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Runaways
Synopsis | Review by Juan F. Lara
Overview
- After being chided by Goliath for messing up during a mission, an angry Brooklyn stomps away and doesn't return to the Castle that night.
- Brooklyn befriends a group of three runaways, working for the mysterious "Radar" in return for his protection.
- Trying for extra cash, Kenny (the oldest Runaway) tries to tell Radar's other workers of the valuable Brooklyn's sleeping location, but is stopped by Elisa, who followed Kenny.
- Tricking the other runaways into a trap, Radar's workers tranquilize and steal Brooklyn.
- Finding the younger runaways (Bobbi and Dave) Elisa gets information on both the theft ring she was investigating and Brooklyn's location.
- Goliath, Elisa, and Angela arrive at the scene where Brooklyn is held and knock Radar and his bodyguards unconscious, solving the mystery of Brooklyn's location and the theft ring at the same time.
- Bobbi and Dave are reunited with their parents, and Brooklyn returns with the clan to the castle.
Synopsis
by Bard
Act I
We begin with an aerial view of the Manhattan skyline at night, scattered rain falls among the skyscrapers as Goliath begins his monologue comparing humans and gargoyles by their need for clans and the structure accompanied with clans. He goes on to say that there is a time "When every Gargoyle finds himself at odds with his clan," as the scene fades to one of the city streets, zooming into a group of people loading boxes from an opened garage into an unmarked white van, Goliath finishes his monologue by saying that however the at-odds member of the clan resolves this issue, and how the clan aides his quest determines if there is to be a future with the clan and this individual at all. During this point in the monologue the men load another box into the truck, and we see a figure looking behind at them through the side mirror of the truck's front seat. At that moment a police officer comes in through a side door of the garage and yells at the men to stop. Expectedly, the men drop the box they were carrying and jump into the back of the truck, the driver taking that as the signal to leave. The officer fires his gun as the truck pulls away, but no contact. From the back of the truck, the two men fire high-powered guns through the still-open back doors, and we see the officer drop his gun and fall to the lower platform near the garage. His police officer hat floats to the side and lands some distance away, and from the corner of the alley in which Mr. Hat has landed, we see Elisa Maza's car pull in next to the Mr. Hat, the famous police officer opening her door and running across to the fallen officer, who struggles to get up. He clutches a wound on his arm, but Elisa tells him to remain still and she will call an ambulance.
The scene moves to a different part of town, were we see the Goliath perched on watch, with Elisa informing him of the events occurring and to be on the look out for the truck in question, which is headed their way. Brooklyn, in his thoughts, crouches down on a different roof, with a walkie-talkie next to him. His mind dives into a memory, and we see him attempting to woo Angela with flowers. Cue a cutesy romance moment and the flashback is broken with the distorted sound of Goliath's voice coming through the walkie-talkie. Brooklyn snaps out of the thought and reaches for the walkie; Goliath then chides him for his lack of attention and informs him of the truck's position, demanding the brick-red gargoyle to keep on their tail. We see the truck already passing Brooklyn's post, and with a muddled "great!" the crimson gargoyle takes after them. The truck sails along the streets, with Brooklyn above it, but soon the white paneled-truck takes refuge through the under leg panels of a bridge, separating itself and Brooklyn on opposite sides. The red gargoyle makes reference to "cluttered airways" and bravely attempts to continue his pursuit of the truck, sliding through the leg panels of the bridge and making a grab for its back before the truck turns and trusts him into the bridge, the crimson-goyle making rough contact and collapsing to the ground as the truck turns a corner and gets away. Brooklyn quickly gets up and rubs himself in the sore spots as both Goliath and Elisa arrive on the scene. Brooklyn confesses to his loss of the truck, and Goliath proceeds to yell at him, Brooklyn trying to defend himself by saying he was gone "only for a few seconds." Goliath continues to rant at Brooklyn's failure, while Elisa offers a comforting hand to Brooklyn's shoulder. Brooklyn shoves away at both of them, yelling at Goliath to "stop treating [him] like a hatchling!" Goliath responds that he would, if Brooklyn would stop acting like one. Brooklyn stomps off in aggravation, throwing the walkie he held throughout the ordeal at Goliath's feet. Both Goliath and Elisa look on at Brooklyn's retreating form, Elisa's face one of concern, Goliath's one of harsh acceptance.
