'Runaways' Season 1 Episode 6: "Metamorphosis" Recap With Spoilers

As has become the norm for Marvel's Runaways, we begin with what else but a flashback!This time we [...]

As has become the norm for Marvel's Runaways, we begin with what else but a flashback!

This time we see Julian McMahon's mysterious character from last week's episode. His name is revealed to be Jonah; one word, two syllables.

He's meeting with Geoffrey and Catherine Wilder, with the former being fresh out of prison, in the murder basement that would become theirs. Jonah claims the sacrifice room is home to a lot of history, and reveals he is giving the Wilders the property. They ask why they need three acres in Brentwood, isolated from everyone else, and Jonah tells them they'll be doing things they don't want their neighbors to hear. We cut to the first sacrifice of the PRIDE, even though they don't know it's actually a sacrifice at this point. While some complain about being forced to wear the red robes, it's a tradition that Jonah insists on.

This scene is also notable because it's our first time seeing Molly's parents on screen, providing confirmation that they were once a part of PRIDE.

None of them are sure what they're doing except for Leslie Dean and presumably Victor Stein, since he designed the pod in which they sacrifice the teens.

Leslie shows up with one of her runaways, a teen named Brooks, who is excited at the prospect of helping the church leader out. He gets in the box, and after it glows and Brooks disappears, Victor and Leslie finally explain in plain terms what it actually does. Apparently, it converts matter into pure energy, which is then used to be absorbed by the human body.

The other parents realize they were party to a child's murder, but Leslie assures them that Brooks "Lives On In Another." When they protest their involvement, Leslie tells them they've all benefited from Jonah's gifts over the years, and this is how they're repaying them. And if they object, well, they've been recorded — on the same camera their kids find in the present day.

Tina seems complicit in the endeavor, telling them the footage is uploaded on the Wizard server. They made a deal with the devil.

Back in the present day, Leslie is upset that Jonah wants to go to the PRIDE gala at Wizard's headquarters. She acts like she doesn't want to change how they normally operate, but it seems like she's trying to protect Karolina. But Jonah is persistent; he wants to meet his daughter.

Nico gets a call from Alex, who reiterates the plan to break into the Wizard servers and find incriminating evidence of their parents. But Nico, like Chase, seems to be having second doubts.

This is reinforced when her mom enters her room and tells her, "training begins now." Tina is going to teach her daughter how to use the Staff of One.

The concept of the staff is changed from the comic for the TV show as Tina reveals it was made in the Wizard labs. After activating it with her blood, the staff connects her brainwaves to the staff and reads her mind, doing whatever she wants. Tina's words make it seem like Jonah's contributions made it possible, even though she doesn't explicitly state as much.

Tina knows Nico took her dead sister's diary, and finally opens up about their relationship before she died. She said they fought, as mothers and daughters do, but you never know what's going through someone's mind.

Karolina is looking through her grandfather's old drawings. She thinks the drawings of beings of light were not just interpretations, but literal. A safe assumption, considering her own abilities. Her dad shows up, and the two talk about not really understanding their places in the church.

Chase and his dad are hanging out in Victor's lab, continuing their bonding while repairing the Fistigons after last week's escapades. When Chase leaves, Victor spies on his wife through her cellphone and overhears her meeting with Robert Minoru, confirming his suspicions of their affair.

Robert fears for Janet Stein's safety, telling her that he notices the bruises she gets from time to time. He provides her a gun, something to protect herself in case Victor lashes out when she tells him of their affair.

Back at Timely Coffee, the kids are figuring out their plan. Nico, Chase, and Molly have ulterior motives for finding out what their parents are up to, but Gert, Karolina, and Alex are fed up. They all agree to move forward with securing the evidence and turning their parents into the authorities for sacrificing kids, even if they don't understand why.

Alex is googling how to tie a tie and rebuffs his dad when he tries to assist him. Nico and Tina, meanwhile, have yet another heart-to-heart where mom approves of her dating Alex. She admits to overreacting when she saw them together. Tina reaffirms to her husband that she wants to put the past behind them and mend their relationship, but he's obviously not interested.

Nico and Karolina prepare for the gala at the Dean residence. They share an intimate moment where Karolina starts to come clean, admitting that she's been lying to herself. But now she's ready to be who she wants to be, as well as who she wants to be with…

The romantic spark between Nico and Karolina is interrupted by Gert and Molly, who Nico invited to get ready with them. Gert obviously notices they ruined a momen

We cut to the limo, picking up the dapper group and taking them to the gala. They all split a bottle of champagne, with Karolina being all too eager to drown her emotions. This is also where we get the obligatory Stan Lee cameo, mandatory in all Marvel productions.

At the gala, the plan starts to come together while the PRIDE and their kids begin to unravel. Molly is worried that she won't get answers about her parents from Catherine Wilder if they are in jail.

Frank seems down, and Leslie apologizes that he didn't go Ultra in the Gibborim ceremony. But as Frank says he realized that he needs to follow his own passion, they are interrupted by Jonah, who seems way too forward with Leslie right in front of his face. The visual triggers a flashback in Frank, one that was presumably wiped away by the Yorkes' serum.

He remembers walking in on Leslie and Jonah having sex in his wife's sacred prayer room, a blinding light glowing between them, before shaking the visual off. Frank knows something is wrong.

