‘Cloak & Dagger’ Recap: ‘Blue Note’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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We’ve talked a lot over the past few weeks, and I suppose years, about how Freeform / Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger tends to defy convention when it comes to superhero stories by way of concepts and plots that simply buck the norm in this genre. And I continue to reinforce that point, simply because the series continues to find new ways to shatter tropes and wow us every single step of the way and last week’s episode was no exception to that rule. For ‘Blue Note’ did something that superhero stories and shows rarely do, since it took the time to examine what drove Andre Deschaine to a life of evil, and while that seems pretty by the numbers for a series in this vein, let’s not forget, that we’ve already been down this road before in season two.
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For earlier this year, we spent a lot of time learning about Mayhem, and what makes her tick and why I call this revolutionary in its own right is that most shows and stories never dare to introduce a second villain, much less focus upon who they are as a person, especially late in the season, since the story should be preparing for the season finale. But since Brigid/Mayhem operates in a grey area and Andre is the true big bad of season two, it only seemed right to dive into his past and his personality and well, what we discovered was fascinating and harrowing to say the least because Mister Deschaine is a different kind of villain when all is said and done, because he is that rare monster that was evil to begin with, which is another trope/notion that this episode rips apart.

Because so many villains are men and women who lose their way or have a specific set of circumstances that remove the light from their view of the world. Or they’re like Mayhem, products or creations of their environment, prompting us to feel a sense of pity for them since they don’t know any better. But Andre, well, we learned from the get-go that he was nothing more than an egotistical jerk, one who believed that greatness in music was achieved through moments instead of hard work and his headaches robbed him of his glory and any hope or belief in a future, prompting him to take his own life on the fateful night that the Roxxon rig blew. And that perfect set of circumstances gave him his newfound power, and a second chance at life, but he squandered it quickly when he discovered what his power could do, and it took little to no time for him to begin to build his twisted empire of despair.

Yet, I suppose that it is safe to say that some good has come out of his desire to rule the world as a god, simply because he’s pushing Tyrone and Tandy to do more and to be more since they were rock solid heroes in this tale through and through, since Tyrone worked to secure a future for New Orleans, one free of drugs, and Tandy took the moral high ground when Mayhem wanted to end Lia’s life for her crimes and when they worked together, these two also accomplished wonders. For they were able to decipher every clue thrown their way in order to track down Andre and uncover his plan to use the Blue Note to dive the world into despair. But, despite their best efforts to find and stop him, it would seem his plan has come to fruition, for the world is seemingly now a vacant and desolate place, where Andre’s chilling tunes carry across the wind.

If anything, this really was quite the impressive way to set up the season two finale for this series, simply because, I didn’t see that ending coming, and by taking the time to examine Andre’s life and his hardships, it really seemed as though we were going to be treated to a tragic and innocuous penultimate episode. But every revelation, and every twist and turn suddenly added a sense of urgency and danger to this tale and man, Tandy and Tyrone truly have their hands full going forward. Either way, I really dig the fact that the series took the time to slow things down if only for a moment, just so that Andre received a little depth to his character. It’s something you just don’t see all that often in superhero shows, and while I personally feel he’s more of a scumbag now, he’s a scumbag with depth and that matters in a show that pays attention to the details. Either way, the time for a final showdown between our heroes and Andre has arrived, and I cannot wait to see how the series wraps up this harrowing story later tonight. Until next time. 

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