Runaways - General Discussion

[ElectricBoogaloo]

This topic replaces the old Runaways forum which has been vaulted at the location below:

http://forums.previously.tv/forum/3216-runaways-v/

[tennisgurl]

I have been waiting for this adaptation for ages, and I kind of cant believe its actually here! I really loved the original Runaways comic (even if things kind of fell apart later) so I was really excited to see how this would work, and it actually does make sense that they waited awhile to introduce this to the MCU. They have already established all the weird crap from the comics, so now they can have it all show up here pretty solidly. I really liked the first episode, even though there are quite a few changes from the source material, and I am interested to see how they play out. 

The actors playing the kids are all really good, even if they're all a lot more angsty than they were originally in the book, mainly because they've added the tragic death of Tina's sister into the mix, so it will be interesting to see where they go from here. The personalities of the characters seem to be changed here and there, but they seem to be getting the big stuff right, and I am really interested in where Molly gets her powers in this version (maybe shes an Inhuman?) and what happened to her parents. Interesting that they're dead in this version. Seems unnecessary, but I will give them some time to explain. The scene of Karolina taking off her bracelet and seeing her arms glow was pretty cool. 

The other notable change was Karolinas parents are running some kind of megachurch here, while in the books they were stereotypical Limousine Liberal movie stars. Maybe they wanted to sell evil church/cult people than evil Hollywood types? We will just have to wait and see. It is a clever way for them to gather teens to kill, and for Karolina to wear her bracelet. 

[xaxat]

I thought that was a great premier. I read the original run back in the day, so I am at the point where I remember the premise, but not all of the plot. And I thought they did a great job of balancing between those who know and those who are new. 

[Delphi]

I've never even heard of this before, but I just watched the premiere and I am here for it. 

[Xenith22]

Loved absolutely everything about it...except Molly.   As a fan of the original comic book series to me  so far they seemed to have completely screwed her character up in nearly every way possible.    I have no problem with casting a Hispanic actress (although I disagree with this then meaning the character's last name had to then be changed when you kept every other name in he series the same).  I would have been fine with her being any race.   Also I do get that for labor laws they had to cast someone older...but Hollywood has been casting young adults to look younger for ages.   Surely they could find someone who was not taller and older looking than the actress playing Gertrude?   Plus the giant hairstyle does not fit Molly and even makes her trademark hat look even more off (Bad enough that too old looking high school Molly doesn't quite fit wearing adorable oversized hats quite like an 11 year old does).  So far I'm not seeing her as that great of an actress either with her school/car scenes being downright painful to watch.   By far the weakest of the cast to this point although to be fair she has not had much to work with.  Maybe she will get better when things get more serious?  But it's not just the actress that is off, Molly's classic personality has also been almost completely missing from the character.   Where is the extremely perky/upbeat, brave, smart, witty, temperamental, take no crap character that I fell in love with in the comics?    Molly Hernandez so far is laid back, dull, scared, dumb and even a bit mean...  So far the only Molly Hayes like thing about Molly Hernandez other than her first name and the hat she wore to the party is that she is strong and gets tired after using her powers.

They've even screwed up the special FX for her powers...this is basically Teen Wolf.

Even if you do not want to go full energy aura for budgetary reasons or if it looked too jarring....what would have been so wrong with something simple like this truer to her classic look when using her powers?  

 

I mean I know mutants are off the table, but Inhumans aren't especially with ABC studios involved in production?  Surely they will make that simple switch with her origin (or just say she was born with powers without using the M word) instead of making her a genetic experiment with animal DNA, which is pretty much the only reason I can think of why they would screw up the power effect appearance like that.

Edited November 22, 2017 by Xenith22

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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A retelling of 101, as seen from the parents' perspective. Everyone's on edge, but after tonight, should all go as planned, they won't have to worry about their obligations again.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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The kids are reeling following last night’s events. As an investigation begins, they discover their parents may have more to hide than they could have imagined.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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The parents try to find a solution to PRIDE’s problem, and the kids grapple with a new discovery that yields more questions than answers.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I am not a diehard Marvel fan so I've seen a few of the shows like Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, but not all of them. I think they did a pretty decent job in this episode establishing A LOT of characters and showing us their personalities on top of setting up the plot.

I'm really not here for love triangles so I'm hoping that the Chase/Gert/Karolina business doesn't become too central.

