Since the series is sadly only a scant 9 episodes, things unfold throughout the season and most of the backstory is revealed through flashbacks. The family settles in the sleepy small town of Bridgewater, Iowa with Paul (and I'll just stick to their real names instead of their assumed names because it's just easier) taking a menial job as a cook because he can get paid under the table. Handsome son Henry (Dustin Milligan) is having a hard time coping after leaving his beautiful girlfriend, Kylie, (Kristen Hager), especially since he has become a bit of an outcast at his new school, whereas nerdy braniac sister Hannah (Sarah Ramos) has transformed herself into a popular girl, playing dumb and cool to get friends. Poor little Tommy (Nathan Gamble) is just having a hard time remembering where they are really supposed to be from. Mom Lilly (Leslie Hope) acquires a job at the local hospital as a receptionist so she can get sample inhalers to address Tommy's asthma, but finds herself in a pickle when a tornado whips through the community and she has to stitch up a neighbor's son, oh-so-dreamy Brady (Andrew Lawrence), who eventually falls for Hannah. Good thing Lily went to medical school! But this only brings more questions...
The entire series is quite a roller coaster as little tidbits are revealed that Erin may have been having an affair with someone other than Paul and that the pharmaceutical company Paul was representing may have been a little shady. Add to that the fact that someone is contacting Paul through his old girlfriend's email address and sending cryptic messages and someone is also threatening his family and you've got a lot of drama. There's a reason Paul went on the run and it wasn't just to protect himself.
This show is full of near-misses and clever camera work. Is the US Marshall, heavy on their trail, really at his door? Whether it's one of the kids getting arrested for buying liquor or a suspicious neighbor who sees the family gathered at their meeting spot, this show thrives on taking you to the edge and rescuing you at the last possible moment. But it works for the show and it worked for me. There aren't any special features other than a selection of previews, but regardless, I really enjoyed this show and was sad to see it come to an end - especially since the entire series is really good, but the final ten minutes are freakin' awesome. They wrap this show up in an unbelievable way, both revealing a huge and unexpected twist which solves some of the mysteries, and also leaving you hanging as to the family's future. However, it is not at all unsettling and I found they did a good job in wrapping up a show that obviously was designed to go on for a much longer time. If you haven't yet seen Runaway, I highly recommend it. While you probably won't watch it over and over, it is definitely worth a run-through, so you should add it to your Netflix queue.
