Abhiroop Das
Created by Jonas Pate, Prime Video’s ‘The Runarounds’ chronicles the story of a high school band that blossoms into something much more over the course of one summer. With Charlie as the frontman, Neil and Topher are on the electric, and Wyatt is on the bass as Bez lights things on fire with his drumset, the stage seems to be set for success. However, with bigger challenges comes the realization that carving one’s identity in the creative industry is not easy. Love, family, and professional troubles become more than just obstacles, but instead life lessons in this coming-of-age narrative. The season finale, titled ‘Kill Devil’, carefully weaves all the characters’ psychological and emotional anxieties together, bringing their collective fate to a crescendo. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Runarounds Plot Recap
In his final year of high school, Charlie Cooper sets out to make his dream of a successful band a reality. As frontman, he spearheads the Futhermuckers, with Neil Crosby, the “Buddha” of the group, and Topher Park, the smart one, supporting him as guitarists. However, they run into trouble due to their drummer, Pete Atuna, who is not quite up to the mark. When the crew ends up fumbling their performance at Pete’s house party, they realize they need to start from scratch and call out for new additions to the team. Pete is happy to take on the role of manager, and he is replaced as drummer by the wildly talented Bez Willis. His friend, Wyatt Wysong, who is secretly a talented musician as well, joins the band as the bass guitarist, and together they create The Runarounds.
Charlie’s longtime crush, Sophia Kinney, starts to realize that she might have wasted precious years chasing academic success over joy and finds her respite in poetry. When her poetry journal accidentally lands in Charlie’s hands, he is left inspired and decides to dedicate his next song to her by using the poems as lyrics. However, this backfires, as The Runarounds’ first performance ends with Sophia publicly shaming Charlie for stealing her words. However, the band does not give up and goes on to perform at a celebrity wedding, with music icon Danny Mace taking an interest in Bez. She offers him a job with a popular band named Lost Teen, but he rejects it in favour of his friends, earning her wrath. Gigs are hard to come by, and the crew suffocates between their art and personal lives. Inspiration comes when Catesby, a local music shop owner and former songwriter, begins to guide them.
Catesby leads the friend group to a concert by Dext Romweber, a famous underground Rock musician. Charlie and co get high while listening to riveting music, and this in turn becomes a bonding exercise. However, things get more intense when they wake up one day to find their entire gear stolen. It turns out that Wyatt’s mother is forced into selling all of the instruments to pay off her mounting debts, but that does not stop the team from fighting for what’s theirs. The cunning owner makes a counteroffer for them to perform in his club for free, and while the impromptu concert is a huge success, the gears are still not returned to them. The crew decides to get their hands dirty and steal their gear back, narrowly avoiding being shot. Their performance, on the other hand, goes viral, in large part due to Ruthie Bender, their friend and ally, cooking up a perfect edit.
The Runarounds’ newfound success catches the eyes of Izzy Fortini, an up-and-coming scout at Galaxy Records. She teases the possibility of being signed, provided the group can go viral and bag a new gig within a week. With Catesby’s support, they end up hitting both targets with an open terrace performance that is loved by hundreds of fans on-site. Izzy gets all the data she needs to prove to her superiors to give them a chance at their next gig. While preparations are on the way for their big show at the Kill Show nightclub, Charlie is hit by a life-changing revelation. His real father is none other than Catesby, who had a fling with his mother during their high school years, but disappeared shortly after. Catesby has only recently learnt the truth himself, and is unable to provide any support to the teen, who has to put his conflicted feelings behind him and give the concert at hand his all.
The Runarounds Ending: Do the Runarounds Break up? Do They Get Signed?
While The Runarounds are known for their unrelenting spirit and team integrity, both traits are pushed to their limits in the season finale, with the minor cracks within the band coming into full show after a series of setbacks. Their performance at Kill Show starts flawlessly, with the crowd grooving and Galaxy Records gladly showing off their newest find to Danny Mace. However, when Charlie dips out in the middle of the show for a conversation with Sophia, it sourly reflects their professionalism, and ultimately becomes a deciding factor in their rejection. The CEO acknowledges them as diamonds in the rough, but also as a band that is not quite there yet. Things get even worse on the tearful ride back home when the trailer with all of their gear comes loose and crashes onto the ground. With this, the band hits critical mass, and their lack of faith in Charlie comes out with full force, resulting in a heated disbanding.
The accident brings many plot threads together to show how the band has been riding a wave of success that isn’t quite reliable. While their careless maneuvers won them their gear back in the previous episodes, the same does not work this time, and each member loses something very precious to them. The person who is the most affected by all of this is Charlie, and his trust in himself is broken, seemingly beyond repair. Despite their growing distance, the group gets one more chance to reconnect in the form of Wender’s first film screening, which brings together all the main characters along with their family. Unsurprisingly, the film is based on The Runaround’s journey, harnessing all the joy and nostalgia out of their summer experience and putting it out in film. As the show goes on, Charlie begins to reflect on his friends’ future, but is unable to even visualize the band as a part of it anymore.
