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The Runaways Recap: “Rewind”

By Kelly Shanaphy

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The Runaways smartly slows down the pace with “Rewind,” an episode which retells the events of “Reunion” through the eyes of the parents.

While the comics see the kids flee immediately after seeing the cult-like murder of a young girl, the show decides to spend time with the group trying to rationalize what they saw. It’s an interesting turn from the book, but one that is a welcome change and allows all of the parents to be fleshed out a little more.

Alex’s parents are still worried about him when he leaves for school but they need to shelf the discussion to focus on setting up for the PRIDE meeting. Their relationship is one of the two functional ones in “Rewind,” showing a real love and respect for one another. However, it’s clear that determined lawyer Catherine is more committed to the cause while former gang leader turned real estate mogul Geoffrey is having second doubts about ritually sacrificing teenagers each year.

He’s joined by Stacey and Dale Yorkes, two quirky bioengineers, who are quietly plotting to escape the group with their two daughters. They’re also the other two with a solid marriage and easily have the best relationship with their kids with their laid-back groovy attitude.

In direct comparison, the Minoru’s, the Stein’s, and the Dean’s are definitely not in contention to win parents of the year. Tina Minoru treats everyone with disdain as she tries to cope with her eldest daughter’s death and shuts out her husband, Robert. In “Rewind,” she’s clearly the worst of the mothers, judging the other members of PRIDE and treating Nico like an unwelcome guest in her own home.

Abusive genius, Victor Stein (played by Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum James Marsters), also carries a disdain for his son but spends a majority of this episode displaying the emotional torment he lays onto his wife, Janet. He’s having difficulty getting the box to work, that they laid the dead teenage girl in from the last episode, and he’s getting more aggravated at his failure.

Throughout “Rewind,” Leslie Dean is easily the most intriguing parent, with her motivations still remaining unclear. She’s obviously the one that orchestrates all of the kidnappings but she seems to feel real remorse over them. Could that grief be eating her alive? This episode shows her splintering relationship with her daughter as well as her ex-celebrity husband.

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After Frank Dean is fired by his agent, he comes groveling to Leslie in hopes to become a financial partner in her church but is quickly shut down. Is she keeping him at arm’s length for a reason or is their marriage just falling apart?

Back to where the first episode left off, the kids manage to escape from their parents in the nick of time. Alex has the smart idea to kill the power so his parents will assume a fuse blew while the rest of the group hangs out in the guest house. When he returns, Karolina has the smart idea for them all to play Twister, which fools the parents just enough to overlook the rest of the teens’ odd behavior.

However, “Rewind,” makes it clear that Karolina, Alex, Gert, and Molly all have doubts that their parents are capable of murdering someone while Chase and Nico have already seen the dark side of the adults to know that anything is possible.

Next: The Runaways Series Premiere Recap: “Reunion”

Making the parents a larger part of The Runaways in the comics is the smartest way to make them well-developed villains. For now, it will be interesting to see how each of their individual businesses will intertwine to show why the school being built is so important. Also, will the parents react to their kids discovering their dark secret in a violent or a protective way? That should pose an interesting question for the rest of the season.

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