A few other weird random similarities…
Spy Parents: Both Rachel from Titans and Gert from Runaways have a parent who’s an Alias veteran, and followers of this blog know how ride-or-d… I think Jennifer from Black Lightning ruined that phrase for me a little… know how fond I am of basically anyone who was on Alias. I haven’t been making this a competition, but if I were… Kevin Weisman every time. Man he’s great.
Kinda Isolated: Runaways made their first acknowledgement of existing in at least a version of the Marvel universe (I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again, I’ll believe the Avengers movies co-exist with any Marvel TV show when they cross over, not before) when Alex name-dropped Wakanda. That’s it. That’s the only one. While nobody thinks Black Panther is going to pop by, there is a lot of buzz for a crossover with Cloak and Dagger, which aesthetically would make sense, if nothing else. Titans, on the other hand, has every reason to cross over with Doom Patrol, since those delightful weirdos made their debut on Titans and Gar grew up with them. But neither feels super likely. Despite how tricky the annual CW crossover is to film, it’s easy to air, because all the involved shows are airing simultaneously. Cloak and Dagger
Which would be fine, and easy, so why aren’t they doing it, nobody understands.
How are they gonna get outta this one: Neither show is great for anyone who’s hoping to have a complete story by the season’s end. Runaways is going for a series-arc over individual season-arcs, meaning they reliably end on cliffhangers. Titans, if I were to guess, might be following the Smallville model, where the finale ends on a big cliffhanger, then the following season premiere resolves that while setting up the next season’s arc. I don’t have concrete reasons to suggest this, but given that they’ve announced who’s playing classic Titans villain Slade Wilson/Deathstroke and his two more popular kids next season, it feels like maybe they’re going to pivot to another storyline? (They also teased a new Titan in the end credits of the finale, and that was exciting, but that’s less relevant.)
Overall Grades:
Runaways: B
Titans: B+
Runaways did that thing were we spend six episodes waiting for anyone in the cast to notice the Sinister Thing That’s Clearly Happening, so the back half of the season suffered in comparison to the zippy first half. Perhaps that’s why, when I had to pause halfway through episode ten, it took a month or so to get back into it. Not the best sign. And Titans could stand to get Dick Grayson’s emotional journey from Robin to Nightwing out of first gear.
But in either case, my biggest complaint is how many months I have to wait to see what’s next.
Good job, Titans and Runaways. Surprisingly good job.
Not next time, but some time, we’re gonna do something similar with Umbrella Academy and Doom Patrol, and hot DAMN those shows have the goods.