Danny Mace is the one to eventually come to their rescue, in large part due to the back-end assistance from Izzy Fortini. While Mace has previously been hateful towards the group due to Bez’s actions, even she cannot deny their sheer talent and potential. To this end, the seasoned musician does not let her personal feelings get in the way and initiates a contract with The Runarounds, flipping their fate on its head. It was never the band’s trust in their skills that eroded with the pile-up of rejections, but the lack of future prospects in this endeavour. With a life of success now on the horizon, the band regroups immediately, overjoyed at the idea of making their passion their profession. Wender’s short film is equally important in this turn of events, triggering a psychological reset in the team’s core feelings and shared ambitions. The story was never about giving up one’s passion, and the season finale ends with a lesson in perseverance.
Do Charlie and Sophia End Up Together? Is Sophia in the Band Now?
Charlie’s story is not just about the band, but also about his budding relationship with Sophia. Between a string of high highs and low lows, the two develop an irreplaceable connection, born over their love for expression and their shared inner turmoils. As such, it makes sense for the climax of their relationship not only to overlap but also to deeply inform the band’s make-or-break performance at Kill Devil. Upon noticing Sophia, Charlie dedicates a love song to her, pouring all of his emotions out to just the right beat. However, this does not have the intended effect, as a buildup of mixed emotions leads her to tearfully exit the show mid-way. Seeing this, Charlie shows no hesitation in stepping out of the stage, as his music is nothing without Sophia’s ear.
When Charlie finally catches up with Sophia, he is met with surprise, as she realizes how he is risking the entire band’s future for this conversation. When he refuses to relent, she finally reveals the source of her fears and frustration. Charlie was supposed to be the one dropping her off at college, but not only did he miss it, she also saw him sprinting through the road, seemingly with no care for her. Sophia’s interpretation of these events gives voice to all of her deeper anxieties, largely pertaining to her fear of being ignored down the line. She realizes that Charlie is the kind of person who devotes everything to music, but that, coupled with his impulsive nature, also makes her question his reliability. However, all of this is based on a misunderstanding, and at last Charlie finds the time to tell her the truth about his parentage, something he has only recently discovered.
The revelation instantly bridges Charlie and Sophie, as in that moment, she can relate to his feeling of being lost and confused. In a moment of deep empathy, she realizes that he is also a three-dimensional person who needs her care as much as she does. Furthermore, Charlie’s decision to risk sacrificing the band just to talk to her reinforces his priorities, dispelling any false beliefs she has kept uptill now. With this, the couple confesses their feelings for each other and shares a kiss. That is not the end of the rope for Sophia, as the ending also cements her importance to The Runarounds. During their contract signing with Danny Mace, the group also added a clause that included Sophia in the equation. The goal is to have her writings published, and Mace accepts, bringing Sophia’s arc as an artist full circle.
Does Charlie Get the House Back? What is Next For The Runarounds?
While the story of ‘The Runarounds’ is primarily about the teens’ coming of age, it is constantly influenced by their lived experiences, from parental troubles to career aspirations. As the protagonist, Charlie and his family get the most focus, with most of their anxieties boiling down to monetary issues. Charlie’s father is stuck with writer’s block, and that leaves them with no money to pay their house’s mortgage. As the episodes go by, Charlie has to watch his family slowly break apart due to this conundrum, and ultimately decides to take on the mantle himself. While his journey of earning enough has a confident start, it quickly loses steam as he hits dead ends one after the other. However, Danny Mace joining hands with the band means that they can finally mint real money, and Charlie ensures that his first paycheck is dedicated to winning the house back.
Charlie’s move not only ties a plot thread, but also completes one of the show’s ruling thematic questions. All members of the band are at one point faced with the same question: whether their craft is sustainable as a career. Often, their parents are on the other end of that question, with some validity in their worries. However, Charlie’s success story ripples throughout the entire crew, and all of the members are able to bring happiness back into their familial lives. We are shown that Neil’s father is sick, but has been avoiding treatment; however, with his newfound economic freedom, Neil can get the best possible treatment for his loved one. Wyatt finds himself in a similar spot, as his dynamic with his mother has been the most affected by the issue of money. Bez, whose father is also a musician, finally gets to prove himself and his faith in the band, and Topher has the last laugh in his fight with his family.
Notably, money only serves as a vessel in the story, with the real thematic message being to trust in one’s passion. While the show is conscious of the difficulties that come with pursuing a career in the creative industry, it also shows a possible happy ending, born out of perseverance and hard work. With the band officially affiliated with Danny Mace, they have an urgent task at hand: create a complete album. Their work so far has been a collective effort of not just the band’s musicians, but also their two managers, Pete and Amanda, their filmmaker, Bender, and, most importantly, their lyricist, Sophia. As such, all of the friends are bound to come together in search of their next masterpiece, adding a healthy dose of fun to their creative expression. Mace ends the show with a declaration of intent: to turn The Runarounds into the biggest band on earth, and the team is all set to stand up to that challenge.
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