‘Runaways’ review
By Sonam Kaloti, Arts Editor
4/5
My hope for Runaways was just that it wasn’t as bad as Inhumans; luckily, it wasn’t.
Marvel’s Runaways isn’t necessarily an old show, but it has lived its full life. As an avid Marvel cinema fan, I wanted to begin catching up on the shows I missed before the MCU’s phase four was in full swing. I’ve seen all the films, and that includes Thor: The Dark World (seriously). I haven’t seen the original The Hulk (but I doubt anyone minds). However, the television shows feel like a new world.
Runaways would be the fourth Marvel show I’ve watched (although I did just begin watching Daredevil and Jessica Jones). My first and favourite, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., was the longest running Marvel show with seven seasons and stories spanning multiple universes and timelines—much like the Marvel movies’ own phase one through three. Agent Carter—albeit only two seasons—is worth the watch. Despite the events of Agent Carter occurring far in the past (just after Captain America: The First Avenger takes place), the show has many crossovers with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so it should be watched as a prequel. Then there’s Inhumans, which earned a pitiful 11 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and let’s just say that is accurate. It’s a shame because there is a lot of room for amazing stories regarding Inhumans in the MCU—but this wasn’t it.
As expected, my hope for Runaways was just that it wasn’t as bad as Inhumans; luckily, it wasn’t. The first season of Runaways serves more as an origin story. The true story bubbles just underneath the surface as we follow the teenage protagonists on their journey of coming back together as a group of misfit-friends-turned-superheroes. Their obvious losses can be easily predicted due to who the villains are: their own parents. The teens are constantly in a moral struggle between doing what’s right with their friends or demonstrating forgiveness by sticking with their family. This prevents them from being able to truly conquer the enemy but allows us to feel their struggle as they figure out how to save the world while also finding out who they are and the supernatural abilities they may have.
The second season kicks off the true action of the story. Although they’re only just getting used to their supernatural powers and working together as a team, they’ve generally decided what team they’re on and what their course of action is. The best part about this show isn’t necessarily the characters, fight scenes, or grandiosity like many other Marvel creations—it’s unique due to the dynamics that are exploited in creating the good and the bad guys. The shades of grey keep the story and character progression unpredictable which makes for an exciting story in this small corner of the MCU.
Its first two seasons are on Disney+, and its third and final season has talks of being uploaded to Disney+, but for now it is available on Hulu.
