I continue to be amazed at how Cloak & Dagger has been able to not only keep pace with season one but surpass it with what they’re doing with season two. All of those interviews where the cast were proclaiming that this sophomore stint was even better than the first season sounded like typical hype. Only it’s not. The hype has been real.
Something that Cloak & Dagger is remarkably good at is emotion. Whether it’s making these characters feel emotion or consequently the audience feel emotion, this is a new wave of superhero drama.
These producers and writers don’t build entire episodes around a single, epic battle scene. They have journeys that these characters need to go on, and they always seem to put them in the right place to learn from it.
And right now, this feels like one of those pivotal emotional moments for several characters, namely Tyrone and Tandy. We’re starting to see how they’re realizing just how important they are to each other. We’re seeing feelings develop, albeit slowly.
We all know that Tyrone and Tandy are going to be a thing romantically. It’s an inevitability at this point. But the fun remains in watching how these life and death situations — moments where they think that the other is in danger or hurt — force them to confront how they feel about one another. And it continues to add to those preexisting feelings.
As they say, it’s not about the destination. It’s about the journey. And Tyrone and Tandy journey has been absolutely amazing to watch.
A Packaged Deal
If there’s one thing that this season of Cloak & Dagger has taught me — other than the fact that Tyrone and Tandy care deeply for each other — it’s that they’re stronger together than apart.
“Sometimes packages get broken.”
Ty and Tandy had a heated clash, which resulted in them going their separate ways. In this case, it meant Tandy going off on her own to try and catch the people responsible for the sex trafficking ring. It also meant Tandy getting caught and subjected to said scheme.
Together, they’re stronger. Apart, they’re not. Simple as that.
But when it comes to tearing them apart — which is the only way you have a chance of stopping them — it’s more difficult. It takes a psychological mastermind like Tyrone — with mystical abilities — to plant those seeds of doubt.
“We’re the exception, not the rule.”
Because even when you don’t think this partnership should work, it does.
A Different Kind of Villain
There’s something so enticing about a villain that plays mind games, who manipulates and who can seemingly make the strongest minds less than confident. That’s Andre, who isn’t your prototypical villain — especially for a superhero genre. He’s a villain that lacks physical prowess, but it even more terrifying for the mere fact that he can get inside of your head and make you relive some of the heaviest emotions of your worst memories.
We saw exactly what Andre was capable of in last week’s episode, where he was able to get inside Tandy’s head and force her into submission — where she lost hope. We saw just how far Andre’s influence reaches, as we caught a glimpse into the sex trafficking scheme him and Leah are running. He was able to get to Tyrone — forcing him to move on without Tandy — before Mayhem intervened.
Andre’s entire operation stems from the fact that he — as a victim of the Roxxon explosion — has headaches/migraines that he cannot quiet. He found a short-term solution in sending that pain to others via their own past traumas and emotion.
Like all villains, Andre doesn’t believe that he’s the bad guy. In his mind, he’s trying to help people while simultaneously alleviating his own pain. He doesn’t believe it’s too much to sacrifice people in the process. Obviously, he’s wrong. But in his own mind, he’s the hero. He wants to play God. But as Chantelle says, if he can’t show mercy now, how can he show mercy as a God?
A Mother Scorned
While Tandy and Tyrone fought their separate battles, there was still the little matter that was Connors, the man that killed Ty’s brother and covered it up and then tried to kill Tyrone and then was sucked into the Cloak where he was jailed for six months.
With those six months to reflect, Connors has realized the errors of his ways — both in shooting Billy and covering it up, and in trying to go after Tyrone. Connors is the only one standing in between Ty and freedom to live in the world. But when Connors is brought to Tyrone’s mom, she has to weigh the options: Kill Connors for killing her eldest son or keep him alive so that she can clear the name of her youngest.
Throughout this entire thing, Connors is trying to defend himself against Tyrone’s mom. She’s a pretty good judge of character, and she doesn’t believe him. Connors makes her feel powerless, even tied up. She’s torn between the pain of wanting to get vengeance for Billy and saving Tyrone.
Connors tells her that he buried Billy at the fairgrounds. Is that enough? All she wanted was closure. To be able to bury her son. Of course it’s not enough. But maybe that’s enough to keep her from jeopardizing her other son’s freedom.
Cliffhanger, say what?
I feel as if Cloak & Dagger is trying to send me into cardiac arrest most episodes, as evidenced by yet another cliffhanger. This one involving Tyrone, and whatever the hell is happening inside his Cloak. It appears as if he’s getting pulled inside the Cloak, like the others have been.
When people are typically sent into the Cloak, they’re sent there for a reason. Be it Connors or Mayhem, there’s a reason that they’re sent there. For self reflection or to learn a lesson or to find themselves. And it looks as if Tyrone is going to have to find his way out. Hopefully with Tandy be his side.
Cloak & Dagger airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Freeform.
