Alex was in danger thanks to his dear old dad's prison promises.

While some of the kids are having a hard time reconciling their parents could be as rotten as they've discovered them to be. On Marvel's Runaways Season 1 Episode 5 Alex doesn't have that problem. He looks at his parents and sees nothing but ugliness.

And it's the right choice. 

I know I've been having a hard time thinking all of the parents are terrible. Is anything ever as black and white as it seems? No. But I'm older, and I've probably done some things in my life that if seen through the eyes of a teenager would make me look as terrible as their parents.

Hey! I have not done anything to get the cuffs slapped on me, but still. Sometimes you feel like an ugly person after living a while. Hindsight can cover your rose-colored glasses with mud.

But Geoffrey and Catherine were faced with a man making a deal too good to be true while Geoffrey was already in prison. They didn't ask enough questions, and to get out, Geoffrey even asked his buddy to take the fall for the crime he committed (and then later said the charges were dropped on said crime, as if they were!).

Talk about scummy. And their promise to the guy who did Geoffrey's time was to cut him in. Given what they received from Jonah, couldn't they have cut Darius in with a little bit more than giving him his old territory? Don't criminals have some sort of code?

Even if they were murdering people as a result of getting involved with the likes of Jonah, that wasn't Darius' fault. The best part was Alex didn't even blame Darius for kidnapping him. Hell, if he could have kidnapped himself to get something from his father, he probably would. 

To make matters worse, Geoffrey showed up guns blazing. Did he even look to see if he was going to kill Alex in the process of flailing around with that gun? I don't think so. 

The look Geoffrey had on his face when he made eye contact with Andre had me thinking they were father and son. Of course, Geoffrey said Pride's next sacrifice. Alex shot him, only wounding him, but that put a slight dent in his plan because if he got too weak, the life force might not be enough to get Jonah out of his stasis.

The whole thing was incredibly disappointing. 

What wasn't was seeing his friends come to his rescue, sort of. 

Chase wasn't available because he was bonding with Victor, messing with his (and my) mind. Victor was annoying the time with his son as much as Chase was reconnecting with Victor.

Victor was talking about taking out an old project he could never get to work because maybe their two minds together could make something of it. It's hard to think the guy in there has been willingly murdering for 15 years. There has to be more to the story, right??

It was pretty cool when everyone met up with Darius' SUV and discovered what they could do. Molly was so tickled she finally got to show everyone she was strong. Nico's staff was all kinds of helpful protecting them and Karolina was shooting beams out of her arms. Chase appeared and his fistigons worked, if not perfectly.

They are well on their way to not only protecting themselves, but others.

But Geoffrey still made off with Andre under the guise of taking care of him. And as reluctant as the group was to go on the hunt for another kid, even when they did, all they discovered was the sacrifice room was empty.

They don't know everything about their powers, and they sure as hell don't know everything about their parents. I wonder if their parents even know everything about what they're doing.

Pride used Andre to put the life back into Jonah, and I have to wonder what is so great about a guy who shrivels up into what looks like a dog turd that's been in the lawn too long and needs human sacrifices to bring him back. What kind of being can be so great he can't even keep himself alive with regular food?

As the kids all went their separate ways again, it became clear to me the two who will have the hardest time believing their parents are evil masterminds are Chase and Nico. 

Victor wasn't angry in the slightest Chase took the fistigons. Just the opposite. He said if they worked, they must be on the right track, and pulled out his passion project, a time machine. It shows time in the future or past. 

When it doesn't work, Victor gets incredibly angry and shoves it onto the floor, revealing to Chase he has brain cancer but hasn't wanted to tell anyone. Is that why he's such a mess? Maybe his brain is making him do bad things. For 15 years though? Iffy.

At the same time, Nico returns home with the staff to a mother eager to show her how to use it. Tina not only explains they are the only two who can, but that it's an anomaly because they're more alike than they could have imagined, Nico's DNA matching Tina's almost exactly.

And, oh by the way, you could have just asked if you wanted to read Amy's journal, she said. Nico felt closer to her mother in that moment than she did in ages, and she was more confused than ever. 

Are the parents trying to confuse their kids because they know how close they're getting to the truth of who and what they are?

If that's the case, it's not happening over at Alex's house. Geoffrey thought the way to Alex's heart was to use the "it's my house and you're just renting a room here" parenting spiel. He's not getting voted father of the year.

It was incredibly odd to have Frank suddenly wake up having not achieved Ultra. I thought we were going to discover he was on the other side of the tanning bed and they didn't use Andre at all. Nope. Not the case. 

But Jonah is awake and wants to meet "her." That can only be Karolina, right? We know Frank doesn't turn pink and and shoot rainbows from his hands. Does Jonah?

What did you guys think of everyone using their powers? Did you notice the triangle between Gert, Karolina, and Chase growing a bit? I want more of the dinosaur. When does it get to come out and play? What are your thoughts on the parents/

Hit the comments and let me know what you're thinking about all things Runaways!

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.