’re already dead. Alice and Gene discuss Pride and its accomplishments, but also the dark underbelly of the organization. They divulge Jonah’s plan to drill into the earth for the aforementioned mineral, but also the seismic impact said drilling will have. Major earthquakes could destroy Los Angeles, as well as California as a whole.
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Uh oh. Time to save the world! Our runaways collectively decide their mission is officially back on track. They’ll use the dance as a distraction for their parents, all the while infiltrating the construction site to prevent a life threatening disaster. Game on!
Later, Frank meets with Jonah to discuss his continued ascension in the church. Gibborim has blessed him with super powers, and by golly, he intends to keep them.
Then, we see the kids get all dolled up for the dance with their respective parents. They’re collectively thrilled that their children are out having some good ol’ fashioned adolescent fun. Well, and keeping their noses out of Pride matters.
Next, the Yorkes phone Graciela (Marlene Forte). She informs them that Molly has escaped. Molly is currently pulling a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Normal runway stuff. Graciela demands the Yorkes stay away from Molly, citing they’ve caused enough damage to the young girl.
Meanwhile, at the dance, we see that Gert brought Old Lace, her dinosaur. Old Lace is staying in her car under a shroud of blankets, keeping Molly company. Gert marches into the hormone-infused fray of the dance to find Chase. The duo sneaks off to dance since, you know, the world might end. However, said dancing leads to kissing which in turn leads to the horizontal tango since, you know, the world might end. Yay, we’ve finally been blessed with a Gert/Chase romance!
Next, our gang wonders what is taking Gert and Chase so long. Nico and Karolina decide to head inside the school to investigate. Once inside, Karolina finally lays a smooch on Nico. My Goth Queen Nico returns said kiss, and all my dreams come true. Everyone is happy! Karolina reveals that she wanted to kiss her since, you know, the world might end. Chase and Gert emerge after their roll in the hay, hastily buttoning their clothes. They bump into Nico and Karolina in the process.
Then, Jonah rallies Pride together for an emergency meeting. He asks them if they know where their kids are. Of course, everyone believes their children are at the school dance. Jonah reveals that our runaways have been meddling in Pride affairs for quite some time now. They know everything. Jonah issues another threat, which launches our parents into action mode.
Meanwhile, Darius meets with his baby mama and reveals his plan to take down Geoffrey. He knows something is up, and whatever it is, he wants to destroy it. Somehow methinks this will only end in tragedy.
Next, the kids arrive at the construction site. However, they’re stopped short by a security guard under Jonah’s employ. He phones Frank to make sure the runaways have permission to enter, under the guise of a school project. Frank officially gives the okay, but we see Jonah is sitting right beside him. Jonah has replaced Leslie as his lap dog with her husband. Earlier Jonah revealed to Pride that someone has been spilling secrets to him, which is how he knows virtually everything about what the kids have been doing. Of course, it’s incredibly obvious now that Frank is the culprit, considering Karolina confided in him previously. Turncoat!
Once inside, they see a giant hole in the earth that appears to go on infinitely. Molly utilizes her super strength to push a semi-truck down said hole to act as a roadblock for the drill. You go, girl! Meanwhile, Chase and Gert try to shut down the drill itself. They discuss their romantic future, if there is one. Gert tries to convince him that their entanglement was a one-time thing, propagated by hormones and the impending apocalypse. Chase, however, was hoping it would blossom into something more.
Then, Chase dons the fisticuffs and zaps the computer systems, which in turn shuts down the drill. Nico utilizes the staff to close the hole, but an interfering force comes into play. Tina summons the staff to her hand, and we see Pride has arrived to thwart the runaways in their world-saving efforts. They order their children to stand down, to discontinue their meddling in Pride affairs. Everything they’ve done has been for the runaways. Our kids take up defensive positions and are prepared to do battle. Molly’s eyes begin to glow, much to the surprise of the parents. Karolina ditches her bracelet and morphs into a human light show. Pride is completely taken aback by the display. Leslie reveals that she wasn’t aware of Karolina’s powers, but she was afraid they’d come to fruition.
Runaways is quite adept at the cliff hanger, I must say, and this week was no different. We’re finally seeing the fruits of the previous episodes’ labor. Like I mentioned before, this series has been a slow burn, but everything is paying off in a spectacular way. I’ll take character and story development over rushed storytelling any day. Yes, maybe the focus on the parents has been too heavy handed in relation to the comics, but at least we know why they’re doing what they’re doing. And now that our kids have acknowledged themselves as a family unit, perhaps in the next episode they’ll finally run away! Yay for living up to the show title!
Do you think the kids will run away in the finale? How far are they willing to go to defend themselves against their parents? Will Victor return in the finale? Why was Leslie afraid that Karolina would develop powers? Will Darius lose his life trying to thwart Geoffrey? Will Old Lace show up to defend Gert? So many questions! Join me next week as I recap the Runaways finale, here on Geek Girl Authority.
Runaways airs Tuesdays at midnight on Hulu.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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