*This review contains minor spoilers*
Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube
After sputtering out at the end of season one, “Runaways” rebounds nicely for its second season, but struggles to fill the thirteen episodes with enough compelling story.
One of the big issues this season is the lack of focus. The kids spend most their time reacting to problems. But it really doesn’t matter, because they don’t have anything else solid going on. With the exception of Alex, none of the kids really seem to care if their parents get justice, so there’s little driving the story forward on their end. Their parents’ quest to get them back, plus stop Jonah once and for all, is the true narrative. Of course, there’s plenty of backstabbing and double-dealing to keep things interesting. After what felt like a mid-season finale, the show takes things in another direction. This time, everybody really spins their wheels, until the final few episodes when new threats come to a head. In the meantime, there are a lot of small stories that come into play, but then just fizzle out. The Topher story, the conflict with AWOL and a lot of the church stuff all are made to feel important, but get wrapped up after just a few episodes.
Luckily, the show is about the kids, and they’re a lot of fun to watch. There’s a lot relationship drama, damaged friendships, and arguments, but that’s all balanced out by some tender moments and fun beats where they team up and use their powers to get out of jams. The parents are still a mixed bag. For every moment of wanting to see them redeem themselves, there’s a coldblooded murder or cold-hearted play that proves that deep-down, they’re the monsters the kids think they are.
There are not a lot of new characters added this season, and none of them make much of an impact. Either they come and go too quickly, or they show up too late in the season to really contribute. We also get a few new locales. The secret Pride office isn’t as spooky as their underground lair from last season, but the kids’ hidden hostel is visually interesting, even though I’m not sure how it ended up inside a rock wall.
As the kids master their abilities, we get treated to some pretty good action scenes. The effects are solid. The dinosaur looks great, and Molly’s feats of strength look cool, but when they just shake the hell out of the camera to make it look like an earthquake, it’s laughable.
While the first season ignored the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in some cases contradicted it, season two finally adds elements to place the show in the same world as “Black Panther” and “Doctor Strange.” (Although, everyone seems pretty shocked by super powers and aliens, even though this should be common knowledge by now.)
“Runaways” season two picks things up nicely after the weak ending of season one. The character interactions help smooth over the weaker plotlines, while fun action scenes and the show finally acknowledging the rest of the MCU add some excitement and energy.
Season’s best episode: “Last Rites” (Episode 7): Everything comes to a head, and there’s some badass moments, especially for Nico.
Season’s worst episode: “Earth Angel” (Episode 12): The parents searching for the kids takes an odd turn, while a new character gets introduced like something out of a Scooby-Doo cartoon.
***1/2 out of *****