Runaways is back for season 3! It’s bigger! It’s bolder! It’s…ending. But that won’t hold us back from having a great time watching. This show has been one of Marvel’s strongest for two years now and this season seems like it’ll be bonkers in all the best ways. So watch with us! We’ve got time jumps, time travel, and assassination attempts to spare.
1. Runaways: Endgame
The series finale of Marvel’s Runaways is equal parts smart character study and fast paced action thrill ride with a time travel tilt, much like a far more high profile Marvel story of recent memory. This episode picks up 3 years after the Runaways’ standoff with Morgan le Fey and the death of Gert. Molly is the cheerleading captain at Atlas and living with Chase (who’s holed away in a lab trying to figure out time travel) in the hostel. Karolina is going to UCLA and living with her girlfriend, Julie (in a nice nod to Karolina’s comic book ex Julie Power). Alex is running a newsworthy organization called Wilder Innovations and living his best life. Nico, meanwhile, just came back to California after spending 3 years in seclusion mastering her magic. When a version of Alex from 2028 suddenly shows up at Nico’s apartment trying to kill her, and a 2028 Chase comes to save her, the new status quo is thrown completely off. The episode kicks it into high gear from there, taking the group through time with 2028 Chase as their leader. They go back to the events preceding the series premier, giving them a stellar chance to reflect. Then they head back to the Morgan le Fey fight to fix Gert’s death without destroying time. It’s an absolute rollercoaster of an episode in the best of ways. It’s constantly hitting strong notes and keeping you on the edge of your seat.
2. The Future is Now
This episode’s ruinations on future are twofold, present in both the time jump and the inclusion 2028 versions of Alex and Chase. In the former, we get to see how the Runaways move on without Gert. With the exception of Chase, everyone seems to be very well adjusted to be entirely honest. When those future versions of the boys show up, though, we see that presenting as put together doesn’t mean actually being okay. According to 2028 Chase, some of the Runaways go on to become like their parents, particularly Alex. It’s interesting to see that the trauma the group experienced in episode 9 could lead to such a dire future and it definitely would’ve been interesting to explore in season 4 if such a thing existed. The episode takes things as far as it can, though, and it does strong work.
3. High School Reunion
When the Runaways head back in time to prevent their high school selves from future Alex, they get the chance to revisit some of their experiences with Gert. Chase sees himself try to flirt with Karolina and try to impress his lacrosse bros. Karolina sees herself get pranked and then consoled by Gert. Molly watches Gert be a good older sister to her. It’s all small, but small stuff matters. It’s what makes these characters feel full and this episode is smart in its decision to show us these moments. In the biggest character beat of the sequence, Chase watches his lacrosse friends bully Gert then intervenes, posing as his past self. Gert and the lax guys are shocked, justifiably assuming it’s some sort of prank. While it’s far from a meaningful moment for Gert, to Chase it means everything that he got to do that. Most people don’t get to go back and fix their mistakes, but in this episode of Runaways, that’s all that anybody is doing. It’s a strong thematic angle and a ton of fun to watch.
4. Boss Battle Redux
When the group (including 2028 Alex) travels back to the night that Gert died to change the course of their history, the dial gets turned up to 11 in an exciting, yet character-focused sequence. The future (and future-er) Runaways sneak through the hostel, coming up with a plan of action as they move to stop Morgan le Fey again. While they’re at it, though, Nico makes a pitstop to talk to her past self, explaining that isolation won’t help her protect the people she loves- then she wipes past Nico’s mind but leaves the sentiment of the talk behind. It’s a fine moment, though the impact of the speech is slightly dulled by that immediate erasure. Stronger here is Nico and Karolina’s reconnection. Karolina had clearly moved on after Nico up and left Los Angeles, but as they take their adventure through time, Karolina realizes that she may have missed out on something. Their chemistry is strong and it’s nice to see them rediscover what made them work as a couple, especially after a season that saw so much conflict between them. Before anyone can get too comfortable, though, Morgan le Fey shows up again. As we watch the same fight from last episode play out from different angles, one major change happens, and it’s a doozy. 2028 Chase stops past Gert from grabbing the magic salt that she needs to stop Morgan, saying that he’ll do it instead. Next, we see Chase fill Gert’s role from last episode, delivering a monologue as he walks around her in a circle, dropping magic salt. Morgan still takes a life as she’s taken down, though; before he finishes the circle, Morgan sends glass shards flying through Chase’s chest. He completes the circle as he falls and Tina sends Morgan to the dark dimension yet again. 2028 Chase dies in Gert’s lap as everyone watches on. Just as Victor starts to run down to his dying son, though, past Chase shows up in a funny twist to the tragic scene. Suddenly, the various future versions of the Runaways start to fade from existence as the timeline changes. Karolina, Nico, and Molly accept it with grace which is honestly a bit shocking given that their lives were pretty good but hey, I’ll allow it for the sake of a poetic moment. On the whole, the sequence is action packed and hits some strong character beats along the way.
5. Happily Ever After
And then it all ends. The Runaways have taken down Morgan, Gert is alive, and they’re all together. So they decide to go get some food. There’s one big twist before they leave though- 2028 Alex left a note under past Alex’s wallet with three goals on it: infiltrating Wilder Innovations, hiding Mancha (in an awesome nod to the Runaways comics) and killing Nico. It’s an ominous note for things to end on, but that’s showbiz I guess. The last shot is more comforting- the Runaways walking out of the hostel, into the light, to get breakfast together like normal people. It’s a great ending to a series that had really just hit its stride. It’s a shame to see the show leaving us- there’s really nothing like it on tv. This magic/sci-fi/superhero coming-of-age family dramedy has been awesome to watch, even as its worked through growing pains. It has a stronger heart than just about any other Marvel show and that went a long way. Hopefully we’ll get to see the Runaways down the line again one day, but if not, this was as good an ending as anyone could’ve hoped for.
