We formally propose moving Runaways to October 2017-May 2018.
Here is a side-by-side comparison of each notable piece of evidence and how they fit into each version of the timeline. This is designed to be laid out in a way that's easy to read and analyze for anyone interested in discussing the proposal.
We believe this timeline is more logical, better supported by the evidence, and unlike the current timeline, requires no forced and unnatural stretching. Additionally, the new timeline happens to place the series before the Blip.
I love Runaways!
| Episode | Evidence | Current Interpretation | New Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.01: Reunion | December 8, 2017 | October 13, 2017 | |
| One day before the pilot takes place, background posters in Atlas Academy depict the dates "SATURDAY OCTOBER" and "OCTOBER 1X-1X" in the series finale. | The series begins in December. | The series begins in October. | |
| Chase is in the middle of lacrosse season, having had a game against another school the night before. State finals are also coming up. In real life, high school lacrosse season takes place in spring. | Error by the writers. The evidence strongly favors a different placement. | Error by the writers. The evidence strongly favors a different placement. | |
| Alex Wilder played Star Wars: Battlefront with Amy Minoru before she died. The series begins two years later, within close proximity of her day of death. | In real life, Star Wars: Battlefront released on November 17, 2015. The series begins December 8, 2017. | In real life, Star Wars: Battlefront had a massive pre-release open beta from October 8 to October 13. The series begins October 13, 2017. | |
| That morning, Chase's father scolds him for getting a C on his Spanish midterm. Later, Chase begs his Spanish teacher to let him retake the midterm. | By "midterm," it is an exam taken in the middle of the school year, taken shortly before the end of the fall semester. | By "midterm," it is an exam taken in the middle of the semester. | |
| A background poster in Atlas Academy advertises a college fair. | The poster is outdated, or there is a college fair in December. | College applications begin in November and are due in December. The college fair takes place in October. | |
| Molly does tryouts for the cheer team. In real life, varsity cheer season runs from October to May. | Cheer tryouts are in December, 2 months after the start of the season. | Cheer tryouts are in October. | |
| 1.02: Rewind | This episode takes place concurrently with episode 1. | December 8, 2017 | October 13, 2017 |
| Chase says, "In another year, I'll be off to college." This suggests it is early in the school year, with the start of Chase's first year of college being about a year away. | Chase's first year of college is 8½ months away. | Chase's first year of college is 10½ months away. | |
| Frank opens Leslie's computer, and this calendar appears. | The calendar matches December 8, 2017. | The calendar is poorly designed, with four 29s, causing the days to shift forwards beyond what a real December would look like. The previous month also ends in 31, which does not match November; this is an impossible combination of numbers. Additionally, Frank clicks through several dates, including 9, 11, 12, and 13 (image here), all with "Today" unchanging. This means "Today" is not necessarily the 8th, and that Leslie simply could have gone a few days without using her laptop, which is supported in Episode 4 when Karolina says "My mom's laptop. She usually has it with her but she's been distracted lately." Frank is looking through Leslie's past week schedule to figure out why she's so busy. | |
| 1.03: Destiny | This episode takes place the next day. | December 9, 2017 | October 14, 2017 |
| A flashback to the funeral of Gene and Alice Hernandez is shown to be "ten years ago." S2E11 establishes that Gert was in first grade at this point, making this no later than June 2007. | This is 10 years and 6 months ago, and 10 calendar years. | This is 10 years and 4 months ago, and 10 calendar years. | |
| The Runaways go to the beach. It is busy, and it is a bright sunny day. | There is hot weather and a busy LA beach in December. | There is hot weather and a busy LA beach in October. | |
