- "Our old lives... They don't exist anymore."
- ―Alex Wilder[src]
The Second Season of Runaways premiered on Hulu on December 21, 2018.
Synopsis[]
The Runaways have left their homes (and evil parents) behind and now have to learn to live on their own. As they scavenge for food, search for shelter, and take care of one another, our kids begin to realize that, for better or worse, they're stuck with each other. And it's up to them to take down PRIDE once and for all. But someone sent a mysterious message to Jonah... Is there a mole in the Runaways? Meanwhile, PRIDE is focused on finding their children, and Jonah has his own dangerous plan in mind.[1]
Plot[]
Graciela Aguirre is found dead
The Runaways have fled from PRIDE and discover the difficulty of living in the street, with the Fistigons and their money being stolen by a thief named Mike on a Bike. While Alex Wilder keeps his alliance with Darius Davis a secret, the other teenagers decide to check on Molly Hernandez's cousin Graciela Aguirre, who publicly revealed that she had evidence against PRIDE. However, when they arrive, it is too late: Aguirre was murdered by PRIDE, who is now coordinating a search for the Runaways from a secret command center in the PRIDE Headquarters.
Having recovered the video tape recorded by Gene and Alice Hernandez, PRIDE discovers that the actions undertaken under Jonah's leadership could cause massive earthquake across California and renew their determination to stop him. While Tina Minoru takes leadership of PRIDE, Jonah himself is busy with Victor Stein, who was put in a Healing Algorithm and who is tasked by Jonah to design a new Dematerialization Box so he can be restored.
The Runaways eventually manage to reclaim the Fistigons and soon find an abandoned underground mansion in which they decide to take shelter: the Hostel. Figuring out that they need much more power to fight against PRIDE, Nico Minoru goes with Karolina Dean and Molly in a mission to reclaim the powerful Staff of One, while Chase Stein and Gert Yorkes find a car and manage to restore power in the Hostel. Meanwhile, Davis decides to take advantage of his newfound friendship with Alex and calls Geoffrey Wilder to return his son.
Meanwhile, PRIDE keeps taking actions to undermine Jonah's efforts. Leslie Dean confronts her husband Frank for having taken the reins of the Church of Gibborim from her and assures Jonah that she is still on his side, while Janet Stein manages to get into the Healing Algorithm so Victor can help her decipher the Abstract, in which PRIDE hopes to find a way to better understand Jonah. As for Catherine Wilder, she murders Davis, hoping to frame him for the murder of Destiny Gonzalez so the Runaways are no longer wanted.
The Runaways interrogate Topher Vasquez
Despite a training with mixed results, resulting in Gert increasingly suffering from being deprived of her meds, the Runaways are able to be alerted of Alex's kidnapping and rescue him. Back to the Hostel, however, the Runaways have to face another challenge: Molly, who used to sneak out at night to play vigilante, was followed by a young man, Topher Vasquez, who displays superhuman abilities similar to Molly's. Not sure about what to do with him, the Runaways reluctantly agree to keep him with them in the Hostel.
Vasquez's arrival is put to good use by Alex, who decided to enlist him in a mission to steal an advanced computer he needs to hack into the PRIDE Construction Site and sabotage PRIDE's actions. Although PRIDE is alerted of the teenagers' presence in Atlas Academy, the Runaways manage to escape from their parents. Still, Nico remains distrustful towards Vasquez and pressures him into telling them his story. Vasquez admits that his powers come from grinded rocks he found.
Nevertheless, despite the bond Molly began to form with him, the Runaways soon realize that Vasquez is literally addicted to the rocks and they find out about his true story: he got his powers in the same time and place Molly's parents were killed. Becoming more and more aggressive and out of control, Vasquez is ultimately grievously hurt while the Runaways are forced to flee. In the same night, two Runaways leave: Gert goes to a hospital to get some meds, while Karolina Dean, who has been secretly seeing Jonah for months, goes to her mother Leslie to know more about her heritage.
Meanwhile, Robert Minoru attempts to kill Jonah on his own, but fails. Returning Robert to PRIDE, Jonah wants them to perform another sacrifice, but since everyone, including Leslie and Frank, refuse to obey, he is forced to capture Geoffrey and attempts to sacrifice him. However, the process is stopped by the Runaways who were alerted about this crime by Janet, who later releases her husband from the Healing Algorithm. The Runaways then return to the Hostel with an unconscious Geoffrey, and Karolina tells Nico the truth about the death of her sister Amy, which she learned from Leslie.
Now restored, Jonah prepares for the final phase of his plan: unearthing his spaceship so he can finally leave Earth with his family, including Karolina, despite the fact that both the Runaways and PRIDE have their own plans to stop him. Knowing that there are Gibborim trapped under the surface, the teenagers attempt to set them free, but fail to succeed before both Jonah and PRIDE arrive. With all the families being unwillingly reunited, Jonah announces his true intent, but Karolina refuses to leave with him, instead choosing to remain with the people she truly loves.
