Chase: âText everyone to meet up.â
Karolina: âYou do it.â
This is a small moment in âRefraction,â but itâs representative of one of the best things about Marvelâs Runaways: The women are in charge. The main cast of teens is primarily female, and Leslie Dean and Tina Minoru are the most powerful members of Pride (not counting Jonah, who doesnât really do much when it comes to day-to-day operations). Undermining the patriarchy is an explicit theme thanks to Gertâs activist spirit, and Runaways occupies a subversive corner of the superhero genre. Men have always dominated superhero stories, but Runaways is enriched by shifting the perspective to women and making them the most defined characters, both on the page and the screen.
Although Molly has been on the sidelines for the last few episodes, she takes a much more active role after her screw-up with Catherine Wilder. Telling the rest of the teens what she did heightens her feeling of alienation within this group, and when she comes under fire for her loose lips, she breaks away and tries to find a new crew with the dance team. Allegra Acosta is the only member of the teenage cast who is actually the age of her character, and having her be visibly younger than the others is an essential part of her character. In the comics, Molly was the little kid the others tried to protect, but aging her a few years for the show makes her more complex as she tries to prove that sheâs mature and deserves respect.
The episodeâs most powerful moments revolve around Molly. Karolina is the only older teen that reaches out to her after she storms off, and Karolina recognizes the unique bond they share thanks to their superpowers. No one else can understand what theyâre dealing with, and she needs Molly to hold on to her positivity for the both of them. Karolinaâs optimism has been shattered, but she doesnât think Molly is naĂŻve. Sheâs aspirational, and Karolina wants to keep Mollyâs uplifting spirit alive. That becomes increasingly difficult as Mollyâs world rapidly falls apart, and the episodeâs final moments find her being sent away after her parents find out she knows the truth about Pride.
The Yorkes are easily the most fun of the parents, and âRefractionâ highlights how humor amplifies the dramatic content of their story lines. Itâs also a great example of writing to an actorâs strengths. The script gives Kevin Weisman the opportunity to be as frantic and high-strung as possible when Dale gets infected with Jonahâs serum, and then he plays the opposite when Dale crashes. Those wackier scenes provide a refreshing lightness, so when the Yorkesâs story finally goes in a dark direction, itâs even more painful. Molly discovering her parents packing up her room is a crushing moment, and thereâs a wild flurry of emotions in this scene: the Yorkesâs remorse, with an undercurrent of fear about what could happen if Molly doesnât leave; Mollyâs despair that becomes rage, building to a moment when she tells her parents to try and make her do something against her superstrong will. Gert pulls Molly away before she does anything rash, and Allegra Acosta and Ariela Barer are exceptional as they reinforce the sistersâ deep bond during the weepy conversation where Gert convinces Molly that she needs to go.
The show hasnât shied away from the conflicts within Pride, and this episode intensifies them by dealing with the fallout of recent revelations. The Jonah/Leslie/Frank love triangle doesnât improve â Frank Dean is so boring â but a small exchange between Leslie and Tina reveals a power struggle at the top of the Pride hierarchy. They both consider themselves in charge with the other as their right hand, and Iâm eager to see them face off in the future. The parent drama needs to be connected to the kids, and Mollyâs mistake last episode ends up being very good for the adults as the Wilders and Yorkes team up to take care of the situation before Jonah or Tina find out whatâs going on and take matters into their own hands. They really do think sending Molly away is the best way to protect her, but after seeing their parents murder someone, Molly and Gert are going to be deeply suspicious of any move by their guardians.
I havenât spent enough time praising the costume design for this series, and âRefractionâ gives us some fantastic looks. Building on the foundation set by Meredith Markworth-Pollack in the pilot, costume designer Samantha Rattner has given each of the teen characters their own distinctive style. While Chase and Alex embody the clean-cut jock and laid-back geek, the girlsâ clothing provides many more options to accentuate the charactersâ personalities. You get the sense that Nico spends a long time getting ready each morning, picking out all her layers and accessories and trying new things with her hair. This episode has her wearing a collared white dress under a black mesh top, black pants, a maroon hat, a choker, a long necklace, lots of bracelets, and her hair pulled back into two ponytails with two braids framing her face. Sheâs presenting a very specific image for the world, and itâs clear that a lot of work goes into it.
On the flipside is Karolina, who has a breezy, bohemian style that comes across as effortlessly chic. I straight-up gasped when she showed up in her high-waisted jeans and striped T-shirt, serving up sunny â70s style. Itâs easy to imagine Karolina quickly pulling these items out of her closet, spraying some product in her hair to give it some beach waves, and then walking out of her house looking like a total Betty. Gert probably resents her for that: Like Nico, itâs evident that Gert devotes considerable energy to how she looks, although sheâs working with a high-class hipster foundation rather than Nicoâs goth-inspired club-kid style.
Lyrica Okano has been doing some very subtle and impressive acting as Nico, and she makes the emotional shifts of her character clear in her facial expressions and body language. When Chase mentions that his mom is done with her affair, we see Nico process how this information relates to the conversation she had with her father earlier, and a visible dismay washes over Okanoâs face. Nico clearly prefers her father over her mother and she wants him to be happy, even if it means breaking up their family unit. Nicoâs willing to accept that heâs in love with Janet Stein, and sheâs heartbroken when she finds out that heâs not fully in the know.
We get a lot of different sides of Nico in âRefraction,â and even though the dissolution of her parentsâ marriage has rattled her, sheâs still hard as nails with Alex. She doesnât want to talk about whatâs going on at home, she wants to know how the hell he knew her momâs password, and she wonât stop asking him until he tells her the truth. The episode cuts away before we know his answer, and itâs one of two big cliff-hangers, the other being Leslie telling Frank about her relationship with Jonah.
All of these marriages are under a lot of stress right now, but no one has it as bad as the Steins. This episode begins with a series of flashbacks that show how this family unit has degraded over 25 years, starting with Victor and Janetâs college meet-cute before jumping to the joyful moment of Chaseâs birth. While the first two flashbacks are full of hope, the sequence ends with a sad look at how Victor treated his son as a boy. Angry that his father missed a big lacrosse game, Chase lashes out and ends up as Victorâs punching bag. Itâs the first time we actually see Victor hit his son, and it sets a strong point of contrast for the Steins in the current day. Jonahâs serum has turned Victor into a new man eager to connect with his wife and son, but as we learn later courtesy of Dale Yorkes, that high is followed by a steep fall.
Victor starts to come down at Atlas Academyâs open house, where he gives Robert Minoru a threatening handshake and assaults Chaseâs lacrosse coach, and heâs at his lowest point by the end of the episode. The cold open has Victor getting a message from a bearded, future version of his son, and we find why Chase warns his father not to pick up the fistigons when they get in a fist fight in Victorâs lab. After knocking Chase through a glass wall with a blast from the fistigon, Victor ends up getting shot by his wife, who has the calm determination of a person who accepted long ago that this act was inevitable. This adds a major new wrinkle to the story, especially in conjunction with the message from the future. âRefractionâ is full of teases that a major threat is on the horizon, and Chaseâs warning suggests that theyâll need his fatherâs genius is to stop whateverâs coming.