‘Cloak & Dagger’ Recap: ‘Restless Energy’ & ‘White Lines’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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I’ve made it no secret that I’ve found myself suffering from a touch of superhero burnout, especially when it comes to superhero television shows, because these particular types of stories, simply aren’t doing it for me anymore. For starters, there’s simply too many of them, and this saturation of the market is leading to repetitive storytelling, complete with massive story arcs that are being dragged out to the point where there are filler episodes that waste precious minutes on unimportant stories and worst of all, they’re all trying too hard to tackle social issues in our world because what they wish to say feels forced and over the top at times.
 
Which is why, I was so supremely impressed with Freeform/Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger when it premiered last year. Because this particular series introduced us to relatable superheroes, the kind with flaws and fears and great odds to overcome and it’s brief ten episode run allowed for no moment to be wasted on screen and most importantly, it tackled important issues plaguing our world in intelligent and organic fashion, making this series a welcome breath of fresh air. And its solid finale left me ready for more when it comes to this tale, and Thursday Night, my long wait to enjoy more of this dynamic series came to an end by way of a two hour season premiere event that brought us a pair of quality episodes that proudly continued the magnificent storytelling traditions that season one established.
 
For ‘Restless Energy’ and ‘White Lines’ dove into some magnificent concepts, the kind that keep a series about a young man who can teleport and a young woman who can create energy-based knives out of thin air grounded in reality and the first thing that caught me off guard in the right way when it comes to this season two premiere, is the sheer fact that our heroes weren’t suddenly all over the city stopping crime and feeling fulfilled in their lives, there were consequences to be dealt with when it comes to their actions from last season, and consequences to be found in this pair of stories as well. For the road to becoming a hero isn’t quick or easy, and both Tandy and Tyrone stumbled as they worked to make the world a better place, since their plans often backfired or escalated a particular situation and it was downright fascinating to see their best intentions be foiled by the fear and confusion of others. 

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​But what matters the most when it comes to this series, is its quality character development and the challenges Tandy and Tyrone faced in these two tales, helped bring that all-important element to the forefront of the story. In fact, I really loved how their fortunes were reversed in this premiere since it provided them with new challenges to overcome since the once socially active Tyrone was now restricted to a world devoid of human contact and the once isolated Tandy was back in the world again, struggling with its injustices and how others suffered from an inability to forge a better life for themselves and seeing these two try and adjust to new lives was fascinating in its own right. But seeing them grapple with their newfound calling to help others as heroes is what made this part of the story so compelling since they are dying to do more for the world but are unsure as to how to make that happen.
 
However, there are some new threats growing behind the scenes in the city of New Orleans that will help Tandy and Tyrone find their heroic path going forward and I must admit, I’m quite curious at this point as to who exactly is working to kidnap women across the city, and why for that matter because that’s a disturbing prospect indeed, especially since these parties took the time to pump Mikayla full of heroin before dumping her off on a hospital. And of course, this dynamic duo also came to discover that their good friend, Detective Brigid O’Reilly, has a doppelganger that is willing to go the extra mile to get what it wants, and what that is exactly, remains a mystery. But considering that this being is likely Mayhem come to life on the small screen, the name alone should clue us in to what Brigid 2.0 wants and no good can come from that.
 
If anything, this was a solid season two premiere. For it did a fine job reminding us of just how wonderful our heroes truly are since they harbor a desire to see a better world, and it also tackled some real world topics in respectful and intelligent fashion since domestic violence and human trafficking are rarely discussed in fiction, much less a television series in this vein and of course, it did a fine job setting up the rest of season two since we now know, there are some new monsters roaming about The Big Easy and the performances from everyone were simply outstanding and I love that these new challenges are about to give everyone the purpose they desperately need and well, I need more. I need to know how this is going to end, and how our heroes will defeat these new threats. Which means I will be happily dedicating my time to this dynamic series in the weeks to come. Until next time.  

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