Runaways, like Inhumans, began development as a film in the early days of the MCU. Unfortunately, after The Avengers blew up the global box office, Marvel Studios decided to reshape their plans and removed Runaways from their schedule. However, unlike Inhumans, people at Marvel not named Ike Perlmutter still cared about adapting Brian K. Vaughan's Eisner Award-winning series. Eventually, it was decided that the project would be best suited for television, and it began development as a televised series. However, more changes came about, namely Marvel entering a deal with Hulu after Netflix refused to accept any more shows than the ones they already had. Therefore, Marvel Television and ABC Studios (under their Signature label) shifted production of the series to Hulu where it finally found its home.
So, after a long production cycle, does the series live up to the wait? Sure, it's pretty good. Certainly miles better than Inhumans, but that's not saying a whole lot. The show does have major issues with pacing, and it doesn't seem very connected to the MCU at all. Still, it's lifted by some strong performances from its main cast and builds up an intriguing mystery. It may not be one of the best or most integral installments of the MCU, but it's an interesting aside in the ever-growing universe.
What immediately sets Runaways out from the rest of the MCU is its setting and cast of characters. This show is the first full-on teen drama set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, complete with complicated romantic relationships, an ethnically diverse cast, and major parental issues. It's like a CW show, but actually bearable (full disclosure: I loved the first few seasons of Arrow and The Flash until things got dumb). Unlike the other TV shows, Runaways is also set in sunny Los Angeles as opposed to New York City, though the show doesn't really go out of its way to make LA a character like the Netflix shows do with NYC. Still, it's a nice visual contrast from the rest of the TV side of the universe, allowing for a show that follows the lives of more financially well-off characters.
Speaking of the cast, this show basically lives and dies by them. Even though there's a grand conspiracy to uncover, Runaways is a heavily character-driven show. Each hero and each member of the supervillain group Pride has their own agenda and personality, with very few weak links or redundant members among the cast.
First, we'll start with the Runaways: a group of six teenagers who grew up as childhood friends until the death of one of their friends drove them apart. Alex Wilder, played by Rhenzy Feliz, is the de facto leader and the only member without hidden abilities or equipment. Feliz does a pretty great job in the role; for a newcomer, he's capable of displaying inner conflict and yearning without going into overacting. He does feel like a stereotypical nerd (he was an AV club member, he plays Star Wars: Battlefront all the time, he owns Pez dispensers of the Avengers), but it's balanced out okay with him having the coolest head among the group.
The strongest member of the young cast in my opinion; however, is probably Lyrica Okano as Nico Minoru. Nico has some of the most emotional baggage among the cast: her older sister committed suicide, her mother is distant, her father has his own secrets, and she's at a point of exploring her sexuality to boot. Okano pulls all this off extremely well, and her performance drew me into her character especially. She's the only one of the team that's not too stereotypical (though she is the goth girl), so I found myself rolling my eyes the least when she spoke as well.
Virginia Gardner plays Karolina Dean, the daughter of the leaders of the Church of Gibborim, a mega-church with, you guessed it, shady secrets dealing with the supernatural. Karolina easily has the most dynamic arc of any character on the show, starting off as an evangelist for her church before quickly seeing through all the BS, realizes she's a lesbian, and becomes the most selfless member of the team. Virginia certainly gets better as the series progresses, mainly because the good church girl goes bad shtick was forced and followed the familiar beats, mostly the excessive drinking.
Ariela Barer plays Gert Yorkes, who is unfortunately the weakest character of the bunch. By far the most stereotypical of the lot, she is a living embodiment of every riot grrrl cliche. Most of her lines of dialogue consist of commenting on criticizing hetero-normative behaviors, which all comes off as an act when we discover she has a normal crush on the prototypical jock. There's nothing wrong with those views, but it hardly ever adds to the scene except to make Gert seem quirky. The most interesting aspects of her character lie in her bonds with her adopted sister, Molly, and her pet dinosaur, Old Lace. Oh yeah, there's a pet dinosaur in the show. More on her later. Anyways, even though Gert is the least interesting character, Ariela Barer delivers a solid performance; she's quite believable as the hardcore feminist, and pulls off making the animatronic or CG Old Lace feel like a real creature.
Chase Stein is played by Gregg Sulkin, an interesting character played by the weakest actor of the main six. Sulkin isn't awful per se, but he has trouble pulling off anguish believably, always looking more confused than tortured. The character himself has a fascinating arc, going from his one-sided crush on Karolina, and especially his shifting relationship with his abusive father. He also doesn't fall into either a stereotypical jock or nerd, managing to be the best of both worlds.
Finally, Molly Hernandex rounds out the main six, played by Allegra Acosta. Her character is neither here nor there, always the optimistic one despite being the only team member without her parents. Acosta is by far the youngest member of the cast, but she honestly manages to deliver a better ranged performance than Sulkin, who is by far the oldest and most experienced of the bunch. Her arc feels woefully incomplete, as we don't really delve too deeply into how she got her powers.
In fact, that's the show's biggest problem. For being 10 episodes long, not a whole lot happens truthfully. Sure, there's tons of character growth, but the story moves at an extremely glacial pace. Many, many storylines are left completely unresolved, and there are only more questions leaving the season than we had going in. While the show has been renewed for a second season, I can't imagine this show keeping much interest if it doesn't start paying off some dangling plot threads. In fact, without spoiling too much, the show doesn't really live up to its name until near the end of the season, even though the team running away happened extremely early in the comics' run.
This can make the show a bit of a frustrating watch, but the character arcs do keep me coming back. The parents probably have the most intriguing storylines, as we follow them backstabbing each other or bonding over common enemies, or trying desperately to rekindle their relationships with their kids all while not being aware that their children are conspiring against them. I could do without most of the romance drama, mostly because I find it tiring, like I do in most teen dramas. Still, the show makes up for these with heavy sci-fi and fantasy elements, including said pet dinosaur.
Old Lace is not used nearly enough in the show's run, most certainly because special effects are expensive. Still, Old Lace feels absolutely alive in what time she's on screen. The animatronic effects are simply incredible for the show's budget, and like I said, Ariela Barer does a great job interacting with her. The CG effects are a little more spotty (in fact, most of the CG in this show sucks), but they're few and far between enough that it's not a huge issue.
To sum this up, I gotta say Runaways will definitely be a hard show for casual people to get into. MCU fans will be disappointed by its tenuous connection to the rest of the universe (the aforementioned Pez dispensers and an appearance by WHiH are the only MCU Easter eggs), and it might feel a bit derivative of other supernatural teen dramas you might find on CW or Freeform. Still, it does have engaging characters, and I feel like the show's true potential will really begin from the second season onward. It's not a hard recommendation from me, and I wouldn't suggest subscribing to Hulu just to watch it. However, if you're an MCU completionist like myself, you could do far worse.
For our next installment, Marvel Studios decided to make a film clearly no one in America saw. It certainly didn't make an immediate cultural impact. I imagine this is probably the first you've heard about it, so don't be too surprised when I tell you it's pretty good.
Next time: Black Panther
No comments:
Post a Comment