Fadeout to Brooklyn cruising along a different side of town, grumbling to himself that even Goliath has made mistakes, surely. We move quickly back to Castle Wyvern, and to a den where Angela is reading by a fire. Brooklyn passes by the open door and Angela looks up and says "What a nice surprise!" Brooklyn begins to happily walk toward Angie, as Broadway plops down in front of him with two mugs of cocoa (the supposed "surprise"), offering one to Angie before they both cuddle and look into the fire, leaving poor ignored Brooklyn sighing and leaving the room. Cross-fade to Goliath and Elisa atop the fire stairs of an anonymous building. Elisa thinks that Goliath was too hard on Brooklyn, but the lavender behemoth defends his position, saying that a good second-in-command does not keep his guard down. A sound startles both of them, and we see a young boy skateboarding towards a house, running up the stairs and knocking in a strange fashion on a derelict door face, which opens enough for him to slide an unmarked package through and close again. Elisa's police instincts tell her to investigate, but Goliath doesn't want to do that to a child. The same child soon comes into crash range of our friend the white truck, but he is luckily saved at the last moment by our crimson comrade. The child experiences the same reaction as most people to seeing a gargoyle, and flees, much to the dismay of a lonely Brooklyn, who was "only trying to help."
The child continues to run down an alley, jumping over a chain-link fence to two other children warming themselves over a fire. The child that we have been following gloats that he was saved by a gargoyle, neither of the other two children believing him. The older boy asks the younger one if he delivered the package to one named "Radar." Our boy states that Radar thinks that he is being watched, and to wait for a signal before seeing him again. The girl says that she dislikes being homeless without protection, but the older boy scoffs at her, saying that she should have thought of that before running away. We then see Brookie overlooking the three from a post atop some fire stairs, shaking his head at the three children's predicament. Right then, three larger thugs come across the kids, and "Kenny" (as referred to by the girl) steps up and tries to defend by dropping Radar's name. He's shoved aside, and the thugs laugh as they pull the younger boy to them, trying to threaten whatever they have out of them, saying the cops will nab their protection soon anyway. Brooklyn swings down and makes quick work (via fighting and growling) of the now-wimpy thugs. The two younger kids take a quick admiration to Brooklyn, asking him questions to which he replies with his usual chuckle. The younger brother introduces himself and his sister as Dave Porter and Bobbi Porter respectively, and then taking the time to introduce Kenny. Brooklyn asks the kids why they are out here alone, and Bobbi sadly replies that it's because of domestic problems. Brooklyn relates and asks who Radar is. Bobbi replies that he offers protection for them in return for "favors." Dave elaborates and says Kenny was their contact to Radar in the first place. Brooklyn, seeing the sun begin to rise, makes a deal with the kids: protection from him during the night, and protection from them during the day when he is stoned (hehehe...) in sleep.
We then cut to the clan when they return to the castle in the dawning sky, and Angela informs Goliath that Brooklyn is nowhere to be found. Goliath is quick to leap to thought of punishment, but Elisa defends Brooklyn. Goliath assigns the clan to split up that night and search.
Moving back to Brook and his gang, we see his stone self being moved into a shaded section of removable wall via the kids. As the last part of the sleeping Gargoyle is pulled into safety, two gun wielding men come up to the kids and raise their weapons.
Act II
One of the men with the guns speaks of rumors of their gargoyle protector. Dave rejects the idea, and is thrown to the ground. The men talk of Radar and the money he gives out as payment for "flying monkeys." Upon hearing of money, Kenny asks for more info. The men speak of collectors wishing for the creatures to put gargoyles on show, and the money they will pay to get them. The men leave laughing, and we fade to Elisa driving around, talking to Matt via intercom and asking for further information on a "missing person." Dave then rides out in front of her car, and upon recognizing Dave from last night, she turns around and begins to investigate.
Cross-fade back to the same derelict door that Dave knocked on before and the same scenario occurs, with Elisa watching from a parallel alley. Kenny then appears, recognized instantly by Elisa, who gets out of her car and follows him on foot. Kenny gets wind of her stalking and runs around a corner. Elisa continues to run after him into a dilapidated house. Kenny jumps into a hole in the middle of the floor, and Elisa follows, ending up in a different room, and finding Kenny running up the fire stairs after jumping through a nearby window. She continues to run after him, calling "halt, police!" Kenny begins to jump from roof to roof in order to get away. He runs across the roof of the building he jumped on and hides around a corner from a staircase that Elisa runs down on instinct. He laughs at his victory of losing her and we fade to a warehouse where Kenny stands with three men, two of which visited his Kenny and the kids last night. He asks about a finder's fee, at which the man he is talking to laughs, and Kenny states then that he shall only speak to Radar about the whole thing. The man says everything depends on what he is selling, and at this point we see the wonderfully secretive Elisa spying on them from the sidelines at the moment when Kenny says he will inform Radar of the gargoyle's location.
