R-U-N--RUNAWAY was written by Mark Kunerth and directed by Claire Scanlon and continued right where episode 19th ended with JJ's attempt to run away. The show dug deep and again dared to tell stories that usually are not shown on the small screen and pushed under the rug.
JJ's fight for independence and proving he can prevail on his own continued in this episode. Micah Fowler delivered a remarkable performance, he played very carefully on that line to portray JJ as a spoiled ungrateful kid and a child frustrated by his inability. I admire Micah's courage so much, he played this part with so much integrity and strength.
The opening scene in Kenneth's apartment was hilarious, Cedric was so hilarious I couldn't stop laughing. Another hilarious scene was the one where the family switched as JJ's yelling aides, the cast plays so great of each other. I love seeing them all together in a scene.
Maya rebelliously throwing a runaway for JJ was just adorable. Her being her adorable overprotective self, indulging JJ's every wish was heartwarming. The writers tried really hard to give us a sense of how lost Maya felt as she was unable to do the only thing she was meant to do as a mother and that is protecting JJ. Maya conveniently meeting Lee and his girlfriend was a bit lazy written and a quick fix for a bigger issue but it was funny and heartwarming at the same time.
Loved all the teaser puns, especially Maya's line about it recharging her phone.
Ray and Dylan exploiting Jimmy's inability to handle tough talks was a hilarious side story to follow up the real serious talk between Maya and JJ. I have to admit Ray weirded me out with his robe desires. Mason Cook was truly hilarious from his poor attempt to exploit Jimmy to explaining what robe he wants. I liked how they've turned the story from funny and still took the time to revisit the issue of helping JJ when necessary.
The second side story involving Dylan and Kenneth was another winner. Kenneth being a flamboyant college basketball star and a winner by definition excited Dylan a little bit more than it should. Regardlessly it was a great story and it was enjoyable to see Dylan and Kenneth interact with each other. If I recall well, this is their first shared story and it was a good one. Dylan provoking Kenneth to trash talk was really funny and Kyla Kenedy delivered another great performance. She is so so funny.
Kenneth eventually starting to trash talk was hilarious especially as he looked so cute while doing it. Also, the final scene with Kenneth and Dylan eating the extra chilly pepper was hilarious, great finish to a strong episode.
Episode 20 of Speechless season 1 was another great outing. It was a funny and entertaining episode, that sent a great message and rose awareness once more.
