Doomsday is in fact upon our beloved not quite Runaways. Things shift into the highest gear they’ve ever been in at this point. We are running out of episodes after all. It’s a great episode with lots of huge moments, setting up a lot of drama to take us to the end of season one. Let’s jump into this but be warned, there are spoilers throughout.
1. Ten Years Ago
“Doomsday” opens with a flashback that we’ve all been waiting for this whole season – the death of Molly’s parents. This flashback sees the Hernandez couple discussing something they have found. It is some kind of glowing rock and Molly can’t get enough of it. She is seen not letting it go as her parents panic about what’s happening. They call the Yorkes because they’ve discovered that the renewable energy source they were looking for is probably not that. They try to escape but a bomb goes off and kills them, but Molly is spared. This is a big twist in and of itself because we see her eyes glow. In the comics, Molly is a mutant and it seems like this was trying to say that this substance they found may be what has given her powers. This could be the show’s way of getting out of the mutant side of Marvel because that’s such a complicated issue with rights. The bigger twist here is that Leslie is the one seen walking away. She did this, not Tina Minoru. Remember when people made note of her burned hand at the funeral? She did actually burn her hand. Leslie is close with Jonah and of all the parents, she the least trustworthy and clearly the one most in this for herself. I think the stuff with the Molly’s parents has been dragged out a bit but I’m glad we got this answer before the season wrapped up.
2. Too Dark A Name
One of the biggest criticisms of the show has been that the kids haven’t actually runaway yet and so they aren’t really The Runaways yet. The comic book moved incredibly fast but comics tend to do that when they’re brand new creations and may not be around too long. You have to give everyone something big immediately to drive up sales and possibly score the longevity you need to tell your full story. Television is a little different and while there have been some pacing issues (a couple of episodes in the middle of all this felt a little slow), I have enjoyed the expansion of the backstories immensely. I think Runaways has done an excellent job at making this situation much more complicated and has thrown us curveballs that make for great television. The show references that they don’t have a team name in this episode and it gets kind of dark because Alex Wilder’s reasoning for the name is for the 15 people who they are trying to get justice for. Yeah, it’s dark. Even worse, they’re all rightfully mad at Chase for destroying the laptop. But have no fear! We’ll get to the showdown you’ve all been waiting for.
3. Every Ship Sets Sail
ALL THE SHIPS! The comic Runaways is based on is dramatic. It’s a teen superhero soap opera and with that comes romantic entanglements. All that comes to a head in “Doomsday” as they decide to use the school dance as a cover against their parents. They know what the parents are up to. They know the Pride School is a cover for some drilling they’ve been doing that will probably destroy the city when it’s all said and done and their plan is to go there. That’s not so easy to do when you’re a teen because your parents need to know where you are all the time. So they use the dance and they kind of a last night on Earth thing going on because they know this will be their last night as normal teens. At the dance, Gert goes straight for Chase and just lets him know exactly how she feels and it’s really good. I love Gert because she’s assertive and it pays off because Gert and Chase finally admit their feelings for each other. Chase tells her that he’s always noticed her and they go all the way. Meanwhile, Karolina takes her shot and FINALLY kisses Nico after telling her that the world might end and there will be no more kissing. My girl took her shot and I respect it. Nico doesn’t push back either and it’s a kiss that I’ve been hoping to see before the season goes out. *scribbles on notebook: Nico + Karolina 4ever*
Continued belowThere’s something to be said here about Nico and Karolina only getting a kiss and Gert and Chase going all the way and us knowing that they did. I think it would have been really important to let Nico and Karolina have that huge moment but I could see how it maybe doesn’t fit with Nico’s story. She’s fresh off this huge fight with Alex and maybe she’s not as sure as Karolina about her feelings. I will say this, I’m really, really glad that this show isn’t ignoring this relationship or Karolina’s sexuality.
4. Darius and Frank
Darius, Papa Wilder’s former best friend, makes another appearance this season when the entire crew gets sent home and the Church of Gibborim takes over. Darius decides he needs to know more and sneaks in as well when the kids do. Meanwhile, Jonah reveals that Frank has been telling him everything which leads to the excellent “where are your children?” moment. Frank Dean, at one point, was a really interesting idea. He was not in The Pride and that made him a possible friend for the kids when they eventually run away. Instead, the show has no idea what to do with him and just makes him a pawn and ultimately, this wastes his potential. It’s time for him to begone. The same goes for Darius. Darius being there when this big showdown is probably going to happen is really not good. Darius served his purpose in this story and his inclusion now is mostly to wrap up loose ends that should have been wrapped up when Alex saw who his father really is.
5. The Showdown We’ve Been Waiting For
When the kids get to the construction site, they take matters into their own hands. Molly uses her powers to throw a tractor trailer into the hole, hopefully destroying whatever was happening down there and as soon as they do this, the parents show up. Leslie, leading the charge, tries to tell them that they don’t know what they’re doing. They tell the kids the whole “you’re naive, you’re clueless” bit but the kids aren’t having it. Karolina rips off her bracelet, Molly readies to fight and they make their stand. Leslie, with one last shocker, says that she didn’t know about Karolina but she was afraid of this. I cannot wait to see next week’s big finale. I am ready for this to be where the kids finally run away and become the team we know them as. The real fight is just getting started.
