Recap: Cloak and Dagger’s Series Premiere

Cloak and Dagger debuted on Thursday with a 2-hour premiere on Freeform, and it looks like it’s going to be a show to watch (streaming now on Freeform). Between introducing characters and laying out the backstory and setting, the two episodes had a lot of work to do, but with some clever use of flashbacks, it managed not to get too weighted down in history. The show did a great job of playing on the light/dark theme in the lighting and scenes without being overwhelming. The soundtrack was pretty great too. Did you catch Milck’s “I Can’t Keep Quiet.” I hope that and a few of the references to police shootings mean the show is going to address real world issues alongside the Marvel Universe. Let’s try to unpack this new show.

(Note: I have not read the comics, so pardon any cluelessness.)

Cloak

Tyrone (Aubrey Joseph). Photo by FreeForm/Frank Ockenfels

Tyrone Johnson is a young man from a privileged background who appears to have the ability to disappear and reappear in another location. After his elder brother was killed by a police officer,

Tyrone’s mother, Adina (Gloria Reuben), decided to take on the system by launching a career in politics. Tyrone struggles from guilt related to his brother’s death and seems determined to find the dirty cop responsible. He attends basketball at a private Catholic school where a curious priest seems to have taken an interest in Tyrone. Although, I’m not sure yet what side Father Delgado is on.

Dagger

Tandy Bowen is the daughter of a researcher related to the company responsible for her ability to produce what appear to be daggers of light. After her father’s death, Tandy and her drug addict mother l

Tandy (Olivia Holt). Photo by Freeform/Alfonso Bresciani

ose everything, resulting in Tandy becoming a thief and scam artist with her partner Liam, who seems to care for her. When a confrontation with one of her marks goes wrong, Tandy’s got to get out of town as quickly as she can, running away like she always does.

Tyrone and Tandy first meet at the scene of the disaster that seems to have given them both powers. Tyrone and his brother are hiding from the police after Tyrone misguidedly steals a car radio to help his brother. As the two are turning to return the radio, they run into the police, leading to an officer shooting the brother when an explosion on an oil platform startles him. Tyrone leaps into the water the body has fallen into. Tandy and her father are in a sinking car in the same water, after their car is pushed off a bridge during an accident caused by the same explosion. Somehow the two end up in the same place, and when they reach for each other, one is drawn to a bright light while the other is pulled towards a dark shadow. Ultimately, we find out that Tyrone has transported them to safety when they come in contact with each other.

Later, they run into each other again when Tandy steals Ty’s wallet at a party. He chases her, and when he grabs her, there’s an unexplained reaction, but Tandy uses it as a cover to bolt. Tyrone is still struggling with his brother’s death and has recently gotten into a fight during a basketball game. After running into Tandy, he starts to find himself appearing in strange places, mostly places related to the corrupt cop that killed his brother. When he misses a practice, both the coach and his teammates are unimpressed. Ty tries to make up for it by practicing on his own, which seems to impress the coach, but his teammates give him a brutal payback in the locker room after. Later he finds himself in Connor’s (the corrupt cop) apartment and tries to shoot him, only to disappear, taking the fired bullet with him.

Tandy is trying to flee town after an encounter with a former mark goes bad. She’s found on the street by a guy that she robs, and he wants to get back at her by sexually assaulting her. Trying to protect herself, she conjures a dagger of light and stabs him (Good. He deserves it.). She and Liam scramble to get enough money to buy her a new identity so that she can make a clean break, but Detective O’Reilly is on her trail and closing in. Tandy and Liam finally score enough money by ripping off a wedding and getting away in the couple’s car. Tandy’s headed out of town in the stolen car when Liam calls her begging for help because he’s been picked up by the detective. She looks like she plans to keep on going, when Ty appears in the road in front of her, his bullet going through her windshield. She swerves to miss him and crashes into a tree, but it looks like these two are on a collision course regardless.

The show isn’t action packed, but so far is a great study of two characters who are linked by their shared trauma and unexplained powers. They are on a collision course both with each other and with the past that created them. The show is part of Marvel’s larger universe, so who knows where these two will end up or what they’ll learn about their powers.

Cloak and Dagger airs Thursdays at 7/8c on Freeform and will be replaying the two premiere episodes throughout the coming week.