Marvel’s Runaways season 3 premiere review: “Smoke and Mirrors”
By Shaun Stacy
The much-anticipated third and (unfortunately) final season of Marvel’s Runaways is now on Hulu and we’ve got your season premiere overview.
As the last remaining streaming television show from the now defunct Marvel Television division — though we do still have a final season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. next year — Marvel’s Runaways seems primed and ready to go out on a high. Last season saw the team divided, as their parents schemed to get them back by any means necessary. Adding to the chaos was the arrival of Xavin and the rest of their not-so-friendly family, led by Jonah in an insidious attack on the team resulting in the capture of Chase, Karolina and Chase’s mother, Janet.
The new season promises more twists and turns as the team goes up against legendary sorceress Morgan le Fay but gets some unexpected help from Cloak and Dagger.
The first episode of Runaways season 3 starts off a little trippy, as it seems to bring the dreams of Chase, Karolina, and Janet to life. Chase dreams of being the hero who ultimately saves the team from their parents, Janet dreams of the professional recognition she missed out on being a stay-at-home mother, and Karolina is marrying Nico in a lavishly beautiful ceremony in which the members of the team are all in attendance. Fans of the show will immediately know that these things are way too good to be true, especially considering how the finale left everyone.
Meanwhile, Nico has a weird dream in which she sees the ghost of someone she’s killed, until a flock of crows appears and join together to form our first glimpse of Elizabeth Hurley’s Morgan le Fay. Nico is worried about Karolina and desperately wants to find her, Morgan reveals that Karolina is being held captive but flies away before giving Nico Karolina’s exact location. The remaining members of the team — Molly, Xavin, Alex, and Karolina’s pregnant mother, Leslie — are alerted to a press conference being held by Chase’s father, Nico’s mother, and Gert’s mother, all of whom have all been possessed by evil alien royalties. Xavin also informs the team that there is still one alien who has yet to be accounted for.
We then find out that Gert’s father is holding her and Old Lace hostage at a remote family cabin. While his intentions are more pure than Gert’s mother’s, he is still holding them against their will. She calls him out on his ill-conceived plan and claims her independence, in classic Gert fashion.
As Xavin, Nico, Molly, and Alex set out on a mission to find their missing teammates, Xavin warns the team that the aliens are ruthless in their pursuits, so the Runaways have to be prepared to kill their parents should it come down to it. Molly reluctantly agrees, but Xavin does reveal that a strong emotional moment with the hosts may be enough to expel the aliens — or at least get rid of their influence.
Janet is the first to realize that her mind is trapped in an algorithm, not reality, and attempts to escape on her own. She walks on the surface of an outdoor pool toward a door she remembers let her out when she was visiting Victor’s mind. As she bangs on the door, it causes a crack in the system, allowing her and Chase to briefly make contact in the framework. The system issues a countermeasure, placing Janet back in the same kitchen that each day starts with.
Nico and Alex make it to Chase’s house, using her magic to blur the security cameras and his X-ray goggles to see three individuals trapped in tubes. Evil Stacy worms her way into Karolina’s dream wedding reception, where Karolina reveals that Jonah is her father. Evil Stacy tells Karolina that she is in a fake algorithm, at her fake wedding with her fake friends. Out of anger, Evil Stacy exits the framework and begins to make Karolina’s fake loved ones disappear one at a time.
After some convincing, Gert’s father lets her and Old Lace go, but not before informing her that they gave Old Lace powers to combat Jonah, in case it came down to it. With her father’s guidance, Gert is able to “drive” Old Lace, seeing through the dinosaur’s eyes as she speeds through the forest. Following a run-in with a tree, we find out that whatever happens to Old Lace happens to Gert, as both are knocked unconscious.
After setting a trap for the evil parents, Xavin and Molly are able to breakthrough to Evil Stacy, allowing the real Stacy to surface long enough to tell Molly that she loves her (but then she runs away to keep her daughter safe). Alex and Nico are able to make contact with the captive Runaways long enough for Janet to tell Alex how to free them without killing them.
However, their rescue attempt is halted following the return of Nico’s mother and Chase’s father. Ending the episode on a suspenseful note, Leslie starts having cramps and goes to the emergency room, where an ultrasound confirms that she is carrying another alien hybrid. (Uh oh…)
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