Nico and Alex are the ones I feel the most sorry for right now. They are clearly still not over Amy's death and to me that gets a lot more sympathy than Chase's douchey dilemma of becoming a jock and having a creepy dad.

I'm all for the teen drama (hey, I watched Pretty Little Liars until the bitter end), but I am living for Tina and Catherine's saltiness.

Speaking of the adults man, is Dale clueless and annoying.

So if that weirdo cult bracelet is somehow keeping Karolina's powers under control, why haven't the other parents found a way to get their kids to wear this magical jewelry? Even if they haven't shown signs of having powers yet, it seems like it would be a good idea to give them "grandma's heirloom ring" or something else they would be inclined to wear all the time.

Edited November 22, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo

[paulvdb]

As I mentioned in another topic I am completely unfamiliar with the comics. Here are some of my observations and some questions that I have after watching the first three episodes. The questions will hopefully be answered in upcoming episodes.

So the parents are killing teenagers to somehow transfer their lifeforce to keep the old man alive in the locked room at Leslie's cult headquarters. I don't remember if it was mentioned, but I assume that he is Leslie's father who is not as dead as he was said to be. Destiny was supposed to be the final sacrifice, but something went wrong and it didn't work. I can understand why Leslie is involved in this, but what are the other parents getting out of this?

The Hernandez parents died ten years ago, probably related to the Pride thing according to a comment by one of the parents. Tina's sister Amy died two years ago but we haven't heard anything more about it. Was she killed because she discovered something that she wasn't supposed to know about? Or was her death completely unrelated? The latter seems unlikely to me. This is tv after all (well, technically streaming but the same rules apply).

Gert's parents have a dinosaur in their basement. Why? Are they planning to start their own Jurassic Park? Or is there some other reason?

[Manirys]

51 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I'm really not here for love triangles so I'm hoping that the Chase/Gert/Karolina business doesn't become too central.

Unless they really, really change one of those characters from the way they are in the comics (which considering the hint in the first episode, they're not), there is no love triangle. Trying to avoid being spoilery.

 

54 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

So if that weirdo cult bracelet is somehow keeping Karolina's powers under control, why haven't the other parents found a way to get their kids to wear this magical jewelry? Even if they haven't shown signs of having powers yet, it seems like it would be a good idea to give them "grandma's heirloom ring" or something else they would be inclined to wear all the time.

Another thing to avoid spoilers on, but let's just say that it's only something that works with her, not a general 'stop all powers' thing. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

As much as I am interested in the kids' plot (and I am!), I found the parents' storyline slightly more interesting. I want to know what the hell Pride is, why they're all members, why they need to sacrifice 17 year old girls, and who the crusty guy in the secret room is. All I know is that he needs some serious exfoliation.

Although I found it unbelievable that all the kids showed up to Alex's house (Nico was the only one who I believe really would have gone under those circumstances), I'm glad that seeing what their parents did has brought them together. They might claim that they're still not friends, but what they witnessed has drawn them together. I loved how easily they were able to fake happily playing Twister for Alex's parents.

I'm also really glad that Alex's dad has been vocal about not being comfortable with sacrificing teenagers for whatever their nefarious purpose is. Victor, on the other hand, wasn't very kind about the rat that came back so I can't imagine he's going to be very gentle dealing with Destiny's return. If the pods are for time travel, is he sending rats and people into the future? And to what end?

Leslie's husband is so creepy. Even if I hadn't seen the scene with his agent, I would have been extremely suspicious of him based on the ass kissing way he was talking to her later. Luckily she's no dummy so she knew too. He is grossly manipulative. That whole "is Pride more important than your marriage?" attempt was so lame. Dude, she already had this meeting on her schedule. Why should she cancel it because you decided to barge in and tell her that you want to do level up in the church? That's not an urgent matter that needs to be discussed right now. The fact that he was such a passive aggressive guilt tripping jerk about it really made me dislike him even more.

So why did Darius want to clone Geoffrey's phone? What information is he looking for? And how long before he finds something incriminating about Pride?

I want to know why the parents have to strip down to their underwear before putting on the red robes. Oh, right, just so we can get shots of the women in their underwear.

I think that showing the events of episode 1 from the parents' perspective was a great way to go more in depth. I know it's not something they can do every week, but I think it was especially effective to do that in the first two episodes.