Cue sound effect and Elisa backing up into a box, revealing her location to the three men and Kenny. One guy stands up, appearing to be the driver from the white-panel truck, drawing a weapon at the same time. Elisa fires her weapon and them, and then has to duck from the laser-like charge from the three men and their weapons. Elisa tumbles away and fires again at the men. Kenny is slapped aside by one of the men for leading Elisa here, and then the teenage ruffian takes the opportunity to escape through a window as the shooting continues. The men soon also retreat, leaving Elisa to call Matt and inform him that she is calling "some friends of her own," to finish this.
Claw-fade (you get it if you've watched it) back to the castle at dusk and the awakening gargoyles. Elisa immediately walks up to them and says that she has a lead on the theft ring. Goliath puts Hudson, Broadway, and Lexington in charge of finding Brooklyn, and takes Angela with him and Elisa to the scene. Cut to Brooklyn waking up and the two kids commenting on how cool his waking ritual is. Dave informs Brooklyn of the men asking for him, and Brooklyn demands who they were. Bobbi says that they only know that they came, whispering to Dave that they "can't make Radar mad." Dave shoves her aside and tells Brooklyn of Radar's plan and the price on the crimson-goyle's head. Bobbi is afraid for the children's safety now, but Brooklyn reassures that they will find Kenny and take them all to a safe place.
We cut to a warehouse different to the one before, where the three men are hard at work, and where we are first introduced to Radar, who is currently asking the whereabouts of the gargoyle. Kenny asks for money in return for the information, but Radar threatens Kenny with his life if he does not give the info. Kenny gives in and says that Bobbi and Dave won't give over Brook without a fight, and Radar makes Kenny "remind [Bobbi and Dave] who their real friend is."
Cut back to Brooklyn carrying the children as he glides. The children love the flight and ask if all his gargoyle friends could do that. Hurt by the memories of Goliath chiding him, he responds half-heartedly as Dave's pager (homeless, with no money but he has a pager?) goes off with Kenny's number on it. They land at where Kenny said to meet them, and no one is there. Brooklyn senses a trap right as the three men step out of the convenient darkness and raise their weapons to the kids and Brooklyn, who growls and advances. The men fire off a beam of energy that destroys a wall above them, causing Brooklyn to go white-eyed and pounce on the men as Dave and Bobbi seek shelter behind a trash bin. As the angered Brooklyn advances on the men, he is tranquilized from the back and collapses. The men encircle the fallen gargoyle as the two siblings look on.
Act III
The men pull up Brooklyn, who is still not claimed by the tranq yet, as the kids run off down the alley. They are thankfully not pursued by the already concerned men. Fade to Elisa in her car, waiting for the kids, who then run by the front of her car. She gets out and chases them down another dark alley, easily catching up with them. Bobbi tearfully says that Dave is hurt. Dave shrugs the comment off as we hear the flight and landing of a gargoyle in the distance. Goliath and Angela land in the alley and Elisa demands again what happened with the kids. Bobbi relays most of the trap in alley before breaking down and crying. Dave mentions Brooklyn, and Goliath instantly demands the red gargoyle's location. Angela tries a softer approach to get the information from Bobbi,but it is Dave who reveals Brooklyn's location: Radar's hideout. Bobbi still tries to get Dave to stop mentioning Radar, but Dave stands firm in his decision to take the gargoyles and Elisa there. Angela wanted to take Dave to a hospital, but Goliath and Elisa make him stay to show them the way to the warehouse.
Claw-fade to said warehouse, where we see Brooklyn chained by the wrists next to Radar, who is on the phone with the prospective client wanting the gargoyle. Radar asks for a higher price than before, using demented marketing techniques to continually raise the never-lowering price. He gestures for Kenny, who comes to him. At the moment when Radar is congratulating Kenny, a knock is heard somewhere. Radar, thinking it is a delivery, sends Kenny to investigate. As he nears the door, it explodes from the outside, and we hear Goliath's roar. Goliath appears at the doorframe, and Kenny hides himself quickly behind a few boxes. Goliath, Angela, and Elisa enter the warehouse, followed hesitantly by Dave and Bobbi. Elisa makes reference to the theft ring she had been searching for in the beginning, and opens a nearby crate to reveal stolen weapons.
Goliath turns a corner and finds Radar and Brooklyn. Growling, he approaches the two and demands the freedom of the red gargoyle. Radar pulls Brooklyn between him and Goliath and threatens to take the crimson-goyle's life if Goliath takes one more step. Brooklyn breaks away, warning Goliath to look out, and Radar pulls out a gun, his two bodyguards behind him following suit. He demands that they find Brooklyn, and they fire at the floor next to Goliath and the girls, which explodes and sends them flying. A shot narrowly misses Elisa as she disappears behind some crates, followed by one of the men. From next to the man following Elisa, dozens of crates drop down upon him.