Nico Minoru kills Jonah
Disappointed by his daughter's choice, Jonah decides to launch his spaceship, regardless of the consequences it will have on California. However, both the Steins and the Yorkeses have been developing weapons for this very moment, and the combination of both an Anti-Gravity Device and an Anti-Gibborim Serum causes the ship's destruction. An enraged Jonah attacks PRIDE in retaliation, but he is then stabbed and apparently killed by Nico armed with the Staff of One in revenge for Amy's death. With the big threat seemingly gone, the Runaways leave after Nico forced PRIDE to sleep with the Staff and question the righteousness of what they have done, with Karolina considering that they were wrong.
Now that Jonah is apparently gone, the search for the Runaways is fully resumed. PRIDE members disband, hoping that Jonah's death means the end of the organization, as well as, as far as Leslie is concerned, the Church of Gibborim's. However, two major setbacks occur: firstly; Davis' sister-in-law Livvie provide an alibi to clear his name, which catches the attention of the strike team on PRIDE's payroll led by Flores and AWOL, secondly; Frank refuses to abandon the Church in which he found a purpose.
Due to Livvie being attacked by the strike team in the presence of Alex, who briefly dated her, the Runaways decide to find evidence against PRIDE regarding Davis' murder and infiltrate the hotel where he was killed. After they find footage of Catherine and Flores in the hotel, the Runaways escape, and although Molly is captured, she quickly breaks free and is able to return to the Hostel with her friends and Livvie.
Flores confronts PRIDE for having kept the Runaways' powers a secret, but he ultimately loses control of the situation and ends up murdered by AWOL, who then betrays the deal he had struck earlier with Alex and kidnaps Livvie to force her to reveal the Runaways' location. This leads to the intense Siege of the Hostel, which is ended when Nico unconsciously channels powerful energy from the Dark Dimension to cause the whole strike team to vanish.
During the siege, Chase manages to take Gert and Old Lace out of the Hostel as they are feeling incredibly ill. Indeed, the Gibborim actually survived the Battle at the PRIDE Construction Site and are now possessing Victor, Tina and Stacey, who have their own agenda regarding the Runaways, and the Magistrate's Wife actually poisoned Old Lace, which in turned caused Gert to feel sick due to their connection. Left with no other option, Chase takes Gert to the Yorkes Residence: Gert is saved, but they are imprisoned in the basement until their rescue by the other Runaways.
Chase Stein leaves the Runaways
While the Runaways prepare to celebrate Molly's birthday, PRIDE tries to set aside their recent disagreements, which are added to the absence of Leslie, who has been captured by her husband Frank and sent into a reindoctrination facility known as the Crater. PRIDE also develops new weapons targeted at their children in order to force them to return home. On this regard, Victor obtains a successful achievement in that he manages to peacefully convince Chase to come back as he believes that he is dying again. Victor, who is actually possessed by Jonah, uses this victory to take the reins of PRIDE, while Chase's departure leaves the Runaways utterly shocked.
Leslie, who has been reunited with her mother Susan Ellerh in the Crater, is eventually rescued by Karolina, Molly, Nico and Vaughn Kaye, and allowed to stay in the Hostel due to her pregnancy. Another newcomer arrives as well: Xavin, an extraterrestrial who claims to be Karolina's betrothed. This puzzles the Runaways, who then meet with new PRIDE member Chase, who tells them about PRIDE's weapons and attempts to convince them to follow his path.
However, they all refuse, starting an intense confrontation in which both PRIDE and the Runaways are seriously affected. Dale, whose wife is possessed by the Magistrate's Wife, decides to take both Gert and Old Lace away. Geoffrey and Catherine are arrested by the LAPD thanks to Alex's effort to frame them for a crime, while Robert is heavily wounded in a fight against Nico. The Gibborim also reunite and manage to capture Janet, Chase and Karolina, threatening to sacrifice them to restore their bodies. This only leaves Alex, Nico and Molly as the free Runaways.
