Under all the hype behind “Avengers: Endgame” tickets, Marvel had another big event happen this week: “Cloak & Dagger’. The story of Cloak/Ty Johnson (Aubrey Joesph) & Dagger/Tandy Bowen (Olivia Holt) originated out of the pages of Spider-Man back in the 1980’s & has now led to a Freeform TV show that debuted in June 2018. The MCU-based show returned with a 2-hour premiere picking up on the saga of the “Divine Pairing.”
Removed from their comic beginnings in NYC, the city of New Orleans plays host for the duo’s adventures. From the beginning, we see two individuals brought together from their own personal tragedies & the aftermath leaves them changed forever with abilities. As the season progresses, the viewers are treated to mystery behind their pairing & where that journey takes them forward. What started as “Divine Intervention” turned into a mix of superpowered & real-world issues that made fans sit up & take notice due to solid writing & incredible acting. Olivia Holt absolutely defined the role of Tandy Bowen, making her story multi-layered rather than just “she’s the hero, LIKE her”. Joesph & Emma Lahana (Detective O’Reilly/Mayhem) also added strong performances with the rest of the cast. As the heroes uncovers their mysteries, they find themselves in very different places from where episode 1 started. With the cliffhanger of a reset for all 3 characters mentioned, it was a no brainer to bring the show back for Season 2.
As we start off, New Orleans is saved, but everything has changed. Ty is on the run, framed from murder & hiding out in the abandoned church where Dagger ran away to from her family drama. On the flip side, Tandy has returned home & made a somewhat peace with her Mom. Their ally, Detective O’Reilly survived her own drama & presumed death to emerge with powers all her own.
Cloak has now embraced becoming a hero. He’s using his powers to disrupt the local drug dealers and trying to make his world better. Tandy has gone back to ballet and normalcy. It appears she’s given up being Dagger & has only been support to Tyrone instead of being a partner. After attending some support groups, she comes across Mikayla, a victim of abuse. Once prying into her situation, Tandy takes action in her own way. Once again, Holt’s portrayal of Dagger is a driving force of the show. Holt balances out the range of emotions flawlessly. Not to be outdone, Joseph gets into his “coming of hero age” when his plan backfires & is caught in a dire moment, only to be saved by Dagger. Once again, the “divine pairing” is reunited for the greater good.
Not to be left out at this stage, Detective O’Reilly knows of Cloak’s activities and tries keeping him on the right side of the law. Her return to everyday life since her death & rebirth has been a struggle. O’Reilly tells Ty to leave being the law to the professionals. His response was to get evidence that would stand in court by taping a gang meeting. Even with Tandy’s help, the plan falls apart when the meeting is violently ended with multiple dead bodies.
Overall, “Cloak & Dagger” came back right where they left off. Their key strengths of season 1 (writing, acting lead by Olivia Holt, & a haunting soundtrack) fell right back into place. As the season goes on, Joseph & Lahana should make a huge impact and I, for one, can’t wait to see where that journey goes. “Cloak & Dagger” airs Thursdays on Freeform.