| At the end of the episode, Destiny Gonzalez's body washes up on a beach. This event is referenced during the epilogue of the Season 2 finale of Cloak and Dagger, which naturally places itself in November/early December 2017. | This is December 9, 2017. Destiny's death is extremely recent by the time of the Cloak and Dagger Season 2 epilogue, which is dragged a bit later than its ideal setting. | This is October 14, 2017. The Cloak and Dagger Season 2 epilogue can occur in its natural setting, and Destiny's death has had ample time to become recognized by someone across the country. | |
| 1.05: Kingdom | Episodes take place in subsequent days. 2 days have passed. | December 11, 2017 | October 16, 2017 |
| 1.06: Metamorphosis | December 15, 2017 | October 18, 2017 | |
| In the previous episode, Leslie mentions the gala is in "a few days." The gala takes place during this episode. | This episode is 4 days later, placing the gala on the night of Friday, December 15. | The Runaways act as if previous events were very recent, and we do not see what happened earlier in the day, allowing for school to take place. This episode is 2 days later, placing the gala on the night of Wednesday, October 18. | |
| 1.07: Refraction | This episode takes place on Thursday. | December 21, 2017 | October 19, 2017 |
| In the night of the previous episode, Nico found out that her father is cheating. In the morning of this episode, she confronts him about it, and they imply the events were recent. | Nico confronted her father 6 days after the gala, on Thursday, December 21. | Nico confronted her father the next morning after the gala, on Thursday, October 19. | |
| Later, the Runaways argue about the gala and events from previous episodes, acting as if they were recent. Chase says his mother told him that morning about how she will end her affair with Nico's father. | Chase's mother promised to end her affair 6 days after the gala, on Thursday, December 21. Coincidentally, she did this on the same morning that Nico decided to confront her father about the affair. | Chase's mother promised to end her affair the next morning after the gala, on Thursday, October 19. | |
| Victor says "On Monday, you are gonna make a public apology to my son and reinstate him to the lacrosse team." | Victor is referring to school on Monday, December 25. Atlas Academy has school on Christmas. | Victor is referring to school on Monday, October 23. | |
| 1.09: Doomsday | Episodes take place in subsequent days. 2 days have passed. | December 22, 2017 | October 20, 2017 |
| A flashback to the death of Gene and Alice Hernandez is shown to be "ten years ago." S2E11 establishes that Gert was in first grade shortly after this point, making this no later than June 2007. | This is 10 years and 6 months ago, and 10 calendar years. | This is 10 years and 4 months ago, and 10 calendar years. | |
| A poster advertises a "non-holiday specific seasonal dance" later that night. | The joke is that schools can't promote December dances related to a religious holiday like Christmas. | The dance really is non-holiday specific. The Runaways attend the dance later; it uses generic black and gold decorations and has absolutely no festive holiday associated with it. | |
| Jonah says "They've been lying to you for weeks," in reference to the Runaways. | The kids have been lying for two weeks. | The kids have been lying for 8 days, or two calendar weeks. | |
| 1.10: Hostile | This episode takes place the next day, then another day passes. | December 24, 2017 | October 22, 2017 |
| 2.01: Gimmie Shelter | This episode opens on the next day, then another day passes. | December 26, 2017 | October 24, 2017 |
| December 31, 2017 | October 25, 2017 | ||
| Later in this episode, the parents meet to discuss the death of Graciela Aguirre. Geoffrey Wilder shows Tina Minoru Graciela's obituary on the newspaper and asked what she did. The obituary says Graciela died "yesterday." | This scene takes place 5 days after Graciela's death. | This scene takes place the next day. | |
| January 8, 2018 | October 30, 2017 | ||
| In the episode, Alex got tents, sleeping bags, and burner phones for the Runaways at night in a homeless camp. Later in the episode, during the morning, the Runaways emerge from tents in the homeless camp to find that the Fistigons were stolen by Mike on a Bike, who they met at the beginning of the episode. While chasing him, they find the Hostile, where they will live for the rest of the series. Alex complains, saying "Come on, I just bought all the tents!" According to Episode 4, this happens on a Monday. | Mike stole the Fistigons 13 days after Alex bought the tents. | Mike stole the Fistigons 6 days after Alex bought the tents. | |
| 2.03: Double Zeros | January 10, 2018 | November 1, 2017 | |
