Marvel's Runaways Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Fifteen

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I'm calling it right now. I'd rather have a cute dinosaur under my control than glow pink and purple like Rainbow Brite.

Maybe none of the parents are trustworthy at all, but on Marvel's Runaways Season 1 Episode 4, it sure seemed like Gert and Molly were about to get some answers from theirs before the doorbell rang.

And how into Chase's idea did Victor appear to be when he arrived home just in time to help his son with a project? Fifteen years of sacrifices and lies have taken their toll on at least some of these families, don't you think?

Faith in the 'Rents - Marvel's Runaways Season 1 Episode 4

Fifteen years is how long they've been taking a runaway a year from the church and sacrificing them, if what Alex and Nico found on the files is true. 

That's a pretty harsh blow for Karolina, who was hoping to discover something related to the Gibborum Ultra leveling up ceremony. How she would have explained it resulting in Destiny's death is an unknown, but hey, some kids want to believe in their parents.

Karolina's re-connection with her old gang of friends couldn't have come at a better time. She and Gert are acting as if no time has passed between them, and without Chase, she would have been gang raped.

Being pink is a lot to grasp without learning your mother has been luring runaways to the church only to kill them off for as long as you've been alive. 

Discovering Powers - Marvel's Runaways

I wonder what else she does besides glow pink. And is she, by chance, the child of the gray being to whom they are making the sacrifices?

The dude is in no condition to glow at present, but when Leslie disrobed and snuggled in beside him there was some glowing going on right in their nether regions. Admittedly, that kind of grossed me out, and I hoped it would become a more even bodied glow. It didn't, at least not by the time we left the room.

Frank was lurking around out there while Leslie was "meditating," and that's when she told him he was going Ultra. I took that to mean he'd be the next sacrifice. But when she was frolicking around with him in the backyard, even calling to Karolina to join them, I wondered if she could be so cruel to do that to her daughter.

After all, Dale and Stacey want out of the mess, created a dinosaur to protect their girls (I'm suspecting from the other members of the Pride), and swore they did it all FOR them. 

They were under no pressure to say that. They could have said anything in that moment. Which leads me back to the theory some parents are good and some, well, not so good.

Reporting a Murder - Marvel's Runaways Season 1 Episode 4

Nico's mother is on the not-so-good team for sure, right? When you're heading to the police station to turn your mom in for murdering your sister, things are looking pretty vile.

I don't think Amy was killed by her parents, but I am willing to go as far as to say she might have been told what they were all about and the truth didn't set her free in quite the way they intended. 

Maybe it was always their intention to tell the kids when they came of age, but what happened to Amy changed things. Could Tina have always been so cold and distant? I'd like to know more about what happened before that day, how the group came to be and why.

Per Led - Marvel's Runaways Season 1 Episode 4

Was it the police dude spotting Nico and Alex at the police station that got the duo followed and led to Alex's kidnapping?

I had to laugh at the number of people who had silver Priuses in the parking lot, so someone knew exactly who they were going after.

There is a lot happening in a very short time. It's like these guys don't even have time to breathe before they're thrown another curve ball. Nobody has had time to discover themselves or out their parents fully, so they're flying by the seat of their pants.

They're doing a good job so far, but it would be nice to know who to trust.

As I mentioned earlier, Chase was creating the fistigons for himself, something he stole from his father in the comics, right? That's a nice change. Victor's enthusiasm at the opportunity to help Chase use his mind to build them was authentic, too.

Victor's hallucinations are unsettling, as is his constant sweating and the overall look of illness that he's carrying around. Something is going on with him beyond just not wanting to lie and kill. 

Chase didn't want take one for the team and swallow what his so-called friends did to Karolina just to be a part of lacrosse so he quit. Karolina, Gert, Alex, and Nico are all gravely concerned about missing teens. 

They didn't become this way by accident. They were brought up well, to care about others. How did their parents go so terribly wrong? When will the reunited friends get their first clues? 

I can't wait to find out. What about you?

Fifteen Review

Editor Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.6 / 5.0 (10 Votes)

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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Marvel's Runaways Season 1 Episode 4 Quotes

Chase: Are you going to say sorry to her?
Team Dude: No. I got a broken rib because of that bitch.
Chase: Good thing you got 23 more! [begins a fight]

Now. How hard can it be to find a dinosaur in the Palisades?

Dale