Edited November 27, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I love that Nico's idea of a beach outfit is a black tank top, black shorts, black tights, and black boots. But I'm glad she was there to point out the obvious, which was that the photo of Destiny could have been easily photoshopped and therefore wasn't proof that she was okay.

Damn, the plot thickens - Pride used the memory erasing serum on Frank and that's partly why he's the way he is now.

Poor Tina. She's trying to connect with Robert as her husband, not just as her partner in crime or her business associate but he is having none of it. I suspected that he was the one having an affair with Janet in the first episode when he commented on her hair and then I was even more convinced in the second episode when she got a phone call and she said she couldn't wait to see him that night, even with her husband there.

Robert has a terrible poker face and Tina really needs to learn how to read the room. She says she's missed him and he just looks at his food and doesn't reply. Somehow she interprets that as a sign to initiate sexy times?

Another reason why Dale is the worst: he thinks that driving home with soft serve ice cream in LA is a good idea. Dude, it's hot. That ice cream is going to melt before you get it home and a cardboard cup of melted ice cream is what every teenager wants, right?

So is Mr. Exfoliation Leslie's father or someone even more important? Why is keeping him alive worth killing teenagers?

Of course Chase's bonehead lacrosse teammates think there's an apostrophe in the "bros before hos" cliche.

Weird that Chase was so freaked out about snooping in his dad's stuff but then he had no problem taking the x-ray goggles with him when he left his house and went to Gert's.

Good job to Molly for convincing Catherine that she was telling the truth. It always helps to put some truth into a lie so adding that stuff at the end was a great touch.

Love that Leslie's assistant Vaughn is so loyal to her. But I want to know what other people in the church think is going on. Do those two women in the grey outfits know what Leslie is up to? If not, why would they think it's so urgent to find Destiny? She's just one girl in their church. In the previous episode, she picked up a phone in the Batcave and said, "We're ready on our end," which means someone else knew that Destiny was there. I'm assuming the women in grey are the ones who brought Destiny there, so what did they think was going to happen to her?

It's clear now that Molly gets exhausted to the point of passing out every time she uses her super power, so hopefully the effects won't become any more debilitating than that.

Wasn't there a glass window in the dinosaur door? Why didn't Chase use that to peek inside with the x-ray glasses instead of opening the door?

3 hours ago, paulvdb said:

Tina's sister Amy died two years ago but we haven't heard anything more about it. Was she killed because she discovered something that she wasn't supposed to know about? Or was her death completely unrelated?

Amy was Nico's sister (and Tina's daughter). The only thing I remember anyone saying about her death was in the previous episode, Catherine said, "What happened to Amy was an unthinkable tragedy." I know that's an ambiguous statement from her, but for now I'm going to assume it was an unrelated accident. Despite all the previous teenage sacrifices, I don't think anyone in the group would be okay with one of their own children being killed. Then again, Geoffrey thinks that Tina had something to do with Molly's parents dying in a fire, so who knows what the members of the group would tolerate in the name of their mysterious mission?

Edited November 22, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo

[starri]

19 hours ago, Xenith22 said:

Also I do get that for labor laws they had to cast someone older...but Hollywood has been casting young adults to look younger for ages.   Surely they could find someone who was not taller and older looking than the actress playing Gertrude?

Is she still supposed to be younger?  I didn't quite get that impression.

[Xenith22]

12 hours ago, Manirys said:

Unless they really, really change one of those characters from the way they are in the comics (which considering the hint in the first episode, they're not), there is no love triangle. Trying to avoid being spoilery.

I don't think that change really happened until volume 2...which is likely after season 1 of this series ends.   So I don't think we are completely safe from a potential triangle for the time being because TV writers are always obsessed with the artificial drama they create even despite that foreshadowing scene.

24 minutes ago, starri said:

Is she still supposed to be younger?  I didn't quite get that impression.