| In this episode, Alex's phone says "05/30/2018 06:48pm" during daylight hours. | The year is 2018. | The writers operate on a sliding timescale. This is not 06:48pm, so the date is likely wrong too. Does not match with the other "10/07/2018 01:54am" phone date later in the season. This is a burner phone that could have messed dates and times. | |
| 2.04: Old School | January 11, 2018 | November 2, 2017 | |
| Episode 2 is the next day, Episode 3 is the following day, and Episode 4 is the following day after that. This means Episode 4 is 3 days after Episode 1. Episode 4 is said to be "Thursday." | Episode 4 takes place Thursday, January 11, 2018, which is 3 days after Monday, January 8, 2018. | Episode 4 takes place Thursday, November 2, 2017, which is 3 days after Monday, October 30, 2017. | |
| Gert mentions how she would be returning to an SAT prep class if she were to begin attending Atlas again. Given she is a senior, this SAT prep class would be taken in the fall semester, before major college decision deadlines. | This is the winter/spring semester, and a different semester from when she ran away. | This is the fall semester, and the same semester as when she ran away. | |
| A banner for a pep rally is put up in Atlas Academy. | A pep rally is being held in early January. | A pep rally is being held in fall. | |
| Based on dialogue from the school nurse and Eiffel, it is implied that the Runaways have missed a significant amount of school. | Due to break between semesters, they have only missed 3/4 days of school. | There have been no breaks, and they have missed 8/9 days of school. | |
| 2.05: Rock Bottom | January 12, 2018 | November 5, 2017 | |
| The Yorkes say "we've been sleeping with the lights on" and "we haven't really been sleeping" in reference to the events of the previous episode. The parents meet with Eiffel at PRIDE during school hours. | This episode takes place the next day, with Eiffel meeting with the parents on Friday, January 12, 2018 during what should be school hours. The Yorkes struggled with sleep for one night. | The episode takes place 3 days later, with Eiffel meeting with the parents on Sunday, November 5, 2018 during the weekend. The Yorkes struggled with sleep for 3 nights. | |
| Chase says that Gene and Alice Hernandez died "ten years ago." S2E11 establishes that Gert was in first grade shortly after this point, making this no later than June 2007. | This is 10 years and 7 months ago, and 11 calendar years. | This is 10 years and 5 months ago, and 10 calendar years. | |
| 2.07: Last Rites | January 14, 2018 | November 7, 2017 | |
| In Episode 5, Jonah says an event that occurred in Episode 7 must happen "the day after tomorrow." | This episode takes place 2 days later, on January 14, 2018. | This episode takes place 2 days later, on November 7, 2017. | |
| Stacey says that the lab explosion happened "ten years ago." S2E11 establishes that Gert was in first grade shortly after this point, making this no later than June 2007. | This is 10 years and 7 months ago, and 11 calendar years. | This is 10 years and 5 months ago, and 10 calendar years. | |
| Nico says life was normal "two months ago." | Life was normal on December 8, 2017, which was 1 months and 6 days ago. | Life was normal on October 13, 2017, which is a little less than a month ago. It is true that life was normal 2 months ago. | |
| 2.08: Past Life | January 17, 2018 | November 9, 2017 | |
| On the second day of Episode 1, Darius says his baby is due in "two weeks." In Episode 8, Tamar leaves the hospital with the baby, meaning the baby was born in the days leading up to this. This suggests Episode 8 is a little over two weeks after Episode 1. | This episode takes place 22 days later, on January 17, 2018. | This episode takes place 16 days later, on November 9, 2017. | |
| Chase discovers that Gert obtained a college application she plans to fill out. | Gert could be applying to college in January, or she may plan to apply later. | Gert is applying to college in November, which is college application season. | |
| In this episode, Alex's phone says "10/07/2018 01:54am" in the middle of the day. | The year is 2018. | The writers operate on a sliding timescale. This is not 01:54am, so the date is likely wrong too. Does not match with the other "05/30/2018 06:48pm" phone date. This is a burner phone that could have messed dates and times. | |
| 2.10: Hostile Takeover | January 24, 2018 | November 12, 2017 | |
