Marvel’s Runaways – S1E10 – Hostile

Previously on Marvel’s Runaways, “Doomsday”

Everyone Needs an Emotional Support Dinosaur

The showdown we’ve been building towards is both anti-climactic and satisfying. The parents and the teens face each other down, but Stacy and Dale immediately take out Old Lace (Gert’s dino finally gets her name) and Tina still has the Staff of One so she’s deflecting most of the attacks. Karolina seems like she can overpower Tina’s staff and Molly tries to jump in and help, but Jonah shows up and takes out Molly and Tina until it’s just him versus Karolina. (This is a really bad way to introduce yourself to your daughter. Absentee fathers, take note). The group is forced to leave Karolina behind and Nico throws a shit fit about it.

And they’re officially on the run. Making good on the show’s title and premise, the teens have finally come to terms with the fact that home is no longer an option. But they can’t officially leave until they save Karolina. Their funds are limited and they have no transportation, so they tell Gert she has to say goodbye to her emotional support dinosaur. It’s a beautiful, but sad scene and I don’t know if we’ve talked about the wonderful acting Ariela Barer is doing next to a CGI raptor.

No Sanctuary

The parents are all worried, but also distrustful of each other. Now that they know Jonah is Karolina’s dad, it’s obvious they don’t know exactly what Jonah’s endgame is and when Tina confesses that Leslie orchestrated the Hernandez’s murder, they have even less of a reason to trust her. The Wilders want to go it alone because they realize Alex is the most vulnerable. He doesn’t have Fistigons or a telepathic raptor or super-strength. Stacy and Dale try to find out exactly what Jonah wants at the dig site and discover that there’s something living down there. Leslie helps the Runaways break Karolina out of the Church of Gibborim because she’d rather have her on the run than with Jonah or Frank, who has clearly aligned himself with the devil. I see why Frank was kept in the dark before. He’s a follower and he’s willing to throw anyone under the bus.

Now that alliances have shifted we have three camps: The Wilders on their own; the Minorus, the Yorkes, Janet and Leslie in a tentative alliance; and Jonah with Frank waiting for Victor to wake up and join their cabal. Leslie also admits that Jonah is the one who killed Amy so that alliance will probably be the first to be tested.

They Ran Away

Once the teens have Karolina back, they’re ready to go on the run although they admit it’s going to be awkward. The Chase/Gert,/Karolina love triangle has shifted to Karolina, Nico and Alex. Chase seems to be serious about Gert, but she doesn’t believe he’s sincere. And although I do believe that Nico does care about both Alex and Karolina, her tendency to fall into romantic relationships during times of stress was one of my least favorite characteristics about Comic Book Nico.

Alex is also a wild card. He wanted to leave town without Karolina and he overheard his parents saying they were done with Jonah. He seems like he wants to cut bait. He contacts his dad’s old frenemy, Darius, and somehow comes back with a wad of cash. We have no idea what Alex had to give up for that money, but it can’t have been good. The Runaways are all ready to buy some bus tickets and split town when they see a news report alleging they’ve kidnapped Molly and are wanted for questioning in the death of Destiny Gonzalez. Now there’s no safe place to run.

This first season ends on a high note. The writers have managed to build out both the teens and the parents so that they’re all complex and layered characters. Although it was obvious that Jonah killed Amy, I was surprised that Leslie just copped to it so easily. It seems like Jonah has been quietly disposing of people and PRIDE managed to convince themselves it wasn’t about their secret project. Now that everything is out on the table, I wonder if they’ll be able to break free and maybe reconcile with their children. Although it seems harsh, putting them in the spotlight will probably save the Runaways’ lives. As long as Jonah can operate in the shadows, he’ll keep winning.