Cloak and Dagger Series Premiere, ‘First Light’ and ‘Suicide Sprints’ Plot Summary:
Tandy Bowen (Olivia Holt) and Tyrone Johnson (Aubrey Joseph) experienced traumatic events during their childhoods that left them mysterious powers. Years later, they continue to cope with the aftermath of those incidents and discover that they are inexplicably linked.
I need to start this review with a confession. I consider myself a pretty big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and feel like I have the merchandise and trivia answers to back it up. But in terms of the characters’ origins and histories in the comics, my knowledge is largely limited to what I’ve read on Wikipedia and around the Web. So when fairly obscure characters find their way into the MCU, my initial reaction is typically an excited “who?” But learning that Cloak and Dagger would be airing on Freeform admittedly replaced that excitement with a few misgivings.
And in the end, Cloak and Dagger is more or less what you’d expect from a Freeform superhero show. You have all of the elements the channel is stereotypically known for: an attractive, fresh-faced cast unlikely to garner any recognition higher than a Teen Choice Award, pop music that sounds like it came from a discount Ellie Goulding, and enough teenage and relationship drama to give you flashbacks to high school. On top of that, for a series about a pair of superheroes, the show appears more interested in the intrigues of beautiful but troubled young people than heroics and power.
In other words, if you’re looking for an MCU show in the same vein as Daredevil or Jessica Jones, you’ve come to the wrong place. That being said, Cloak and Dagger is not without its strengths; the show does an admirable job exploring how drug addiction and police brutality have shaped the title characters and how trauma can manifest in teenagers. Meanwhile, the concept of a shady corporation giving people super powers via a freak accident has become more than a little stale, but the nature of the duo’s powers and their connection raises some captivating questions that should bring back many viewers. More than anything else, though, the show’s greatest weakness may also be its greatest strength.
As popular and successful as the MCU films and Netflix shows are, there is no reason to think that the properties that fall under the Marvel umbrella should only be humorous, action-packed blockbusters or gritty, mature binge-watches. Just as Black Panther opened up Marvel’s many franchises to new audiences previously uninterested in the cinematic universe, Cloak and Dagger has the potential to bring new demographics into the fandom. And, despite the grumblings of some fans, such developments are always a good thing. Yes, Cloak and Dagger is flawed and may not be the way I enjoy my comic book adaptations, but the series should prove to be a decent gateway into the MCU for the channel’s target audience.
Score: 6.5 out of 10