Cast[]
Starring Cast[]
- Rhenzy Feliz as Alex Wilder
- Lyrica Okano as Nico Minoru
- Virginia Gardner as Karolina Dean
- Ariela Barer as Gert Yorkes
- Gregg Sulkin as Chase Stein
- Allegra Acosta as Molly Hernandez
- Angel Parker as Catherine Wilder
- Ryan Sands as Geoffrey Wilder
- Annie Wersching as Leslie Dean
- Kip Pardue as Frank Dean
- Ever Carradine as Janet Stein
- James Marsters as Victor Stein / Magistrate
- Brigid Brannagh as Stacey Yorkes / Magistrate's Wife
- Kevin Weisman as Dale Yorkes
- Brittany Ishibashi as Tina Minoru / Magistrate's Daughter
- James Yaegashi as Robert Minoru
- Julian McMahon as Jonah
Supporting Cast[]
- DeVaughn Nixon as Darius Davis
- Ozioma Akagha as Tamar
- Ajiona Alexus as Livvie
- Alex Fernandez as Detective Flores
- Ryan Dorsey as Mike on a Bike
- Helen Madelyn Kim as Megan
- Jan Luis Castellanos as Topher Vasquez
- Heather Olt as Frances
- Pat Lentz as Aura
- Myles Bullock as Anthony Wall/AWOL
- Cody Mayo as Vaughn Kaye
- Clarissa Thibeaux as Xavin
Episodes[]
| Image | Title | Number | Airdate | Writers | Directors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Gimmie Shelter | 2.01 | December 21, 2018 | Josh Schwartz & Stephanie Savage | Allison Liddi-Brown |
| The kids struggle with their new lives as Runaways, but find a hideout. Alex goes to work for Darius while PRIDE plots to kill Jonah. Jonah initiates a plan to build a new box. | |||||
|
Radio On | 2.02 | December 21, 2018 | Warren Hsu Leonard | Chris Fisher |
| Karolina, Nico, and Molly try to retrieve the Staff of One, but Tina puts up a fight. Karolina grows closer to Jonah while Alex and Livvie share a kiss. | |||||
|
Double Zeros | 2.03 | December 21, 2018 | Kirk A. Moore | Larry Teng |
| Alex, comfortable in Compton and falling hard for Livvie, is betrayed. Jonah gives Leslie a mission to retrieve his DNA from the Yorkeses while Catherine exacts vengeance against Darius. Janet decodes the Abstract and Molly sneaks out to fight crime. | |||||
|
Old School | 2.04 | December 21, 2018 | Tracy McMillan | Patrick Norris |
| Topher Vasquez helps the kids break into Atlas Academy, but the plan is blown when Dale and Stacey trigger an earthquake and the parents rush to the scene. Jonah’s body continues to break down as he leads Karolina into the hole. | |||||
|
Rock Bottom | 2.05 | December 21, 2018 | Jake Fogelnest | Scott Peters |
| When the kids discover that Topher Vasquez may be more dangerous than they could have imagined, addicted to the rocks that give him superhuman abilities, will they help him or will they turn their backs on their new friend? | |||||
|
Bury Another | 2.06 | December 21, 2018 | Ashley Wigfield | Ami Canaan Mann |
| PRIDE grapples with the moral implications of Jonah’s latest offer: freedom. Jonah, weakening, begins to eye his next target. After learning that Jonah is after another sacrifice, the Runaways realize they have to stop him before he kills another kid. | |||||
|
Last Rites | 2.07 | December 21, 2018 | Quinton Peeples | James Madigan |
| It's time for the Runaways to stop Jonah, once and for all. But while the kids scramble to stall out Jonah's plan, the parents unexpectedly arrive. Will PRIDE fight against their own kids or join their ranks against the powerful, and vengeful, Jonah? | |||||
|
Past Life | 2.08 | December 21, 2018 | Kendall Rogers | Anna Mastro |
| In the aftermath of the battle against Jonah, Karolina searches for answers about Jonah and the others help Alex and Livvie try to prove Darius's innocence in Destiny's murder. But Livvie's curiosity just might catch up with her. | |||||
|
Big Shot | 2.09 | December 21, 2018 | Kirk A. Moore | Wendey Stanzler |
| The Runaways face off with PRIDE’s dirty cops, Flores and AWOL. Against all objections, Alex blackmails AWOL to help. But AWOL refuses. PRIDE resolves to take the kids by force. Back at the Hostel, Karolina hears a mysterious voice. | |||||
|
Hostile Takeover | 2.10 | December 21, 2018 | Ashley Wigfield | Jeffrey W. Byrd |
| Leslie starts dismantling the cult she helped create, but Frank has other plans. AWOL uses Livvie as bait to confront the Runaways. The teens must protect Gert & Old Lace, who are sick, and AWOL's team storms the hostel. Victor doesn't feel like himself. | |||||
|
Last Waltz | 2.11 | December 21, 2018 | Tracy McMillan | Ramsey Nickell |
| The Runaways are falling apart. Needing a break, they throw Molly a quinceañera. PRIDE ramps up their new arsenal. Frank puts Leslie in a facility to bring her back to the faith. Meanwhile, the mysterious voice Karolina has been hearing becomes real. | |||||
|
Earth Angel | 2.12 | December 21, 2018 | Warren Hsu Leonard | Stephen Surjik |
| Victor recruits Chase to intern at PRIDE to prove that they are nothing more than concerned parents, Chase is skeptical. Karolina discovers Frank is holding Leslie at a detention facility and tries to rescue her mom with Nico, Molly, and Vaughn. | |||||
|
Split Up | 2.13 | December 21, 2018 | Quinton Peeples | Jeremy Webb |
| Angry at his betrayal, the Runaways meet with Chase. He offers them a choice: surrender to PRIDE or face the consequences. As the kids attempt their escape, they're separated and forced to survive against an enemy far more pernicious than they expected. | |||||
Videos[]
Trailers[]
Featurettes[]
Music[]
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Mean Demeanor | Run The Jewels |
|
| Blood // Water | Grandson |
|