| After Jonah stops possessing Victor, Victor says "it's two o'clock on a Wednesday." | This episode takes place 7 days later on Wednesday, January 24, 2018. | Victor was possessed in Episode 7, which was November 7, a Tuesday night. Victor is visibly confused when he wakes up in his lab, and he believes it is Wednesday. Janet asks ""What do you remember?" and Victor responds "I woke up, and then I came in here, and the lab was wrecked." This episode takes place 5 days later on November 12, 2017. | |
| 2.11: Last Waltz | This episode takes place the next day. | January 25, 2018 | November 13, 2017 |
| 2.12: Earth Angel | January 29, 2018 | November 14, 2017 | |
| In the beginning of the episode, Leslie wakes up from a dream. | This scene takes place 4 days later on Monday, January 29, 2018. | This scene takes place the next day on November 14, 2017. | |
| February 1, 2018 | November 14, 2017 | ||
| In the very next scene, the Runaways discuss what to do now that Chase left. Chase left the Runaways in the previous episode. | This scene takes place 3 days later on February 1, 2018. The Runaways did not discuss what to do now that Chase is gone until 7 days after he left. | This scene takes place the same day on November 14, 2017. | |
| February 8, 2018 | November 15, 2017 | ||
| In the next scene, Chase eats breakfast with his parents. Janet celebrates his return by making him pancakes and a milkshake. She says "You did the right thing. Coming home." Chase says "This is where I need to be right now" but expresses concern about abandoning the Runaways. Later, his father says "It's a new day for everyone, Chase. And with Jonah gone, PRIDE can finally be the benevolent force that it was always meant to be," implying Jonah was defeated recently. Jonah offers to play catch with Chase, like a father and son. The Runaways wear different clothes from the previous scene on this day. | This scene takes place 7 days later on February 8, 2018. The parents are celebrating Chase's return and acting as if it happened recently 14 days after he came home. | This scene takes place the next day on November 15, 2017. Chase returned 2 days ago. | |
| 2.13: Split Up | February 15, 2018 | November 16, 2017 | |
| In the previous episode, Leslie and Xavin joined the Runaways at their Hostile. In this episode, they seem to meet for the first time, and the Runaways discuss what to do with them. | This scene takes place 7 days later on February 15, 2018. Leslie and Xavin had not met at any point before this time, despite living in the same place for a week. The Runaways did not discuss what to do with them until 7 days after they joined. | This scene takes place the next day on November 16, 2017. Leslie and Xavin moved into the Hostile yesterday. | |
| 3.02: The Great Escape | February 18, 2018 | November 19, 2017 | |
| While explaining the slow progress on Wizard's 5G program, Mita Nansari says "The third quarter issue with wave device battery drainage was also [...] unexpected," implying the third quarter of the year, July-September, was fairly recent. | This is February, during the first quarter of the year. | This is November, during the fourth quarter of the year. | |
| 3.03: Lord of Lies | February 18, 2018 | November 19, 2017 | |
| A flashback to Amy Minoru's funeral, which is implied to be a few days after her death based on Catherine expressing her disbelief over the apparent suicide to Geoffrey for the first time as well as Alex still being shaken up, is shown to have been "two years ago." | Amy Minoru's funeral is placed 49 days after her December 2015 death, in January 2016, which is two years before February 2018. | Amy Minoru's funeral is placed 5 days after her October 2015 death, which is two years before November 2017. | |
| 3.05: Enter The Dreamland | August 22, 2018 | May 22, 2018 | |
| Alex's computer was last backed up "6 months, 22 days, 4 hours" ago. Chase says Alex was religious about backing up his data. | Alex last backed up his computer on January 31, 2018, and stopped due to the Magistrate's Son taking control of him. | The computer was last backed up by the school on October 31, 2017, two days before it was stolen by the Runaways, and Alex intentionally sought out a computer he knew would have had recently backed up data. | |
| 3.06: Merry Meet Again | August 23, 2018 | May 23, 2018 | |
