‘Marvel’s Runaways’ Season 2 Premiere Review: Mean Streets

Marvel’s Runaways came to New York Comic-Con 2018 to tease fans with some season 2 details – but few expected Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb to bring the entire season 2 premiere episode with him! After getting to see the episode, we felt it was only right to share some details with fans, with an advanced review.

Read below if you want to know – but be warned, there are MILD SPOILERS!

Marvel’s Runaways season 2 picks up right where the first season left off – with children of the P.R.I.D.E. organization on the run, after being framed for the murder of a young girl, Destiny, who their parents sacrificed to P.R.I.D.E.’s mysterious and powerful leader, Jonah. However, as we find out in the season 2 premiere, Alex (Rhenzy Feliz), Nico (Lyrica Okano), Karolina (Virginia Gardner), Gert (Ariela Barer), Chase (Gregg Sulkin) and Molly (Allegra Acosta) are not as adapt to being actual runaways as their little gang name would suggest.

When we catch up with “The Runaways,” they are literally on the run, trying to chase down a delinquent on a BMX bike, who has just robbed Alex of his ill-gotten money, and Chase of his destructive gauntlets. At that point, the realities of the living on the street begin to really set in, and the kids from Brentwood have to begin to absorb their new reality of being fugitives, getting by wherever and however they can – sometimes doing things that bend the moral line further than they may like. Meanwhile, the parents in P.R.I.D.E. are now fighting battles on two fronts: on the one hand they’re trying to locate their kids and control the situation with them; on the other hand, they’re trying to figure how to deal with Jonah, and the mysterious revelations of the dig site.

Over the course of the season 2 premiere, the Runaways and P.R.I.D.E. have to both examine the so-called bonds between them, and what those bonds mean in these very different and drastic state of affairs. However, when one loose end sets both kids and parents on a race for the same destination, the reality of the battle ahead begins to set in – and not everyone may be as onboard as they initially seem.

Season 2 has the obvious benefit of starting off without the restrictions of story and character building that we got in season 1, and even though this premiere may be short on major events, it does do a good job of packing the powder keg for what could be some explosive developments down the line. What is especially strong are the more intimate character arcs and relationships; we can only get brushstrokes here, as the entire Runaways / P.R.I.D.E. ensembles need to get covered, but again, there enough new intrigue and slight turns in each relationship to definitely pull fans right into episode 2.

For more on what we can expect from season 2, check out our full Runaways NYCC Panel recap HERE.

Runaways season 2 premieres on December 21st, only on Hulu.