It’s time to get to know the parents, with the second episode of Marvel’s Runaways exploring the people who make up PRIDE.
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While it picks up right where the first episode left off, it eventually lives up to its namesake and shows how the adults found themselves committing a ritual sacrifice in the Wilder basement. But first, a daring escape…
After Molly committed the cardinal sin of leaving her flash on, the teens interrupted their parents mid-sacrifice and attempted to escape the cult worship. They’re almost trapped inside the secret door in Geoff Wilder’s study, but Molly’s super-strength kicks in just in time.
The parents didn’t see where the light came from, but Catherine and Geoff leave the ceremony to check on the children to make sure they didn’t see their highbrow teen murder party.
Alex splits from the rest of the teens with a plan to cover their tracks, while the rest attempt to reason with what they just saw. Whether it was a Gibborim ceremony or a science experiment, they can’t tell, but only Nico seems convinced their parents just murdered a child. Suddenly, the power goes out at the house, and the credit sequence rolls.
We now rewind to “earlier that day,” where Alex goes to school and his parents discuss how he’s coping with Amy Minoru’s death. They then have to set up for the PRIDE meeting, with Geoff visibly disturbed at having to go through with another sacrifice.
Cut to the Stein house where Chase and his mother Janet discuss the asshole patriarch of the family, Victor. Chase says that while his father has “improved” his anger management skills, the only reason he doesn’t physically attack his son anymore is because Chase can now whoop his ass. Just try and test that old man strength. Janet’s phone rings, and she tries to hide the caller, and Chase jokingly responds, “I thought dad doesn’t let you have friends,” before heading to school.
Janet answers the phone, all smiles. “I can’t wait to see you tonight, even with him there.” Is this an affair between PRIDE members?
In the Stein basement lab, Victor is working on the pod that will be used to sacrifice Stephanie later that evening. Though it opens and closes without issue, containing that bright glowing light inside, the power in the basement flickers in and out. He opens it to find the rat he’s testing is still inside and growls at it, “Why are you still here?!”
Frank Dean’s Agent Is Gross
Janet enters the basement and realizes her husband is having issues with his invention. He’s also having bad headaches. She tries to console her husband, but he simply chastises her for insisting that he may need help. He then tells her to kill the rat, because apparently the bonds of marriage extends to killing animals.
At the all-white cult of light, the Gibborim Church members who found Destiny warn Leslie Dean that Destiny has gone missing.
Frank Dean is meeting with his agent, because apparently Frank is an actor. Well, struggling actor, especially after his agent fires him. Apparently Frank was a teen heartthrob who helped “a huge swath of the female population discover the wonders of masturbation.” Jeez, this agent is a creep.
But now Frank is tainted by the “church” his wife runs, and his agent encourages him to take advantage of it. Frank reveals Leslie owns the entire thing, and the agent says his celebrity helped make the church a draw, planting the seed that Frank deserves major compensation for his role.
Tina and Robert Minoru argue about Tina’s actions driving Nico away. Tina wants to seal off Amy’s room to keep Nico from looting tights and breaking trophies, as goths are wont to do. She takes the Staff of One and creates a barrier, trapping Robert inside. But after Robert’s counsel, Tina relents and decides to use more practical methods of locking the doors, such as actual locks.
The Yorkes discuss how big of an asshole Victor Stein is, and how Tina Minoru doesn’t appreciate good brie cheese. They then reveal they’re surveilling the dinosaur in their basement, referring to Old Lace as a “cutie.”
A group of guys with guns show up to a Wilder construction site, a future school being built for PRIDE. They stop the construction workers, telling the foreman to tell Geoffrey Wilder that “Darius Davis says hello.” This scene is particularly awesome because “BagBak” by Vince Staples plays in the background, and that song is wonderful.
Geoff gets the phone call, telling the construction crew not to call the cops and that he’ll deal with it. Catherine tells her husband to get rid of Darius, warning what would happen if the PRIDE found out. Geoff won’t pay him off and he won’t get back involved with his old crew, but he does have plans for his former friend.
Where Your Grandma Stay
Leslie Dean tracks down Destiny at a bus stop, who wants to go back home to celebrate her little girl’s daughter. She thanks Leslie for the help she received at the church, saying that she’s ready to be a mom now. Leslie coaxes Destiny into staying, though, with the promise of moving up in the church and “going Ultra.”
Geoff shows up at the construction site and is cordial with Darius at first. He brings a briefcase that they assume is full of money for the “neighborhood tax.” Darius’ goon takes Geoffrey’s phone while he takes the briefcase, but he knows it’s not full of the $50,000 he demanded. He opens it to find a tablet instead, showing a live feed of a house.
“If I’m not mistaken, that’s your Nana Bee’s house,” Geoff says, commenting on her delectable spicy chicken cooking. “You keep messing with me, that chicken recipe is gonna be all that’s left of her.” Damn, Wilder threatening the grandparents. That’s cold. Or should we say, that’s spicy? Wilder says that Darius only has what he has because of him, while Darius says the opposite.
The goons get in the car, where one tells Darius that their real plan went through — they’ve successfully cloned the contents of Geoffrey’s phone.
Frank Dean attempts to track down Leslie, who is praying in her office and really doesn’t want to deal with the distraction of her aloof husband. Frank lies about losing his agent and instead tells her he wants to focus on the Church of Gibborim. “Take me Ultra,” he asks. But Leslie just blows him off. She mentions going to the PRIDE meeting, and he tries to tag along, but she tells Frank he’s not allowed.
