Liam Hoofe reviews the season one finale of Marvel’s Runaways…
It’s taken a full season but in this week’s season finale of Runaways the group finally lived up to their name and, well, ran away. The season finale picked up immediately from last week’s nail-biting confrontation and was jam-packed with big revelations and twists and turns which set up the show’s second season quite nicely.
The episode opened with the confrontation between PRIDE and the group, which was quickly interrupted by the sinister puppetmaster of PRIDE, Jonah. The show has really picked up since Jonah’s arrival and his presence in this episode continued to blur the lines between PRIDE and their children. While the parents were reluctant to attack their kids, Jonah certainly wasn’t and his attacks forced Karolina to face off with him one on one, providing the rest of the group the opportunity to escape. We then discovered that the two share the same powers, which makes sense considering their father and daughter. The scene ended abruptly but it provided us with an insight into just how powerful Jonah is and potentially, how powerful Karolina could become.
The rest of the episode saw both sides trying to figure out their next move. The group was high and dry in the mountains, trying to figure out exactly what to do and where to go. While the parents were forced to finally unite against Jonah, with the big revelation coming from Leslie that she had been involved in Amy’s ‘suicide’. Just where this will leave Leslie next season is still unknown but it turns out her husband, Frank, is still willing to do Jonah’s bidding. With PRIDE seemingly all on the same page, it looks as though Jonah is going to be the key villain for the second season – I’d wager Frank will turn on him at some pivotal moment but that’s a long way away yet.
One thing I’ve praised Runaways for throughout its run has been its sense of location and their efforts to establish the teens’ home lives really paid off here. Once the teens had run away, the enormity of their situation was immediately felt. The group looked lost, and vulnerable away from the homes we have watched them in for the last 9 episodes and I hope the show really hammers this home next season. There were several great scenes involving the teens this episode but the highlights were the ones between Gert and Old Lace, who was finally given his name this episode. The show’s closing moments, where it was revealed the group had been set up for the murder of Destiny in the opening episode were a nice twist, and will likely force the group even further out of their comfort zone when the second season kicks off.
As season finales go, Hostiles did an efficient job of changing the show’s landscape heading into its second year. The stakes are higher, the situation more desperate and new battle lines were drawn. On the whole, Runaways season 1 has been a resounding success, thanks to some solid performances and well-paced writing. Let’s hope season 2 can continue in the same vein.
Liam Hoofe – @liamhoofe
