Runways, “Reunion”, Review!

This series originally aired on November 21, 2017 on Hulu, but it was run on last Thursday on Freeform.  It is based on the Marvel Comic by Brian K. Vaughn, he is the executive consultant for the show, and Adrian Alphona with the first issue out in 2003.  We get Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, a young boy is reading it on a bus ride, everyone then exits including a girl Destiny Gonzalez (Nicole Wolf).  She tries to contact someone who asks if it is Destiny.  She hangs up and runs into two gangster-types who pull her away.  They are tazed by two women who take her to a van offering her place to stay.  

She enters the van which has the organization’s name, Church of Gibborim. The Gibborim hints at the comic which had the giants seeking to destroy the world.  We get that it is “Six Months Later”, at a nice house, Alex Wilder (Rhenzy Feliz) is busy playing video games, his father, Geoffrey (Ryan Sands) talks to him.  He offers to play Battlefront with Alex, but he walks away only wanting to play with his sister, Superamy164, now 2 years gone.  I don’t recall any Amy being apart of the series, the comic had them as all children whose parents force them together.  

His mother, Catherine (Angel Parker) made him pancakes, but he only wants orange juice.  His parents want to him to open up.  Catherine wants to get ready for the Pride meeting.  Preparing her make-up is Goth girl, Nico Minoru (Lyrica Okano), her mother, Tina (Brittany Ishibashi) walks over to see her.  She has taken Amy’s tights and knocks over a trophy.  Working out with weights is Chase Stein (Gregg Sulkin) and meets his father, Victor (James Marsters) for breakfast.  He is not happy at Chase’s C in Spanish.  At a meeting is a woman, Leslie Dean (Anne Wersching) giving a lecture to people with wristbands.  

Runaways -- Episode: “Reunion” --  Photo Credit: Paul Sarkis/Hulu. 

Leslie’s daughter, Karolina Dean (Virginia Gardener) tries to get permission for school, but is needed for a church event. At the Atlas Academy, students arrive for school including purple haired Gert Yorkes (Ariela Barer) and young Molly Hernandez (Allegra Acosta) whose parents are worried about medications.  Molly doesn't get her distinctive pink cat-eared hat until the end which makes her girlish, independent, and possessed of her own style.  We get the different kids, but the comic has Chase the oldest at 17, Alex, Nico, and Karolina are 16, and Molly is 11.  In this series, it looks like they all go to the same school and in the same grade except Molly.  

Gert tries to pass out a flyer to Chase, but he tosses it away.  He passes Karolina who smiles and takes a selfie.  She passes Nico who is reading a book.  Alex is on the school building’s second floor, he looks at a cell phone pic of all of them together. He calls his mother that he is having a meeting at the house with friends while they have their Pride meeting.  Geoffrey worries about the kids when they are having a meeting, but Catherine thinks the kids won’t care what the parents are doing at the meeting.  Leslie enters a room, the Wilder parents go to room of red robes, Leslie sees a horribly scarred person in a breathing mask and tells the person that another is going to become “eternal.” Strange hints at this Pride being like a cult.  

Gert gives a speech about women empowerment, most of the students are bored.  Alex stares at Nico.  No one is interested in her club.  Alex checks on Chase drawing on his iPad “hand blasters” until he realizes it is Alex.  This hints at his tech background, but the jock Chase is not as fun as swaggering Chase from the comic.  Alex wants to get the group together, Gert thinks Chase is just a jock, Karolina has a church function.  Gert blows off Karolina.  Chase goes with his fellow jocks.  They are so far apart that I don't see them as former friends.  This is new to the story, the comic just throws them together at the party, no school.   

Runaways -- Episode: “Reunion” --  Photo Credit: Paul Sarkis/Hulu.

Dance auditions, Molly is about to dance, but gets pains.  Chase tries to talk to his teacher about his grades and Gert is there listening to them.  Gert offers to tutor Chase in Spanish.  She is so contemptuous of others that you can see why she's excluded.  Alex goes to talk to Nico.  He says he misses Nico and she walks away.  Karolina is crying over seeing her pic with the Brainwashed meme.  She checks on Nico.  Molly goes to the nurse’s office and takes some pills. She says her parents died in a fire.  She had parents in the comic. Molly’s eyes flare yellow and she has crushed the chair.  Her superpower and the group manifests later in the comic.  

Karolina films a church commercial about her bracelet.  Destiny Gonzalez thanks Karolina and her mother.  Molly returns home and finds no one is home.  She tries to lift the VW wagon and it rolls towards her, Molly’s eyes flare yellow, and she pushes back the car.  Molly celebrates her super strength.  The Pride party, everyone is high minded, but don’t like the Yorkes.  Alex sees the families gather for the meeting.  Alex is alone in his room.  Nico makes a pentagram on the beach.  Gert waits for Chase and he is at the party.  Karolina heads to the party where Chase is alone.  A man gives Karolina a pill.  Molly wakes up to get a text from Gert to feed the pets. 

Karolina snaps off her bracelet and finds her arms glowing rainbow colors and then faints.  Two boys pull Karolina upstairs.  Molly sees the various animals in cages.  Her eyes flare yellow as she hears a roar behind a door.  It is a velociraptor!  This is also introduced later as the dinosaur named Old Lace.  She pulls off a door and runs.  Molly calls Gert to take her away.  Chase finds the two boys undressing Karolina.  He beats them up and puts on Karolina’s bracelet.  It glows as it is attached and Karolina revives.  She remember lights and Chase says it was drugs.  They both get into a car.  Nico attempts to summon the Triple Goddess, but nothing happens.  Alex paces restlessly.  Gert, Molly, Karolina, and Chase are there at Alex’s house, having received Alex’s text, and then Nico shows up.  

The group is not happy that Alex didn’t go to Amy’s funeral.  Dean goes to get a drink.  They enter the empty house, Dean offers Gert a drink, and tries to apologize.  Alex tries to get a coaster, but activates a secret door.  Alex leads the way down the stairs, they see below them their parents in red robes.  Some barrier blocks their talking.  Destiny Gonzalez is brought in dressed in a white robe, a staff is raised, and a white light seals the girl.  Molly takes a picture with her cell phone and it gets the attention of the Pride!  The fun of the comic is how likable the characters are, but here they start off not liking each other, with a pain that divided them up in the past. The first superheroes the team meets is Cloak and Dagger, so I hope they meet next season. 

Four Pink Hats out of Five! 

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