Angela, who had pushed the crates, is targeted by another of the men. As he is about to pull the trigger on his gun, Goliath appears before him and makes quick work of his gun, breaking it in half. He picks up the offender with ease and sends him flying into a stack of crates and TV sets. Angela is fired upon by the third man, but easily dodges the beams of energy. Radar demands that the man cease fire and spare his merchandise. The man doesn't obey those orders and with a few more fires from the gun (all misses), he is confronted by both Elisa and Angela. He tries to escape by throwing a TV throw a window, but is grabbed by the belt by Elisa and pulled down. Angela then counters his struggle and throws him easily into a wall. Radar, angered, begins to walk off.
We see Goliath placing the comatose villains to one side of the warehouse, tied together with rope around their wrists. Angela brings the last man with her and throws him to the pile, just as an explosion sounds behind her, sending her and Goliath forward. Radar appears with an extremely ghetto gun, stating that he "can make enough off [Goliath, Angela, and Brooklyn] to retire in luxury." As he is about to fire, he is hit from behind by Brooklyn and a tire (such a wonderful weapon.)
Dave is clutching to Brooklyn for safety, as the crimson gargoyle says that the tire "was all I could find." All the gargoyles in the warehouse clutter around Brooklyn, and Elisa comes up and asks if Dave is alright. At this point, Kenny tries to make his escape. Running into Bobbi, he uses her as a shield. Brooklyn goes to talk to him, and tries to convince Kenny to let her go. Kenny, almost moved by his argument, is tackled from behind by Elisa, who took a secret route around some crates to get to him. Kenny makes the comment that he'll be out of juvy on probation, but Elisa fires back that she heard he turned 18 recently. As she handcuffs him, she smiles and says "Happy Birthday."
Bobbi and Dave hug each other, and Brooklyn tells them that their parents really do love them, plugging the fact that he learned a lot about family through this experience, and looking up at Goliath to make his point. Dave and Bobbi consider returning home as Brooklyn apologizes to Goliath for running off. Goliath forgives him, stating that they are family, and nothing will ever change that. Cut to a hospital roof, where Goliath explains how Elisa got to find out the connection between the kids and Radar. The gargoyles look through a window at Dave in a hospital bed and Bobbi by his side. A knock is heard at the door, and Elisa goes to answer it. Their parents rush to their side and its one of those happy Kodak bonding moments. Brooklyn looks down lovingly at the reunion, and says it's a shame how many kids don't know their value to their families. Goliath says it "could happen to the best of us," and the three fly, back to Castle Wyvern.
Review
by Juan F. Lara
An average episode for "The Goliath Chronicles" in terms of the premise and the action.
Greg Weisman hinted at future conflicts between Brooklyn and Goliath in "The Journey". But Goliath was characterized too broadly here. He DID sound like he was scolding a hatchling. ("This theft ring isn't a game, Brooklyn.") His opinion that Brooklyn "will" make a good leader when he "grows up" sounded ridiculous since for all those weeks during the World Tour Brooklyn WAS a good leader. I just didn't buy this set-up. Later on, the script tried to make a parallel with the kids' problems. The parallel didn't work for me at all.
I felt neutral about the story after Brooklyn ran into the kids. I liked the background artwork for the slums, and Kenny's chase scene and the fight in Act 3 were well-paced action sequences. But the episode felt like people were holding back. The kids gave only very general reasons for running away. Those reasons sounded trite and could've meant anything. Radar was a good villain because of Morgan Sheppard's performance. But he didn't leave all that threatening an impression, and neither did the generic thugs he had for underlings. Given the subject matter, "Runaways" could've been compelling and dramatic like "Deadly Force" was.
Act 3 featured Kenny's arrest in a scene that I liked a lot. They seemed to be following the old implausible cliche of someone making the hero reform through meaningless pontification, but went to a more believable ending instead. (See the quotes.) That scene reminded me of the good episodes Lydia C. Marano has done. But after that scene, everyone's lines turned into pontification, and the final scenes felt very pat and stiff.
I didn't like Lacey Chabert's portrayal of Bobbi. She played her too melodramatically, and her squeeky voice made the problem worse. But I thought Justin Shankarow and Michael Gilio did good jobs as Dave and Kenny. They both had believable voices and voice mannerisms.
Quotes
Brooklyn: My luck. Cluttered airway.
Bobbi: What's your name? Can you fly?
Brooklyn: Heh, I'm Brooklyn. And no, I glide.
Brooklyn: Stand still so I can fight you.
Elisa: I heard you turned 18. Happy birthday.
Brooklyn: 'Was all I could find.
So I thought the episode dealt with Brooklyn's problems too simplistically, but had action and characters that I found mildly interesting.