As a Conservative Christian girl, I try to be very careful with the shows and movies I watch, books I read, and music I listen to. For the most part, that means I stick to Disney shows and Hallmark movies. I do love a good comic book-based series though. Arrow. The Flash. Supergirl. Sort of Legends of Tomorrow. I love them. I love The Avengers and I plan to watch Agents of SHIELD eventually. When I learned that Freeform was putting out a new comic-book based series, I was excited, especially because it stars Olivia Holt from Disney Channel. However, I was also apprehensive. Freeform isn’t exactly known for putting out family friendly content. After all, that is why many assume they changed their name from ABC Family. Still, I really wanted to watch the new show Marvel show, Cloak & Dagger. For three months, I deliberated whether I would or would not watch this new show. Friday, August 31, 2018, I decided to watch it. This is what I thought.
From the moment I pressed play on Hulu, I was hooked on the new Marvel television show Cloak & Dagger. There was mystery, intrigue, and drama from the start. My eyes were glued to the screen from the start. With every scene, the show kept getting better and better until the epic season finale. In only ten episodes, viewers were able to mourn, grow, and rejoice with Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen as they navigated life after the tragic accidents that caused their paths to cross.
Eight years ago, Tandy Bowen was riding in the back seat of her father’s car on a dark and stormy night. At the same time, Tyrone Johnson was trying to right a wrong done to his brother, Billy Johnson, by a rich white man who didn’t pay for services rendered to him. While Nathan Bowen was arguing on the phone with a coworker about an experiment gone wrong, Billy was trying to explain to his little brother why stealing back what was rightfully theirs was still wrong. With his focus on his phone call and not on the road, Nathan Bowen lost control of his car and spun out of control. When trying to return the car radio Tyrone stole, Billy was shot and killed by a police officer for stealing the radio. Tandy, Nathan, Billy, and Tyrone all ended up in the water that night. Tandy and Nathan after spinning off a bridge with their car, Billy after being shot, and Tyrone after jumping in after his big brother. The experiment gone wrong caused an explosion that’s power surged through the water the four kindred spirits were now struggling to free themselves from. Sadly, Nathan Bowen and Billy Johnson did not make it out alive leaving Tandy and Tyrone to live with survivor’s guilt for the next eight years until fate brought them together again.
Days before the eighth anniversary of the accident, Tandy and Tyrone were thrown back into each other’s lives by forces out of their control. They quickly recognized each other when their yet undiscovered powers reacted to each other. They couldn’t touch without being blown apart from each other. Their powers were the mirror images of each other. Fight or flight. Light or dark. Hope or fear. Cloak and Dagger. They fought against each other in the beginning. Neither wanting the power they never asked for. Not wanting to see the things they were yet unused to seeing. Tyrone was a man of hope and goodness. He had always done the best he could, trying to right the world of the wrongs done to him that night. Tandy had always been a troublemaker—drugging rich kids, stealing their wealth, and getting high and their prescription drugs. When their powers surfaced, Tyrone was forced to see the fear of others. He was given the ability of flight instead of fight. Tandy was forced to see the hopes of others. Hopes she would never let herself feel before. She was given a tool to choose to fight when she would normally choose flight.
Soon, Tyrone and Tandy were forced into each other’s lives. Their powers tied them together, dragging each other into the other’s head or life at the most inopportune time. Through denial, loss, truth, and some self-reflection, they each learned to control their powers and work together to work for the greater good instead of simply for themselves. In this time, they learned they had been chosen to become the new divine pairing that would save the city of New Orleans once again. After saving the city in the last episode, they were both forced to face the new lives thrust upon them as result of learning the truth about what really went down that down eight years ago. The rest is to be seen in season two.
After watching the ten episodes that make up season one, I feel confident in saying Cloak & Dagger is a fairly appropriate tv show for teens and adults. The language was moderate, sexual content was fairly limited, the violence was acceptable, and the storyline so far is another inspiring representation of good versus evil and light versus dark. The spiritual content was not exactly what I would have chosen for it to be, but I don’t feel uncomfortable watching it, which is a huge plus for Freeform and teen shows in general. I can only hope the second season will be as good and appropriate as season one. Ultimately, Cloak & Dagger is a great teen drama full of action, heartbreak, and self-discovery and I can’t wait to see what happens with Tandy and Tyrone next!
Brittany Alexandria 