Marvel's Cloak and Dagger 1x09 "Back Breaker" Episode Review
Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please Read with Caution!
The pieces are laid out in this episode in preparation for the season finale. After the events of the previous episode, Tandy, Tyrone, and even O'Reilly have been pushed to their breaking points. Liam made a surprising return, Connors is out for blood, and we learned something interesting about Evita and Roxxon's intentions with the special energy.
Tandy's arc is hard to stomach. After learning her father was an abusive husband, she took it out on everyone's hopes. She did her "cute blonde routine" on some white lowlife and got high off his hope essence. Then she went after Mina next and destroyed her character's intense love for nature (RIP Fly).
It doesn't even stop there. Tandy uses the money she got from Roxxon to bail Liam out of jail. At first, it felt weird considering she abandoned him all the way back in episode two or three, and he hasn't really been mentioned or seen since. But her intentions weren't exactly noble...
When she tried to steal his hope of a future together, Tyrone somehow slipped in using his powers and stopped her. This pissed Tandy off, who hates that kid for always accidentally interfering in her personal life. It's not his fault the two of your powers are closely connected.
Tyrone isn't doing too well either in this episode. After helping O'Reilly put Connors behind bars, Tyrone's parents aren't getting their hopes up about the situation being permanent. This infuriates him because he thought this would help them gain peace about Billy. But they've been through this already and do not have faith in the system any longer.
His parents even lecture Tyrone on his lack of understanding for their feelings. Tyrone, dealing with his own suppressed anger, takes it out on another student in the hallway rather violently, and gets pulled aside by Father Delgado.
He's a new character who is framing the hero's journey for the audience in the form of a classroom lesson. I enjoyed this a lot because we needed a good reminder that our heroes are allowed to go down a dark path in order to rise to the challenge when the time comes.
Father Delgado is trying to help Tyrone in his own way, but he is also dealing with some unresolved issues himself. When faced with potential expulsion for his actions, Tyrone dives into Delgado's fears, which clearly shows his guilt over a drinking problem and a car accident involving a dead kid.
This is enough to shake him... and he orders Tyrone to leave while he calms himself.
After this, Evita tries to talk to Tyrone about his powers but is interrupted by an angry Tandy. Evita tries to dismiss Tandy, who lashes out and goes into Evita's hopes. But this is where it gets interesting...
When Tandy tries to take away her hope, Evita forces her out!! She resisted and runs off before anyone can question her about what went down.
O'Reilly isn't faring too well either. She is spiraling after her boyfriend's death and gets her ass kicked when Connors gets bailed out because the tape was not considered real evidence. He beats her in front of other police officers and warns her not to mess with him again.
What's worse? Tyrone is being framed for Fuchs' death. Connors has the whole department gunning for him and we see him escape out the window before the police storm the house.
After dealing with Tyrone and Evita at the school, Tandy returns to the church and finds Liam gone in addition to the place being trashed. He stole all her money! This puts things in perspective for her... and she returns home.
TO FIND WATER GIRL (GREG'S KILLER) HOLDING HER MOM HOSTAGE!
The episode ends there... and now our heroes are ready to become the heroes they are destined to become. New Orleans is close to destruction, and only those two can save it.