She definitely is....in addition to dressing younger there were several direct dialogue references indicating she is younger than the rest of the group.   For example during the scene where they were sitting around and the idea of Twister is brought up and they say they are too old for it...Molly's response is essentially that even she is too old for that.   (Which is another anti-Molly thing to say...back in the original comic Molly loved Twister. The exact same fake playing Twister scene happens in the comics, but after the parents leave Molly complains when everyone stops playing.)  Thus herself indicating she is the youngest of the group.    Then there was the scene where they were about to witness the sacrifice, and someone spoke up about it being something that Molly should not see.   Again this would seem to be a strong indication that Molly is at least a couple years younger.  Also I'm pretty sure pre-show interviews mentioned she is a Freshman which would typically put her around 13-14, while I believe the others likely are all either Juniors or Seniors in high school.  Which given that they are driving unsupervised likely would put them in the 16-18 year old range (plus I believe there were mentions of college not being far off by both Chase and Alex.

[starri]

I really liked this outing, but I'm surprised by how much they've changed the story from the comic.  I don't want to swamp this thread, or get too deep into spoilers, so I guess we need a new one.

What I do truly like is that they've given the parents some kind of gradation in how they feel about the Pride's activities.  

I kind of want to try Stacey's cheese wheel, just because she's the one I'd want to be friends with.

Edited November 23, 2017 by starri

[Guest]

Nice to see James Marsters who was Spike on Buffy.  He's a good evil genius.  His cheekbones are crazy.  

I wonder why the redhead's husband is left out of everything.  

Is it me or is the show's sound not so hot?  The geeky Volvo dad and several other characters are just so mumbley.  I found myself missing the teens, who mostly enunciate, though Gert does a blurt/mumble sometimes, too.  

[Lyanna19]

I was thinking the same thing about that glass window!

[cthulu]

This is horrible, they've changed the kids so much and added so much drama. Gert was my favorite in the comics and she was always aloof, snarky, and kinda pissed off. Here she's just obsessed with Chase.

I think non-canon Amy might have

been a sacrifice but since I dislike her too, I’m going to spoil this bit. 

It irritated me that I guessed that

Molly would deflect suspicion by admitting they wanted to get liquored up.

I get that she can't be a mutant but they made her so unlikable AFTER killing off her parents.

The worse part is that this show DRAGS. It's three episodes in and they haven't even begun to Runaway.

[Zima]

I love Marvel, but I don't know anything about this comic. I really liked the pilot. My husband said it felt a little Degrassi, but I love teen dramas anyway, so I'm here for it  :)

I do have to say, I'm older than these kids, and I love Twister. Since when is 13+ too old to play? 

Edited November 23, 2017 by Zima

[Zima]

I like it more when the show focuses on the teens, but I guess we needed to see what is going on with the adults too.  Decent ep, I'm still in. 

[sjohnson]

The motivation for the memorial "party" means Alex feels like his is Amy's widower. That being the case, the hostility of the others to the idea isn't just thoughtless, it's actively mean. Tend to disinvest in the heroes when they're petty. 

[sjohnson]

The women being the sincerely evil characters and the men being at worst nuts or doofuses is not very imaginative, I think. No doubt James Marsters' character is supposed to be the true monster, but he's clearly mentally unhinged, which makes him the least culpable adult, in my view. I've forgotten Ever Carradine's character name but this isn't a poor woman who can't avoid a high-powered divorce lawyer in a community property state. She put up with him beating on the kid for the money, or because he had something criminal on her, neither of which strikes me as good reasons. The unpleasant bitchiness of Ms Minoru no doubt is meant to make her look better for expropriating a husband, but still...

[sjohnson]

The opening salvo is done, so I guess a little bit of reflection is called for. 

Nico's magic is a terrible, terrible bore, for me. Magic always trumps science, and magic always wins until the most shameless and crudest plot manipulations "resolve" a preposterous physical jeopardy situation with minimal significance, and less suspense.  You can have fictional science, and it can be wild and wooly, but science can work for everyone, but magic can't. Magic is always special people fantasy, and not being a special person it's never appealed much to me. (Lord of the Rings is the exception, but then, it's not about the special people, which is not a perverse use of fantasy, but a genius one.) Claims to magic powers in real life are always sinister BS, and this tends to carry over into fiction as far as I'm concerned. 

I know that superheroes are basically a fantasy metaphor for what you might be after to grow up, and that persecution of superheroes can be as simple as nasty adults persecuting youth out of wizened malice. And, that many young people are convinced they invented sex, which is the ultimate superpower. But having vaginal cramps be Molly's superpower is shockingly on the nose.