Gert pulls Karolina aside and asks if she's into Nico, noting the chemistry when they were interrupted earlier. Though Gert lends her support, Karolina takes offense and uses the opportunity to woo Chase and make Gert jealous.

Molly texts Catherine about her parents, but when she doesn't get the response she wants, she warns the Wilder matron that "time is running out." Catherine realizes something is up, and begins to deduce that maybe Molly did see something that night.

Gert runs interference on the security guard posted at the Wizard facility elevators, noticing that he is reading Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Nico and Alex sneak onto the elevator to break into the Wizard server room.

Karolina steals a bottle of vodka and sneaks to the rooftop. Chase follows, while Molly spies on them making their getaway. Alex and Nico realize they don't have access to the footage from the servers, and that they need to break into Tina Minoru's office. Chase tries to console Karolina on the rooftop, but she continues chugging vodka.

She accidentally drops the bottle over the ledge and almost falls off the roof. Chase tries to save her, but only pulls her wristband off — shocking them both as the now-glowing Karolina floats in the sky. She flies herself to safety, prompting an overzealous Chase to hug and kiss her. He's ecstatic that he finally had an opportunity to show his affection, but Karolina isn't too thrilled with his advances.

Meanwhile, Gert continues to distract the guard by playing the Star Wars Atari arcade game in the lobby. They're caught by Kincaid, the tattooed thug Tina paid to spy on the Yorkes. But soon he too is distracted by the allure of the rare arcade cabinet.

Nico is unable to guess her mom's password to her office, but somehow Alex knows what it is. He offhandedly states that it was "password," joking that a tech mogul should increase her own security preferences, but Nico doesn't buy it. Nevertheless, she ignores the discrepancy for the time being in order to complete the mission.

Unlocking Tina's computer with a pin prick, much like her own DNA is used for the staff, they start to download the camera footage from the server.

Karolina and Chase make their way back to the gala where the ceremony has begun. Frank Dean glares at Jonah, while Tina Minoru talks about the purpose of the party — celebrating the opening of a new facility that will train the next generation of Wizard executives. She thanks her husband for his support at the same time as Victor gets one of his headaches from his brain tumor, causing him to grimace.

Tina passes the microphone to Victor, mistaking his pain for wanting to speak, which turns out to be a bad idea. He publicly calls out his wife and Robert Minoru for having an affair before dramatically collapsing to the floor, succumbing to his illness.

Chase and other PRIDE members help carry him to the back, attempting to figure out what's wrong with him. Tina storms to her office, prompting Gert to warn Alex and Nico — but their download is incomplete. Jonah walks away in disgust, while Leslie worries that the alliance between PRIDE is crumbling.

In a private room, Chase reveals his dad's brain tumor to the rest of PRIDE, prompting Janet to want to help him. Victor rebuffs her advances, and Chase tells his mom that she should leave.

Leslie finds Jonah and tells him that they need his help to save Victor, but he takes the opportunity to chastise her in her inability to keep PRIDE united.

Nico and Alex attempt to hide from Tina, who retreats to her office to hide. The vulnerability visibly affects her daughter, who has never seen her mother break down like that. Alex holds her hand to comfort her, and after a moment of weeping she returns to the party — just as Alex's download completes.

Geoffrey escorts Chase out of the room while Jonah retrieves a new serum, "an experimental immunotherapy developed from the DNA of someone with an extraordinary immune system." The serum glows in the vial, much like Karolina's skin.

After he injects it into Victor, Jonah absentmindedly passes the vial to Dale Yorkes, who pockets it instead of placing it back in Jonah's bag. Jonah, curiously, doesn't say anything.

Next, we get a quick scene of Gert continuing to distract the guards while Tina, followed by Alex and Nico, exits the elevator and returns to the party. Nico confronts Alex about the password and doesn't buy his explanation, increasing her distrust. Chase interrupts them and tells Nico about their parents, further shocking Nico as she realizes that even her friendly father is flawed.

Victor Stein seems to be better than ever, and he's happy to see his wife and his son. He embraces them both as they get in their car to leave. All of a sudden, he seems to have a new lease on life.

Jonah sees Karolina at the party, telling her that he's looking forward to meeting her. She questions who he is, but they too are interrupted by Frank Dean. She's weirded out by Jonah's presence and quickly leaves while Frank glares a hole through him. When Frank goes to her, Jonah stops the former actor and quickly gets into his head. He tells him he knows of his work in the church and that he actually did go Ultra.

Jonah puts his arm around Frank and walks to a private place so they can have a conversation while Leslie Dean looks on, fearful. Dale Yorkes asks if Frank remembers meeting Jonah, saying it's impossible, and that he took care of it himself. Leslie replies that Frank doesn't remember, and that whatever they're talking about isn't good.

Molly tells Gert about what she saw on the rooftop, that she saw Karolina and Chase kissing, angering her sister. When Gert storms off, Molly corners Catherine and demands information. Molly slips and says "I didn't see a thing," tipping Catherine off that she in fact did see something in the murder basement that one fateful evening.

Molly leaves with the Yorkes, and Catherine confides in Geoffrey that she messed up with Molly. "I think she saw everything," she says.

And with that, the party and the episode both end. You can see the preview for next week's episode here.

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