A prime time, then, for the downbeat counterprogramming ofCloak & Dagger.
The Freeform series takes this very rough outline and cleverly modernizes it in unexpected directions.
Tyrone (Aubrey Joseph) is a straight-edge athlete, an honest-to-God choirboy attending a fancy-looking Catholic school.
Credit: Alfonso Bresciani/Freeform
Hes got basketball practice, shes snorting prescription meds.
Her mom (played by Andrea Roth) is a druggy mess with a history of bad decisions.
His mom is Gloria Reuben, lucky.
Tyrone and Tandymeet-uncute at a party: She flirts with him, then steals his wallet.
Except thats notquitethe first time they meet.
It also sets in motion a mystery that runs throughout the season or rather, walks.
Tyrone finds an appropriately cloak-ish costume at an outpost of theMardi Gras Indians.
The series plays with other provocative material.
While Tyrone spends early episodes seeking vengeance, Tandy experiences a deep melancholy cusping on suicidal tendencies.
And in the pilot, shes attacked by a young man whose money she stole.
He pushes her into a dark alley, unbuckles his belt.
The superpowered stuff works less well.
These manifest at arbitrary, plot-necessary intervals.
They might randomly teleport to important plot points, or suddenly recall a long-buried memory.
ButCloak & Daggerfinds a new groove when Tyrone and Tandy start talking.
Their conversation takes on a larger dimension: You have a life, and opportunities!
Let me check your privilege!
This whole countrys trying to kill meevery day.
Excuse me if I cant sit around and contemplate suicide!
So theres real potential here.
Joseph and Holt have a nice rhythm, when the show lets them hang out.
Im pessimisticandoptimistic aboutCloak & Dagger, and hope the shows openhearted thoughtfulness can energize its rather bargain-bin super-mythology.B