[Eneya]

Magic is skills or a talent. Science is not in the same way and this is how it is transferred.

I find it realistic that using super strength has consequences on the body and cramps is simply the easiest explanation.

In regards to the kids being different... of course they are different. If they were the same as in the comics, there would be no point in making and reinventing it into a new medium. The parents are changed too and I think for the better.

I don't think the show drags and I like that they are trying to make a realistic and believable backup of the world, so we would understand why the kids ran away. Different mediums and can you imagine how much more irritating it would have been if they used flashbacks constantly to give us the backstory, if they started right away with the runaway?

I like Gurt and I am having fun that she is stuck on Chase a bit. It is obviously something she is going to get over and I find it normal for a kid her age and context, family history, etc. Hella foreshadowing as well?

Overall, the show is quite nice. The kids are wellhandled, they are both smart and naive (as most teens are, when they lack the experience of age) and they are somewhat believable.

What I didn't find believable was the "bros" reaction. On the other side, I have never known such people in life, so the whole thing is quite weird for me.

Edited November 23, 2017 by Eneya
Missed detail.

[Eneya]

2 hours ago, sjohnson said:

The women being the sincerely evil characters and the men being at worst nuts or doofuses is not very imaginative, I think. No doubt James Marsters' character is supposed to be the true monster, but he's clearly mentally unhinged, which makes him the least culpable adult, in my view. 

I definitely did not get such a read... at all. I got the impression of priorities mostly. Also, unhinged? No, I think he is just a classical abuser and that is that. I am mostly interested in Tina, because she feels like the person who is most closed off. Stacey and... um... ? were the cutest. I REALLY liked that every character was different, had a different set of issues, reactions and context.

Everyone of the women had her reasons for her actions so I would not call it unimaginative, because their reasons were if not fleshed, mentioned and different.

[kdm07]

I'm glad I got to see all three episodes at once because things are a lot clearer for me now. I can't decide on which of the kids I like the most right now as we're still digging into their personalities. The parents though, are fun to watch. From what I know of the comics, you don't really get this in depth about the parents but the show decided to do so and I'm happy they did. Tina, Leslie & Catherine are the standouts for me but I do enjoy the weird duo that is the Yorkes (I think that's their surname, Gert's parents).

[sjohnson]

39 minutes ago, Eneya said:

 Also, unhinged? No, I think he is just a classical abuser and that is that. 

Maybe I'm cynical, but I suspect what you see as closed off the writers' room sees as a bitch, and the blonde woman isn't stealing her husband, just picking up her throwawy.  And Tina's wizard staff makes her a witch, which rhymes. But you may be right and I'm confusing myself with low expectations too early in the game. 

But I do have to argue the unhinged part. The dude may have killed the non-disappeared Destiny, but we saw him hallucinating her afterwards. That's unhinged by any standard I can think of. It is very possible that the writers believe mentally illness is equivalent to evil (and maybe demonic possession too.) And so far from diminishing responsibility it is even more vile and disgusting.  But I disagree with that kind of thinking. As I say I'm quite sure they mean for Victor (Franken)Stein to be the biggest bad. 

[Eneya]

I get your argument. Hmm, mostly because I don't assume by default that they think they are writing a bitch, so I didn't see a classic bitch. Also... idk, there were obviously several moments in which Tina was humanised? I think we shall see and I really hope they don't go with the cliche "bitch" narrative. Though I like my unrepented awesome kickass bitch character any day of the week. :)

It was weird to see that actress playing the abused wife, I have only seen her in one other show, where she played an abusive mother-junkie herself and it is weird.
I think the hallucination was due to the lack of sleep and his guilty conscience and I am not really sure it will be a regular thing.

Of the whole group, i do agree, he reads as the biggest evil.

[radishcake]

Hey guys just a note that spoiler tags are not necessary for things that happen in the episode. Thanks! 

[starri]

Catherine and Victor seem like the most out-and-out evil of the parents.

I'm honestly finding the parents the more interesting part.  I like that they all seem to have various levels of feelings about their roles within the Pride.  Dale and Stacey seem to actively trying to get away from the others.

ETA:  Cute that Leslie's assistant is named Vaughn.