| Up to this point, the episodes largely took place in subsequent days directly after S2. This episode introduces a large timeskip, which takes in Dale's 189th day of living off the grid, on the 23rd of the month. In the S2 finale, Dale drove away to a cabin to live off the grid. | Dale's Day 1 of living off the grid started the day after he went to the cabin. This episode takes place 188 days after his Day 1, which was February 16, 2018. This episode takes place on August 23, 2018. | Dale's Day 1 of living off the grid started the day he went to the cabin. This episode takes place 188 days after his Day 1, which was November 16, 2017. This episode takes place on May 23, 2018. | |
| As Dale describes his life off the grid, a calendar with days marked is on his wall. | The calendar matches August 2018. | The calendar matches May 2019. The writers operate on a sliding timescale. | |
| Once the Runaways find themselves on Earth, they discover all this time had passed. They split up after one says "I need to find out what I've missed." The city of Los Angeles is lively, and people are happy and going about business as usual. The Runaways reunite and happily discuss their futures and talk about jobs, school, relationships, returning to their parents, etc. Nothing is out of the ordinary. | Somehow, the Snap did not affect Los Angeles, or the city was not negatively affected onscreen. Neither the Runaways nor any of the supporting cast and minor characters who experienced the Snap when it occurred feel the need to bring it up. The city recovered incredibly quickly, or perhaps Morgan le Fay's Corvus phones prevented people from discussing the Snap. | The Snap did not yet occur. | |
| Karolina says "We did miss a lot the last six months. Graduation, prom, summer jobs, making any plans for the future." | All of these things were missed by August 2018. | Graduation and prom are usually around or before May 23, but even if graduation hasn't happened yet, the senior Runaways would be unable to graduate anyway. It may be too late to plan and apply for summer jobs for high school students by this point. | |
| 3.07: Left-Hand Path | Episodes take place in subsequent days. Episode 7 is 1 day after Episode 6. | August 24, 2018 | May 24, 2018 |
| A letter is shown with a "July 25, 2019" date. | Disregard. The writers operate on a sliding timescale. | Disregard. The writers operate on a sliding timescale. | |
| 3.09: The Broken Circle | Episodes take place in subsequent days. Episode 9 is 2 days after Episode 6. | August 25, 2018 | May 25, 2018 |
| Chase tells Gert that she hasn't missed the "late registration deadline" for entering into Smith College, which would be around late August 2018. Gert expresses in Episode 6 that she seeks to get a part-time job and a GED before entering college. | Gert has mere days to get a job and GED. | Gert has three months to get a job and GED. | |
| 3.10: Cheat the Gallows | August 26, 2021 | May 26, 2021 | |
| This episode takes place 3 years later, on the anniversary of Gert's death in the previous episode. | Gert died August 26, 2018, so it is August 26, 2021. | Gert died May 26, 2018, so it is May 26, 2021. | |
| Karolina has a Summer 2022 UCLA schedule on her refrigerator. | Karolina not only registered but also put her schedule up 8 months early, or the writers operate on a sliding timescale, so she just finished summer school recently. | The writers operate on a sliding timescale. End of May 2021 is exactly when Karolina would put up her UCLA summer schedule. | |
| In this episode, Molly is a senior in high school. Molly celebrated her 15th birthday in S2E11. | Molly is a senior in high school on August 26, 2021. If her 15th birthday was in January 2018, then Molly will be 19.5 years old when she graduates from high school in late May/early June 2022. | Molly is a senior in high school on May 26, 2021. If her 15th birthday was in November 2017, then Molly will be 18.5 years old when she graduates from high school in late May/early June 2021. | |
| Molly is now cheer captain. After practice, a girl goes up to her and says "We're really gonna miss you when you graduate, Molly. The whole school is." Molly says "I love being part of all this. Especially this team. It's a dream come true, really." The girl says "Maybe you could come back and help coach." They hug. | The girl is telling Molly that the entire school will miss when when she leaves at the beginning of the school year, and the hug was not to amicably say goodbye for a long time. | The girl is telling Molly that the entire school will miss her because she is days away from graduation. The hug is a genuine goodbye hug. | |
| Julie expresses that Karolina's "February" birthday was not that long ago. | This is August 26, 2021, and February 2021 was 6 months ago. | This is May 26, 2021, and February 2021 was 3 months ago. |