Marvel's Cloak and Dagger 1x01 "First Light" Episode Review

Major spoilers are included in this episode review. Read with caution!

When I first heard Cloak and Dagger was going to premiere on Freeform, I had no idea what to expect. The Marvel TV shows usually have rough starts (excluding Netflix and Hulu Originals), so I went in thinking the show would flop like Inhumans.

BUT I WAS PROVEN WRONG!

The show blew me away with its changed setting (overcrowded New York City to New Orleans), mature themes like sexual assault and racism, the changed backgrounds for our main protagonists (Tandy is poor and Tyrone is rich), the chemistry between the two lead characters, and the creative directions they went with those improvements.

I had no knowledge of these comic book superheroes except for their connection to the Runaways, but Olivia Holt's involvement convinced me to give it a shot.

Let's get into what happened in the first half of the episode. 

The opening scene is the background of how Tandy and Tyrone got their powers. 

Tandy is finishing up her ballet lesson and her mother forgets to pick her up. She whips out her cellphone and calls her dad to come get her. Some time passed (OMG she kept practicing in the rain) until her dad came, who is angry with his comapny Roxxon about work.

If you are a committed MCU fan, you probably noticed Roxxon has appeared in other movies too like Iron Man. This will be the first show to feature them as an antagonistic group.

Tyrone is hanging out with his older brother Billy and his friends. Billy sends Tyrone home because he doesn't want him wrapped in their business. Tyrone disobeys and secretly helps his brother by stealing the stereo from the car.

Billy is not happy about this and teaches him some morals, taking him back to return it. The police found them before they can do the right thing, and the two of them race off. Billy tells his brother to hide and surrenders to the police.

However, the police officer (Connors) shoots Billy twice and watches him drop to the water. Tyrone is devastated and jumps in after him.

At the same time, Tandy's father Nathan is driving recklessly in the rain and talks on the phone about something shady. Tandy is gradually getting frightened as the vision gets less and less clear. Then the Roxxon oil rig explodes out in the ocean and distracts Nathan, forcing him off the road and into the ocean.

He dies on impact and then Tandy tries to break free. Then she begins to glow once Tyrone comes near and the opening scene ends there.

Years pass to show where the two characters end up.

Tandy is seducing rich boys to rob them and is living in an abandoned church. She is also addicted to some pills and has a partner in crime (boyfriend) named Liam.

Tyrone is playing basketball and trying to get the ref to call out some penalties. This leads to a physical confrontation between Tyrone and another player who keeps hitting him during the game.

The two of them don't meet until a party in the woods. The chemistry between them is evident and electrifying. She ends up stealing his wallet, and he goes after her. Once they touch each other, their powers activate and Tandy is shaken.

She wonders if he is the boy from the beach. He is confused about this statement but also knows something is wrong. Not willing to face her past yet, Tandy runs off but leaves his wallet behind. Their interactions, the strongest parts of the premiere, are limited, which also makes the pacing uneven as we are drawn into their differences and similarities. 

The rest of the episode keeps them apart. 

Tandy goes back to her house and we get a glimpse of how her life fell apart. After her father's death, Roxxon raided their home and took all his research, not willing to take fault for the accident either. Her mother spiraled and is still trying to make a case against them. 

Then it gets weird. Tandy touches her mother and sees a mesh of hope and memories. Her mother, being loving, was at her ballet practice and so was her father. This overwhelmed both people, which showed how her light powers function. 

She ends up going to a fancy ballet and watches from a different spot. The rich boy finds her because she used the ticket she stole from him. His friends surround her, and then he attacks her, making his friends leave them. 

In a desperate moment, her light becomes a dagger and she stabs him to save herself. Tandy leaves him and is startled by what happened.

Tyrone starts waking up in random places. The first place is the Roxxon rooftop. He is wrapped in his huge blanket that also acts as his cloak. We also learn when Tyrone tried to report the police officer who killed his brother, the police department claimed that officer doesn't exist.

But he does exist! Tyrone finds him and teleports to the back of his car. When Connors opens the back of his car, Tyrone ambushes him and runs off. This leads to him talking to his mother about his brother and how that is still affecting them after all these years.

The episode ends with the aftermath of the opening scene. Young Tandy wakes up next to Young Tyrone and takes his sweater. This goes with the present where it's revealed that she still owns the sweater and wears it for comfort.

Young Tyrone wakes up after Young Tandy is gone and picks up her ballet shoe. He is also seen to have it in his possession in the current day. 

Overall, the show is groundbreaking for what it represents. These kids are not fighting against evil parents or supervillains, but rather the injustices they face as human beings (drugs, sexual assault, racism, etc.). However, the pacing of the episode can get annoying at times especially in the second half of the premiere.

The second half of the two-hour premiere (episode 2 review) will be posted here.