Edited November 24, 2017 by starri

[tennisgurl]

Interesting getting the episode from the perspective of the parents. Several of the parents seem to feel varying degrees of guilt over what they're doing, but they're still very much doing it. Not getting too into spoilers from the comics, but I am super interested in seeing how they develop from here. It was nice to see the parents more humanized, and away from their kids perspective. 

Also enjoyed the kids playing twister. They do seem to be connecting a bit more. A bit anyway. Also, poor Destiny. The actress did a good job in a small part, and I felt really awful for her. 

15 hours ago, sjohnson said:

The women being the sincerely evil characters and the men being at worst nuts or doofuses is not very imaginative,

I didn't really get that at all. Nicos mom seems to be meaner than her dad, but she did have some humanizing moments, and we dont know what the deal with Karolinas parents is and what her dad is really like, but Chases dad is certainly worse than his mom, and most of the rest of the parents seem to be on equal footing when it comes to sympathy. I dont know, I just dont see any of the women being written as one dementionally bitchy. 

Gerts parents are my favorites, because they're quite quirky and likable, but are also clearly involved in this scary stuff. The contrast makes them kind of creepier. 

[tennisgurl]

Love that Nicos plan to hide her experiments in magic with Alex was to pretend they were making out. Smooth one Nico. The snowing scene was really lovely. 

Tina really picked the wrong time to spice things up with Robert. Its nice that she wants to reconnect with her husband after basically ignoring him after their daughter died, but was pulling out the hardcore sexy stuff less than 24 hours after murdering a teenager really the best plan ever? It was nice to get a more vulnerable side to Tina, and I am really surprised that I like the plots with the adults so much. 

Dinosaur! Yes! Everything is better with dinosaurs! Especially ones connected with teenagers. Chase and Gert are fun together. 

It seems like Dale and Stacey are trying everything possible to get out of Pride, and that whatever their goal is, its getting close to completion. Its interesting to see how the parents deal with whats happening, it seems like they all share varying degrees of guilt over everything, even crazy asshole Victor. 

[mxc90]

From the first episode, there were two guys trying to prevent Destiny from going in the church van. I wonder if they will tip the police about seeing Destiny leave with the church members.

How is Victor going to explain this screw up?

Did Molly's parents leave her enough money to repair the ripped out toilet and hole in the wall at the cafe shop?

Edited November 25, 2017 by mxc90

[Chaos Theory]

Surprising that Netflix let go of anything Marvel.   I picked up Hulu to watch a few things and keep trying to cancel but then Hulu offers me a free month so I take it.  Found this and figured what the hell.   (I have zero interest in Handmaids Tale)   I am not a comic / graphic novel person so I never heard of this.  Love the premise though.  One day find out your parents are super villains. (Kinda suspect that anyway of my parents.)   Then watching this show I realized why Netflix probably passed on it.  Not your typical fair.  More teen angst then Marvel action that Netflix is used to.  

Still the first episode is fairly decent.  Not sure I would keep up Hulu just to watch it.   

[RachelKM]

I enjoyed this episode.  It introduced all the kids and did a good job of making them individualized without going into caricatures. And considering they have at least 4 of 6 who are, at least at first glance, potential stock teen stereotypes, that's pretty good.  I like that all of the kids seem to have some genuine affection for one another and seemed to be generally nice.  Even in the beginning when they were all snarking when they interacted, there wasn't any serious meanness I detected or even excessive anger/angst. 

 

This episode also piqued my interest in the parents.  So, not bad, Show.

 

My bad, this was meant for the episode 1 thread.

Edited November 26, 2017 by RachelKM

[Chaos Theory]

Episode 2 was far more interesting then episode 1.  Maybe because I find the parents far more interesting then I do the kids.  I think maybe because I am older and I am finding most  of the kids down right insufferable while the adults are just interesting.    Maybe because I have watched my fair share of shady storylines (Dexter, Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy etc) I have no problem finding common ground with villains.  Getting older i am have a tougher time doing that with annoying teens.  

[RachelKM]

I also enjoyed this episode a bit more than the first, but not necessarily because I like the parents more.  I frequently enjoy shows that give us other characters' perspectives on events we've already seen.  There is something inherently interesting about seeing alternative perspectives of events previously viewed through other characters' eyes.  It answers questions set up by the prior showing, which is almost always fun.  I think the first two episodes did a great job of introducing all the characters. I'm really enjoying this show so far.  I don't expect that it will be a great show; but it's been a good show worth the investment over the first episodes. 

