*This review contains minor spoilers*
Click here for my YouTube SPOILER review
“Cloak & Dagger” season one attempts to cram a lot into its first season, while most of it is compelling, there’s just not enough time to give all the stories their justice.
The show’s greatest strength can also be its greatest weakness: Its two leads. Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph bring a lot of emotional, character driven complexity to the series, and they have great chemistry together. Unfortunately, they don’t spend very much time together, and more often than not, they’re at odds with each other. Even when they’re apart, they both have strong moments, whether it’s the well-written family issues that Tyrone faces, or it’s Tandy’s chameleon-like ability to be whatever she needs to be to get what she wants.
Because of this, Tandy’s quest to clear her father’s name tends to be the most interesting plotline. She’s more aggressive in her mission and adapts to her powers almost immediately. Tyrone’s story stalls out or takes steps backwards pretty frequently, and even when he starts to master his abilities, they aren’t really put to good use. However, his interactions with his friends and family allow for some great emotional beats. The wild card on the show is Detective O’Reilly. She doesn’t even speak in her first episode, and it takes a long time for her motivations to become apparent. So much of her story is left unexplained, and she only really becomes interesting once she begins helping Tyrone.
The rest of the cast is fine. There is strong acting from most of them, but they only scratch the surface when it comes to their backstories. The show is about Cloak and Dagger, but the give us enough of a tease that we want to learn more about the other major characters. (Extra credit to the show for being the first Marvel TV series to actually mention characters from the movies and the Netflix shows.)
The overall plot is fine. There’s a great setup, and the basic superhero origin story, but it’s not until the final few episodes that we get a threat that requires our heroes to save the day. Before that, every time it looks they’re raising the stakes, they slam on the breaks. The action is never that impressive. Cloak and Dagger only have a few chances to cut loose, and their powers aren’t usually too visually impressive. Basically, she throws glowing knives and he just disappears at the last second.
The first season of “Cloak & Dagger” is a mixed bag. Strong drama and a compelling teenager superhero origin story get weighed down by a plot that lacks urgency, characters that seem important and then disappear for half the episodes, and a rushed finale.
Season’s best episode: “First Light” (Episode 1): The show starts with a great opening sequence, and then establishes the dark place our heroes are in. Strong writing and acting get you invested.
Season’s worst episode: “Suicide Sprints” (Episode 2): Disappointing to see the leads quickly go their own ways instead of teaming up a bit longer. Detective O’Reilly’s silent debut lessens the impact of her character.
**1/2 out of *****