Runaways has been a beloved addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a surprise treat of a show in its own right. All good things must come to an end though as season three marks the show's finale. Unlike all the Netflix shows' petty cancellations, Runaways' early ending is more due to the restructuring of Marvel's TV division to become part of the proper Marvel Studios. Like all the other Marvel shows that have ended though, I still have hope we'll see these characters to some degree in the future. At the moment though, the series' final season does a good job closing the chapter on a group of characters many have become invested in.
To start things off, the beginning episodes of the season actually make me appreciate the latter half of the second season much more than I did before. Now fully being aware of Jonah and his wife and daughter possessing Victor, Stacey, and Tina, respectively, brings a little more clarity to some of weirdness previously seen. As the season begins, the aliens (known as Gibborim) possessing the characters begin to act more like themselves than the people they're pretending to be, and I give props to the actors for their performances. James Marsters, who plays Victor, begins displaying mannerisms similar to Julian McMahon when he played Jonah. The best of the trio though is Brittany Ishibashi, who is playing an older woman (Tina) being possessed by an alien with the personality of teenage girl; it's such a total 180 from how Tina usually acts that it's a scary good performance. There's also the character of Xavin; her development at the beginning of season three makes her a lot more compelling and relatable compared to how she was during the latter of season two that it made it a shame to see her leave half way through.
Like last season, season three feels like it's made up of two smaller ones again, but it's done in a more fluid way with the second threat being built up during the first one. The second half is also just as strong if not stronger than the first.
After the Gibborim threat is finally defeated, the next major adversary is Morgan le Fay, played by Elizabeth Hurley. Much like Brendan Fraser on "Doom Patrol", it's nice to see another actor who faded away for awhile return for such a prominent role. Hurley's performance as Morgan reminds me much of when she played the Devil in "Bedazzled", which makes a lot of sense considering they both have this charming personality and use magic to get what they want. Her relationship with Nico also makes me think of that of Chancellor Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars. Hurley overall does a good job at filling the role of charismatic villain left by Julian McMahon in season two.
What's important about Morgan is that she's a big enough threat that both the Runaways and the PRIDE parents (some of who take on some surprising directions and roles this season) do what they can to stop her, eventually coming together. This truly brings the series full circle, with the relationships between the kids and their parents not totally healed, but at least on the mend.
This season has the strongest connections to the broader MCU than ever before. While hinted at last season, it turns out I was correct that the Dark Dimension from "Doctor Strange" would play a prominent role. The Runaways travel there and unknowingly release Morgan as well, and Morgan's plan is to merge it and Earth and rule over all (partly using the Darkhold spellbook from season 4 of "Agents of SHIELD" to do so). If I had a complaint though, it's that not only is it just the same villain plan from "Doctor Strange", but it's also similar to Neron's plan in season four of "Legends of Tomorrow", enticing people through their phones to power up the spell they need to combine dimensions. However, while I'm not sure if there was any intended social commentary, but it's worth noting that the beings in the Dark Dimension are called the Mindless Ones, and Morgan was using smartphones to take control of people on Earth; make of that what you will.
We also have a cross-show team-up this season with Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph reprising their roles of Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson from "Cloak and Dagger". In its own right, "Cloak and Dagger" was another pretty damn good Marvel show and dealt with a lot of mature topics; unfortunately, it too was cancelled for similar reasons Runaways was. For their last hurrah, it was nice to see these characters again and they had some entertaining interactions with the Runaways cast. However, I think people who watched their show will understand and get more from their appearance here than those who didn't, but maybe it'll push the latter group to go back and watch that series (since it's available on Hulu as well). In any case, hopefully we haven't seen the last of Cloak and Dagger either.
The series finale brings in a time travel element, and part of that involves some of the characters travelling all the way back to the first episode. Returning to what I said about "full circle", it was nice to be reminded of how things began and reflect on the changes the characters and their relationships have gone through over the last few years, whether it be for better or worse.
However, the time travel element displays the already glaring disconnect between the Marvel TV and film divisions, despite all the connections I spoke of earlier. Without spoiling much, let's just say that the time travel rules set in "Endgame" are ignored here (not to mention it brings up some blatant problems with the show's own timeline). Despite all the shows we're losing in the restructuring, I'd like to think it will be worth it so that we have a truly connected MCU.
Overall, not only does season three bring Runaways to a worthwhile conclusion, but it makes up for the problems from season two. I think season one is still the best of the series though since it was so fresh and original to me. But as a whole, Runaways was an endearing epic and one I'd like Marvel to revisit one day.
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