If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: A retelling of 101, as seen from the parents’ perspective. Everyone’s on edge, but after tonight, should all go as planned, they won’t have to worry about their obligations again. (TVGuide)
Writers: Josh Schwartz & Stephanie Savage
Director: Roxann Dawson
Rating: TV-PG
Running Time: 49 minutes
The second episode of Marvel’s Runaways led us straight back into the story, but from the perspective of the parents. After the kids witnessed their parents involved in a sacrificial ceremony, they were terrified and confused, to say the least.
After a frustrating conversation with Alex, his mother, Catherine (Angel Parker), expresses concern over him still dealing with Amy’s death. But alas, there is the PRIDE meeting to prepare for.
Chase’s father, Victor Stein (James Marsters), is a hot-headed, extremely intelligent, and at times, abusive father. His relationship with Chase’s mother, Janet (Ever Carradine), is depicted as a tumultuous one. This has taken a toll on Janet who seems to be having a possible affair with one of the parents!
Karolina’s dad, Frank (Kip Pardue), meets with his agent who has come to fire him as a client. Frank is a struggling actor who has lost his appeal after devoting himself to the Church of Gibborim. To make matters worse, he is kept in the shadows and unaware of the PRIDE meetings and what they entail. Despite his efforts to be a part of Karolina’s mom, Leslie’s (Annie Wersching) life, she refuses to let him in. This dynamic increases the tension as Frank tries to snoop around and get more information.
Remember the staff from the first episode? Amy’s mom, Tina (Brittany Ishibashi), keeps it under her lock and key in their home. This staff is used to create barriers, just like the one from the first episode when they were performing the ritual.
Alex’s dad, Geoffrey (Ryan Sands), was forced to confront someone from his past in this episode. Geoff gets a call from the construction site, where a school for PRIDE is being built, alerting him that “Darius Davis says hello.” This blast from the past proves to be more problematic than anticipated when Geoff shows up to the site. Demanding money, Geoff turns the tables on Darius when he shows him that he has cameras on his grandma’s house so he better take a step back and stop harassing him. However, Darius may have one up on him because when he asked for Geoff’s phone before their “meeting”, his lackey transferred all the data from Geoff’s phone onto his. Uh oh.
Destiny (Nicole Wolf) tries to leave the Church of Gibborim when Leslie seeks her out at the bus station. We find out Destiny has a child and wants to return home to be with her. Going against the sinister, culty plans for the night, Leslie convinces her to stay, just for a few more days because she is ready to move her up to “Ultra”. What that means exactly is yet to be determined.
As nightfall approaches, the parents congregate at the Wilders’ home in preparation for the meeting. It is obvious that Geoffrey has some reservations about using Destiny for their ritual, but is silenced for the bigger purpose. Once again, the capsule is brought out, which appears to be some sort of transporter. Earlier in the episode, Victor attempted to use it on a rat and it failed, which didn’t bode well for the ceremony about to take place.
Things begin to get creepy when Destiny was brought into the room and forced to drink some strange liquid that rendered her body numb. Stripped of her clothing, they placed her into the capsule and a few moments later, she was gone. Or so we think.
Cue the flash from Molly’s phone, and the storylines align between kids and parents. Frantic to appear normal, Alex shuts off the power momentarily so the parents believe a fuse caused the flash. When Geoff and Catherine come into the house, they find the kids playing a silly game of Twister and everyone is fooled for the time being. However, the kids are permanently freaked and must find a way to stay calm and collect while they process what happened.
Remember when we thought Destiny was gone? Well, she isn’t. A strange thumping noise from the capsule causes Victor to open it, only to find Destiny is still inside!
Things continue to get weirder as, once again, we see a skeleton-like creature in an identical capsule back at the church. Could it be these sacrifices are used to keep this thing alive? Not to mention, Molly and Gert’s home is shelter to a dinosaur in the basement?!
Alex reaches out to the group alerting them that they must meet to discuss. And it’s a good thing because Geoff found a girl’s hair clip in the study! Uh oh.
The second episode was a great continuation of the story, and necessary to begin and understand what is at play. Runaways has already proven itself in the early episodes and it a reassurance that what is yet to come will only be better.
Score: 7/10
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