Edited November 26, 2017 by RachelKM

[AnimeMania]

On 11/22/2017 at 6:33 AM, paulvdb said:

Gert's parents have a dinosaur in their basement. Why? Are they planning to start their own Jurassic Park? Or is there some other reason?

Gert's parents are scientists and dinosaurs are just large birds with teeth. I am sure they mixed the DNA from all the other birds in the lab to make themselves a dinosaur.

 

On 11/24/2017 at 2:56 PM, tennisgurl said:

Tina really picked the wrong time to spice things up with Robert. Its nice that she wants to reconnect with her husband after basically ignoring him after their daughter died, but was pulling out the hardcore sexy stuff less than 24 hours after murdering a teenager really the best plan ever?

Tina was probably realizing that what her husband was saying to her was right. Since that was the last young girl PRIDE had to kill, Tina was probably more relaxed and willing to salvage what was left of the marriage. Unfortunately Tina was a little too late.

[Joimiaroxeu]

I was enjoying this until the velociraptor showed up. And that's the second time on a PTV forum that I've been able to use that sentence for a show that wasn't about dinosaurs. ?

I think the first three episodes did a good job of constructing the main characters and helping the audience understand their motivations. From this point I hope we'll see more forward plot movement, especially on the kids' parts.

[Sandman]

Am I the only one in the whole world who finds James Marsters profoundly uninteresting and, well, not that great an actor? I find the parents overall mostly kind of ... whiny, actually -- with far less cause than their offspring. Karolina's mom seems genuinely scary, and Tina's just a bad mood in human form, with sort-of doofy CGI props. (So far I'm not that impressed with the Staff of Only Does One Thing.) The scenes of poor, clueless Destiny's sacrifice were disturbing.

I still don't understand the point of FutureSpike's creepy machine. Does this mean that whatever else changes over the centuries, technology remains unreliable and will continue to fill our lives with annoyances at the worst possible times? Great.

[paulvdb]

On 22-11-2017 at 3:22 PM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Amy was Nico's sister (and Tina's daughter). The only thing I remember anyone saying about her death was in the previous episode, Catherine said, "What happened to Amy was an unthinkable tragedy." I know that's an ambiguous statement from her, but for now I'm going to assume it was an unrelated accident. Despite all the previous teenage sacrifices, I don't think anyone in the group would be okay with one of their own children being killed. Then again, Geoffrey thinks that Tina had something to do with Molly's parents dying in a fire, so who knows what the members of the group would tolerate in the name of their mysterious mission?

Quoted from episode 3. This week's episode makes it clear that Amy's death was at least suspicious. Why else would Tina not want Nico to call 911 and pay a cop to handle it? The only question for me is how Amy's death is related to Pride. I don't think she was a sacrifice, but she probably discovered something.

And we find out that Tina not only has the cops in her pocket but also a PI to investigate the other Pride members to make sure that they don't leave town. Gert's parents are going to need their guard dinosaur to protect themselves. Not sure why they'd clone a dinosaur for that purpose instead of using guard dogs.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Just when Alex thought his relationship with his parents couldn't be more strained, an old friend from Geoffrey's past resurfaces, and Alex discovers long-buried secrets about his dad. After their not-so-fearless leader is taken, our kids spring into action to save him. And as they scramble to get Alex back, the Runaways begin to experiment with their own untapped power in order to step in to save their friend.

Edited December 5, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Davina Clair can suck it. OBVIOUSLY it's Karolina's fault that those two lacrosse dbags think it's okay to rape an unconscious girl! I thought that maybe Davina wasn't The Worst since she wasn't a total bitch when Molly "got cramps" during dance auditions, but I take it all back now.

The whole "the team is what matters the most" mentality was maddening and reminded me of Beartown.

OMG, does Leslie literally have a magical vagina? Or is it the crusty guy who has a magical boner?

Leslie is a master manipulator and liar. She was able to convince Frank that his jealous insecurity was all in his head and that she's been spending all her time praying so that he can level up. I can't wait to see what Ultra level means.

Victor, on the other hand, is a moron. He really thought he could just whack someone over the head in broad daylight and no one would notice? Especially after he failed the last time he hit someone on the head in broad daylight? Or did he hallucinate the blonde girl?