We now cut to the evening at the PRIDE meeting where Leslie is passing around information about Destiny, their latest sacrifice. Geoffrey seems visibly disturbed. When Victor Stein tries to pick on him, Geoffrey replies that the girl is only 17, which is the same age as their children. Tina Minoru replies the chosen victims are always the same age. Leslie comments that the kids they choose are on borrowed time, and that she gives them a great life before this moment, saying they’re giving themselves up to a great cause.
“One they know nothing about,” Geoffrey replies.
“Not so different from us, then,” adds Robert Minoru.
Janet Stein and Stacey Yorkes intimate that if the evening’s sacrifice goes as planned, it will be their last one, and they’ll never have to do it again. The parents then descend into the basement, don their ceremonial red robes, and surround the pod from Victor’s basement.
Back at the church, the crusty-skinned person on life support is in a pod of their own, which encloses. Leslie then retrieves Destiny, who seems pretty excited that she’s about to die. Wait. She must not know that “going Ultra” is code for “getting murdered.”
We Demand a Sacrifice
Tina raises a sound barrier with the Staff of One while Victor Stein comments on how bad ass his pod is and how it hasn’t had any problems at all, nope, no siree, all good in the hood there.
Destiny doesn’t recognize any of the PRIDE members from the church, setting off some alarm bells. Then Stacey forces her to drink from a golden goblet, and the other members get her naked. Yeah, she really isn’t up for “going Ultra” anymore.
She’s very afraid and asks to stop as they place her in the pod, but whatever Stacey forced her to drink has made her physically weak. When she asks what the pod is, Leslie assures her, “it’s the light.”
But then Destiny looks at Geoffrey, who ruins the whole vibe by saying, “I’m sorry.” Yep, these were all warning signs that Destiny is in trouble, and she starts pleading for her life. Other PRIDE members look at Geoffrey like he screwed up, as if strangers drugging and de-robing the girl weren’t giveaways.
Catherine Wilder coldly implores them, “DO IT. NOW.” Leslie sheds a tear, the pod closes, Victor remarks, “She’s gone.”
And then Molly’s flash goes off.
The parents all look up in confusion, but don’t see anyone at the entrance to the basement’s secret entrance. Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder run to change their clothes and check on the kids to see if they were responsible for the flash of light.
Meanwhile, Alex Wilder flips the breakers on the house then goes back to meet up with his friends in the rec room. He wants to cover their tracks by making it seem like a circuit blew, covering for the flash. But now they have to look like they’re actually hanging out for the first time in a year when the parents come check on them.
Karolina has a plan, but there’s just one problem: Molly is passed out from exhaustion, a side effect from using her super-strength powers.
Be Cool
The Wilder parents enter the rec room and are surprised to see the teens playing Twister. They leave them to continue getting “freaky,” as Molly puts it (that was a quick nap). Catherine wonders if they saw anything, but Geoffrey thinks they’re in the clear.
The rest of the PRIDE members are also shocked to learn all of their children are hanging out, but the Wilders remarked how nice it was to see it.
Geoffrey points out that the breakers were flipped out, and that Victor’s pod causing power fluctuations could have been the problem. Robert points out that he’s not sure how the pod would cause the power surge, considering it’s not plugged into a wall, but Geoffrey assures them the kids saw nothing. While the rest of the parents go to pick up their kids and leave, Victor stays behind to load up his pod.
But now the kids are arguing over whether or not their parents killed that child. Nico and Chase believe it’s entirely possible, considering how their mom and dad respectively are shitty parents. But Gert, Karolina, and Alex don’t want to believe their folks are capable of murder. They examine Molly’s photo, which comes out as a bright, indecipherable blur.
At the church, Frank Dean check’s Leslie’s calendar where he finds that she has a lot of appointments in her “Private Meditation” room.
In the Wilder’s secret basement, Victor Stein hears some banging inside the pod. He opens it to see Destiny is still alive, scrambling to escape, pleading for release. He holds her arms down and tells her, “you shouldn’t be here!”
In the Wilder’s party room, all of the kids and their parents (minus Frank and Victor) are pretending a murder didn’t just occur in a secret cult room, acting like they’re having a good time. The kids hug parents they haven’t seen in a long time, then convene and declare they need to maintain the facade. Gert mentions time-travel as a possibility for the weird stuff that occurred, an obvious reference to the comic book that’s not likely to pay off — remember, the Yorkes are genetic engineers and not time-travelers in the Hulu series.
Home, At Last
Alex and Nico meet in a bathroom, she’s avoiding her mother because she doesn’t want to go home. She laments losing her sister, and now that Amy’s gone she doesn’t want to be alone. Alex promises her that she’s not alone.
The Minorus leave, and the Wilders are left alone. Geoffrey comments on a potential romance between Alex and Nico. Alex, obviously weirded out by his parents’ murderous ways, wants to be alone.
Frank tries to break into the Private Meditation room, but a lame church receptionist stops him. On the other side of the locked door, the crusty-skinned person on life support squirms.
Nico spies on her mom putting the Staff of One away. Molly climbs in bed with Gert, not wanting to be alone, and asks her older sister to sing her a lullaby to help her sleep. Gert’s singing echoes throughout the home’s vents, heard by Old Lace who perks up in the Yorkes’ basement.
Alex sends a group message to his friends, telling them all to meet up the next morning.
When Karolina gets the message, she then tries to text Destiny and ask if she’s ok. A text bubble pops up, implying that Destiny is writing a reply, which confounds Karolina.
In his study, Geoffrey and Catherine discuss their actions that evening. Geoff feels bad and says the neighborhood and allies may have changed, but “killing is still killing.” Catherine consoles him and beckons him to bed, but he notices something on the ground in front of the secret staircase to their basement lair: Molly’s hairpin, decorated with a pink cat. Damn it, Molly.
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