Stacey and Dale are terrible people. They are okay with knowing that a velociraptor is on the loose in Los Angeles? That thing could kill innocent people and Dale's only concern is that they might not get credit for it? Meanwhile Stacey's solution is to disappear?

Poor Nico. First she thinks her sister killed herself which was no doubt difficult for her to deal with, and now she thinks that Pride murdered her which is even worse. Despite what we've seen so far, I find it really difficult to believe that anyone in Pride would be okay killing one of their own kids, least of all for Mr. Exfoliation's annual sacrifice. Besides, if the box works then don't the sacrifice victims get sent to the future? That means there would be no body left for anyone to find and obviously Amy's cold dead blue body was there.

[paulvdb]

2 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Spoiler

Besides, if the box works then don't the sacrifice victims get sent to the future? That means there would be no body left for anyone to find and obviously Amy's cold dead blue body was there.

 

I don't remember that ever bering mentioned. Was that mentioned on the show? Or is it from the comics?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, paulvdb said:

I don't remember that ever bering mentioned. Was that mentioned on the show? Or is it from the comics?

I haven't read the comics. In one of the previous episodes (I think it was S1.E2), Victor was working on the magic box and he said the rat was supposed to be sent into the future but it came back.

[Andrew Wiggin]

I think the Box can/should do 2 things ,send someone to the Future or feed the Energy to the Man in the Room(Leslies Father ? )

After the failed transfer Leslie said after watching the News about the dead Girl on the Beach : "This is way he isnt geeting better. "

As for Amy i think it was Suicide, but because of the Pride ,

Posibble she was braught into the inner Circle or found out about it and coudnt take it.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Andrew Wiggin

[sjohnson]

It's really hard to sympathize with Nico because she's so flagrantly silly about everything but deceiving her parents. For that, she's completely shrewd and self-possessed. Surely even Nico must get that if her parents had murdered her sister, then they would have been ready for the discovery of the body, with no nonsense about locking down the house to give away the game. It's hard to tell if the people who write this have any sense at all, but if they do, Amy was murdered by enemies of the Pride. We know not one of the other kids have even thought of killing themselves from shame for their parents' crimes, which is believable. I don't think writing Amy as killing herself in shock would be believable for a moment.  

Alex was almost certainly kidnapped by the gang rival trying to move in on the Pride's key building project I think. 

Victor's attempts at kidnapping strongly suggest that yes, the dude is undergoing mental disintegration. It's hard to tell at this point whether the malaria medication is supposed to be Victor's attempt to rationalize what's happening to him, or whether it's just supposed to express his contemptible cunning where he swindles even his own friends. Hollywood tends to be very backward, equating mental illness with evil (and often enough with demonic possession, whether openly supernatural or thinly disguised with scifi.) But Janet is just terrorized instead of concerned with mental health issues in the family, so I'm afraid I expect the show is going standard reactionary on this. 

Chase is peculiar. On the one hand, the blondish jock is the apex of a triangle, appropriate to the social hierarchy. On the other hand, he's a cowering victim of physical abuse raving about protection. Alex's self pity about being alone makes no sense at this point. There is a lot of bad writing where one cannot possibly imagine the characters actually exist off screen...but how could Alex not have other friends and acquaintances than the PRIDE kids?

Molly's menstrual superstrength, Leslie's white hot groin (she was warming Dad per the dialogue,)  Tina's magical combo symbolic phallus and vagina,  the subtext I'm getting so far is a little too on the nose for my taste. 

It was not easy to pay attention for the entire episode.

[AllyB]

Does Leslie mean to sacrifice Frank? That was what I took from the look on her face when he hugged her and she said he brought it all on himself.

I also have to wonder if he's really Frank. The Wilders alluded to someone using the truth serum on him and it damaging him in a way he hasn't gotten over. So that could be why he's so clueless and naive. Or it could be that the Frank we see is an unknowing decoy and the real Frank is the guy in the bed.

[paulvdb]

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I haven't read the comics. In one of the previous episodes (I think it was S1.E2), Victor was working on the magic box and he said the rat was supposed to be sent into the future but it came back.

He did? I checked the episode and he didn't say anything about that in the scene from 6:30 to 8:10. He mentioned something about dematerialization problems, but nothing about the future. Was there another scene with a rat where that was mentioned?